The Place We Ran From

The Place We Ran From
Studio album by Tired Pony
Released	June 5, 2010 (2010-06-05)
Recorded	January 5–12, 2010, at Type Foundry, Portland, Oregon, United States; with Tom Smith, Betsey Lee, and Esme Lee recorded in the Santa Monica Mountains and Zooey Deschanel recorded at East West, Hollywood, California, United States
Genre	Indie folk, alternative country, alternative rock
Length	45:29
Label	Mom and Pop, Fiction/Polydor
Producer	Jacknife Lee
Singles from The Place We Ran From
"Dead American Writers" Released: 2010 (2010) "Get on the Road" Released: 2010 (2010) (promo)

The Place We Ran From is the debut album by the alternative rock/alt country supergroup Tired Pony, released on July 5, 2010, through Polydor/Fiction in the United Kingdom and on July 28, 2010, in the United States by Mom and Pop. The album grew from what was initially a solo project for Snow Patrol songwriter Gary Lightbody which rapidly became a collaboration with members of Belle and Sebastian, R.E.M., and producer Jacknife Lee joining as well as contributions from actress and singer Zooey Deschanel, guitarist M. Ward, and Tom Smith of the indie rock group Editors.^[1] The tracks were recorded over the course of one week in January 2010, in Portland, Oregon.^[2] The album was recorded over the course of one week in January 2010 and charted in over a half dozen countries.

Recording

Lightbody had a "long-term ambition" of making a country album^[3] and revealed the project's existence in May 2009. In the interview, he expressed his love for country music, which he said he had loved for a long time: "I always thought I had a country album in me and it turns out I did."^[4] The rest of Snow Patrol expressed excitement for their band-mate, "delighted that [Lightbody was] getting to exercise all his crazy ideas."^[5] In October 2009, Lightbody in his blog on Snow Patrol's website revealed the members of the group to be Richard Colburn (of Belle & Sebastian), Iain Archer, singer Miriam Kaufmann (Archer's wife), and Jacknife Lee. He talked about two more members whom he was very excited about, but didn't name them.^[6][7] He also stated that the album won't be country as was being reported,^{[4][8][9][10]} but would be "country-tinged".^[6] In January 2010, Hot Press reported Peter Buck (of R.E.M.) to be a member of the group. Lightbody described Buck as one of his "all-time heroes" and admired his talent for playing a variety of instruments.^[7]

Promotion

The lead single from The Place We Ran From was "Dead American Writers",^[11] released one week prior on Compact Disc and 7". A music video was directed by Paul Fraser featuring Joseph Gilgun lip syncing the lyrics.^[12] "Dead American Writers" includes "I Finally Love This Town" as a B-Side; the song was later made available through the band's site as a free download. "Get on the Road" was released as a promotional single with an instrumental version of the track as its B-side.

The band also toured through summer and autumn of 2010.

Reception

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	68/100
Review scores
Source	Rating

Rolling Stone gave the album a rating of four stars.^[13]

Sales chart performance

Chart (2010)	Peak Position
Belgium Album Chart	24[14]
Billboard 200	191[15]
Dutch Album Chart	14[14]
Irish Album Chart	27[14]
Top Heatseekers	8[15]
Top Independent Albums	33[15]
UK Albums Chart	17[14]

Track listing

All songs written by Tired Pony

1. "Northwestern Skies" – 3:49
2. "Get on the Road" – 4:45
3. "Point Me to Lost Islands" – 3:11
4. "Dead American Writers" – 2:34
5. "Held in the Arms of Your Words" – 6:40
6. "That Silver Necklace" – 3:49
7. "I Am a Landslide" – 5:43
8. "The Deepest Ocean There Is" – 4:58
9. "The Good Book" – 3:04
10. "Pieces" – 6:56

American iTunes Store pre-order bonus track

11. "In the Stockade"

Japanese edition bonus track

11. "I Finally Love This Town" – 4:58

Compact Disc + MP3 download bonus tracks

11. "In the Stockade"
12. "Your Bible"

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Format	Catalog
United Kingdom	June 5, 2010	Polydor/Fiction	Digital download[16]	—
	July 11, 2010		Compact Disc	6 02527 42262 6
			LP	6 02527 46636 1
United States	September 28, 2010	Mom and Pop	Compact Disc + MP3	8 58275 00182 2

