Background
After the success of Exile in Guyville, expectations ran high for Liz Phair's sophomore release. Phair's debut album had sold over 200,000 units by the spring of 1994 and was Matador's most successful release so far. The success of Exile in Guyville was, in fact, responsible for the fact that many major labels were looking to form a distribution deal with Matador, most prominently Atlantic Records, which would form Phair's next album deal.
Because of this, Whip-Smart was one of the most anticipated albums of the year. Danny Goldberg, then-president of Atlantic Records, stated that the record would "hit gold quickly", and both Rolling Stone and Spin were interested in featuring Phair on their covers.
Read more about this topic: Whip-Smart
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