{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}} {{Infobox album | name = Pure Juice | type = Album | artist = Summercamp | cover = Pure_juice_album.jpg | alt = | released = 1997 | recorded = Los Angeles, California, U.S. | venue = | studio = Village Recorder<ref name="nott">{{cite book |last1=Nottingham |first1=David |title=The Art of Developing Fans For Life: Circle of Competence Discussion Topics |date=2008 |publisher=Xlibris Corporation |isbn=9781462801978 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JIy8XGq0RqIC&dq=%22summercamp%22+%22pure+juice%22+%22maverick%22+%22signed%22&pg=PA65 |access-date=15 December 2020}}</ref><br>Ocean | genre = Alternative rock, power pop | length = 43:37 | label = Maverick | producer = Chris Shaw, Summercamp | prev_title = Old Man | prev_year = 1993 | next_title = Tonight! | next_year = 1997 | misc = {{Singles | name = Pure Juice | type = studio | single1 = Drawer | single1date = 1997 | single2 = Should I Walk Away | single2date = 1997 }} }}
'''''Pure Juice''''' is the debut album by alternative rock band Summercamp, released in 1997 by Maverick Recording Company.
==Background and promotion== In late 1996, Summercamp signed with Madonna's Maverick Records, which was part of Warner Music Group. Afterwards, Summercamp began working on their major label debut, ''Pure Juice''.<ref name="major">{{cite book |last1=Crigler |first1=Pete |title=Majorlabelland and Assorted Oddities |date=2013 |publisher=iUniverse |isbn=9781491706022 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cZcGAQAAQBAJ&dq=%22summercamp%22+%22pure+juice%22+%22santa+barbara%22&pg=PA89 |access-date=15 December 2020}}</ref> Summercamp would be heavily hyped in the press,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Hits/90s/1997/Hits-1997-05-05.pdf|title=Hits|date=5 May 1997|website=Worldradiohistory.com|access-date=24 January 2022}}</ref> with Madonna telling MTV that the band were better than Oasis.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1431635/madonnas-summercamp/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210220162132/http://www.mtv.com/news/1431635/madonnas-summercamp/|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 20, 2021|title = Madonna's Summercamp|website = MTV}}</ref> ''Pure Juice'' was released on June 17, 1997, and that same month the band joined the 1997 edition of the Lollapalooza festival, which ran to August.<ref name="major"/><ref name="hartford">{{cite news|url=https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-1997-07-10-9707100025-story.html |title = LOLLAPALOOZA |newspaper=Hartford Courant}}</ref> Around that time, a music video was also released for the single "Drawer". The tour for the album lasted through to December 1997, with the band playing in Japan that month.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPhUahLbWrA|title=Summercamp - Pure Juice Tour - Dec. 19, 1997 - Osaka, Japan|date=March 31, 2022|via=YouTube}}</ref>
==Release and reception== "Drawer" peaked at No. 21 on the Modern Rock chart in the US, receiving airplay in the summer of 1997.<ref name="major"/><ref name="hartford"/> Another single, "Should I Walk Away", became a top ten hit in Japan.<ref name="major"/> The "Drawer" video was shown on MTV's alternative show ''120 Minutes''. It premiered on the June 29, 1997, episode, and aired again on the July 6, 1997, episode, which was hosted by the bands Faith No More and MxPx.<ref>https://120minutes.org/1997/</ref>
===Critical response=== {{Music ratings |rev1 = AllMusic |rev1score = {{rating|2.5|5}}<ref name ="am"/> }} Jason Ankeny of AllMusic labeled the album "derivative and highly formulaic" and "heavily influenced by late-'70s radio".<ref name ="am">{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/pure-juice-mw0000594275|title=Pure Juice - Summercamp | Songs, Reviews, Credits |website=AllMusic|access-date=24 January 2022}}</ref> Sky Daniels of ''R&R'' magazine commented in 1997 that, "Summercamp continues a natural progression for Santa Barbara bands, beginning with a harder faster approach than its predecessors, but still yielding the prerequisite humm-ability that living in Paradise elicits."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-RandR-IDX/IDX/90s/97/RR-1997-05-23-OCR-Page-0100.pdf|title=Radio & Records|date=23 May 1997|quotation=This record has yielded huge early results, debuting on the Alternative chart in its second week at No. 44. Benefitting from incredible timing, the record provides the perfect balance of rock and pop that recently the format has actively sought. Summercamp, which includes Tim Cullen (vocals /guitar), Sean McCue (vocals /guitar), Misha Feldman (bass), and Tony Sevener (drums) paired up with producer Chris Shaw (Redd Kross, Weezer) to field summer's first heat wave.|website=Worldradiohistory.com|access-date=24 January 2022}}</ref> In July 1997, R.S. Murthi of Malaysian paper the ''New Straits Times'' gave the album's sound four out of five stars, and the performances three out of five stars. He wrote, "the harmonies are not terrific, but they work, and often enhance the instrumental textures. If you need an analogy let's just say the band sounds like a less folkish Toad the Wet Sprocket."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hldIAAAAIBAJ&dq=%22summercamp%22+%22pure+juice%22&pg=PA25&article_id=5205,6265236|title=New Straits Times|publisher=New Straits Times|via=Google Books}}</ref>
==Appearances in other media== In 1998, "On Her Mind" appeared in the film ''BASEketball'', and in 2000 the song "Nowhere Near" appeared on the soundtrack for ''Digimon: The Movie''. "Play It by Ear" was also used in the ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' episode "Crush".
==Track listing== All songs produced by Chris Shaw and Summercamp.
{{Track listing | title1 = Drawer | writer1 = Tim Cullen | length1 = 4:01 | title2 = Nowhere Near | writer2 = Tim Cullen | length2 = 2:20 | title3 = The Bright Side | writer3 = Sean McCue | length3 = 4:23 | title4 = Pure Juice | writer4 = Tim Cullen | length4 = 2:07 | title5 = Should I Walk Away | writer5 = Sean McCue | length5 = 3:09 | title6 = Keep an Eye on You | writer6 = Tim Cullen | length6 = 4:22 | title7 = Play It by Ear | writer7 = Sean McCue | length7 = 2:32 | title8 = Ninety Nine | writer8 = Tim Cullen | length8 = 3:39 | title9 = On Her Mind | writer9 = Tim Cullen | length9 = 3:06 | title10 = Mountain Size | writer10 = Sean McCue | length10 = 3:07 | title11 = Two Shades of Grey | writer11 = Sean McCue | length11 = 3:36 | title12 = With Your Blessing | writer12 = Tim Cullen | length12 = 3:03 | title13 = Thing of the Past | writer13 = Tim Cullen | length13 = 4:12 }}
==Band members== * Tim Cullen - guitars and vocals * Sean McCue - guitars and vocals * Misha Feldmann - bass/backing vocals * Tony Sevener - drums/backing vocals
'''Additional personnel''' * Chris Shaw - engineering and mixing * Dave Nottingham, Tom Fiore & James Murray - 2nd engineers * Eddy Schreyer at Oasis Mastering * Guy Oseary - A&R * Kevin Reagan & Larimie Garcia - art direction/design * Karl Hentz - cover photo * Larry Mills, Chris Strother, Jodi Wille, Kristen Lauck - inside photos
==References== {{Reflist}} {{Authority control}}
Category:1997 debut albums Category:Summercamp albums Category:Maverick Records albums