Personnel

Tired Pony

• Iain Archer – banjo, dobro, acoustic and electric guitar, harpsichord, percussion, vibraphone, vocals, vocal harmony, backing vocals, lyrics, composition
• Peter Buck – banjo; feedback; glockenspiel; 12-string, acoustic, baritone, electric, and Nashville guitars; mandolin, noise, percussion, composition
• Richard Colburn – drums, electric guitar, percussion, typewriter, composition
• Jacknife Lee – 12-string acoustic and electric guitars, harpsichord, melodica, organ, pump organ, percussion, piano, vibraphone, composition, engineering, mixing, production
• Gary Lightbody – acoustic and electric guitars, pump organ, percussion, vibraphone, vocals, composition
• Scott McCaughey – banjo, bass guitar, bass harmonica, fuzz bass, baritone and electric guitars, percussion, piano, vibraphone, vocal harmony, backing vocals, Wurlitzer, composition
• Troy Stewart – bass guitar, dobro, acoustic and electric guitars, percussion, piano, harmony vocal, composition

Additional musicians

• Paul Brainard – pedal steel
• Fred Chalenor – upright bass
• Zooey Deschanel – vocals on "Get on the Road" and "Point Me to Lost Islands"
• Betsy Lee – vocals
• Esme Lee – vocals
• Chris McCormack – electric guitar
• Ellen Osborn – vocals
• Anna Shelton – bowed saw
• Tom Smith – vocals on "The Good Book"
• Annalisa Tornfelt – fiddle, violin
• Alex Valdivieso – backing vocals
• M. Ward – electric guitar and harmony vocal

Technical personnel

• Sam Bell – engineering, mixing
• Vivian Johnson – photography
• Dan Kaufmann – design
• Jason Powers – assistant
• Adam Selzer – assistant
• Nigel Walton – mastering at the Edit Suite, London, England, United Kingdom

References

1. ^ "Snow Patrol and REM join forces". BBC News. BBC. 2010-05-14. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment_and_arts/10111430.stm. 
2. ^ "Gary Lightbody : Diary : tired pony". Snow Patrol. 2010-03-10. http://www.snowpatrol.com/blog/default.aspx?did=1260. Retrieved 2011-08-13. 
3. ^ "Gary Lightbody to go solo". Xfm. 2009-05-05. http://www.webcitation.org/5ksDFEUjC. Retrieved 2009-10-28. 
4. ^ ^{a b} "Snow Patrol's Gary Lightbody going solo". NME. 5 May 2009. http://www.webcitation.org/5kWFEmdvt. Retrieved 14 October 2009. 
5. ^ "Iain Archer confirms Belfast gig + Gary Lightbody collaboration plans". Hot Press. 29 October 2009. http://www.webcitation.org/5ktjW4uSa. Retrieved 29 October 2009. 
6. ^ ^{a b} Lightbody, Gary (13 October 2009). "Book 'em danno". snowpatrol.com. http://www.webcitation.org/5kWG5Sjf5. Retrieved 14 October 2009. 
7. ^ ^{a b} "Gary Lightbody works with Peter Buck". Hot Press. 5 January 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5mYyz2JyX. Retrieved 5 January 2010. 
8. ^ Murray, Robin (5 May 2009). "Gary Lightbody goes solo". Clash. http://www.webcitation.org/5lldjiFXM. Retrieved 5 January 2010. 
9. ^ Rogers, Georgie (5 May 2009). "Gary Lightbody solo". BBC. http://www.webcitation.org/5mZ1vVvMv. Retrieved 5 January 2010. 
10. ^ MacNeill, Jason (13 October 2009). "Snow Patrol singer prepping two side projects". CHARTattack. http://www.webcitation.org/5kWEcaDGp. Retrieved 14 October 2009. 
11. ^ "Snow Patrol's Gary Lightbody announces REM collaboration album | News". NME. 2010-05-14. http://www.nme.com/news/snow-patrol/51074. Retrieved 2011-08-13. 
12. ^ "Tired Pony, 'Dead American Writers' – Video Premiere – Spinner UK". Spinner.com. 2010-06-23. http://www.spinnermusic.co.uk/2010/06/23/tired-pony-dead-american-writers-video-premiere/. Retrieved 2010-07-19. 
13. ^ "Album Revies The Place We Ran From". Rolling Stone. 2010-06-05. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/the-place-we-ran-from-20100928. Retrieved 2010-10-11. 
14. ^ ^{a b c d} "Tired Pony – The Place We Ran From – Music Charts". Acharts.us. http://acharts.us/album/56212. Retrieved 2011-08-13. 
15. ^ ^{a b c} "The Place We Ran From – Tired Pony". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-place-we-ran-from-r1955355/charts-awards. Retrieved 2011-10-11. 
16. ^ "The Place We Ran From by Tired Pony". iTunes Store. 2010-07-05. http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/the-place-we-ran-from/id378867406. Retrieved 2011-08-13. 

External links

• The Place We Ran From at Allmusic
• The Place We Ran From at Discogs (list of releases)
• The Place We Ran From at Metacritic
• The Place We Ran From at MusicBrainz
• Lyrics from LyricWiki