Mr Beast

Mr Beast
Studio album by Mogwai
Released	6 March 2006
Recorded	Castle of Doom Studios, Glasgow, Scotland, April–October 2005
Genre	Post-rock, instrumental rock
Length	43:07
Label	Play It Again Sam, Matador
Producer	Tony Doogan, Mogwai
Mogwai chronology
Happy Songs for Happy People (2003) Mr Beast (2006) The Hawk is Howling (2008)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Kerrang!	[2]
Mojo	[3]
NME	(9/10) [4]
Pitchfork Media	(6.8/10) [5]
Q	[6]
Rock Sound	(8/10) [7]
Rolling Stone	[8]

Mr Beast is the fifth full-length studio album by the Scottish post-rock group Mogwai.

Overview

The album Mr Beast was released on March 6, 2006 in the UK and March 7, 2006 in the United States, in double LP vinyl format, a regular CD jewel case edition and limited deluxe edition package that comes with both the album on CD and a DVD documenting the recording process entitled The Recording of Mr Beast. The album has been described by Creation Records head Alan McGee as

“

...probably the best art rock album I've been involved with since Loveless. In fact, it's possibly better than Loveless.[9]

”

referring to the influential 1991 album by My Bloody Valentine. Drummer Martin Bulloch describes it as

“

...the best record we've made since Mogwai Young Team.[10]

”

The album's title stemmed from an incident where Barry Burns and Dominic Aitchison landed in Florida to start a tour with The Cure in 2005, when they saw a taxi driver standing outside the airport holding a sign that said "Mr. and Mrs. Beast" which, after a 10-hour flight, was "funnier than life itself".^[11]

Artwork

The cover artwork for Mr Beast is a painting by Amanda Church entitled "Milkbar" [1], and the accompanying booklet contains other works from her, all of a similar style. In addition, the Mogwai Young Team logo is displayed on the spine of the deluxe edition release, with a silhouette of Jesus on the cross visible within the logo.

Track listing

All songs were written by Stuart Braithwaite, Dominic Aitchison, Martin Bulloch, John Cummings, and Barry Burns. Lyrics on "I Chose Horses" written by Envy vocalist Tetsuya Fukagawa.

1. "Auto Rock" – 4:18
2. "Glasgow Mega-Snake" – 3:35
3. "Acid Food" – 3:40
4. "Travel Is Dangerous" – 4:01
5. "Team Handed" – 3:58
6. "Friend of the Night" – 5:30
7. "Emergency Trap" – 3:31
8. "Folk Death 95" – 3:34
9. "I Chose Horses" – 5:13
10. "We're No Here" – 5:39

Personnel

• Stuart Braithwaite – guitar, vocals on "Acid Food"
• Dominic Aitchison – bass guitar
• Martin Bulloch – drums
• John Cummings – guitar
• Barry Burns – piano, guitar, flute, vocals on "Travel Is Dangerous"
• Craig Armstrong – keyboard on "I Chose Horses"
• Tetsuya Fukagawa – vocals on "I Chose Horses"
• Tony Doogan – producer

Notes

1. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/album/r821185
2. ^ http://brightlight.youngteam.co.uk/img/review_mrbeast_kerrang_big.jpg
3. ^ http://brightlight.youngteam.co.uk/img/review_mrbeast_mojo_big.jpg
4. ^ http://brightlight.youngteam.co.uk/img/review_mrbeast_nme_big.jpg
5. ^ http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/19976/Mogwai_Mr_Beast
6. ^ http://brightlight.youngteam.co.uk/img/review_mrbeast_q_big.jpg
7. ^ http://brightlight.youngteam.co.uk/img/review_mrbeast_rocksound_big.jpg
8. ^ http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/mogwai/albums/album/9423116/review/9514654/mr_beast
9. ^ "Questions of Doom: Alan McGee". Archived from the original on 2006-09-29. http://web.archive.org/web/20060929005909/http://www.poptones.co.uk/index.php?/questions_of_doom/more/alan_mcgee3/. Retrieved 2006-12-30. 
10. ^ The Recording of Mr. Beast Documentary
11. ^ Q Interview