Been Here and Gone | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 31 July 2001 | |||
Recorded | March 2001 | |||
Studio | Higher Power Recording | |||
Genre | Alternative rock, Blues rock, Indie rock | |||
Label | Matador P-Vine Records (Japan) | |||
Producer | Bryce Goggin Thalia Zedek | |||
Thalia Zedek chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
Pitchfork | [2] |
Spin | [3] |
Out | Positive [4] |
The Guardian | [5] |
The A.V. Club | Positive [6] |
CMJ New Music Monthly | Positive [7] |
Exclaim! | Positive [8] |
Been Here and Gone is Thalia Zedek's debut solo album, following the demise of Come, her previous band.
Released in 2001 by Matador and P-Vine Records, the album was produced by Bryce Goggin and Thalia Zedek at Higher Power Recording, Goggin's recording studio in a de-sanctified church along the Hudson River, south of Albany, NY. [9] The recording of the album took place in March 2001.
After the break up of Come, Zedek "wanted to play in a band where [she] could hear [her]self sing and not have to wear earplugs." [10] She began playing solo live shows, singing in diverse styles with different collaborators, often including various covers. [11] Eventually, she started playing with longtime associate Beth Heinberg on piano, with David Michael Curry (Empty House Cooperative, Willard Grant conspiracy, Will Oldham) soon joining them on the viola. Not long after, Daniel Coughlin got involved and became the project's drummer. [12]
The title of the album came from an old copy of Frederic Ramsey, Jr.’s Been Here and Gone (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1960) on the Southern musical landscape of spirituals, blues, and jazz, that Zedek had been gifted by a friend. The "combination of future and past and present tense" appealed to Zedek. [13] According to Andi Rowlands, the album was "supposedly inspired by the cabaret-style shows [Zedek’s previous band] Come played between their third and fourth records," [14] Near-Life Experience and Gently, Down the Stream. Zedek wrote the songs for the album within a year. [15]
Been Here and Gone also includes three covers. "Dance Me to the End of Love" is a cover of the opening track to Leonard Cohen’s 1984 album Various Positions. "1926" was written by Gary Gogel and originally recorded by V; for their 1982 12" vinyl The V EP, then sang by Susan Anway. [16] Zedek's cover is also included in the Matador at Fifteen compilation, released on 12 October 2004, to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the creation of Matador Records. The standard version of the album closes with Zedek's reinterpretation of Luiz Bonfá and Antônio Maria’s "Manhã de Carnaval" ("Carnival Morning"), the principal theme from 1959 film Orfeu Negro, singing the English adaptation of the lyrics by Carl Sigman that Frank Sinatra sang in his 1969 album My Way. Zedek began playing "Manhã de Carnaval" at Beth Heinberg's suggestion as—being a professional accompanist—Heinberg already had the sheet music. [17] The Japanese edition of Been Here and Gone includes as a bonus track "Who Jumped In My Grave," originally recorded by Zedek's previous band Come for their 1995 10" vinyl String.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Excommunications (Everybody Knows)" | Thalia Zedek | 4:19 |
2. | "Back to School" | Thalia Zedek | 4:56 |
3. | "Strong" | Thalia Zedek | 4:17 |
4. | "Temporary Guest" | Thalia Zedek | 5:34 |
5. | "Treacherous Thing" | Thalia Zedek | 4:42 |
6. | "Dance Me to the End of Love" | Leonard Cohen | 7:12 |
7. | "1926" | Gary Gogel | 4:32 |
8. | "Desanctified (Full Circle)" | Thalia Zedek | 6:42 |
9. | "Somebody Else" | Thalia Zedek | 3:27 |
10. | "10th Lament" | Thalia Zedek | 5:13 |
11. | "Manha de Carnaval" | Luiz Bonfa | 3:51 |
12. | "Who Jumped in my Grave (Japanese-only bonus track)" | Come | 5:27 |
In her review of the album for Out, Tiffany Watson remarked that whilst Zedek's previous bands and releases had made her ‘a rock vet, […] Been Here and Gone should make her a legend.’ [18] Writing for CMJ New Music Monthly, Tim Haslett called Been Here and Gone "a perfectly cast piece," drawing attention to the fact that "Zedek’s songwriting has always demonstrated an affinity for the blues, laced with a strong Southern Gothic sensibility of the William Faulkner and Carson McCullers schools." [19] Andi Rowlands observed that Been Here and Gone seems the mature and reminiscent record of an aged career," drawing comparisons to Joni Mitchell’s Both Sides Now and Neil Young’s Harvest Moon, stating that it sounded "as if [Zedek] were singing indie rock’s torch song." [20] In his review for AllMusic, Peter J. D’Angelo focussed on "the ability of [Zedek’s] voice to accompany the band toward quiet yet monumental buildups." [21] Likewise, Michael Barclay, writing for Exclaim! magazine, asserts that Zedek has "discovered a greater intensity at a lower volume," drawing comparisons between her solo work and that of "Nick Cave, Edith Piaf and Marianne Faithfull." [22]
Skam Records is an independent electronic music record label based in Manchester, England, founded by Andy Maddocks around 1990. Skam also runs a smaller sub-label called 33.
