{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2018}} {{Infobox album | name = Congratulations I'm Sorry | type = studio | artist = Gin Blossoms | cover = Gin Blossoms - Congratulations...I'm Sorry.jpg | alt = | released = February 13, 1996<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://magnetmagazine.com/2021/02/13/gin-blossoms-released-congratulations-im-sorry-25-years-ago-today/|title=GIN BLOSSOMS RELEASED "CONGRATULATIONS I'M SORRY" 25 YEARS AGO TODAY|date=2021-02-13|access-date=2021-12-27|website=Magnet}}</ref> | recorded = 1995 | venue = | studio = Ardent Studios, Memphis, Tennessee;<ref name="MTV">{{Cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/505034/gin-blossoms-bear-fruit/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211228032442/http://www.mtv.com/news/505034/gin-blossoms-bear-fruit/|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 28, 2021|title=GIN BLOSSOMS BEAR FRUIT|date=1996-01-03|access-date=2021-12-27|website=MTV}}</ref> Vintage Recorders, Phoenix, Arizona | genre = {{flatlist| * Alternative pop<ref name="EW">{{Cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/1996/02/16/congratulations-im-sorry/|title=Congratulations I'm Sorry|date=1996-02-16|access-date=2021-12-27|magazine=Entertainment Weekly |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151011101736/https://ew.com/article/1996/02/16/congratulations-im-sorry/ |archive-date=October 11, 2015|last=Browne|first=David}}</ref> }} | length = 44:29 | label = A&M | producer = Gin Blossoms, John Hampton<ref name="MTV"/> | prev_title = New Miserable Experience | prev_year = 1992 | next_title = Outside Looking In: The Best of the Gin Blossoms | next_year = 1999 | misc = {{Singles | name = Congratulations I'm Sorry | type = studio | single1 = Follow You Down | single1date = January 30, 1996 | single2 = Day Job | single2date = 1996 | single3 = As Long as It Matters | single3date = July 16, 1996 | single4 = Not Only Numb | single4date = 1996 }} }}
'''''Congratulations I'm Sorry''''' (typeset as '''''Congratulations...I'm Sorry''''') is the third studio album by the American alternative rock band Gin Blossoms, and the follow-up album to the successful 1992 release ''New Miserable Experience'', released in 1996 by A&M Records. The album was named in reference to the success of 1992's ''New Miserable Experience'', followed closely by the suicide of the former band member Doug Hopkins in 1993.
Reaction to ''Congratulations I'm Sorry'' was mixed, with some critics feeling that the music lay too close to the sound of the previous album. One common complaint was that most versions of the album lacked the successful 1995 single "Til I Hear It from You", from the ''Empire Records'' soundtrack; however, some editions of the album did contain the track as its final.
The album's title, according to the lead singer Robin Wilson, came from the response band members usually received from people who both wanted to congratulate the band for the success of ''New Miserable Experience'', while then offering apologies for their friend and former band member Doug Hopkins. The album eventually reached platinum status.
==Reception== {{Album ratings | rev1 = AllMusic | rev1score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref name ="allmusic">{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/congratulations-im-sorry-mw0000184046|title=Congratulations I'm Sorry - Album Review|access-date=2021-12-27|website=AllMusic|last=Erlewine|first=Stephen Thomas}}</ref> | rev2 = ''Entertainment Weekly'' | rev2score = B<ref name="EW" /> | rev3 = ''The Music Box'' | rev3score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.musicbox-online.com/gin-cong.html#axzz2aHnIqkP1|title=Gin Blossoms - Congratulations I'm Sorry (Album Review)|date=|access-date=2021-12-27|website=The Music Box}}</ref> | rev4 = ''Rolling Stone'' | rev4score = {{Rating|2|5}}<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/ginblossoms/albums/album/262826/review/5942682/congratulationsim_sorry|title=Congratulations I'm Sorry - Review|date=1998-02-02|access-date=2021-12-27|magazine=Rolling Stone|last=Manning|first=Kara|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071026050804/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/ginblossoms/albums/album/262826/review/5942682/congratulationsim_sorry|archive-date=2007-10-26|url-status=live}}</ref> }}
Reception to the album was mixed. AllMusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine explained that "the only fault of ''Congratulations...I'm Sorry'' is that it sounds a bit too close to the debut—there's virtually no difference in terms of style and production."<ref name ="allmusic"/> ''Entertainment Weekly'' critic David Browne said that "there’s something too generic about the Gin Blossoms."<ref name="EW"/>
