Cassadaga (album)

Infobox Album
Name = "Cassadaga"
Type = studio
Artist = Bright Eyes


Released = April 10, 2007
Recorded = 2006 New York City, Portland, OR, and Lincoln, NEcite web
url = http://saddle-creek.com/bands/brighteyes/brighteyes.html
year = 2006
title = "Bright Eyes Bio"
publisher = Saddle Creek Records LBJ-103
accessdate = 2007-01-21]
Genre = Indie rock folk rock
Alt. Country
Length = 62:05
Label = Saddle Creek, Polydor (UK, GER, ITA)
Producer = Mike Mogis
Reviews =
*AbsolutePunk.net (91%) [http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=228060 link]
*Allmusic Rating|4|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:gpfyxze5ldfe link]
*IGN (9.1/10) [http://music.ign.com/articles/779/779893p1.html link]
*"Los Angeles Times" Rating|4|5 [http://www.calendarlive.com/music/reviews/la-ca-brighteyes8apr08,0,4793557.story?coll=cl-albumreviews link]
*Pitchfork Media (6.0/10) [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/42216-cassadaga 04/09/2007]
*PopMatters (9/10) [http://www.popmatters.com/pm/music/reviews/32926/bright-eyes-cassadaga/ 04/11/2007]
*"Q" Rating|4|5 May 2007
*Robert Christgau (A-) [http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=bright+eyes link]
*Rockfeedback (4/5) [http://rockfeedback.com/article.asp?nObjectID=4483]
*"Rolling Stone" Rating|4|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/13990886/review/14010793/cassadaga link]
*Stylus (C+) [http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/bright-eyes/cassadaga.htm link]
Last album = "Motion Sickness" (2005)
This album = "Cassadaga" (2007)
Next album =

"Cassadaga" is the seventh studio album by Bright Eyes, released on April 10, 2007. Around 25 to 30 songs were recorded in 2006,cite web
author = Katie Hasty
date = 2006-04-09
url = http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/search/google/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002314395
title = "Bright Eyes Gets Busy On New Album"
publisher = Billboard.com
accessdate = 2007-01-21] with 13 of these appearing on the final track list. The album is named after the town of Cassadaga, Florida, a community of mediums and followers of spiritualism.cite web
url = http://store.saddle-creek.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=SCOS&Product_Code=LBJ-103-1&Category_Code=Bright_Eyes
title = Cassadaga
publisher = Saddle Creek Records
accessdate = 2007-04-02]

Z Berg of the Like, Sherri DuPree and Stacy DuPree of Eisley as well as solo artist Rachael Yamagata all appear on this album. The first single, "Four Winds" was released on March 6, 2007, from the "Four Winds EP" with five B-sides not on "Cassadaga".

"Cassadaga" debuted at number four on the U.S Billboard 200, selling about 58,000 copies in its first week. [Katie Hasty, [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003572991 "'NOW' Remains No. 1 As Bright Eyes Debuts High"] , Billboard.com, April 18, 2007.] The album is the 103rd release of Saddle Creek Records. This album was #12 on "Rolling Stone"'s list of the Top 50 Albums of 2007. [Robert Christgau, David Fricke, Christian Hoard, Rob Sheffield (December 17, 2007). [http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/17601851/the_top_50_albums_of_2007/6 "The Top 50 Albums of 2007"] "Rolling Stone". Retrieved 2007-12-20]

Johnny Depp named "Cassadaga" one of his "favorite things" of 2007. [ [http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20168334_13,00.html Photo 14 | Celebrity Must Lists: Stars Pick Their '07 Faves | Photos | EW.com ] ]

Cover

The CD and LP versions of the album come with a "Spectral Decoder" which allows users to see the true cover art on the album. One particular segment of text located on the back of the case includes a phrase in Russian; "тяните другую кровавую ванну" meaning "draw another bloody bath", a reference to the first track's lyrics. Another hidden phrase is in Greek; "παρελθόν παρουδιάζω Μέλλον" meaning "the past presents the future", which is also the title of an album by Her Space Holiday, with whom Bright Eyes released a split single.

Hidden phrases in English:
* "Dog faced apologists pleasing themselves on the burning sand"
* "These myths are sacred and profane!"
* "Rocks beneath the water" (Which is what "Cassadaga" means in the Seneca language.)
* "Citrus slaves throwing dice in the dirt, amusement"
* "We love you, Breezy, and we miss you!!!" (One can only assume that this is a dedication to Sabrina Duim - see below.)
* "Swollen saints bathing in a backwards river under a sliver of a moon"
* "Mighty Saturn enters your eighth house"

Hidden phrases in French:
* "Est-ce que minuit ou midi?" ("Is it midnight or noon?")

