07-02-2013, 14:14
online listen
getting some respect for this guy
borderline score but I like enough tracks to put it on the list
the mans got 10 albums
hearing some Beck on this one
1.6 from me and a converted 2.1 from the pros at allmusic
the clip is my fav
from the album - New Alphabet
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cumTHJHoHIM
released Feb 5th, 2013
![[Image: MI0003458069.jpg?partner=allrovi.com]](http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_250/MI0003/458/MI0003458069.jpg?partner=allrovi.com)
Bio - from allmusic
Although Eels are often marketed as a full-fledged band, singer/songwriter E (real name: Mark
Oliver Everett) is responsible for the group's sound and direction. Born in Virginia on April
9, 1963, Everett became interested in rock music at an early age via his sister's record
collection, and began playing drums at the age of six (as well as tinkering on his family's
piano). As the years progressed, Everett began leading a troubled teenage life, which was
further complicated by his father's death. However, the turmoil led to an even stronger
interest in music, as he taught himself how to play his sister's guitar and began writing his
own original compositions. (Tragedy would later form the catalyst for Eels' magnum opus,
Electro-Shock Blues.)
Due to the fact that several of his friends also were named Mark, it was also around this time
that Everett began going by his initials -- and eventually, solely by the letter "E." By his
early twenties, E was recording demo material on a used four-track cassette recorder, and
eventually decided to pursue his rock & roll dreams by relocating to Los Angeles. Due to his
prolific songwriting, the quality of his tunes naturally began to improve, which led to a
recording contract as a solo artist for Polydor Records. This was followed by a pair of
underappreciated releases, 1992's A Man Called E (which was supported with a tour opening for
Tori Amos) and 1993's Broken Toy Shop, before E left the label and formed Eels along with
bassist Tommy Walter and drummer Butch Norton. The trio inked a deal with the then-newly formed
Dreamworks label and issued Eels' debut, 1996's Beautiful Freak. The album spawned a sizable
MTV/alternative radio hit with "Novocaine for the Soul," its promo clip received three MTV
Video Music Award nominations the following year, and the group's popularity rose in England
(resulting in a Brit Award, which was presented to the group by goof metallists Spinal Tap).
What should have been a time of great promise for E turned out to be one of tragedy, as both
the singer's sister and mother passed away in quick succession. This was compounded by Walter's
departure from the group. The dark mood resonated in Eels' sophomore effort, Electro-Shock
Blues, which proved to be stronger than its predecessor yet failed to fuel much commercial
success. With new bassist Adam Siegal in tow, the group toured behind the album's release
before returning to the studio immediately afterward to work on a third album. Issued in 2000,
Daisies of the Galaxy offered a slightly brighter outlook and featured a guest appearance from
R.E.M.'s guitarist Peter Buck, who also helped co-pen a track. Despite the album's commercial
failure, E put together "the Eels Orchestra" and launched an international tour in support of
its release. The six-piece band featured saxophone, trombone, trumpet, banjo, guitar, violin,
upright bass, piano, melodica, clarinet, and timpani -- to make it work on-stage, each
bandmember was required to play three to four different instruments each night.
After a live recording of the 2000 Eels Orchestra tour, Oh What a Beautiful Morning, was issued
via the group's official website, E began preparing for Eels' fourth studio release. Instead of
penning the entire album by himself (as he'd done with the group's previous work), E turned to
John Parish for help. The two created Souljacker, which was issued throughout most of the world
in September 2001 and hit American shores early the following year (in the U.S., the first
edition of the CD also contained a bonus four-track disc). The resulting tour saw E and Norton
joined by multi-instrumentalist Parish, as well as new bassist/synthesizer player Koool G
Murder. A live disc, Electro-Shock Blues Show, followed soon after to promote the tour.
Spring 2003 began a flurry of Eels/E-related releases, beginning with MC Honky and his SpinART
release I Am the Messiah. While the man behind Messiah's splattering mix of hip-hop beats,
dance grooves, and kitschy samples was little more than E in DJ drag, the album was
nevertheless an enjoyable slice of summertime fun. E's score for the indie film Levity arrived
in April, and June saw the release of the Eels' fifth studio album, Shootenanny! Its follow-up,
2005's Blinking Lights and Other Revelations, was an ambitious double album including 33 songs.
Eels' With Strings: Live at Town Hall album, recorded June 30, 2005, documented the New York
Town Hall performance during their 2005 tour of the same name, and another With Strings: Live
at Town Hall edition was simultaneously issued in February 2006 with a concert DVD.
