Last American Hero (album)

Not to be confused with The Last American Hero.

Last American Hero
Cover of the 2010 vinyl edition
Studio album by James Ferraro
Released	November 10, 2008
Recorded	2008
Genre	Hypnagogic pop [1]
Length	58:31 29:57 (vinyl edition)
Label	Taped Sounds
Producer	James Ferraro
James Ferraro chronology
Chameleon Ballet (2008) Last American Hero (2008) Heaven's Gate (2009)

Last American Hero is a studio album by American musician James Ferraro, released on November 10, 2008 by Taped Sounds. It was later repressed in March 2010 by Olde English Spelling Bee.

Background and style

Last American Hero was inspired by Ferraro's experiences of living in a "kind of insane gated community for senior citizens", where his grandparents resided in Florida. ^[2] He recalled feeling like he was in a "weird science experiment of consumerism" in the community, which consisted of "large flat-screen TVs, and insane Ikea couches that you can't even sit on because they're too big", as well as Chrysler PT Cruisers. ^[2] As Ferraro explained, "this infrastructure of gated communities and Wal-Marts and Targets, and these complexes of shopping – that was their entire world." ^[2]

The album incorporates heavily phased, bluesy guitar playing and saturated synthesizers, delay and loop effects, and thin, compressed recording quality. ^[1] The cover of the tape release shows two unidentified bikers standing next to a saguaro cactus. The Olde English Spelling Bee repress includes a different cover, a picture of a Best Buy storefront along with a superimposed image from the courtroom TV program Judge Judy. ^{[3] [1]}

Release and reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Fact	[1]

Last American Hero was released on November 10, 2008 through Taped Sounds, ^{[4] [1]} before being reissued in March 2010 by Olde English Spelling Bee as an abridged vinyl release. ^[5]

Writing for Fact , Kiran Sande called Last American Hero "a magnificent record" and wrote that "Ferraro's willingness to engage with the real banal, liminal ugliness of consumer life is undeniably interesting, and on this album at least, the music feels emboldened rather than burdened by it." ^[1] Critic David Keenan called it "fantastic" and described it as "a series of meditations on American concepts of heroism and freedom as refracted via MTV, Hollywood and various black magic marketing strategies." ^[6]

Track listing

Original cassette release

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Last American Hero"	29:57
2.	"Adrenaline's End"	28:34
Total length:		58:31

Vinyl edition

No.	Title	Length
1.	"F-150 Night Eros At Highways End"	11:58
2.	"Blacktop Tumble Weed"	8:54
3.	"Headlines (Access Hollywood)"	7:15
Total length:		29:57

References

1. Sande, Kiran. "James Ferraro: Last American Hero". Fact Magazine. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
2. "Red Bull Music Academy".
3. Reynolds, Simon (March 2011). "'Hypnagogic pop' and the landscape of Southern California". frieze . No. 137. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
4. "Last American Hero, by James Ferraro". OLDE ENGLISH SPELLING BEE. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
5. Simpson, Paul. "Biography". AllMusic . Retrieved July 4, 2016.
6. Keenan, David. "Last American Hero – James Ferraro". Volcanic Tongues. Retrieved May 11, 2017.