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Track Listings
| 1. The Big Picture |
| 2. Method Acting |
| 3. False Advertising |
| 4. You Will. You ?Will.You ?Will.You?Will |
| 5. Lover I Don’t Have To Love |
| 6. Bowl Of Oranges |
| 7. Don’t Know When But A Day Is Gonna Come |
| 8. Nothing Gets Crossed out |
| 9. Make War |
| 10. Waste Of Paint |
| 11. From A Balance Beam |
| 12. Laura Laurent |
| 13. Lets Not Shit Ourselves (To Love And To Be Loved) |
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk
Conor Oberst, aka Bright Eyes, has a reputation for being wordy, but the 14-word title of his fifth album sure takes the cake. This fresh-faced Nebraskan songwriter, you see, is keen to prove he is one of a kind. While his Bright Eyes project clearly follows in the vague lineage of leftfield rock nom de plums like Palace Brothers or Smog, where those outfits possess a kind of mystic elusiveness, Oberst has made a career of pouring forth words like a god-fearing adolescent at his first confessional. The Story Is in the Soil... is often wilfully scrappy: with studio conversations and the sound of whirring tape reels left in, often, it appears there’s no such thing as an out-take in Bright Eyes’ swollen musical vocabulary. But Oberst undoubtedly possesses a rare and raw talent. Straining his vocal chords like a precocious youngster mock-flexing his muscles, he tears through a canon of staggeringly deft musical arrangements that constantly veer from joyful marching anthems ("From a Balance Beam") to desolate lullabies (‘False Advertising’), dragging you powerfully in their wake. It’s hard to digest it all in one sitting, but if you’re into indie-rock and you’ve not experienced Bright Eyes in full, tearful flow, you’re surely missing something. --Louis Pattison
Product Description
CD ...The Soil, Keep Your Ear To The Ground
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
By mr k j berry
Format:Audio CD
This was the first Bright Eyes record I heard and I was simply blown away. For years I was ploughing my way through hours and hours of music, never realising that this was the album I was looking for. The lyrics are breathtaking and the music, though understated, is nothing short of epic (and not in a prog rock way!!!). A word of warning however. This album is not for easy listening and those music listeners who prefer not to think too much about their music should look away now, it takes a good few listens to really begin to appreciate Conor Oberst's lyrics. But when you do begin to recognise and understand the messages coming from these songs you'll understand why many people (myself included) believe this man to be the best song writer in the world today, perhaps the best ever. There can be no stand-out songs from an album where your favourite is usually the last one you heard, but if you want to try before you buy, then listen to "Lover I Don't Have to Love", "Lets Not S**t Ourselves" and "Bowl of Oranges" to get the full picture. Buy this album. You haven't lived until you've heard it.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Audio CD
On first listen, do not be put off by the quirky intro, the unpolished recording and the echoed-voice that sounds more like a cassette than a cd. It appears that Conor Oberst uses this to add sincerity to an already convincing album, at the risk of immediately losing any form of mainstream audience. Unlike the moody, reclusive album 'Fevers and Mirrors', 'Lifted...' at times finds Conor and his collection of musicians in a slightly more upbeat state of mind (to write 'happy' would be too exagerated and too offensive a word). British fans might like to know that song 'Bowl of Oranges' is said to be a favourite of artist Ed Harcourt, and this track would certainly come under the list of songs instantly accessible along with 'You will. you' and 'Waste of paint'. However it is songs such as 'Lover i dont have to love'(displaying a dark repressed atmosphere similar to 'sunrise, sunset' from the 'Fevers and mirrors' album) where Oberst truly demonstrates his versatile emotions ranging from ambivolence, to depression to anger. Fans of Bright Eyes will know this already, and agree that for it to be categorized in the genre 'alt country' would be too dismissive of the Dylan-esque songs produced. Having done so myself, i would advise newcomers to listen to this album first as it is (though only slightly) more accessible than his previous albums that prefered to settle on one state of mind. At times it can be a challenge to listen to, which arguably isnt a bad thing in an era of insincere solo artists sticking to a similar formula.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Audio CD
Wilfully lo-fi in places (strange choice for the opener I thought) - gloriously lush in others - full of wonderful melodies and a real sense of joy in the playing from the ensemble.
Bewildering on first listen but I promise you just gets better and better with every play.
As for Mr Oberst - he can now hold a tune - bit more discipline where vocal rawness (and wilful screaming) took the edge off some of the promising stuff on earlier albums - though Fevers and Mirrors is also well worth exploring.
Prone to uncontrollable attacks of spleen on previous albums he's got it right here - a little overlong and wordy at times ( but hey check out first Springtseen album and early Dylan) and without doubt a gift for lyric and melody - halfway way down the line to genius.
Frequently inspiring - a must for serious music fans into any of indie/classic rock/pop/folk/and alt country.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Gift
Another gift, so again unable to rate it properly as I did not hear it! I have had no complaints from the recipient, so presume that it was good?
Published 16 days ago by Duke of Sheffield
4.0 out of 5 stars
I'd give it 4 and a half
An amazing talent is hidden away in the relatively unknown band Bright Eyes. Especially when you consider the talented singers age! - currently a young 28! Read more
Published on 21 April 2008 by Mr. D. Thompson
5.0 out of 5 stars
Oh my god
How can I have only just discovered this !!! Its a masterpiece. I feel like the guy who has just seen his first Picasso. This album is that good. Read more
Published on 25 Mar 2008 by DAVID BAXENDALE
5.0 out of 5 stars
Colossal, shambolic, alt-country flavoured behemoth.
Oberst has come in for a lot of flack from most critics, which is partly understandable, given that he's the poster-boy for whinging emo-fans with pretensions at depth, moaning... Read more
Published on 18 Nov 2005 by Jonathan James Romley
5.0 out of 5 stars
WOW! Buy this album now!
This is quite simply the best album I have ever heard! It is amazing the words are fantastic, touching and funny all at the same time. Read more
Published on 10 Aug 2003
4.0 out of 5 stars
worms like soil too
Lifted... more than justifies Bright Eyes' tag "The New Dylan". However, he draws inspiration from more than just ol' Bobby (I hear Simon & Garfunkel on one song) whilst still... Read more
Published on 14 Feb 2003 by "straw_hat"
4.0 out of 5 stars
Raw, ragged and verbose lo-fi indie rock
Well, here's a rum one. Lifted is a defiantly uncommercial album, almost wilfully so, and yet it's awash with great melodies and quality music. Read more
Published on 16 Jan 2003 by Anthony Lynas
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stunning Performance by Conor and Co.
Sweeping melodies combined with a ragged togetherness, raw and unpolished production, and an overdose of clever and often touching lyrics.... Read more
Published on 16 Nov 2002 by Mr. F. S. Prince
5.0 out of 5 stars
Just Fantastic
Being a newcomer to Coner(I'm not even sure this is his name?) i can honestly say that this album matches up to almost anything that defines the word 'music'. Read more
Published on 7 Nov 2002
4.0 out of 5 stars
A surprisingly mature effort
I was surprised by how good this album actually is. It's about ten times better than Fevers and Mirrors. Read more
Published on 25 Aug 2002 by M. Brown
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