In 2008, Eels released two CD/DVD sets -- Meet the Eels: Essential Eels 1996-2006, Vol. 1 and
Useless Trinkets: B Sides, Soundtracks, Rarities and Unreleased 1996-2007. The band's music
also comprised the bulk of the soundtrack for Yes Man, a comedy featuring Jim Carrey. E then
returned to the drawing board and emerged with Hombre Lobo, a concept album about desire that
arrived in mid-2009, followed closely by the MySpace Transmissions Session 2009 live EP. The
lo-fi End Times, which revolved around the central theme of broken love, arrived in 2010, but
was followed in August by Tomorrow Morning, a much more polished album of upbeat optimism that
relied heavily on analog electronics to drive its songs. In 2011 Eels issued Hombre Loco, End
Times, and Tomorrow Morning as a box set entitled Trilogy with an accompanying DVD. Eels 10th
album, Wonderful, Glorious, arrived early in 2013.
Album Review - from allmusic
On his tenth album under the Eels moniker, Mark "E" Everett continues to follow his musical
muse wherever it'll take him with Wonderful, Glorious. After so many records it seems like E
would be well past the point of any new firsts, but this is the first album to be recorded in
his expansive new studio, mysteriously named The Compound, as well as the first album written
in collaboration with the rest of the band. This more open, organic process comes through on
the songs, providing E and company with a refreshing amount of creative freedom after the
relative confinement of doing a conceptual three-album trilogy (2009's Hombre Lobo and 2010's
End Times and Tomorrow Morning). While this process and studio have made their impact
musically, Eels fans can rest assured that E's melancholic, beaten-down lyricism remains
intact. Proclaiming "Every time I find myself in this old bind, watching the death of all my
hopes/In the ring so long gonna prove 'em wrong, I'm not knocked out but I'm on the ropes"
during the sad yet hopeful "On the Ropes," the album finds Everett in a more grounded and,
relatively, positive place. This feeling is reinforced on "New Alphabet," where Everett lets us
know "It's looking good, I dug my way out/I'm changing up what the story's about," making it
clear that this new way of making music is working for him both artistically and personally,
and though there's plenty of evidence that E is still out there suffering for his art, it seems
that his days are a little less dark than usual.
Track Listing
1. Bombs Away
2. Kinda Fuzzy
3. Accident Prone
4. Peach Blossom
5. On The Ropes
6. The Turnaround
7. New Alphabet
8. Stick Together
9. True Original
10. Open My Present
11. You're My Friend
12. I Am Building A Shrine
13. Wonderful, Glorious
getting some respect for this guy
borderline score but I like enough tracks to put it on the list
the mans got 10 albums
hearing some Beck on this one
1.6 from me and a converted 2.1 from the pros at allmusic
the clip is my fav
from the album - New Alphabet
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cumTHJHoHIM
released Feb 5th, 2013
Bio - from allmusic
Although Eels are often marketed as a full-fledged band, singer/songwriter E (real name: Mark
Oliver Everett) is responsible for the group's sound and direction. Born in Virginia on April
9, 1963, Everett became interested in rock music at an early age via his sister's record
collection, and began playing drums at the age of six (as well as tinkering on his family's
piano). As the years progressed, Everett began leading a troubled teenage life, which was
further complicated by his father's death. However, the turmoil led to an even stronger
interest in music, as he taught himself how to play his sister's guitar and began writing his
own original compositions. (Tragedy would later form the catalyst for Eels' magnum opus,
Electro-Shock Blues.)
Due to the fact that several of his friends also were named Mark, it was also around this time
that Everett began going by his initials -- and eventually, solely by the letter "E." By his
early twenties, E was recording demo material on a used four-track cassette recorder, and
eventually decided to pursue his rock & roll dreams by relocating to Los Angeles. Due to his
prolific songwriting, the quality of his tunes naturally began to improve, which led to a
recording contract as a solo artist for Polydor Records. This was followed by a pair of
underappreciated releases, 1992's A Man Called E (which was supported with a tour opening for
Tori Amos) and 1993's Broken Toy Shop, before E left the label and formed Eels along with
bassist Tommy Walter and drummer Butch Norton. The trio inked a deal with the then-newly formed
Dreamworks label and issued Eels' debut, 1996's Beautiful Freak. The album spawned a sizable
MTV/alternative radio hit with "Novocaine for the Soul," its promo clip received three MTV
Video Music Award nominations the following year, and the group's popularity rose in England
(resulting in a Brit Award, which was presented to the group by goof metallists Spinal Tap).
