The Earth Is Blue

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The Earth Is Blue
Damon & Naomi - The Earth Is Blue.png
Studio album by
Damon & Naomi
Released2005
Genre
Length49:56
Label 20/20/20
Damon & Naomi chronology
Song to the Siren
(2002)		The Earth Is Blue
(2005)		Within These Walls
(2007)

The Earth Is Blue is an album by the American musical duo Damon & Naomi, released in 2005 on their newly formed label, 20/20/20 (an homage to the board game Careers ). [1] [2] [3] The duo supported the album with a North American tour. [4]

Contents

Production

The album was recorded over 18 months at Damon & Naomi's home studio, in Cambridge, Massachusetts; they had to rebuild it during the sessions to accommodate the scope of the album. [5] [1] The duo recorded deliberately, instead of trying to find the sound in the moment, so as not to annoy their neighbors. [6] They were joined by the Ghost guitarist Michio Kurihara. The horn group Nmperign played on a few of the tracks. [7] The duo initially intended to make a more political album, before again turning toward autobiographical lyrics. [8] "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" is a cover of the George Harrison song, which uses only part of the structure and melody. [9] "Araçá Azul" is a version of the title track to Caetano Veloso's 1972 album. [10]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Birmingham Post Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [11]
Chicago Sun-Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [12]
The Hamilton Spectator Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [13]
Philadelphia Daily News C+ [14]
Pitchfork 8.0/10 [15]
The Province C+ [16]
The Republican Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [5]
Uncut Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [17]
Winnipeg Sun Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [18]

The Boston Globe labeled the album a "gorgeous, lush disc." [8] The Republican said that "dream-weaving psychedelia, late-night jazz and traces of shimmering chamber pop float throughout". [5] The Philadelphia Daily News opined that the duo "crank up the low-fi atmospherics ... There's not much musically to hold onto, except a cover of 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps'." [14] The Sunday Times noted that the Harrison cover "takes the translucent form of a medieval folk song." [19] The Columbus Dispatch panned Damon's "colorless, midrange moan." [20]

The Capital Times concluded that Damon & Naomi "have a penchant for gorgeous melodies and wistful lyrics that can lull the unwary listener into a pleasant trance." [21] The Toronto Star stated that the duo "weaves together strands of Fairport Convention, Low and trip/hop". [22] The Hamilton Spectator called the songs "more clearly defined this time". [13] The Chicago Tribune stated that the duo "have fashioned a remarkably gentle, ethereal brand of psychedelia that fuses the evanescent shimmer of their former bank Galaxie 500 with the opiate-induced dreaminess of Country Joe and the Fish, or Love at their most introspective." [23] Jim DeRogatis, in the Chicago Sun-Times , wrote that he would "hold their catalog up against former partner Dean Wareham's output with his post-Galaxie band Luna any day"; he later listed The Earth Is Blue as the 15th best album of 2005. [12] [24]

Track listing

The Earth Is Blue track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Beautiful Close Double"4:37
2."A Second Life"4:46
3."Malibran"4:39
4."House of Glass"6:23
5."Sometimes"4:42
6."While My Guitar Gently Weeps"5:36
7."Ueno Station"5:16
8."The Robot Speaks"4:27
9."Araçá Azul"2:43
10."The Earth Is Blue"6:47
Total length:49:56

References

  1. 1 2 Anderman, Joan (February 21, 2005). "Pop's Damon & Naomi Reach a New Plateau". The Boston Globe . p. C3.
  2. ↑ Whittington-Hill, Lisa (March–April 2005). "The Earth Is Blue". This. Vol. 38, no. 5. Toronto. p. 43.
  3. ↑ Wallen, Doug (April 13, 2005). "A-List". Arts & Culture. Philadelphia Weekly .
  4. ↑ Laban, Linda (February 11, 2005). "Gigs". Boston Herald . p. E6.
  5. 1 2 3 O'Hare, Kevin (February 13, 2005). "Lyrical portraits enthralling". The Republican . p. H1.
  6. ↑ Parsons, Holly Jefferson (April 6, 2005). "Blue Crush". Music. City Paper . Baltimore.
  7. ↑ Sullivan, Jim (February 15, 2005). "The good earth". The Boston Globe . p. E3.
  8. 1 2 Sullivan, Jim (November 22, 2004). "A gentle storm". The Boston Globe . p. C4.
  9. ↑ Dwyer, Michael (February 23, 2005). "The Earth Is Blue, Damon & Naomi". Metro. The Age . p. 6.
  10. ↑ Foster, Patrick (April 21, 2005). "Damon & Naomi, Driving On". The Washington Post . p. C5.
  11. ↑ Cowen, Andrew (April 18, 2005). "CD reviews". Features. Birmingham Post . p. 13.
  12. 1 2 DeRogatis, Jim (March 13, 2005). "Spin Control". Sunday Showcase. Chicago Sun-Times . p. 11.
  13. 1 2 Reynolds, Bill (February 21, 2005). "Damon & Naomi The Earth Is Blue". The Hamilton Spectator . p. G12.
  14. 1 2 Takiff, Jonathan (February 15, 2005). "Singular Voices". Features. Philadelphia Daily News . p. 36.
  15. ↑ Murphy, Matthew (February 13, 2005). "The Earth Is Blue". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
  16. ↑ Harrison, Tom (March 1, 2005). "Damon and Naomi The Earth Is Blue". The Province . p. B5.
  17. ↑ "Reviews". Uncut. May 2005. p. 100.
  18. ↑ Sterdan, Darryl (March 18, 2005). "Discs". Entertainment. Winnipeg Sun . p. 34.
  19. ↑ Stewart, Lee (February 13, 2005). "Damon & Naomi". Culture. The Sunday Times . p. 23.
  20. ↑ "Damon and Naomi". Weekender. The Columbus Dispatch . April 21, 2005. p. 8.
  21. ↑ Thomas, Rob (February 16, 2005). "Damon & Naomi, 'The Earth Is Blue'". The Capital Times . p. 1B.
  22. ↑ "CD Reviews". Toronto Star . February 17, 2005. p. J11.
  23. ↑ Reger, Rick (March 8, 2005). "Pop". Chicago Tribune . p. 5.3.
  24. ↑ DeRogatis, Jim (December 25, 2005). "2005 Year in Review". Chicago Sun-Times . p. D1.
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