NakedSelf

Last updated

NakedSelf
The The NakedSelf - Front.jpg
Studio album by
The The
Released29 February 2000
RecordedNew York & London 1999–2000
Genre Alternative rock
Industrial rock
Length45:38
Label Nothing Records/Universal [1]
Producer Matt Johnson, Bruce Lampcov
The The chronology
Gun Sluts
(1997)		NakedSelf
(2000)		 45 RPM: The Singles of The The
(2002)
Alternative cover
NakedSelf.jpg
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Mojo Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [4]
NME Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [5]
Pitchfork 7.1/10 [6]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [7]

NakedSelf is the sixth studio album by the British band The The. [8] [9] Released in 2000, it was the band's first album since Hanky Panky (1995) and the first containing original material since Dusk (1993). In terms of sales, it was the band's least successful until that point, peaking at 45 in the UK Album Chart. [10] It was the last studio album released by The The until the announcement of Ensoulment, released on September 6th 2024. [11]

Contents

Production

The album, produced by Bruce Lampcov and Matt Johnson, was recorded in New York City. [12] Johnson decided to make the album without the use of samplers, keyboards, or sequencers. [13] Guitarist Eric Schermerhorn, who had joined The The before the recording of Hanky Panky (replacing Johnny Marr), took an active role alongside Johnson, with co-writing credits on six out of twelve tracks. The band released NakedSelf through Nothing Records after it was deemed by Sony as lacking in commercial value. [14]

Critical reception

The album received mainly positive reviews from critics, with an average Metacritic rating of 75/100. [15] Pitchfork wrote that the album "finds Matt Johnson in his element, tackling issues of alienation, global corruption, and urban squalor and decay with potent, more succinct lyrics and some of his most affecting melodies in ages." [6] The Austin Chronicle called the album "a solid return, appropriately dark and seedy when lyrics turn to interpersonal relationships (or the impossibility thereof), as they usually do." [16] The Chicago Tribune wrote: "A modern-day blues album, NakedSelf is steeped in distortion and cynical takes on love and loneliness." [17] The New Zealand Herald wrote that "the musical approach here is certainly effective in its taut, barbed and occasionally bluesy guitar attack with occasional acoustic urges." [18]

Track listing

  1. "Boiling Point" (Matt Johnson, Eric Schermerhorn) - 5:48
  2. "Shrunken Man" (Matt Johnson) - 4:55
  3. "The Whisperers" (Matt Johnson, Eric Schermerhorn) - 3:20
  4. "Soul Catcher" (Matt Johnson) - 3:15
  5. "Global Eyes" (Matt Johnson) - 4:10
  6. "December Sunlight" (Matt Johnson, Eric Schermerhorn) - 3:18
  7. "Swine Fever" (Matt Johnson) - 3:39
  8. "Diesel Breeze" (Matt Johnson, Eric Schermerhorn) - 2:52
  9. "Weather Belle" (Matt Johnson) - 3:47
  10. "Voidy Numbness" (Matt Johnson, Eric Schermerhorn) - 4:04
  11. "Phantom Walls" (Matt Johnson) - 4:17
  12. "Salt Water" (Matt Johnson, Eric Schermerhorn) - 2:13

Personnel

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The The</span> English post-punk band

The The are an English post-punk band. They have been active in various forms since 1979, with the singer-songwriter Matt Johnson as the only constant, and often sole, band member. The The achieved critical acclaim and commercial success in the UK, with 15 chart singles, and their most successful studio album, Infected (1986), spent 30 weeks on the chart. They followed this with the top-ten studio albums Mind Bomb (1989) and Dusk (1993).

<i>Long Tall Weekend</i> 1999 studio album by They Might Be Giants

Long Tall Weekend is the seventh studio album by American alternative rock duo They Might Be Giants, released in 1999. It was released exclusively online through the digital music service eMusic. The album was the band's first since their departure from the major label Elektra. Long Tall Weekend was also the first full-length album released exclusively on the Internet by an established major label band. Although the album's primary release was digital, CDs of the album were issued promotionally. Following the success of the album's release through eMusic, TMBG went on to issue a digital series of rarities collections — TMBG Unlimited — through their website.

