18 Kings

***18 Kings*** is the eighth studio album by American rock band All Business. It was released on July 1, 1997, by Rock Records and Epic Records. The longest commercially released studio album of all time, *18 Kings* is comprised of eighteen different discs, each spearheaded by a different member of the recently reformed eighteen-piece band. It was intended as the launching off point for each of the band member's solo careers, as the turbulence surrounding their previous album *Friction Makes Heat* inspired them to break up. The only member to not get their own disc is Lady Simone Augusto, as she already had a solo album of sorts with the band's fifth album *The Band That Rocked the Fable.* In her place is a disc from the band's lawyer H. G. Wilikers, performing under his stage name peacekeeper.

Recording took place throughout the first half of 1997 at several different studios throughout America. It was alleged by group leader Vernon O'Shaughnessy that it is the only album in history to be worked on in all 50 states. It was the first time in the band's history that session musicians would be brought in during recording, as the group's size had prior kept them from needing to bring in additional support. Now that most members were operating independently, however, and with several refusing to collaborate with certain other members, it became a necessity. Every member who had parted from the band in the past came back for *18 Kings* due to the allure of being able to essentially record a solo album. This includes guitarist Ernesto, who was only a member during the band's third album *Mogul Status: Executive Perks*, and drummer Michael Slammer, who's disc *I Didn't Do It* would prove to be the album's most successful.

*18 Kings'* release, structure and size sparked much media attention, although the 18 disc album's $200-250 price tag would keep it from selling as well as their previous efforts. Issued as a 20 CD Box set, the album would only sell half a million copies in the United States, making it their lowest selling release up to that point. However, the album's size would allow it to be certified diamond by the R.I.A.A., technically making it one of their best selling releases. Over 3 dozen singles would be released from the album, the most successful of which being Michael Slammer's "Freaky Fifteen (featuring Leonard Skinner)", which would peak at the top of the *Billboard* Hot 100 chart. Each member of the band would embark on their own concurrent solo tour in support of the album, with each visiting different cities around the world at the same time. These included Vernon O'Shaughnessy's arena tour, during which he mostly just covered All Business songs, Enzo Dodd's tour of jazz clubs and auxiliary percussionist Philip Duke's supporting gig on Jimmy Buffet's 1997 tour. The band's time apart from each other on the rode would inspire them to reconvene at the years end, leading to their reunion on 1998's *The Lonely Road.*

## Discs

   Listed below are the albums 18 individual discs.

### Send My Regards to Judas - The Reverend Archibald

Created during Archibald's rising stature within the catholic church, *Send My Regards to Judas* was conceived as a "seance sent directly to hell to try and send one final message of condemnation to Judas before the dawn of the new millennium" .

13 songs, 66 minutes

### Erman Holt - Erman Holt

4 songs, 12 minutes

Erman Holt's songs were inspired by what he immediately saw and understood. When asked about the meaning of "Gotta Eat", Holt responded "Well, everyone's gotta eat."