Conor Oberst (album)

Last updated
Conor Oberst
Conor Oberst cover.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedAugust 4, 2008
RecordedJanuary 2008 - February 2008 at Valle Mistico
Genre Folk rock, indie folk, country rock
Length42:00
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 #37 [2] and reached #15 on the Billboard Top 200. It sold 98,000 copies in the US as of August 2009. [3]

Contents

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
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [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 Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [11]
Spin Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg[ citation needed ]
The Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg[ citation needed ]
Time A− [12]

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." [13]

Track information

Personnel

Charts

Chart (2008)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [14] 63
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [15] 52
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [16] 35
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [17] 73
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [18] 37
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [19] 26
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [20] 40
UK Albums (OCC) [21] 37
US Billboard 200 [22] 15
US Digital Albums (Billboard) [23] 3
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard) [24] 3
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) [25] 3
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard) [26] 1

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References

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  23. "Conor Oberst Chart History (Digital Albums)". Billboard.
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  25. "Conor Oberst Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard.
  26. "Conor Oberst Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard.