Eighth (album)

Last updated

Eighth
Eighth (album).jpg
Studio album by
Eleventh Dream Day
Released1997
Genre Rock
Label Thrill Jockey
Producer John McEntire, Casey Rice
Eleventh Dream Day chronology
Ursa Major
(1994)		Eighth
(1997)		Stalled Parade
(2000)

Eighth is an album by the American band Eleventh Dream Day, released in 1997. [1] [2] The band supported it with a North American tour that included shows with Tortoise. [3]

Contents

Production

Coproduced by John McEntire, the album was recorded in the band's hometown of Chicago. [4] [5] Eleventh Dream Day considered themselves a part-time entity at this point in their career; they had a small recording budget, rehearsed the songs only a couple of times, and were unconcerned about whether they could reproduce them in a live setting. [5] Frontman Rick Rizzo wrote, sang lead, and played guitar on all of the songs, which the band either quickly worked out in the studio or abandoned. [6] [7] Drummer Janet Beveridge Bean used a click track for the first time on an album. [8] "Motion Sickness" is an instrumental. [6]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
All Music Guide to Rock Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [6]
Chicago Tribune Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [9]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [10]
The Great Alternative & Indie Discography 7/10 [11]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [12]
(The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [13]

The Chicago Tribune said that the album "unfolds in slow motion, the subtle use of electronics thickening the texture on 'For a King' before Bean's voice emerges like a beacon out of the fog." [9] The Boston Phoenix noted that "the unspoken fear that haunts Eighth is the band's fear of finding themselves in the same position as the characters they've sung about, the fear of being left on the margins without the energy to push against them." [14] The Sunday Times stated that "the band's old sound turns inside out, with cyclical jazzy keyboards and dubby effects burying Rizzo's incendiary guitar in the mix." [7]

Rolling Stone said that the album "bursts with quiet intensity, achieving a compelling synthesis of the band's penchant for experimentation and its gift for kick-ass rock & roll." [4] Greil Marcus opined that the band pursues "a realism beyond the reach or perhaps even the desire of anyone else currently making pop records". [15] The Chicago Sun-Times considered Eighth to be Eleventh Dream Day's best album. [16] The Fort Worth Star-Telegram listed it among the 10 best albums of 1997. [17]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."For a King" 
2."Writes a Letter Home" 
3."Two Smart Cookies" 
4."Insomnia" 
5."View from the Rim" 
6."April" 
7."Motion Sickness" 
8."Last Call" 

References

  1. ↑ Morris, Chris (January 18, 1997). "Record Derby". Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 3. p. 63.
  2. ↑ Segal, Victoria (February 8, 1997). "Eighth". Melody Maker. Vol. 74, no. 6. p. 52.
  3. ↑ Strauss, Neil (May 26, 1997). "Taking It Slowly, Forgoing Brashness for Restraint". The New York Times. p. 16.
  4. 1 2 Fine, Jason (May 29, 1997). "Eighth". Rolling Stone. No. 761. p. 49.
  5. 1 2 Ferman, Dave (March 2, 1997). "Eleventh Dream Day is living a dream outside the mainstream". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. pp. G1, G5.
  6. 1 2 3 "Eleventh Dream Day". All Music Guide to Rock. Bloomsbury Academic. 2002. p. 361.
  7. 1 2 Lee, Stewart (February 16, 1997). "Eighth wonder". The Sunday Times. p. 27.
  8. ↑ Kot, Greg (June 13, 1997). "Eleventh's 'Eighth' Dream Day Still Marching to a Different Drummer". Friday. Chicago Tribune. p. 7.
  9. 1 2 Kot, Greg (February 21, 1997). "Eleventh Dream Day Eighth". Friday. Chicago Tribune. p. 7.
  10. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 3. Oxford University Press. p. 255.
  11. ↑ Strong, Martin C. (1999). The Great Alternative & Indie Discography. Canongate. p. 229.
  12. ↑ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide (2nd ed.). Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 384.
  13. ↑ "Eleventh Dream Day". (The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. 2004. pp. 275–276.
  14. ↑ Taylor, Charles (March 7, 1997). "Night Visions". The Boston Phoenix. Vol. 26, no. 10. p. 19.
  15. ↑ Marcus, Greil (2015). Real Life Rock: The Complete Top Ten Columns, 1986-2014. Yale University Press. p. 154.
  16. ↑ DeRogatis, Jim (December 19, 1997). "A Dream deferred". Weekend Plus. Chicago Sun-Times. p. 5.
  17. ↑ "1997's 10 Best". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. December 28, 1997. p. G4.
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