…Is a Real Boy

Infobox Album
Name = ...Is a Real Boy
Type = studio
Artist = Say Anything


Released = August 3, 2004 February 28, 2006 (reissue) October 23, 2007 (vinyl)
Recorded = 2004–2005
Genre = Indie Rock Emo
Length = 57:55 82:31 (reissue)
Label = Doghouse Records J Records (reissue) (8286-71805-2)
Producer = Max Bemis, Tim O'Heir, Stephen Trask
Reviews =
* AbsolutePunk.net "99%" [http://absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=97070 link]
* Allmusic rating|4.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:369ks31ea3rg link]
* "Blender" rating|3.5|5 [http://www.blender.com/guide/reviews.aspx?id=3752 link]
* Entertainment Weekly "B+" [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1167288,00.html link]
* Punktastic.com rating|4.5|5 [http://www.punktastic.com/reviews/1013 link]
* "Rolling Stone" rating|3|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/sayanything/albums/album/9227524/review/9253132/say_anything link]
* "Sputnikmusic" rating|5|5 [http://www.sputnikmusic.com/album.php?albumid=2808 link]
Last album = "For Sale..." (2004)
This album = "...Is a Real Boy" (2004)
Next album = "In Defense of the Genre" (2007)
Misc = Singles
Name = ...Is a Real Boy
Type = studio
single 1 = Alive with the Glory of Love
single 1 date = September 11, 2006
single 2 = Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too
single 2 date = January 30, 2007

"...Is a Real Boy" is the second full-length release by American indie rock band Say Anything.

General

"...Is a Real Boy" was released on August 3, 2004 through Doghouse Records. [ [http://www.doghouserecords.com/v11/link_artist.php?viewArtist=3 Say Anything Artist Bio] ] According to the album's liner notes, "...Is a Real Boy" was originally intended to be a rock opera, with spoken narratives and interludes between all the songs. One tentative title for the album was "Zona! Zona!" [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20030409075257/http://sayanythingmusic.com/index.html Say Anything's web site from April 2003, courtesy of the Internet Archive] ]

"Alive with the Glory of Love" and "Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too" were the album's singles, released on September 11, 2006 [ [http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000G1R560 Alive with the Glory of Love: Music: Say Anything] ] and January 30, 2007 [ [http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=206416 Max Makes Me Touch Myself] ] respectively. Several songs from "...Is a Real Boy" and their corresponding demos—including "Belt," "Every Man Has a Molly," "Spidersong," and "Alive with the Glory of Love"—have been released on compilations.

A promotional 7" vinyl to be released via ECA Records (originally on July 15, 2003) and a split EP were planned. [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20030409075257/http://sayanythingmusic.com/index.html Say Anything's web site from April 2003, courtesy of the Internet Archive] ] However, the promotional vinyl and split were never released, although both tracks from the vinyl, an acoustic version of "Belt" (complete with alternate lyrics and a tirade about indie labels by Bemis at the end of the song) along with "You Help Them" (from "MenorahMajora") can be downloaded from [http://helios.cp-apollo.com/~sayanyth/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=1925 Say Anything's online forum] . [ [http://helios.cp-apollo.com/~sayanyth/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=270 conversation with artist of album artwork] ]

At the time of the release of the album during the original and the re-release both the media and fans had mistaken "...Is A Real Boy" as the band's debut album. The reason for this was the commercially unknown "Baseball" album which was the band's debut album had a limited number of prints that sold out within a few years and had been released under the band's old typeset "Sayanything" and none of the songs of "Baseball" were being played live.

Reissues

The band signed to J Records following the initial release of the album, resulting in a reissue on February 28, 2006. The bonus disc included with the reissue, "...Was a Real Boy", features seven tracks that were originally from an eight-track EP known unofficially as the "Say Anything vs. AIDS Demos". As noted in the reissue's liner notes, the EP, which was recorded in Kevin Seaton's garage, was scrapped by Bemis as he did not feel the band was popular enough to sufficiently support such a cause.

