Everybody's Crazy is the fourth studio album by American recording artist Michael Bolton. The album was released on March 15, 1985 by Columbia Records. The lead guitarist on the album is Bruce Kulick, later of KISS fame. After Kulick left to join KISS in late 1984, Kevin Reye/Reyes (Black Sheep, Fortress, White Lie/TRIIX, Martial Law, Network, Power Squadron, Zodiac) replaced him on guitar for post album support and performed in the CBS/Columbia MTV video of the title track, produced and directed by Wayne Isham and Curt Marvis of the New Company. The title track was a minor hit on hard rock radio stations, and the MTV video of the title track was also featured in the 1986 Rodney Dangerfield movie Back to School. The album was reissued overseas in the mid-1990s with a then-current photo of Bolton on the cover. It was reissued again on CD in the UK on February 25, 2008 by Rock Candy Records with a 12-page full colour booklet with original and new artwork. Given the contrast in musical style between this album and the majority of Bolton's later (and more successful) musical output, songs from the album rarely appear on Bolton compilations. However, the title track was included on Bolton's entry in the Playlist series of Greatest Hits compilations.

Background

Producer Neil Kernon described how he became involved with the album: "Well, I got a call from Michael's manager asking me if I'd be interested. I'd heard 'Fools Game' [from his previous album, Michael Bolton] and liked that, so we met and hit it off straight away. Michael was one of the funniest people I've ever met." Kernon also said that later on, Bolton did not want to re-release Everybody's Crazy or his self titled 1983 album on CD for fear of confusing and alienating fans of his later adult contemporary music.

Reception

In their retrospective review, AllMusic criticized Everybody's Crazy for muting Bolton's distinctive vocals, remarking that "much of the time he seemed to be fighting to be heard, and when he was, all he had was a mouthful of cliches to offer." The album has an average rating of 88/100 on the hard rock/AOR database Heavy Harmonies.

Track listing

Personnel

Production

Music videos

Cover versions

Charts