Among My Swan

Last updated
Among My Swan
Mazzy Star - Among My Swan.png
Studio album by
Mazzy Star
ReleasedOctober 29, 1996
Genre Alternative rock, [1] dream pop, [1] neo-psychedelia [1]
Length54:00
Label Capitol
Producer Mazzy Star
Mazzy Star chronology
So Tonight That I Might See
(1993)		Among My Swan
(1996)		 Seasons of Your Day
(2013)

Among My Swan is the third studio album by American band Mazzy Star, released on October 29, 1996 by Capitol Records. Although Among My Swan did not contain any US Billboard Hot 100 hits like its predecessor, So Tonight That I Might See , this album garnered the band its highest-ranking single on the UK Singles Chart, when "Flowers in December" reached No. 40 in November 1996. [2]

Contents

While the production of Among My Swan relies less on reverb than the group's previous albums, the music is not markedly different (as evidenced by tracks like "I've Been Let Down", on which Hope Sandoval sings over simple acoustic guitar and harmonica accompaniment).

"Flowers in December", "Disappear", "Happy" and "I've Been Let Down" were all released as singles from the album. Following the release of "I've Been Let Down" in 1997, Mazzy Star went on hiatus, and did not release new music until the single "Common Burn" / "Lay Myself Down" in 2011.

Release and promotion

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Entertainment Weekly A− [3]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [4]
Los Angeles Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [5]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [6]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [7]
Select 4/5 [8]
Spin 3/10 [9]
Uncut 7/10 [10]
Vox 8/10 [11]

Among My Swan was released by Capitol Records on October 29, 1996. Mazzy Star opted to eschew mainstream promotion for the record, with Capitol taking what they described as a "long-term approach" towards its marketing. An outtake from the album, "Tell Me Now", appeared on the soundtrack to Batman Forever in 1995, while album track "Rhymes of an Hour" featured on the soundtrack to Stealing Beauty prior to the album's release. A senior marketing director at Capitol called Mazzy Star "the quintessential artist-development band. David and Hope are artists. Every album they make is a work of art"; Billboard noted that both films "nicely bookend Mazzy Star's demographic, with Batman Forever appealing to the collegiate crowd and the critically acclaimed, art-house Stealing Beauty skewing toward the band's baby boomer fans." [12]

Music stores were given advance copies of the album from early September; the label conducted a contest where the store which best promoted the album would be rewarded with a live performance from the band. [upper-alpha 1] The entire album was serviced to college radio on October 7, and lead single "Flowers in December" was issued to alternative and triple-A stations the following week. The duo appeared on the October 1996 cover of Alternative Press , and a music video for "Flowers in December" was completed that same month. [12] The song remains the duo's only song to enter the top forty of the UK Singles Chart. [13] "I've Been Let Down" was scheduled to be issued as the album's second commercial single in the spring of 1997, [12] but was released solely as a limited edition 7" vinyl in October 1996 as a double A-side with album track "Roseblood". [14]

Commercial performance

The album peaked at number 67 on the Billboard 200. [15] As of 2001, it has sold over 214,000 copies in the United States. [16]

Track listing

All tracks are written by David Roback and Hope Sandoval

No.TitleLength
1."Disappear"4:04
2."Flowers in December"4:57
3."Rhymes of an Hour"4:12
4."Cry, Cry"3:58
5."Take Everything"4:53
6."Still Cold"4:48
7."All Your Sisters"5:16
8."I've Been Let Down"3:17
9."Roseblood"4:51
10."Happy"3:58
11."Umbilical"4:49
12."Look on Down from the Bridge"4:47

Personnel

Usage in media

"Happy", "All Your Sisters", and "Look on Down from the Bridge" are featured in the 2005 film Down in the Valley.

"Look on Down from the Bridge" is featured during a funeral scene and over the end credits of the 1999 The Sopranos episode "Meadowlands", in the 2011 film Texas Killing Fields , and in two episodes of Rick and Morty , including the 2014 episode "Rick Potion No. 9" when the title characters bury their dead alternate-reality selves and the 2023 episode "Unmortricken" which includes a callback to the original scene. [17] “Cry Cry” was featured in a sequence in the 2024 movie Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

Charts

Chart performance for Among My Swan
Chart (1996)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [18] 74
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [19] 41
Scottish Albums (OCC) [20] 65
UK Albums (OCC) [21] 57
US Billboard 200 [15] 68

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mazzy Star</span> American alternative rock band