What should have been a time of great promise for E turned out to be one of tragedy, as both
the singer's sister and mother passed away in quick succession. This was compounded by Walter's
departure from the group. The dark mood resonated in Eels' sophomore effort, Electro-Shock
Blues, which proved to be stronger than its predecessor yet failed to fuel much commercial
success. With new bassist Adam Siegal in tow, the group toured behind the album's release
before returning to the studio immediately afterward to work on a third album. Issued in 2000,
Daisies of the Galaxy offered a slightly brighter outlook and featured a guest appearance from
R.E.M.'s guitarist Peter Buck, who also helped co-pen a track. Despite the album's commercial
failure, E put together "the Eels Orchestra" and launched an international tour in support of
its release. The six-piece band featured saxophone, trombone, trumpet, banjo, guitar, violin,
upright bass, piano, melodica, clarinet, and timpani -- to make it work on-stage, each
bandmember was required to play three to four different instruments each night.
After a live recording of the 2000 Eels Orchestra tour, Oh What a Beautiful Morning, was issued
via the group's official website, E began preparing for Eels' fourth studio release. Instead of
penning the entire album by himself (as he'd done with the group's previous work), E turned to
John Parish for help. The two created Souljacker, which was issued throughout most of the world
in September 2001 and hit American shores early the following year (in the U.S., the first
edition of the CD also contained a bonus four-track disc). The resulting tour saw E and Norton
joined by multi-instrumentalist Parish, as well as new bassist/synthesizer player Koool G
Murder. A live disc, Electro-Shock Blues Show, followed soon after to promote the tour.
Spring 2003 began a flurry of Eels/E-related releases, beginning with MC Honky and his SpinART
release I Am the Messiah. While the man behind Messiah's splattering mix of hip-hop beats,
dance grooves, and kitschy samples was little more than E in DJ drag, the album was
nevertheless an enjoyable slice of summertime fun. E's score for the indie film Levity arrived
in April, and June saw the release of the Eels' fifth studio album, Shootenanny! Its follow-up,
2005's Blinking Lights and Other Revelations, was an ambitious double album including 33 songs.
Eels' With Strings: Live at Town Hall album, recorded June 30, 2005, documented the New York
Town Hall performance during their 2005 tour of the same name, and another With Strings: Live
at Town Hall edition was simultaneously issued in February 2006 with a concert DVD.
In 2008, Eels released two CD/DVD sets -- Meet the Eels: Essential Eels 1996-2006, Vol. 1 and
Useless Trinkets: B Sides, Soundtracks, Rarities and Unreleased 1996-2007. The band's music
also comprised the bulk of the soundtrack for Yes Man, a comedy featuring Jim Carrey. E then
returned to the drawing board and emerged with Hombre Lobo, a concept album about desire that
arrived in mid-2009, followed closely by the MySpace Transmissions Session 2009 live EP. The
lo-fi End Times, which revolved around the central theme of broken love, arrived in 2010, but
was followed in August by Tomorrow Morning, a much more polished album of upbeat optimism that
relied heavily on analog electronics to drive its songs. In 2011 Eels issued Hombre Loco, End
Times, and Tomorrow Morning as a box set entitled Trilogy with an accompanying DVD. Eels 10th
album, Wonderful, Glorious, arrived early in 2013.
Album Review - from allmusic
On his tenth album under the Eels moniker, Mark "E" Everett continues to follow his musical
muse wherever it'll take him with Wonderful, Glorious. After so many records it seems like E
would be well past the point of any new firsts, but this is the first album to be recorded in
his expansive new studio, mysteriously named The Compound, as well as the first album written
in collaboration with the rest of the band. This more open, organic process comes through on
the songs, providing E and company with a refreshing amount of creative freedom after the
relative confinement of doing a conceptual three-album trilogy (2009's Hombre Lobo and 2010's
End Times and Tomorrow Morning). While this process and studio have made their impact
musically, Eels fans can rest assured that E's melancholic, beaten-down lyricism remains
intact. Proclaiming "Every time I find myself in this old bind, watching the death of all my
hopes/In the ring so long gonna prove 'em wrong, I'm not knocked out but I'm on the ropes"
during the sad yet hopeful "On the Ropes," the album finds Everett in a more grounded and,
relatively, positive place. This feeling is reinforced on "New Alphabet," where Everett lets us
know "It's looking good, I dug my way out/I'm changing up what the story's about," making it
clear that this new way of making music is working for him both artistically and personally,
and though there's plenty of evidence that E is still out there suffering for his art, it seems
that his days are a little less dark than usual.
Track Listing
1. Bombs Away
2. Kinda Fuzzy
3. Accident Prone
4. Peach Blossom
5. On The Ropes
6. The Turnaround
7. New Alphabet
8. Stick Together
9. True Original
10. Open My Present
11. You're My Friend
12. I Am Building A Shrine
13. Wonderful, Glorious
