Cassadaga (album)

"Cassadaga"
Studio album by Bright Eyes
Released April 10, 2007
Recorded 2006
New York City, Portland, OR, and Lincoln, NE[1]
Genre Indie rock, indie folk, alt. country
Length 62:05
Label Saddle Creek
Producer Mike Mogis
Bright Eyes chronology
Four Winds (EP)
(2007)		 Cassadaga
(2007)		 The People's Key
(2011)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic link
IGN(9.1/10) link
NME
Spin
PopMatters
Los Angeles Times
Pitchfork Media(6.0/10)
Q May 2007
Robert ChristgauA− link
Rolling Stone
Slant

Cassadaga is the seventh studio album by Bright Eyes, released on April 10, 2007. Around 25 to 30 songs were recorded in 2006,[2] 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.[3]

Z Berg of the Like, Sherri DuPree and Stacy King 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.[1]

Cassadaga debuted at number four on the U.S Billboard 200, selling about 58,000 copies in its first week.[4] 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.[5] In the United Kingdom Cassadaga reached number 13 on the UK Albums Chart in April 2007.

Johnny Depp named Cassadaga one of his "favorite things" of 2007.[6]

The first single from the album, "Four Winds" can be heard in the background briefly during the party scene in the 2008 film Cloverfield.

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 (incorrect) Greek; "παρελθόν παρουσιάζω 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:

Hidden phrases in French:

Hidden phrases in Portuguese:

"For Sabrina" is written on the inside of the CD case, and a separate insert on the LP, in memory of Sabrina Duim, a harpist and Stanford University undergraduate who toured with Bright Eyes and died in January 2007.[7]

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.[8]

Track listing

All songs written by Conor Oberst, except where noted.

  1. "Clairaudients (Kill or Be Killed)" – 6:05
  2. "Four Winds" – 4:16
  3. "If the Brakeman Turns My Way" (Conor Oberst and Jason Boesel) – 4:53
  4. "Hot Knives" – 4:13
  5. "Make a Plan to Love Me" – 4:14
  6. "Soul Singer in a Session Band" – 4:14
  7. "Classic Cars" – 4:19
  8. "Middleman" – 4:49
  9. "Cleanse Song" – 3:28
  10. "No One Would Riot for Less" – 5:12
  11. "Coat Check Dream Song" (Conor Oberst and Nate Walcott) – 4:10
  12. "I Must Belong Somewhere" – 6:19
  13. "Lime Tree" – 5:53

B-sides

B-side Availability
"Tourist Trap" Four Winds
"Reinvent the Wheel" Four Winds
"Cartoon Blues" Four Winds
"Smoke Without Fire" Four Winds
"Stray Dog Freedom" Four Winds
"Endless Entertainment" Download here
"Susan Miller Rag" 3" (8 cm) with Cassadaga pre-order

"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

References

  1. 1 2 "Bright Eyes Bio". Saddle Creek Records LBJ-103. 2006. Retrieved 2007-01-21.
  2. ↑ Katie Hasty (2006-04-09). "Bright Eyes Gets Busy On New Album". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2007-01-21.
  3. ↑ "Cassadaga". Saddle Creek Records. Retrieved 2007-04-02.
  4. ↑ Katie Hasty, "'NOW' Remains No. 1 As Bright Eyes Debuts High", Billboard.com, April 18, 2007.
  5. ↑ Robert Christgau, David Fricke, Christian Hoard, Rob Sheffield (December 17, 2007). "The Top 50 Albums of 2007" Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2007-12-20
  6. ↑ "Photo 14 – Celebrity Must Lists: Stars Pick Their '07 Faves – Photos – EW.com". Entertainment Weekly.
  7. ↑ Fong, Kelley (2007-01-18). "A tragic loss of life". The Stanford Daily. Archived from the original on September 16, 2008. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
  8. ↑ GRAMMY.com Archived April 4, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
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