A second reissue came in the form of a "double gatefold 12-inch LP" released by Doghouse Records on October 23, 2007, which included all tracks from the original reissue plus an extra track, "Walk Through Hell," originally from the "MenorahMajora" EP. This release included a green record and a black record. Only 1000 copies of the album were printed. [cite web|url=http://www.doghouserecords.com/v11/link_releasesDetail.php?detailID=123&bandID=Say%20Anything|title=Vinyl Release Information|work=Doghouse Records|accessdate=2008-08-28] [cite web|last=Beres|first=Corey|url=http://icorey.com/sadocs.html|title="...Is a Real Boy" vinyl|work=Say Anything docs @ icorey.com|date=2008-08-28|accessdate=2008-08-28]

Critical reception

"...Is a Real Boy" received overall good reviews from music critics. Absolutepunk.net's Jason Tate stated that "If you sit there and read those last lines and go, 'holy shit, that was amazing' this album will become your favorite record of all time." [Tate, Jason. [http://absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=97070 "Say Anything - ...Is a Real Boy] . "Absolutepunk.net". November 20, 2005. Retrieved December 29, 2007.] Allmusic also gave much acclaim to the album, saying "...Is a Real Boy comes off as an impressively well-done, multifaceted effort that deserves multiple spins and makes Say Anything truly a band to watch." [Apar, Corey. [http://wm04.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:369ks31ea3rg "...Is a Real Boy > Review"] . "Allmusic". Retrieved December 29, 2007.]

Track listing

All lyrics written by Max Bemis with the exception of "Metal Now," which was written by Bemis and Kevin Sachs (Casper Adams), according to the album's liner notes.

Original Release: "...Is a Real Boy"

# "Belt" – 4:59
# "Woe" – 3:55
# "The Writhing South" – 4:46
# "Alive with the Glory of Love" – 4:15
# "Yellow Cat (Slash) Red Cat" – 5:18
# "The Futile" – 2:45
# "Spidersong" – 3:57
# "An Orgy of Critics" – 3:55
# "Every Man Has a Molly" – 3:05
# "Slowly, Through a Vector" – 4:40
# "Chia-Like, I Shall Grow" – 4:56
# "I Want to Know Your Plans" – 5:12
# "Admit It!!!" – 6:12

Reissue bonus disc: "...Was a Real Boy"

# "Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too" – 3:00
# "Little Girls" – 3:53
# "Most Beautiful Plague" – 4:53
# "It's a Metaphor, Fool" – 2:51
# "Total Revenge" – 3:27
# "Metal Now" – 2:44
# "I Will Never Write an Obligatory Song About Being on the Road and Missing Someone" – 3:49

Vinyl bonus track

# "Walk Through Hell" – 3:30

Chart performance

Album

ingles

Credits

According to the liner notes:
* Max Bemis – vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards
* Coby Linder – percussion, drumsAdditional credits, also from the liner notes:
* Stephen Trask: additional keyboard and piano on "...Is a Real Boy"
* Casey Prestwood – additional guitar and slide guitar on "...Is a Real Boy"
* Casper Adams - vocals and guitar on "Metal Now"
* Ariel Rechtshaid: keyboard and programming on "Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too"
* Additional Vocals on "...Is a Real Boy": Caitlin Broderick, Patrick Carrie, Kyle Fischer, Robb, MacLean, Robert Mann, Adrienne Pearson, Vanessa Peters, Blair Shehan, and Sierra Swan
* Gang vocals on "...Is a Real Boy": Casper Adams, Dan DeLauro, Aaron Farley, Carrick Moore Garety, Morgan Silver Greenberg, Paul Jeffrey, Tim O'Heir, Nick Panama, Austin Peters, Matt Rubin, Kevin Seaton, Bryan Sheffield, Claire Weiss, and Jeremy Weiss

References