Mazzy Star is an American alternative rock band formed in 1988 in Santa Monica, California, from remnants of the group Opal. Founding member David Roback's friend Hope Sandoval became the group's vocalist when Kendra Smith left Opal. The band's current lineup consists of Sandoval, Colm Ó Cíosóig, Suki Ewers (keyboards), and Josh Yenne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juice Newton</span> American pop and country singer (born 1952)

Juice Newton is an American pop and country singer, songwriter, and musician. Newton has received five Grammy Award nominations in the Pop and Country Best Female Vocalist categories – winning once in 1983 – as well as an ACM Award for Top New Female Artist and two consecutive Billboard Female Album Artist of the Year awards. Newton's other awards include a People's Choice Award for "Best Female Vocalist" and the Australian Music Media's "Number One International Country Artist".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hope Sandoval</span> American singer (born 1966)

Hope Sandoval is an American singer-songwriter, known as the lead singer of Mazzy Star and Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions. Sandoval has toured and collaborated with other artists, including Massive Attack, for whom she sang "Paradise Circus" on the 2010 album Heligoland and the 2016 single "The Spoils".

<i>She Hangs Brightly</i> 1990 studio album by Mazzy Star

She Hangs Brightly is the debut studio album by American alternative rock band Mazzy Star. It was released on May 21, 1990, by Rough Trade Records and re-released by Capitol Records later in the year.

<i>So Tonight That I Might See</i> 1993 studio album by Mazzy Star

So Tonight That I Might See is the second studio album by American alternative rock band Mazzy Star, released by Capitol Records on September 27, 1993 in the United Kingdom, and on October 5, 1993 in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Dean</span> American country music singer and songwriter

William Harold Dean Jr. is an American country music singer and songwriter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)</span> Traditional Jamaican folk song

"Day-O " is a traditional Jamaican folk song. The song has mento influences, but it is commonly classified as an example of the better known calypso music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Never Let Me Down Again</span> 1987 single by Depeche Mode

"Never Let Me Down Again" is a song by the English electronic music band Depeche Mode. It was released as the second single from their sixth studio album, Music for the Masses (1987), on 24 August 1987. It reached No. 22 in the UK, No. 2 in West Germany, and the top-10 in several other European countries such as Sweden and Switzerland, topping the Danish charts. In the US, it entered the Billboard Hot 100. The cover art features fragments of a Soviet map of Russia and Europe, with different fragments used for the different editions of the single.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All These Things That I've Done</span> 2004 single by the Killers

"All These Things That I've Done" is a song by American rock band the Killers. The song was released as the third single from the band's debut studio album, Hot Fuss (2004), on August 30, 2004. It was written by frontman Brandon Flowers and features gospel choir The Sweet Inspirations. The song is about television host Matt Pinfield, and his work with the US Army, as part of a program that mentored wounded/PTSD-stricken soldiers returning from Iraq.

"All the Way" is a song published in 1957 by Maraville Music Corporation. The music was written by Jimmy Van Heusen with lyrics by Sammy Cahn.

Midnight Star is an American musical group that had a string of hit records in the 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fade into You</span> 1994 single by Mazzy Star

"Fade into You" is a song by American alternative rock band Mazzy Star from their second studio album, So Tonight That I Might See (1993). The song was written by lyricist Hope Sandoval and composer David Roback, who also served as producer. The song reached number three on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart in 1994 and is Mazzy Star's only single to appear on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 44. The song also charted at number 48 on the UK Singles Chart and number three in Iceland.

"Into Dust" is a song by American duo Mazzy Star that appears as the ninth track on their second album So Tonight That I Might See. The song's arrangement is sparse and features only acoustic guitar and cello as an accompaniment to the vocals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melba Montgomery</span> American country music singer-songwriter

Melba Joyce Montgomery is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is known for a series of duet recordings made with George Jones, Gene Pitney and Charlie Louvin. She is also a solo artist, having reached the top of the country charts in 1974 with the song, "No Charge". Born in Tennessee but raised in Alabama, Montgomery had a musical upbringing. Along with her two brothers, she placed in a talent contest which brought her to the attention of Roy Acuff. For several years she toured the country as part of his band until she signed with United Artists Records in 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">It's in the Way That You Use It</span> 1987 single by Eric Clapton

"It's in the Way That You Use It" is a song which was written by the English rock musician Eric Clapton in collaboration with The Band's guitarist and composer Robbie Robertson. The song was recorded and performed by Eric Clapton, who released the track under licence of Warner Bros. Records as the second of four singles from his 1986 studio album August in March 1987. The song, which is used as the theme tune to the Martin Scorsese film The Color of Money, was produced by Eric Clapton himself with the help of Tom Dowd, who acted as the assistant producer. The release sold more than 500,000 copies worldwide.

