''Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground'' is the fourth studio album by Bright Eyes and the 46th release of

Saddle Creek Records Saddle Creek Records is an American record label based in Omaha, Nebraska. Started as a college class project on entrepreneurship, the label was founded by Mike Mogis and Justin Oberst in 1993 (as Lumberjack Records). Mogis soon turned over his ...

. The band made its national television debut in support of the album, performing "The Trees Get Wheeled Away" (a track that was not on the album) on the ''

Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the The Late Show (franchise), ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by ...

''. The album was reissued by

Dead Oceans Dead Oceans is an American independent record label formed in 2007 and based in Bloomington, Indiana, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Berlin. Dead Oceans is part of Secretly Group, which also ...

alongside a six-track companion EP on November 11, 2022.

Critical reception

''Lifted'' received positive reviews, ranking fourth on ''

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

s list of the best albums in 2002, and was lauded as a breakthrough album for Bright Eyes and Conor Oberst. ''

Kludge A kludge or kluge () is a workaround or quick-and-dirty solution that is clumsy, inelegant, inefficient, difficult to extend and hard to maintain. This term is used in diverse fields such as computer science, aerospace engineering, Internet sla ...

'' included it on their list of best albums of 2002. ''

Blender A blender (sometimes called a mixer or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen appliance, kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsion, emulsify food and other substances. A stationary blender consists of a blender ...

'' ranked the album at 52 on their list of "100 Greatest Indie-Rock Albums Ever", which appeared in the December 2007 issue. ''Lifted'' was the band's first to reach The Billboard 200, spending one week at No. 161. The set has sold 184,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. As of 2009 it has sold over 340,000 copies in the US.

Track listing

Personnel

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 Venu ...

– guitar, piano, rhodes, organ, voice (tracks 1–13) *

Mike Mogis Michael Riley Mogis (born May 16, 1974) is an American producer/engineer and multi-instrumentalist who, along with his brother A.J. Mogis, founded Presto! Recording Studios (previously known as Dead Space Recording and, earlier, Whoopass Record ...

– banjos, bells,

hammered dulcimer The hammered dulcimer (also called the hammer dulcimer) is a percussion-stringed instrument which consists of strings typically stretched over a trapezoidal resonant sound board. The hammered dulcimer is set before the musician, who in more trad ...

, vibraphone, glockenspiel, mandolin, guitar, dobro, pedal steel (tracks 2–9, 11–13) *

Matt Focht Matthew David Focht is an American musician originally from Omaha, Nebraska. He is best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist in the Chicago-based band Head of Femur. Matt is currently working on a record with his wife, Crystal Hartford, ...

Clint Schnase Clint Schnase is a musician from Omaha, Nebraska. He played drums in the indie-rock band Cursive from 1995 until late 2006. He also recorded and toured with Bright Eyes, Lullaby For The Working Class, The Good Life, Smashmouth (Indie rock ba ...

Mike Sweeney Michael John Sweeney (born July 22, 1973) is a former Major League Baseball designated hitter and first baseman. Sweeney played his first 13 seasons in the majors with the Kansas City Royals, first as a catcher, then at first base and designated ...

– drums * Todd Baechle,

Jenny Lewis Jennifer Diane Lewis (born January 8, 1976) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She was the lead singer, rhythm guitarist and keyboardist for the indie rock band Rilo Kiley. Lewis gained prominence in the 1980s as a child a ...

Blake Sennett Blake Sennett (born September 22, 1976) is an American musician and actor who served as the lead guitarist for indie rock band Rilo Kiley, as well as the lead singer/lead guitarist for his alt-rock side project the Elected. Until 2017 he led Nigh ...

, Choir – vocal harmonies * Andy LeMaster – electric guitar, keyboards, vocal harmonies (tracks 2–4, 6–8, 11) *

Clark Baechle Clark Alan Baechle (born April 21, 1981) is an American founding member of the Omaha-based electronic rock band The Faint, along with his brother, Todd Fink. Although he is primarily known for playing drums, he also sings backing vocals and ...

– drums, clarinet *Clay Leverett – drums, vocal harmonies *

Jiha Lee Jiha Lee is the former keyboardist of the Good Life and has performed with Bright Eyes. Having left the Good Life after their second album, '' Black Out'', she returned to record the track "Inmates" for ''Album of the Year''. Her recordings wi ...

– flute, vocal harmonies (tracks 3, 6, 8, 9) *Chris Brooks – piano (track 9) * Gretta Cohn – cello (tracks 3, 5, 7, 12) * Sean Cole – harmonica (tracks 9, 13) * Julee Dunekacke – French horn (track 3) *Margaret Fish – bassoon (tracks 3, 13) *

Orenda Fink Orenda Fink is an American singer, musician, and writer. Perhaps best known as half of the duo Azure Ray, Fink is also a member of Art in Manila, O+S, Closeness, and High Up, and has played with or appeared as a guest on records by Bright Ey ...

– trumpet, vocal harmonies (tracks 2, 3, 7, 11, 13) * Jason Flatowicz – trombone (tracks 3, 13) *

Tiffany Kowalski Tiffany may refer to: People * Tiffany (given name), list of people with this name * Tiffany (surname), list of people with this surname Known mononymously as "Tiffany": * Tiffany Darwish, (born 1971), an American singer, songwriter, actress know ...

– violin (tracks 3, 5, 7, 12) *

Matt Maginn Matt Maginn is a musician from Omaha, Nebraska. He plays bass guitar in the indie-rock band Cursive and is a frequent contributor on a number of Bright Eyes records. He was also a founding member of Slowdown Virginia. He also helps run Team Lo ...

– bass (tracks 2, 4, 7, 9) * Casey Scott – bass (tracks 3, 8, 9, 12, 13) *

Katie Muth Katie J. Muth is an American politician serving as a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania State Senate, representing the 44th District. Her district includes portions of northeastern Chester and southwestern Montgomery and Berks Counties. ...

– oboe (tracks 3, 6, 8, 12) *

Ted Stevens Theodore Fulton Stevens Sr. (November 18, 1923 – August 9, 2010) was an American politician and lawyer who served as a U.S. Senator from Alaska from 1968 to 2009. He was the longest-serving Republican Senator in history at the time he left ...

– electric guitar (track 9) * Maria Taylor – piano, organ, vocal harmonies (tracks 2–4, 8, 12, 13)

Charts

References

External links

Saddle Creek Records
{{Authority control 2002 albums Bright Eyes (band) albums Saddle Creek Records albums Albums produced by Mike Mogis