Come is an American alternative rock band, formed in Boston by Thalia Zedek, Chris Brokaw, Arthur Johnson (drums), and Sean O'Brien (bass).
Chris Brokaw is an American musician, mostly known for his work with the bands Come and Codeine, in addition to his many collaborations and original soundtracks. His outlier, underground status, in addition to his constant touring, abundant collaborative projects, and prolific musical output, have resulted in Brokaw being repeatedly described as 'one of the hardest-working musicians in anti-show-business.'
Without a Sound is the sixth studio album by alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr., released on August 23, 1994. It is the first Dinosaur Jr. album not to feature Murph on drums, who is replaced by vocalist and guitarist J Mascis. It is also their most commercially successful album, peaking at number 44 on the Billboard Top 200. "Feel the Pain" and "I Don't Think So" were released as singles, with "Feel the Pain" reaching number 4 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, becoming one of their biggest hits. Mascis later admitted that his father's death affected his writing and performance on this album, and he took three years to deliver the next Dinosaur Jr. LP, 1997's Hand It Over.
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Thalia Zedek is an American singer and guitarist. Active since the early 1980s, she has been a member of several notable alternative rock groups, including Live Skull and Uzi both of which, according to Spin magazine, "made big noise in the underground", and Come. Critic Heather Phares writes that Zedek's music can be defined by "the permanent, aching rasp in her voice, her guitar's bluesy bite, the startlingly clear-eyed lyrics about life and loss."
Live Skull is a post-punk/experimental rock band from New York City, formed in 1982.
Near-Life Experience is the third studio album by Boston alternative rock band Come, released in May 1996 on Matador Records in the US and on Domino Records in the UK.
"Dance Me to the End of Love" is a 1984 song by Leonard Cohen. It was first performed by Cohen on his 1984 album Various Positions. It has been recorded by various artists and in 2009 was described as "trembling on the brink of becoming a standard."
11:11 is the debut album by Boston indie rock band Come.
Gently, Down The Stream is the fourth and final album by Boston indie rock band Come.
Savages are an English rock band formed in 2011 in London. Their debut album, Silence Yourself was released on 6 May 2013 via Matador Records. It reached number 19 in the UK Albums Chart in May 2013, and was critically acclaimed. It peaked at number 5 on the Irish and the UK Independent Albums Chart, and at number 13 on the US Billboard Independent Albums chart. The band's second album Adore Life, was released on 22 January 2016. Both albums were nominated for the Mercury Prize, in 2013 and 2016 respectively.
Uzi was an American alternative rock band, formed in 1984 in Boston, Massachusetts and disbanded in 1987. The band featured Thalia Zedek, Danny Lee (drums), Randy Barnwell, Bob Young (guitar) and Phil Milstein. Never achieving commercial success during their short period of activity, the band gained a cult following, becoming a part of Boston's underground rock scene.
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