''Last Days of Wonder'' is the seventh studio album released by
The Handsome Family
The Handsome Family is an American music duo consisting of husband and wife Brett and Rennie Sparks formed in Chicago, Illinois, and as of 2001 based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. They are perhaps best known for their song " Far from Any Road" from ...
. It was released 2006 by Carrot Top Records (North America) /
Loose Music
Loose is a British independent record label based in Ladbroke Grove, London.
In 1998, Loose was formed from the vinyl only record label, Vinyl Junkie, which was set up in 1994 by Tom Bridgewater. Loose Music - About
Since 1998, Loose has rele ...
(Europe). The title is a reference to
Puritan
The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Catholic Church, Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become m ...
scientist and witch-hunter
Cotton Mather
Cotton Mather (; February 12, 1663 – February 13, 1728) was a New England Puritan clergyman and a prolific writer. Educated at Harvard College, in 1685 he joined his father Increase as minister of the Congregationalist Old North Meeting H ...
's 1693 book ''
Wonders of the Invisible World
''The Wonders of the Invisible World'' was a book written by Cotton Mather and published in 1693. It was subtitled, ''Observations As well Historical as Theological, upon the Nature, the Number, and the Operations of the Devils''. The book defend ...
'', which lyricist Rennie Sparks found intriguing because of what she called its "madness brimming under the surface of things."
Reception
The album was well received by critics: according to
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the album has received an average review score of 80/100, based on 17 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews."
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Track listing
# "Your Great Journey" – 3:13
# "Tesla's Hotel Room" – 3:56
# "These Golden Jewels" – 3:32
# "After We Shot The Grizzly" – 3:33
# "Flapping Your Broken Wings" – 3:45
# "Beautiful William" – 4:22
# "All The Time In Airports" – 3:43
# "White Lights" – 3:36
# "Bowling Alley Bar" – 2:52
# "Hunter Green" - 4:29
# "Our Blue Sky" - 2:59
# "Somewhere Else To Be" - 3:23
Personnel[cf. Brett & Rennie Sparks (2006): Credits. In ''Last Days Of Wonder'' D booklet Chicago: Carrot Top Records.]
;The Handsome Family
* Rennie Sparks - lyrics; artwork; some autoharp, banjo, ukulele, vocals
* Brett Sparks - music; all instruments except as follows
with:
* David Coulter - saw on "These Golden Jewels"
* Stephen Dorocke - pedal steel on "Your Great Journey" and "Somewhere Else to Be"
* David Gutierrez - jazz guitar on "After We Shot the Grizzly"
* Eric Johnson - banjo on "After We Shot the Grizzly"
* Darrel Sparks - harmony vocals on "All The Time in Airports", "Our Blue Sky" and "Your Great Journey"
* Mark Weaver - trombone on "Tesla's Hotel Room"
* Amanda Kooser - 12-string guitar on "Our Blue Sky"
;Technical
* Mastered by Roger Seibel/SAE - mastering
*Johanna Nelson - back cover photo (https://www.flickr.com/photos/girlfromauntie).
* Sheila Sachs - layout assistance
References
External links
The Handsome Family official website
2006 albums
The Handsome Family albums
Carrot Top Records albums
Loose Music albums
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