<i>Lucky</i> (Melissa Etheridge album) Album by Melissa Etheridge

Lucky is the eighth album by singer-songwriter Melissa Etheridge, released in 2004. The album made a debut on Billboard chart at No. 15 with almost 92,000 copies sold.

<i>Good Gods Urge</i> 1996 studio album by Porno for Pyros

Good God's Urge is the second studio album by American alternative rock band Porno for Pyros. It was released in 1996 on Warner Bros. It was the band's first album to feature bass guitarist Mike Watt, who assisted the band in finishing the album after Martyn LeNoble left before all his bass tracks had been completed. There were three singles released from the album.

<i>Jubilation</i> (The Band album) 1998 studio album by the Band

Jubilation is the tenth and final studio album by Canadian/American rock group the Band. Recorded in the spring of 1998 in Levon Helm's home studio in Woodstock, New York, it was released on September 15, 1998. For the first time since the group reformed without guitarist and songwriter Robbie Robertson, there were more originals than covers. Songs include "Last Train to Memphis", featuring guest guitarist Eric Clapton, Garth Hudson's solo instrumental closer "French Girls", Rick Danko's "High Cotton" and the ode to Ronnie Hawkins, "White Cadillac".

<i>Times Like These</i> (Rick Danko album) 2000 compilation album by Rick Danko

Times Like These was Band bassist Rick Danko's final album, a posthumous release featuring tracks from a variety of sources dating from an aborted solo project in 1993 to Danko's final live performance in Ann Arbor, Michigan just days before his death.

<i>Red Dirt Girl</i> 2000 studio album by Emmylou Harris

Red Dirt Girl is the nineteenth studio album by American country artist Emmylou Harris, released on September 12, 2000 by Nonesuch Records. The album was a significant departure for Harris, as eleven of the twelve tracks were written or co-written by her. At the time, she was best known for covering other songwriters' work. Prior to this album, only two of Harris' LPs had more than two of her own compositions. Her next album, Stumble into Grace, was also written by Harris. The album contains "Bang the Drum Slowly", a song Guy Clark helped Harris write as an elegy for her father. The album peaked at number 3 on the Billboard country album charts and won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album in 2001.

<i>Bad Reputation</i> (Joan Jett album) 1980 studio album by Joan Jett

Bad Reputation is the debut solo studio album by American recording artist Joan Jett. It was originally released independently in May 1980 as a self-titled album after her previous band The Runaways disbanded. After Jett signed with Boardwalk Records, the album was re-released worldwide with the new title on January 23, 1981. The album was positively received by critics and reached number 51 on the Billboard 200.

<i>Hanky Panky</i> (The The album) 1995 studio album by The The

Hanky Panky is the fifth studio album by English band The The, released on 14 February 1995. It consists of cover versions of country singer Hank Williams' songs. It reached No. 28 on the UK Albums Chart. Matt Johnson intended Hanky Panky to be the first of many albums he would record covering the work of iconic musicians. Johnson provided the liner notes to Alone and Forsaken, a compilation of Williams demos that was also released in 1995.

<i>Jasper County</i> (album) 2005 studio album by Trisha Yearwood

Jasper County is the tenth studio album by American country music singer Trisha Yearwood. It was Yearwood's first studio album in four years since 2001's Inside Out.

Eric Schermerhorn is an American guitarist, composer, and voiceover artist. As a musician, he has worked with David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Ric Ocasek, Richard Butler, The The, They Might Be Giants, Melissa Etheridge, P!nk, Christina Aguilera, Seal, and Sheryl Crow. As a voiceover artist, he has had minor roles in Family Guy and American Dad!.

<i>New Day Dawning</i> (Wynonna Judd album) 2000 studio album by Wynonna Judd

New Day Dawning is the fifth solo studio album by American country music artist Wynonna Judd, released in 2000. It produced only two chart singles on the Billboard Hot Country Singles and Tracks charts: "Can't Nobody Love You " at #31, and "Going Nowhere" at #43. Also included are cover versions of Joni Mitchell's "Help Me" and the Fabulous Thunderbirds' "Tuff Enuff".

<i>On My Way to Absence</i> 2005 studio album by Damien Jurado

On My Way to Absence is Damien Jurado's sixth full-length album. It was released in 2005 and was Jurado's second release on Secretly Canadian records. The album was produced by his frequent collaborator Eric Fisher. Jurado has referred to the album as "a tribute to jealousy".