''People'' called the album "a quick fix for any dark mood", continuing, "the songs are so upbeat they almost conjure sunny summer afternoons."<ref>Tomashoff, Craig (1996-02-26), "Congratulations I'm Sorry". ''People''. '''45''' (8):23</ref>
== Track listing == {{track listing | title1 = Day Job | writer1 = Robin Wilson, Scott Johnson, Jesse Valenzuela, Bill Leen, Phillip Rhodes | length1 = 3:51 | title2 = Highwire | writer2 = Wilson | length2 = 2:24 | title3 = Follow You Down | writer3 = Wilson, Johnson, Valenzuela, Leen, Rhodes | length3 = 4:30 | title4 = Not Only Numb | writer4 = Wilson, Rhodes | length4 = 3:06 | title5 = As Long as It Matters | writer5 = Wilson, Valenzuela, Rhodes | length5 = 4:31 | title6 = Perfectly Still | writer6 = Johnson, Leen | length6 = 4:05 | title7 = 7th Inning Stretch | length7 = 0:14 | title8 = My Car | writer8 = Valenzuela | length8 = 4:17 | title9 = Virginia | writer9 = Valenzuela | length9 = 4:02 | title10 = Whitewash | writer10 = Wilson, Leen | length10 = 3:19 | title11 = I Can't Figure You Out | writer11 = Valenzuela | length11 = 3:18 | title12 = Memphis Time | writer12 = Johnson, Valenzuela | length12 = 3:14 | title13 = Competition Smile | writer13 = Wilson, Rhodes | length13 = 4:48 | total_length = 44:30 }} *"Competition Smile" ends at 3:38. Following 30 seconds of silence, an untitled hidden track begins.
{{track listing | headline = International edition bonus track | title13 = Til I Hear It from You | writer13 = Wilson, Valenzuela, Marshall Crenshaw | length13 = 3:47 }} *The track "7th Inning Stretch" is omitted from international releases of the album. This version of the album has 13 tracks, with "Til I Hear It from You" as track 13.
== Excluded songs == Among tracks excluded from the album are "Seeing Stars", a song written by the lead singer Robin Wilson about the band's ex-lead guitarist Doug Hopkins, and the 1995 hit "Til I Hear It from You". The latter was released as a single (although it is included on the international edition of the album) and can be found on the soundtrack of the movie ''Empire Records'', while the former was included as a B-side on the "Follow You Down" single, along with Wilson's "Idiot Summer" from the soundtrack of ''Wayne's World 2''.
== Personnel == '''Gin Blossoms''' * Robin Wilson – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica * Scott Johnson – guitar, background vocals * Jesse Valenzuela – guitar, vocals * Bill Leen – bass guitar, background vocals * Phillip Rhodes – percussion, drums, background vocals
'''Additional personnel''' * Art Neville – Hammond organ * Rick Steff – accordion * Robbie Turner – pedal steel guitar * James SK Wān – bamboo flute
== Production == * Producers: Gin Blossoms, John Hampton * Engineers: Erik Flettrich, John Hampton, Billy Siegle * Assistant engineer: Billy Moss * Mixing: John Hampton * Dave Collins - mastering * Pre-production: Billy Siegle * Direction: Bill Graham * Art direction: Robin Wilson * Design: Karen Walker, Robin Wilson * Photography: Danny Clinch, Robin Wilson * Cover photo: Robin Wilson
== Charts == {{col-begin}} {{col-2}}
=== Weekly charts === {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |- ! scope="col"| Chart (1996) ! scope="col"| Peak<br />position |- {{album chart|Australia|41|artist=Gin Blossoms|album=Congratulations I'm Sorry|rowheader=true|accessdate=October 24, 2020}} |- {{album chart|New Zealand|41|artist=Gin Blossoms|album=Congratulations I'm Sorry|rowheader=true|accessdate=October 24, 2020}} |- {{album chart|Scotland|34|date=19960218|rowheader=true|accessdate=October 24, 2020}} |- {{album chart|UK2|42|date=19960218|rowheader=true|accessdate=October 24, 2020}} |- {{album chart|Billboard200|10|artist=Gin Blossoms|rowheader=true|accessdate=October 24, 2020}} |} {{col-2}}
=== Year-end charts === {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |- ! scope="col"| Chart (1996) ! scope="col"| Position |- ! scope="row"| US ''Billboard'' 200<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/1996/top-billboard-200-albums|title=Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1996|magazine=Billboard|accessdate=October 24, 2020}}</ref> | 138 |} {{col-end}}
==Certifications== {{Certification Table Top}} {{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=album|artist=Gin Blossoms|title=Congratulations, I'm Sorry|award=Platinum|relyear=1996|certyear=1997|access-date=December 27, 2021}} {{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true}}
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{Gin Blossoms}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Gin Blossoms albums Category:1996 albums Category:Albums produced by John Hampton (music producer) Category:A&M Records albums