The discography of American alternative rock band Mazzy Star consists of four studio albums, two EPs, twelve singles and eight music videos. The band was formed in 1989 by vocalist Hope Sandoval and guitarist David Roback, after the disbandment of Roback's previous band with vocalist Kendra Smith, Opal. Mazzy Star's debut studio album, She Hangs Brightly, was released by Rough Trade Records in 1990, and eventually spawned two singles: "Blue Flower" in 1990 and "Halah" in 1995.

<i>Seasons of Your Day</i> 2013 studio album by Mazzy Star

Seasons of Your Day is the fourth studio album by American alternative rock band Mazzy Star. It was released on September 23, 2013 by the band's own independent record label, Rhymes of An Hour. Their first record since the release of their third album Among My Swan in 1996, and the subsequent dissolution of their contract with Capitol Records the following year, they continued recording in 1997 while without a record deal and worked sporadically until the completion of the album in September 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flowers in December</span> 1996 single by Mazzy Star

"Flowers in December" is a song by American alternative rock band Mazzy Star, released in October 1996 as the lead single from their third studio album Among My Swan. It was written by Hope Sandoval and David Roback, and produced by Roback. "Flowers in December" reached No. 40 on the UK Singles Chart and remained in the top 100 for two weeks. A music video was filmed to promote the single, directed by Kevin Kerslake.

<i>Rick and Morty</i> (soundtrack) 2018 soundtrack album by various artists

The Rick and Morty Soundtrack is the soundtrack to American adult animated science fiction sitcom Rick and Morty. It was released on September 28, 2018 via Sub Pop.

<i>Ive Gotta Sing</i> 1971 studio album by Wanda Jackson

I've Gotta Sing is a studio album by American recording artist Wanda Jackson. It was released in February 1971 via Capitol Records and contained ten tracks. It was the seventeenth studio record released in Jackson's career and the seventeen released with the Capitol label. The project included one single release titled "Fancy Satin Pillows", which became a top 20 charting song on the American country music chart. I've Gotta Sing received a positive review from Billboard magazine following its original release.

References

Notes

  1. ↑ According to Billboard , the winning store was "decided by in-store play and point-of-purchase plans." [12]

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 Raggett, Ned. "Among My Swan – Mazzy Star". AllMusic . Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  2. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 357. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
  3. ↑ Hajari, Nisid (November 8, 1996). "Music Review: 'Among My Swan'". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  4. ↑ Penman, Ian (November 8, 1996). "Mazzy Star: Among My Swan (Capitol CD)". The Guardian . Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  5. ↑ Nichols, Natalie (November 10, 1996). "Mazzy Star, 'Among My Swan,' Capitol". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  6. ↑ Cooper, Mark (December 1996). "Mazzy Star: Among My Swan". Q . No. 123. p. 138.
  7. ↑ Cross, Charles R. (2004). "Mazzy Star". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p.  526. ISBN   0-7432-0169-8.
  8. ↑ Perry, Andrew (December 1996). "Mazzy Star: Among My Swan". Select . No. 78.
  9. ↑ Wolk, Douglas (November 1996). "Mazzy Star: Among My Swan". Spin . Vol. 12, no. 8. pp. 124–125. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  10. ↑ Bonner, Michael (October 2013). "The Prettiest Star...". Uncut . No. 197. p. 26.
  11. ↑ Oldham, James (January 1997). "A Hope in Hell". Vox . No. 75. p. 107.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Mirkin, Steven (September 21, 1996). "Mazzy Star Shines On Third Album | Long-Term Development Key For Capitol Act". Billboard . Vol. 108, no. 38. pp. 12, 14. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved July 29, 2024.
  13. ↑ "Mazzy Star | Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company . Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  14. ↑ "I've Been Let Down" / "Roseblood" (Vinyl liner notes). Mazzy Star. Capitol Records. 1996. S7–19255.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  15. 1 2 "Mazzy Star Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
  16. ↑ "Ex-Mazzy Star Vocalist Preps Solo Debut". Billboard . Prometheus Global Media. August 14, 2001. Archived from the original on May 30, 2013. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  17. ↑ "Rick and Morty Season 7 Episode 5's End Song Is a Powerful Thematic Callback to Season 1". Anime. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  18. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 180.
  19. ↑ "Charts.nz – Mazzy Star – Among My Swan". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
  20. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
  21. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.