''Daisies of the Galaxy'' is the third studio album by American rock band

Eels Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

. It was released on February 28, 2000, in the United Kingdom and March 14 in the United States by record label DreamWorks.

Production

When the band's label requested that a clean version of "It's a Motherfucker" be recorded, the song was re-written as "It's a Monster Trucker", with modified lyrics and sound clips of lead singer Mark Oliver "E" Everett speaking "trucker lingo" on a

CB radio Citizens band radio (also known as CB radio), used in many countries, is a land mobile radio system, a system allowing short-distance person-to-many persons bidirectional voice communication among individuals, using two way radios operating on ...

Release

''Daisies of the Galaxy'' reached number eight in 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 ...

. The single " Mr. E's Beautiful Blues" peaked at number 11 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

; the second single to be released from the album, "

Flyswatter A fly-killing device is used for pest control of flying insects, such as houseflies, wasps, moths, gnats, and mosquitoes. Flyswatter A flyswatter (or fly-swat, fly swatter) usually consists of a small rectangular or round sheet of some acros ...

", charted at number 55.

Reception

''Daisies of the Galaxy'' received a generally favorable response from critics. Fred Kovey of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'' called it "a fine pop record in an era that seems uninterested in pop unless it’s marketed with dance steps and a quicky bio. Though not the equal of the best work of Stephen Merritt or Elliot Smith , ''Daisies of the Galaxy'' is worthy of attention by alterna-pop fans and anyone else desperate for catchy music for grown-ups." Stephen Thomas Erlewine of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

wrote: "Unlike its predecessor, the album doesn't play like 'sprivate diary; instead, it feels as if one is rummaging through his sketchbook. And, like many sketchbooks, some moments have blossomed, and others remain just intriguing, unformed ideas. For the dedicated, it's worth sifting through the album to find the keepers, since there are enough moments of quirky genius. But not all longtime fans will find this rewarding, since has spent more time in creating mood than crafting songs. There are very few melodies that resonate like his best work, and the stripped-down, yet eccentric production – sounding much like a cross between

Jon Brion Jon Brion is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and composer. He performed with the Excerpts, the Bats, 'Til Tuesday and the Grays before becoming an established producer and film score composer. Brion has ...

and Beck – never feels realized." In a retrospective review for '' Stylus Magazine'', Ben Woolhead described ''Daisies of the Galaxy'' as "a very special collection of songs indeed".

Track listing

Japanese bonus track

Personnel

Eels * Butch – drums, backing vocals * E – vocals, guitar,

electric bass The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and s ...

Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...

organ,

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

, sleeve art direction, mixing Additional musicians * David Alvarez – drums *

Peter Buck Peter Lawrence Buck (born December 6, 1956) is an American musician and songwriter. He was a co-founder and the lead guitarist of the alternative rock band R.E.M. He also plays the banjo and mandolin on several R.E.M. songs. Throughout his ca ...

– guitar *

Wayne Bergeron Wayne Bergeron (born January 16, 1958) is an American jazz trumpeter. Bergeron rose to prominence as a member of Maynard Ferguson's band in the 1980s. Since then, he has worked on over 400 TV and motion picture soundtracks. As a lead and studi ...

–

horn Horn most often refers to: *Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound ** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...

* Chris Bleth – horn *

Andy Martin Anthony Robert Martin-Trigona, usually known as Andy Martin (born 1945), is an American perennial candidate who has never been elected to office, running as both a Democrat and a Republican. He has filed over 250 political lawsuits nationwide ...

– horn *

Grant-Lee Phillips Grant-Lee Phillips (born Bryan G. Phillips; September 1, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He led the group Grant Lee Buffalo in the 1990s, afterwards launching a solo career. He features as the town troubadour ...

– guitar * Paul Edge -

turntables A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

Technical *

Wally Gagel Wally Gagel is an American, multi platinum, award-winning record producer, audio engineer, mixer, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter. His current work with Blondfire, Zella Day, Best Coast, Hunter Hunted, The Mowglis and Redlight King has garne ...

–

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

, mixing * Jim Lang – engineering,

and string arrangements, mixing * Bob Ludwig – mastering *

Mickey Petralia Mickey Petralia is an American producer, engineer, and mixer. Petralia produced all of the music on ''Flight of the Conchords''. Discography *2014 - ''Muppets Most Wanted: Original Soundtrack'' *2011 - ''The Muppets: Original Soundtrack'' *200 ...

– programming, engineering * Francesca Restrepo – sleeve design and art direction * Jeffrey Shannon – engineering * Michael Simpson – production, engineering, mixing * James Stone – engineering *

Adrian Tomine Adrian Tomine (; born May 31, 1974) is an American cartoonist. He is best known for his ongoing comic book series ''Optic Nerve'' and his illustrations in '' The New Yorker''. Early life Adrian Tomine was born May 31, 1974, in Sacramento, Cal ...

– sleeve illustrations

Charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2000 albums DreamWorks Records albums Eels (band) albums Albums produced by Mark Oliver Everett