| 1212 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1997 | |||
| Label | Matador [1] | |||
| Producer | Barbara Manning, Joey Burns, John Convertino, Craig Schumacher, Jim O'Rourke | |||
| Barbara Manning chronology | ||||
| ||||
1212 is an album by the American musician Barbara Manning, released in 1997. [2] [3] The title of the album refers to Manning's birthday. [4]
Manning supported the album by opening for Yo La Tengo on a North American tour. [5]
Manning's backing band was anchored by the rhythm section of Joey Burns and John Convertino, of Calexico. [6] [7] The album begins with a four-part song suite about a young arsonist, his parents, and the consequences of his actions; Jim O'Rourke worked on its mix. [8] [9] 1212 was recorded in Tucson, with additional work done in Chicago. [10]
Among 1212's covers are songs by Amon Düül, the Bevis Frond, Tom Lehrer, the Deviants, and Richard Thompson. [11] [12] "Blood of Feeling" adds new lyrics to a song Manning wrote with her first band, 28th Day. [13]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [14] |
| Chicago Tribune | [15] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |  [1] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+ [16] |
| Lincoln Journal Star | [17] |
| The Tampa Tribune | [13] |
No Depression thought that "key to the disc’s excellent musicianship is Manning’s collaboration with Joey Burns and John Convertino of Giant Sand and Calexico, whose multi-instrumental backup is typically innovative and free of grandstanding." [11] Salon concluded that, "unlike gloomsters like Nick Cave, Manning doesn't distance herself from the misery of the characters in her songs—she collapses that distance, moving right in like a zoom lens to show us what makes these people tick." [8] Entertainment Weekly opined that "material by such fellow iconoclasts as Richard Thompson and ’50s satirist Tom Lehrer show off Manning’s considerable interpretive gifts." [16] The Lincoln Journal Star stated that "a take on the Deviants' 'First Line (Seven the Row)' gets much of its ominous tension from Manning's deadpan vocals and the Moog synthesizer." [17]
The Hartford Courant praised "the desperate, evocative 'Isn't Lonely Lovely'. 'You wanted to be alone/Now you are ... it's a fine life, really,' she sings mournfully. She can't even convince herself of that, but Manning does prove yet again that she's expert at revealing the richness of sorrow, and digging through the shadows in the dark." [18]
The Chicago Reader thought that Manning "sings with assured ease; and although there are some pretty flourishes, such as the mariachi horns on 'Stain on the Sun', the album favors spare, efficient production." [19] Nashville Scene determined that, "harmonically, the music resembles the garage folk-rock of the mid- to late ’60s; to post-punk ears, it comes off as an amalgam of ’80s neo-psychedelia and New Zealand guitar-pop." [20] The Chicago Tribune declared that, "with horns and keyboards tastefully filling out the arrangements and the Giant Sand rhythm section of John Convertino and Joey Burns in peak form, Manning has made one of the strongest albums in her 12-year career." [15]
AllMusic wrote that "the achievement of 1212 isn't simply that it's made up largely of Manning originals, but that chief among them is her most ambitious creation to date, a stunning four-part mini-rock opera known collectively as 'The Arsonist Story'." [14]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Arsonist Story"
| |
| 5. | "End of the Rainbow" | |
| 6. | "Blood of Feeling" | |
| 7. | "Rickity Tikity Tin" | |
| 8. | "Stain on the Sun" | |
| 9. | "Isn't Lonely Lovely?" | |
| 10. | "That Kid" | |
| 11. | "First Line (Seven the Row)" | |
| 12. | "Marcus Leid" | |
| 13. | "Stammtisch" |
Calexico is an American indie rock band based in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1996, the band's two main members, Joey Burns and John Convertino, first played together in Los Angeles as part of the group Giant Sand. They have recorded a number of albums on Quarterstick Records and City Slang, and their 2005 EP, In the Reins, recorded with Iron & Wine, reached the Billboard 200 album charts. Their musical style is influenced by traditional Latin sounds of mariachi, conjunto, cumbia, and tejano mixed with country, jazz, and post-rock.
Hot Rail is the third studio album by the rock band Calexico. It was released in 2000 through Quarterstick Records. A limited deluxe edition was released on November 15, 2010.
