Conor Oberst (album)

Conor Oberst
Studio album by Conor Oberst
Released	August 4, 2008
Recorded	January – February 2008 at Valle Mistico
Genre	Folk rock, indie folk, country rock
Length	42:00
Label	Merge Records
Producer	Conor Oberst
Conor Oberst chronology
The Soundtrack to My Movie (1996) Conor Oberst (2008) Gentleman's Pact (2008)

Conor Oberst is the fourth solo studio album by Conor Oberst, of the band Bright Eyes, which was released on August 4, 2008 by Merge Records. ^[1] The album debuted on the UK Albums Chart at No. 37 ^[2] and reached No. 15 on the Billboard Top 200. It sold 98,000 copies in the US as of August 2009. ^[3]

Production

The album was recorded in Tepoztlán, Morelos, Mexico between January and February 2008. A temporary studio was created in a mountain villa called Valle Místico at the outskirts of town. Conor Oberst was produced by Conor Oberst and engineered by long-time associate Andy LeMaster. A new band was assembled for the recording, which came to be known as The Mystic Valley Band. The result is Oberst's fourth solo album, and his first in twelve years, following Water (1993), Here's to Special Treatment (1994) and The Soundtrack to My Movie (1996). In that time he has recorded and performed in many bands and musical projects including Commander Venus, Park Ave., Desaparecidos, and most notably Bright Eyes. The song "Moab" was number 31 on Rolling Stone 's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2008. ^[4]

Track listing

All songs by Conor Oberst, except where noted.

1. "Cape Canaveral" – 4:04
2. "Sausalito" – 3:10
3. "Get-Well-Cards" – 3:33
4. "Lenders in the Temple" – 4:35
5. "Danny Callahan" – 3:58
6. "I Don’t Want to Die (In the Hospital)" – 3:32
7. "Eagle on a Pole" – 4:42
8. "NYC - Gone, Gone" – 1:11
9. "Moab" – 3:36
10. "Valle Místico (Ruben’s Song)" (Ruben Mendez Hernandez) – 0:49
11. "Souled Out!!!" (Oberst, Jason Boesel) – 3:32
12. "Milk Thistle" – 5:21

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
Billboard	(not rated) [6]
Crawdaddy!	(favorable) [7]
Drowned in Sound	8/10 [8]
Paste	80/100 [9]
Pitchfork Media	7.3/10 [10]
Rolling Stone	[11]
Spin	[12]
The Times	[13]
Time	A− [14]

Entertainment Weekly said that on the album, "Conor sounds like Bright Eyes, only heightened--brighter, if you will: He's emo balladeer, country rocker, and ferocious folkie rolled into one." ^[15]

Track information

• The seventh track, "Eagle on a Pole", was inspired by a comment made by Sean Foley who said, "I saw an eagle on a pole. I think it was an eagle." Simon Joyner, friend and mentor of Oberst, said that line would be great for a song, which planted the seed for others in the band to write a song from the line. Oberst's version is on this record. Jason Boesel's version is on the second album released by the Mystic Valley Band, Outer South .

Personnel

• Conor Oberst – guitar, vocals, electric guitar (5), 12-string guitar (9), stomp (8)
• Nate Walcott – organ (3, 4), piano (5, 6), electric piano (7, 8, 9)
• Nik Freitas – electric guitar (2, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11), vocals (3, 4, 5, 8, 9)
• Macey Taylor – bass (2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11), vocals (2), stomp (8)
• Taylor Hollingsworth – guitar (3), electric guitar (6), vocals (8), stomp (8)
• Jason Boesel – drums (2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11), percussion (2, 9), vocals (3, 7, 8, 9, 11), stomp (8)
• Andy LeMaster – tape echo (11), vocals (3, 4, 8)
• Phil Schaffart – vocals (8), stomp (8)
• Janet Weiss – vocals (6)
• Corina Figueroa-Escamilla – vocals (11)
• Ruben Mendez Hernandez – conch (10)

Charts

Chart (2008)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [16]	63
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [17]	52
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [18]	35
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [19]	73
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [20]	37
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [21]	26
Scottish Albums (OCC) [22]	39
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [23]	40
UK Albums (OCC) [24]	37
US Billboard 200 [25]	15
US Digital Albums (Billboard) [26]	3
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard) [27]	3
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) [28]	3
US Indie Store Album Sales (Billboard) [29]	1

References

1. "Bright Eyes man reveals solo album details". NME . April 22, 2008. Retrieved May 29, 2008.
2. "The Official UK Albums Chart for the week ending 16 August 2008". ChartsPlus (364). Milton Keynes: IQ Ware Ltd: 5–8.
3. "Billboard". August 29, 2009.
4. "The 100 Best Songs of 2008". Rolling Stone (December 25, 2008). Retrieved 2008-12-25
5. "Conor Oberst - Conor Oberst | Album". AllMusic . Retrieved August 5, 2024.
6. "Conor Oberst". Billboard . Archived from the original on May 13, 2009. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
7. "Conor Oberst, Bright Eyes, Self-Titled, Review: Conor Oberst - Reviews - Crawdaddy!". Crawdaddy.wolfgangsvault.com. Archived from the original on August 27, 2008. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
8. "Album Review: Conor Oberst - Conor Oberst". Archived from the original on September 3, 2019. Retrieved May 4, 2009.
9. "Conor Oberst: Conor Oberst". Pastemagazine.com. August 4, 2008.
10. "Conor Oberst: Conor Oberst". Pitchfork .
11. "Conor Oberst : Conor Oberst : Review : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone . July 31, 2008. Archived from the original on July 31, 2008. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
12. Modell, Josh (August 2008). "Hi, My Name Is..." SPIN. p. 114. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
13. Harris, Sophie (August 2, 2008). "Conor Oberst - Conor Oberst; Rock". The Times. p. 22.
14. "The Short List of Things to Do: Conor Oberst". Time .
15. Tucker, Ken (August 8, 2008), "Conor Oberst". Entertainment Weekly. (1005)
16. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 207.
17. "Austriancharts.at – Conor Oberst – Conor Oberst" (in German). Hung Medien.
18. "Ultratop.be – Conor Oberst – Conor Oberst" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
19. "Dutchcharts.nl – Conor Oberst – Conor Oberst" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
20. "Offiziellecharts.de – Conor Oberst – Conor Oberst" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
21. "Norwegiancharts.com – Conor Oberst – Conor Oberst". Hung Medien.
22. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
23. "Swedishcharts.com – Conor Oberst – Conor Oberst". Hung Medien.
24. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
25. "Conor Oberst Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
26. "Conor Oberst Chart History (Digital Albums)".^{[ dead link ]} Billboard.
27. "Conor Oberst Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard.
28. "Conor Oberst Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard.
29. "Conor Oberst Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard.