''Someday My Blues Will Cover the Earth'' is an album by

His Name Is Alive His Name Is Alive is an American experimental rock band/project from Livonia, Michigan. After several self-released cassettes, they debuted on 4AD Records in 1990, starting a long run at the label. Throughout the band's long history, leader Warre ...

, released by

4AD 4AD is a British record label owned by Beggars Group. It was founded in London under the name "Axis" (after the Hendrix album) by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent in 1980 as an imprint of Beggars Banquet Records. The name was changed to 4AD af ...

in 2001.

History

''Someday My Blues Will Cover the Earth'' marked a huge change in the sound of

, and is a controversial record among some of the band's fans. Many long-time fans criticized the album's sound, which bore little relation to the gothic/folk/progressive rock of the band's past. With the band now consisting solely of leader

Warren Defever Warren Defever (first name often spelled Warn; born April 30, 1969) is a musician and producer, originally from Livonia, Michigan, and now based in Detroit. He is most known for his chameleonic project His Name Is Alive, though he is active in nu ...

and vocalist

Lovetta Pippen His Name Is Alive is an American experimental rock band/project from Livonia, Michigan. After several self-released cassettes, they debuted on 4AD Records in 1990, starting a long run at the label. Throughout the band's long history, leader Warr ...

, an experienced soul and gospel singer who had first appeared as a part of a gospel choir on 1996's

Stars on ESP ''Stars on E.S.P.'' is an album by His Name Is Alive, released by 4AD in 1996. History ''Stars on E.S.P.'' had the longest gestation period of any His Name Is Alive album, a project that band leader Warren Defever spent three years crafting befor ...

, ''Someday...'' is basically a straightforward soul and R&B album. This was the first HNIA album without long-time vocalist

Karin Oliver Karin Oliver is a former singer for the Livonia, Michigan band His Name Is Alive. She was with the band from 1989 to 1998. After leaving the band following the USA release party for the ''Ft. Lake'' album, she pursued a career in marketing full- ...

, whose unique vocal range was, for many fans, the band's key element. On the other hand, there are some fans who appreciate the album for what it is, noting Defever's characteristic songwriting, production and musicianship, and Pippen's impressive vocal skills. Album reviews were also favorable from publications who were unfamiliar with the band's back catalog. The replacement of Oliver with Pippen as primary vocalist lead some to believe that Defever had fired Oliver, which tainted the opinions of fans without even hearing the album. The truth was that Oliver had always held jobs in marketing and advertising during her time with HNIA, as the band had never been a commercial success. With the changes at

(outlined in the article on the previous album,

Ft. Lake ''Ft. Lake'' ("Fort Lake") is an album by His Name Is Alive, released by 4AD in 1998. History Work on ''Ft. Lake'' ("Fort Lake") began shortly after completion of the Nice Day EP, with the same newly stable lineup of leader Warren Defever on g ...

), 4AD had increased commercial expectations for the band. When ''Ft. Lake'' was not a big seller, Oliver chose to accept a full-time job offer in marketing, more out of reasons of feasibility than any hostility between her and Defever. Oliver left the band after the US release party for ''Ft. Lake''; a tape of this concert is available from Time Stereo. She was replaced on the resulting tour with Erika Hoffman, who had also been contributing since ''Stars on ESP''. Defever and Pippen recorded the album from 1998 through 2000. The release of the album was delayed for a year. While 4AD's official reason for the delay was that the elaborate V23 artwork was difficult to produce, there was also speculation that the label was unhappy with the album and had no idea how to market it. The label decided not to renew their option on the band's contract beyond the next album, about six months before ''Someday...'' was released. Defever and Pippen were encouraged to go ahead and record the final album of the contract right away. The album, which turned out to be 2002's Last Night, was recorded before ''Someday...'' was released, and like its predecessor, was shelved for a year before being released. The UK version of the album comes in a digipak case with a lyrics booklet in addition to the liner notes, as opposed to the U.S. version which comes in a jewel case and lacks the lyrics booklet. The U.K. version also has slightly different artwork, with the front cover image being in blue which was changed to brown for the U.S. version.

Track listing

# "Nothing Special" - 4:18 # "Interlude" - 0:24 # "Happy Blues" - 4:29 # "Solitude" - 1:41 # "Write My Name in the Groove" - 5:51 # "Your Cheating Heart" - 3:38 # "Our Last Affair" - 4:28 # "One Year" - 3:36 # "Interlude" - 0:48 # "Karin's Blues" - 3:14 # "Are We Still Married?" - 3:37 # "Someday My Blues Will Cover the Earth" - 5:32 # "Last Time" - 0:38 The version of "Are We Still Married?" marked the third version the band had released. It first appeared on ''

Home Is in Your Head ''Home Is in Your Head'' is the second studio album by His Name Is Alive, originally released via 4AD in the UK on September 9, 1991, and on Rykodisc in the United States in 1992. History Like their 4AD debut, ''Livonia'', His Name Is Alive's ' ...

'', and a remixed version appeared on

The Dirt Eaters EP ''The Dirt Eaters'' in an EP by His Name Is Alive, originally released by 4AD in early 1992. It has never been released on its own in the United States, as it was included on the 4AD/Rykodisc US reissue of ''Home Is in Your Head'' in 1992. Histor ...

. Oliver sang those versions, and it is sung by Pippen here. A fourth version would be sung by

Andy FM His Name Is Alive is an American experimental rock band/project from Livonia, Michigan. After several self-released cassettes, they debuted on 4AD Records in 1990, starting a long run at the label. Throughout the band's long history, leader Warr ...

on 2005's

Raindrops Rainbow EP A drop or droplet is a small column of liquid, bounded completely or almost completely by free surfaces. A drop may form when liquid accumulates at the lower end of a tube or other surface boundary, producing a hanging drop called a pendant ...

Free remix album

In 2006, HNIA's website made available a free MP3 download remix album called ''Someday RMX''. The track listing (with remixers listed in parentheses) for this album is: #Write My Name (Tony Ollivierra) #One Year (Four Tet) #Happy Blues (Susumu Yokota) #Nothing Special (Herrmann & Kleine) #Happy Blues (Recloose) #Nothing Special (Burnt Friedman) #Someday (Burnt Friedman) #One Year (Minotaur Shock) #Someday (Ectomorph) #Write My Name (HNIA R&B version) #Write My Name (HNIA 1998 Demo)

References

{{Authority control 2001 albums His Name Is Alive albums 4AD albums