''Conor Oberst'' is the fourth solo studio album by

Conor Oberst Conor Mullen Oberst (born February 15, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter best known for his work in Bright Eyes. He has also played in several other bands, including Desaparecidos, the Faint (previously named Norman Bailer), Commander V ...

, of the band Bright Eyes, which was released on August 4, 2008 by

Merge Records Merge Records is an independent record label based in Durham, North Carolina. It was founded in 1989 by Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan. It began as an outlet for music from their band Superchunk and music created by friends, and has expande ...

. The album debuted on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

at #37 and reached #15 on the

Billboard Top 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artis ...

. It sold 98,000 copies in the US as of August 2009.

Production

The album was recorded in

Tepoztlán Tepoztlán () is a town in the central Mexican state of Morelos. It is located at in the heart of the Tepoztlán Valley. The town serves as the seat of government for the municipality of the same name. The town had a population of 14,130 inhabit ...

, Morelos,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

between January and February 2008. A temporary studio was created in a mountain villa called Valle Místico at the outskirts of town. ''Conor Oberst'' was produced by Conor Oberst and engineered by long-time associate Andy LeMaster. A new band was assembled for the recording, which came to be known as The Mystic Valley Band. The result is Oberst's fourth solo album, and his first in twelve years, following ''

Water Water (chemical formula ) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living ...

'' (1993), '' Here's to Special Treatment'' (1994) and '' The Soundtrack to My Movie'' (1996). In that time he has recorded and performed in many bands and musical projects including

Commander Venus Commander Venus was an American emo band from Omaha, Nebraska. Fronted by Conor Oberst and Tim Kasher, the band also included Todd Fink and Matt Bowen of The Faint, Ben Armstrong of Head of Femur and Robb Nansel, executive producer of the i ...

Park Ave. Park Ave. was an indie pop band which started in January 1996 in Omaha, Nebraska. The band lasted only two and a half years, but still retains a substantial fanbase. During their short time together, Park Ave. (named after an actual street in ...

Desaparecidos An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person by a State (polity), state or political organization, or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or po ...

, and most notably Bright Eyes. The song "Moab" was number 31 on ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

''s list of the 100 Best Songs of 2008.

Track listing

All songs by

, except where noted. #"Cape Canaveral" – 4:04 #"Sausalito" – 3:10 #"Get-Well-Cards" – 3:33 #"Lenders in the Temple" – 4:35 #"Danny Callahan" – 3:58 #"I Don’t Want to Die (In the Hospital)" – 3:32 #"Eagle on a Pole" – 4:42 #"NYC - Gone, Gone" – 1:11 #"Moab" – 3:36 #"Valle Místico (Ruben’s Song)" (Ruben Mendez Hernandez) – 0:49 #"Souled Out!!!" (Oberst,

Jason Boesel Jason Lyon Boesel (born 1977/1978) is an American musician, songwriter and producer based in Los Angeles. He was the drummer for Rilo Kiley and has also played with The Elected and Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band. Bands He also drummed ...

) – 3:32 #"Milk Thistle" – 5:21

Critical reception

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...

'' said that on the album, "Conor sounds like Bright Eyes, only heightened--brighter, if you will: He's emo balladeer, country rocker, and ferocious folkie rolled into one."Tucker, Ken (August 8, 2008), "Conor Oberst". ''Entertainment Weekly''. (1005)

Track information

*The seventh track, "Eagle on a Pole", was inspired by a comment made by Sean Foley who said, "I saw an eagle on a pole. I think it was an eagle."

Simon Joyner Simon Joyner (born 1971) is an American singer-songwriter from Omaha, Nebraska. He has influenced the music of Bright Eyes, Kevin Morby and Gillian Welch. In the early 1990s, Beck listed Joyner in his top 10 albums when asked by ''Rolling St ...

, friend and mentor of Oberst, said that line would be great for a song, which planted the seed for others in the band to write a song from the line. Oberst's version is on this record.

's version is on the second album released by the Mystic Valley Band, '' Outer South''.

Personnel

– guitar, vocals, electric guitar (5), 12-string guitar (9), stomp (8) *

Nate Walcott Nate Walcott (born March 6, 1978) is an American musical composer, arranger, pianist, keyboardist, and trumpeter. He has composed the scores for several feature-length films, including 2014's ''The Fault in Our Stars''. He is a member of the ba ...

– organ (3, 4), piano (5, 6), electric piano (7, 8, 9) *

Nik Freitas Nik Freitas is a singer-songwriter from Visalia,Nik Freitas homepageConor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band ...

– electric guitar (2, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11), vocals (3, 4, 5, 8, 9) * Macey Taylor – bass (2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11), vocals (2), stomp (8) *

Taylor Hollingsworth Taylor Hollingsworth (born May 11, 1980) is a guitarist, singer-songwriter and artist from Birmingham, Alabama. Hollingsworth is also member of Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band and Dead Fingers, and has toured with Conor Oberst, Maria Ta ...

– guitar (3), electric guitar (6), vocals (8), stomp (8) *

– drums (2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11), percussion (2, 9), vocals (3, 7, 8, 9, 11), stomp (8) * Andy LeMaster – tape echo (11), vocals (3, 4, 8) * Phil Schaffart – vocals (8), stomp (8) *

Janet Weiss Janet Lee Weiss (born September 24, 1965) is an American rock drummer, best known as a former member of Sleater-Kinney and a current member of Quasi. She was the drummer for Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, leaving after the album '' Mirror Traffic ...

– vocals (6) * Corina Figueroa-Escamilla – vocals (11) * Ruben Mendez Hernandez – conch (10)

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2008 albums Conor Oberst albums Merge Records albums