Feast of Wire is the fourth studio album by American indie rock band Calexico. The album was released on February 18, 2003, through Quarterstick Records.
Giant Sand is an American musical group from Tucson, Arizona, United States. Its most constant member is singer-songwriter Howe Gelb. The groups have developed idiosyncratic sound rooted in alternative country, but touching on a wide range of other styles and featuring Gelb's beatnik-influenced vocals and songwriting. Since about 2012, they have also performed as Giant Giant Sand when featuring a larger ensemble than their traditional four to six musicians.
In the Reins is a joint EP by Calexico and Iron & Wine, released by Overcoat Recordings on September 13, 2005. Iron & Wine's Sam Beam wrote all of the songs, which were recorded by the two bands together at Wavelab Studio in Tucson, Arizona. The album peaked at #135 on the Billboard 200. Both later collaborated on a cover of Bob Dylan's "Dark Eyes" for the I'm Not There soundtrack, while Calexico's Joey Burns was featured on Iron & Wine's third LP, The Shepherd's Dog.
Barbara Manning is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist whose albums blend elements of rock, folk, pop and proto-punk. She is also known for her cover versions of often obscure pop songs. In addition to an acclaimed solo career, Manning has been active in a number of bands, including 28th Day, World of Pooh, SF Seals, and The Go-Luckys!.
The Black Light is the second studio album by American indie rock band Calexico. It was released May 19, 1998 on Quarterstick.
Fox Confessor Brings the Flood is the fourth solo album by American alt-country musician Neko Case, released March 7, 2006 by ANTI- Records. The album was found on many “Best of” lists that year and had a bonus disc released by ANTI- in November of the following year.
Garden Ruin is the fifth studio album by the rock band Calexico. It was released in 2006 on Quarterstick Records. The LP is the first Calexico album to feature no instrumental tracks, instead relying on a more direct, pop-style approach. Forgoing what has been described as "indie-mariachi", the band took their music in a different direction, and the result is a more straightforward indie rock album.
Spoke is the debut studio album of Calexico, an Americana/indie rock band from Arizona. It was initially released in Germany under the group name Spoke.
Bill Janovitz is an American musician and writer. He is the singer, guitarist, and songwriter of alternative rock band Buffalo Tom, and has also released three solo albums. Janovitz has written extensively for Allmusic, authored the Exile on Main St. book for the 33⅓ series, and contributed to Boston Magazine, the Boston Phoenix, and Post Road magazine. He wrote Rocks Off: 50 Tracks That Tell the Story of the Rolling Stones (2013) and Leon Russell: The Master of Space and Time's Journey Through Rock & Roll History (2023), which was a New York Times Best Seller.
Strange but True is a collaborative album by the band Yo La Tengo and Jad Fair. It was released by Matador Records in 1998. The song titles are taken from outrageous newspaper headlines. The lyrics were written by Jad's brother, David.
Carried to Dust is the sixth studio album from Tucson, Arizona indie rock/Americana band Calexico, released September 9, 2008. It features a number of guest musicians like Iron & Wine, Tortoise's Doug McCombs, Pieta Brown, and Amparo Sanchez.
Algiers is the seventh studio album by indie rock americana band Calexico, released on 11 September 2012.
Tool Box is a compilation of instrumental songs by Arizona indie rock band Calexico. Released in 2007, the album was made available to purchase during their tour, and eventually, on their official website. Aside from a version of "The News About William" on 2008's Carried To Dust, none of these songs were ever released on any of their official studio albums.
Edge of the Sun is the eighth studio album by indie rock band Calexico. It was released in April 2015 on Anti-.
This is the discography for American rock band Calexico.
Devotion + Doubt is the second studio album by Richard Buckner, and his first album released on a major label. It was released on March 11, 1997 by MCA Records. Buckner recorded the album shortly after the end of his first marriage.
Years to Burn is the second album by Calexico and Iron & Wine. The artists previously worked together on the EP In the Reins (2005).
The Hill is the fourth studio album by Richard Buckner, setting poems from Edgar Lee Masters' 1915 Spoon River Anthology to music. It was released by Overcoat Records in 2000, and re-released by Merge Records in 2015.