<i>Modern Love</i> (Matt Nathanson album) 2011 studio album by Matt Nathanson

Modern Love is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Matt Nathanson. It was released on June 21, 2011. Modern Love was Nathanson's second album for Vanguard Records, following his 2007 album Some Mad Hope. He released the first single, "Faster", as a free download to his fan mailing list in March 2011. Modern Love debuted at number 17 on the Billboard 200 for the week of July 9, 2011.

<i>Eleven</i> (Martina McBride album) 2011 studio album by Martina McBride

Eleven is the eleventh studio album by American country music singer Martina McBride, released on October 11, 2011, through Republic Nashville. The title of the album was inspired by the fact that it is McBride's eleventh album, it has eleven tracks and its release date. A deluxe edition of the album was also made available exclusively at Target stores. It featured slightly different cover art, with a blue fade at the bottom instead of white, and included four bonus tracks, as well as music videos for "Teenage Daughters" and "I'm Gonna Love You Through It". As of March 2012 the album has sold over 150,000 copies in the US. On July 3, 2012 the four Deluxe Bonus Tracks were released on iTunes as individual singles.

<i>Hanky Panky</i> (Tommy James and the Shondells album) 1966 studio album by Tommy James and the Shondells

Hanky Panky is the debut album of Tommy James and the Shondells and was released in 1966. It reached #46 on the Billboard 200. The album had two singles that charted. "Hanky Panky" reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and "Say I Am " reached #21.

<i>See You Tonight</i> 2013 studio album by Scotty McCreery

See You Tonight is the third studio album by American country music singer Scotty McCreery. It was released on October 15, 2013, by Mercury Nashville. The album is produced by Frank Rogers with the exception of two tracks produced by Mark Bright.

<i>It Goes Like This</i> 2013 studio album by Thomas Rhett

It Goes Like This is the debut studio album by American country music singer Thomas Rhett. It was released on October 29, 2013, via Valory Music Group. The album's release was announced on August 22.

<i>She Remembers Everything</i> 2018 studio album by Rosanne Cash

She Remembers Everything is Rosanne Cash's fourteenth album. The album was released on November 2, 2018, as well as Cash's second album for Blue Note Records. The album was produced by Tucker Martine and Cash's husband John Leventhal. Cash co-wrote every song on the album. The track "Crossing to Jerusalem" received a Grammy Award for Best American Roots Song nomination at the 62nd Grammy Awards.

<i>Stoned Cold Country</i> 2023 compilation album by various artists

Stoned Cold Country is a tribute album to the Rolling Stones featuring covers performed by country music artists. It was released on March 17, 2023 by This Is Hit and was produced by Robert Deaton.

References

  1. ↑ "The The's Matt Johnson interviewed: "I was hallucinating giant spiders!" | Page 4 of 4". 21 July 2016.
  2. ↑ AllMusic review
  3. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 8. MUZE. p. 113.
  4. ↑ Eccleston, Danny (October 2024). "Matt's Hat-Trick". Mojo . No. 371. p. 31.
  5. ↑ "NakedSelf | NME". 12 September 2005.
  6. 1 2 "The The: NakedSelf". Pitchfork.
  7. ↑ "NakedSelf". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 19 April 2002. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  8. ↑ "The The | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  9. ↑ "Must Hear". CMJ New Music Report. CMJ Network, Inc. 28 February 2000 – via Google Books.
  10. ↑ "THE THE | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.
  11. ↑ "The The announce new studio album, Ensoulment". Uncut.
  12. ↑ "The The Inks Deal With Nothing Records; Will Tour In Fall". MTV News. Archived from the original on 7 August 2017.
  13. ↑ Jenkins, Mark (27 February 2000). "'Machina': Working Overtime" – via www.washingtonpost.com.
  14. ↑ Bond, Jonathan (18 May 2000). "Uncertain Smile". Phoenix New Times.
  15. ↑ "NakedSelf Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic.com. 29 February 2000. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  16. ↑ "The The NakedSelf (Nothing)". www.austinchronicle.com.
  17. ↑ "THE THE GIVES ITS DARKNESS A NEW LONELY SOUND". chicagotribune.com.
  18. ↑ "The The - Naked Self". NZ Herald.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.