| Awake | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1998 | |||
| Label | Zero Hour | |||
| Producer | John Wesley Harding, Chris Von Sneidern | |||
| John Wesley Harding chronology | ||||
| ||||
Awake is an album by the English musician John Wesley Harding, released in 1998. [1] [2] Harding deemed the sound "gangsta folk." [3] He supported the album with a North American tour that included shows with Steve Wynn. [4] [5]
The album was produced by Harding and Chris Von Sneidern. [6] Harding avoided writing about himself, preferring to tell stories in his songs. [7] He employed tape loops, samples, e-bow, mellotron, and tubular bells on some of the tracks. [8] [9] Awake is a loose concept album, where the songs occur after an alarm clock has buzzed. [10] Kurt Bloch and Scott McCaughey contributed on guitar. [11] [12] Kelly Hogan sang on "It's All My Fault". [6] "Miss Fortune" is about a millionaire who discovers a baby in a trench. [7] "I'm Staying Here (And I'm Not Buying a Gun)" is about resolving differences without firearms. [13] "Your Ghost (Don't Scare Me No More)" is about moving on from an old relationship. [14]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [15] |
| Daily Breeze | [12] |
| Pitchfork | 5.5/10 [16] |
Pitchfork wrote that "too many songs lack any real character and slide slowly into generic lite-rock territory." [16] The Times Union deemed the album "a dazzling, dream-like collection of pop songs culled from Harding's vast and vivid imagination." [17] The Chicago Tribune noted that "much of the record retains Harding's typical techno-free pairing of wry lyrics with fetching melodies." [18]
The San Antonio Express-News called it "a masterful effort, its pointed commentary contrasting with a melodic, folk-rock backing." [19] The Plain Dealer panned the album, writing that "most of the tunes are typical introspective folkie singer-songwriter fare, ranging from the interminable drone of 'Blood Sweat Tears and Come' to the halfhearted country of 'It's All My Fault'." [20] The San Diego Union-Tribune considered Awake "his strongest effort yet, his sparse folk tunes ... combined with a low-fidelity atmosphere more common to bands like Folk Implosion and Pavement." [21]
AllMusic wrote that Harding's "acid-tongued, always-clever phrasing, folky leanings, and strong sense of melody show him to be one of the finest (and unfairly overlooked) songwriters of the '90s." [15]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Good Morning (I Just Woke Up)" | |
| 2. | "Your Ghost (Don't Scare Me No More)" | |
| 3. | "Window Seat" | |
| 4. | "Burn" | |
| 5. | "It's All My Fault" | |
| 6. | "Sweat Tears Blood and Come" | |
| 7. | "Poor Heart" | |
| 8. | "Miss Fortune" | |
| 9. | "Song I Wrote Myself in the Future" | |
| 10. | "Something to Write Home About" | |
| 11. | "You're Looking at Me" | |
| 12. | "You So&So" | |
| 13. | "I'm Staying Here (And I'm Not Buying a Gun)" | |
| 14. | "Good Bye (Late O'Clock)" |
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