Vic Chesnutt

Is the Actor Happy?

Is the Actor Happy? is Vic Chesnutt’s 1995 folk rock album, produced by John Keane, with Michael Stipe on vocals for 'Guilty by Association'. Chesnutt wrote the songs while opening for Live in 1994. The Sunday Times noted he learned to write for a band — brushed drums and ringing lead-guitar lines layered over his simple strumming. AllMusic described arrangements shifting from heartbreakingly delicate folk rock to crashing guitar crescendos. Pitchfork called it his most extroverted record, extending subject matter beyond himself into relationships and the Southern landscape. Forrest Gander wrote the liner notes. The Guardian offered a dissenting view, calling the songs unremarkable.