Four Winds

Infobox Album | Name = Four Winds
Type = EP
Artist = Bright Eyes


Released = March 6, 2007 (US) April 2, 2007 (UK)
Recorded = 2006
Genre = Indie rock Folk rock Country rock
Length = 27:38
Label = Saddle Creek (US)
Producer = Mike Mogis
Reviews =
* Allmusic Rating|3|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:7v881t7jzzba link]
*Pitchfork (5.9/10) [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/41521-four-winds-ep 03/05/2007]
Last album = "" (2006)
This album = "Four Winds" (2007)
Next album = "Cassadaga" (2007)

Four Winds is an EP by the indie rock band Bright Eyes, that was released on March 6, 2007. The title track is the first single from their album "Cassadaga". The other 5 tracks are exclusive b-sides from the 2006 recording sessions. It is marketed as being "quietly enchanting" and including "a wandering country charm and all of the story-telling seductiveness of earlier work."cite web
url = http://saddle-creek.com/bands/brighteyes/brighteyes.html
year = 2006
title = "Bright Eyes Bio"
publisher = Saddle Creek Records
accessdate = 2007-01-21] The song "Four Winds" was ranked #5 on "Rolling Stone"'s list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007. [No byline (December 11, 2007). [http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/17601851/the_top_50_albums_of_2007/2 "The 100 Best Songs of 2007"] "Rolling Stone". Retrieved 2007-12-21]

The title song makes several references to "The Second Coming" by William Butler Yeats, most famously in the refrain, which references "slouching towards Bethlehem."

On January 22, 2007, it was leaked onto the internet. The track "Smoke Without Fire" features guest vocals from singer-songwriter M. Ward.

Musicians

*Conor Oberst - Guitar, Vocals
*Mike Mogis - guitar, Mandolin, Banjo, Bass, Half Guitar, Lap Steel, Castanets, Dobro, Lap Steel
*Nate Walcott - Organ, Wurlitzer, Piano, Flugelhorn
*Dan McCarthy - Bass
*Jason Boesel - Drums
*Anton Patzner - Violin
*Maria Taylor - Vocals, Drums
*Andy Leaser - Vocals
*M. Ward - Guitar, Harmonica, Baritone, Vocals
*Janet Weiss - Drums, Vocals
*Stacy DuPree - Vocals
*Sherri DuPree - Vocals
*Z Berg - Vocals
*Rachel Yamagata - Vocals
*Mike Coykendall - Autoharp
*Ben Kweller - Piano, Vocals
*David Rawlings - Guitar
*Tim Luntzel - Bass
*Rob Hawkins - Vocals
*Clint Wheeler - Cowboy Boots

Music video

The music video for "Four Winds" shows the band playing at a state fair for a rowdy crowd. It includes Oberst on vocals and lead guitar, Mike Mogis on second guitar, Nate Walcott on organ, Anton Patzner on fiddle, Daniel J. McCarthy on bass, and Maria Taylor on drums. As the song progresses, the band is increasingly booed off the stage, and objects are thrown at the stage.

Directed by Patrick Daughters, the video was filmed in a large tent in Los Angeles' Elysian Park in early February. Several days before filming, a notice was sent to Bright Eyes fans in the area inviting them to participate in the video as extras. Several extras were chosen to shout obscenities at the band, many of which are heard directly in the video. The audience was given a variety of objects to throw at the band, such as popcorn, hot dogs, glowsticks, fuzzy dice, cups, and licorice. Many of the objects hit the band members during filming, but no one was harmed during the course of the afternoon.

Upon the filming's conclusion, Oberst noted that one particular heckler had frightened him "all evening." To make amends, Oberst invited the heckler onstage for a hug.

Cover

The cover of the Four Winds EP seems to be full of religious and mythical references. The words IEOVA, EHEIIE, ELIION, and ELOA are Hebrew names "of supreme importance in the list of the Sephiroth and their sovereign equivalents." They are used in conjuring spells in "The Key of Solomon", the "most famous and important of all Grimoires, or handbooks of Magic." The Key of Solomon seems to focus a lot on planetary invocation and alignment.

From Book 1, Chapter 1 of The Key of Solomon:Solomon, the son of David, King of Israel, hath said that the beginning of our Key is to fear God, to adore him, to honour him with contrition of heart, to invoke him in all matters which we wish to undertake, and to operate with very great devotion, for thus God will lead us in the right way. When, therefore, thou shalt wish to acquire the knowledge of magical arts and sciences, it is necessary to have prepared the order of hours and of days, and of the position of the Moon, without the operation of which thou canst effect nothing; but if thou observest them with diligence thou mayest easily and thoroughly arrive at the effect and end which thou desirest to attain.

The square in the background with seemingly random letters, is one of a series of squares that represent "the shining ones", 7 Gods of Olympus that each rule their own day of the week and planet. This particular square is called "The Square of Blumaza" and it represents "Monday" and "The Moon". Each God has power over certain desires (such as wealth, love, etc.) and you can receive assistance from Olympus by preparing a ritual to the God associated with your desire on their day of the week. In this case, the Olympic for Monday and the Moon is Artemis and the desires that he rules are "war, and offensive maneuvers of any kind" as well as anything related to air.

The words on the inside front and rear cover are Hebrew names used as inscriptions on "The Brazen Vessel" which is "a brass vessel with an inscription around it to raise it from a mundane object into a Magikal tool."

Track listing

#"Four Winds" - 4:16
#"Reinvent the Wheel" - 3:33
#"Smoke Without Fire" (feat. M. Ward) - 4:59
#"Stray Dog Freedom" (feat. Ben Kweller) - 5:14
#"Cartoon Blues" - 3:54
#"Tourist Trap" - 5:44

References

External links

* [http://store.saddle-creek.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=SCOS&Product_Code=LBJ-101-2&Category_Code=Bright_Eyes Saddle Creek US Online Store: Bright Eyes - Four Winds CD Single]