Hidden phrases in Portuguese:
* "Virgens doentes de sol ficando frescas no túmulo do faraó" ("Virgins sick from the sun staying fresh in the grave of Pharaoh")
* "Plantas de pirâmedes cheio de cores tatuado na barriga de uma puta" ("Pyramide blueprints, full of colours, tattooed in the belly of a whore")

"For Sabrina" is written on the inside of the CD case in memory of Sabrina Duim, a harpist and Stanford University undergraduate who toured with Bright Eyes and died in January 2007.On the back of the UK standard edition, "If the Brakeman Turns My Way" is misprinted as "If the Breakman Turns My Way". This UK standard edition was modified by designers at Polydor/Universal from the U.S. release (digipak, equivalent to the UK deluxe version).

On February 10, 2008, "Cassadaga" won a Grammy award for Best Recording Package. [ [http://www.grammy.com/GRAMMY_Awards/50th_show/list.aspx GRAMMY.com ] ]

Track listing

All songs written by Conor Oberst, except where noted.

# "Clairaudients (Kill or Be Killed)" – 6:08
# "Four Winds" – 4:16
# "If the Brakeman Turns My Way" (Conor Oberst and Jason Boesel) – 4:53
# "Hot Knives" – 4:13
# "Make a Plan to Love Me" – 4:14
# "Soul Singer in a Session Band" – 4:14
# "Classic Cars" – 4:19
# "Middleman" – 4:49
# "Cleanse Song" – 3:28
# "No One Would Riot for Less" – 5:12
# "Coat Check Dream Song" (Conor Oberst and Nate Walcott) – 4:10
# "I Must Belong Somewhere" – 6:19
# "Lime Tree" – 5:53

B-sides

"Susan Miller Rag" is a B-side to the album. The song was released on CD and vinyl formats, and was only available to customers who pre-ordered "Cassadaga".

Personnel

*Conor Oberst – voice (1–13), guitar (tracks 1, 2, 4–13), piano (track 3), synthesizer (track 13)
*Mike Mogis – guitar (tracks 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11), bass (tracks 1, 3–6, 9), pedal steel (tracks 1, 3, 10, 11), voice (tracks 3, 9, 11), lap steel (tracks 6, 8, 9), mandolin (tracks 2, 12), dobro (tracks 4, 12), percussion (tracks 8, 9), vibraphone (tracks 1, 11), 12-string (track 2), baritone (track 8), ukulele (track 9), glockenspiel (track 1)
*Nate Walcott – organ (1–3, 6, 7, 10, 12), piano (tracks 4, 6, 7), string arrangement (tracks 4, 10, 13), electric piano (tracks 2, 11), orchestral arrangement (tracks 1, 5), woodwind arrangement (tracks 8, 9)
*M. Ward – guitar (tracks 1, 4, 6), voice (track 6)
*Janet Weiss – drums (tracks 1, 4, 6)
*Clark Baechle – percussion (track 1)
*Stacy DuPree – voice (tracks 4, 5, 10, 11, 13)
*Sherri DuPree – voice (tracks 4, 5, 10, 11, 13)
*Z Berg – voice (tracks 1, 4, 5, 10, 11, 13)
*Rachael Yamagata – voice (tracks 1, 4, 5, 10, 11, 13)
* Hassan Lemtouni – voice (tracks 1, 11)
* Suzie Katayama – conductor (tracks 1, 5)
* Bill Meyers – conductor (tracks 4, 10, 13)
*Dan McCarthy – bass (track 2)
*Jason Boesel – drums (tracks 2, 3, 7, 10–12), voice (tracks 3, 8)
*Anton Patzner – violin (tracks 2, 6)
*Maria Taylor – voice (track 2), drums (track 5)
*Andy LeMaster – voice (track 2)
*David Rawlings – guitar (tracks 5, 7, 12)
*Tim Luntzel – bass (tracks 7, 10)
*Gillian Welch – voice (track 7)
*Ted Stevens – voice (track 8)
*Sean Foley – voice (track 8)
*John McEntire – percussion (tracks 8, 9, 11), electronics (track 11)
* Michael Zerang – percussion (tracks 8, 9)
* Jonathan Crawford – percussion (tracks 8, 9, 11)
* Dan Bitney – percussion (tracks 8, 9)
* Dan Fliegel – percussion (tracks 8, 9)
* David Moyer – bass clarinet (track 8)
* Brian Walsh – clarinet (track 9), bass clarinet (track 8)
*Shane Aspegren – drums (track 11), percussion (track 9)
* Sarah Wass – flute (track 9)
* Myka Miller – oboe (track 9)
*Stefanie Drootin – bass (tracks 11, 12)
*Jake Bellows – voice (track 12)

References

External links

* [http://www.saddle-creek.com/cassadaga "Cassadaga"] at Saddle Creek Records