''Tanglewood Numbers'' is the fifth studio album by

Silver Jews Silver Jews were an American indie rock band from New York City, formed in 1989 by David Berman alongside Pavement members Stephen Malkmus and Bob Nastanovich. Berman was the only constant band member. During the last few albums, Cassie Berman ...

, released in 2005. Like on all of their other albums, Silver Jews' principal song writer and constant band member is David Berman. On this album fourteen other musicians are involved in the performance and creation. ''Tanglewood Numbers'' marked the return of Pavement members

Stephen Malkmus Stephen Joseph Malkmus (born May 30, 1966) is an American musician best known as the primary songwriter, lead singer and guitarist of the indie rock band Pavement. He currently performs with Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks and as a solo artist ...

and

Bob Nastanovich Robert Nastanovich (born August 27, 1967) is an American musician and member of the indie rock band Pavement, as well as a former member of Silver Jews, Ectoslavia, Pale Horse Riders, and Misshapen Lodge. Early life Bob Nastanovich was born in ...

into Silver Jews. Malkmus had last appeared on '' American Water'' while Nastanovich had last appeared on the band's debut album ''

Starlite Walker ''Starlite Walker'' is the first studio album by indie rock group Silver Jews. It was released in 1994 as an LP and CD on Drag City (DC55) in America and on Domino (WIG15) in Europe. Production ''Starlite Walker'' was recorded in 1994 at Easley ...

''.

Cassie Berman Cassie Marie Berman (née Marrett) is an American musician. She was a member of the indie rock band Silver Jews, which was fronted by her husband David Berman.Large Hearted Boy article:Ryan Walsh Interviews Cassie Berman (Silver Jews) and Joe Ma ...

, David Berman's then wife, also appears, as does

Will Oldham Joseph Will Oldham (born January 15, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded in collaboration with dozens of other musicians under variations of Palace (Palace, Palace Flophouse, Palace Br ...

.Berman Untangles New Silver Jews Album
''Billboard.com''. Retrieved 19 June 2011 The album's cover is a photograph by famed Southern photographer

William Eggleston William Eggleston (born July 27, 1939) is an American photographer. He is widely credited with increasing recognition for color photography as a legitimate artistic medium. Eggleston's books include ''William Eggleston's Guide'' (1976) and ''The ...

.Lisle, Andria
William Eggleston: King of the Album Cover Photo

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

. 14 January 2010. Retrieved 19 June 2011

Background

In the four years between ''

Bright Flight ''Bright Flight'' is the fourth studio album by indie rock group Silver Jews, released in 2001. "Tennessee" was chosen as the title track for an EP that also included "Long Long Gone", "I'm Gonna Love The Hell Out of You", and "Turn Your Guns Ar ...

'' and ''Tanglewood Numbers'', Silver Jews frontman David Berman had suffered from substance abuse, depression and a suicide attempt. However, Berman was able to rehabilitate and he became more deeply involved into his Jewish faith.Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles article: "Silver Jews Singer Polishes Up Dirty Past"
/ref> During its recording, ''Tanglewood Numbers'' was nearly destroyed in a fire that burned down Memphis' historic Easley-McCain studio, where the album was going to be mastered.Phares, Heather
Silver Jews - Biography

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 databas ...

. Retrieved 19 June 2011

Reception

''Tanglewood Numbers'' has received mostly positive reviews. 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 a score of 81 out of 100, based on 32 critics reviews, indicating "Universal acclaim."Tanglewood Numbers Reviews

. Retrieved 19 June 2011 Giving the album a 4.5 out of 5 stars, Heather Phares of

, in references to Berman's past problem, wrote "Hopefully the circumstances around ''Tanglewood Numbers'' will never repeat themselves, but there's no denying that this is a uniquely powerful and moving set of songs."

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 ...

' Josh Berquist also gave the album a positive review, writing "Even if it’s not their finest work, it certainly feels like it is. There is a visceral vitality to ''Tanglewood Numbers'' that has never inhabited any album prior." In a more mixed review, Dusted Reviews' Nathan Hogan criticized Berman's less prominent vocals, writing "...Berman’s a brilliant lyricist with 30 or 40 minutes to spare every couple of years, and his voice seems oddly absent from this record." However, Hogan concluded his review with "In the end, disliking ''Tanglewood Numbers'' leaves me feeling a bit like one of the schlubs who groused about Dylan going electric... I suppose it’s possible this record’s a grower. For the time being, that’s the best there is to say about it."Dusted Reviews: Silver Jews - Tanglewood Numbers
Dusted Reviews. 16 October 2005. Retrieved 19 June 2011

Track listing

Personnel

The following people contributed to ''Tanglewood Numbers'':Tanglewood Numbers - Credits

. Retrieved 19 June 2011.

Silver Jews

* David Berman * Brian Kotzur * Mike Fellows *

* Tony Crow *

Paz Lenchantin Paz Lenchantin (born December 12, 1973) is an Argentine-American musician. She has been the bass guitarist of the alternative rock band Pixies since 2014. She also played bass or strings with various bands, including Entrance, A Perfect Circle, ...

Azita Youssefi Azita Youssefi ( fa, آزیتا یوسفی ), born January 18, 1971 in St. Louis, Missouri, is an Iranian-American experimental musician, artist and music teacher based in Chicago. She was originally associated with the Chicago no wave scene, wh ...

* Bobby Bare, Jr. *

Duane Denison Duane Denison (born January 21, 1959) is an American guitarist best known for work with the avant-garde rock band The Jesus Lizard. He is also a founding member of super-group Tomahawk. Biography Denison began his musical career by studying c ...

* Pete Cummings * William Tyler * John St. West

Recording personnel

* Joe Funderburk - Mixing * David Henry - Vocal Engineer * Mark Nevers - Engineer * Roger Seibel - Mastering

Additional personnel

* Alexander Graham Bell - Drawing *

- Photography * Gerônimo - Drawing * Jessica Jackson Hutchins - Drawing

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2005 albums Silver Jews albums Drag City (record label) albums