Cassadaga

"Cassadaga"
Studio album by Bright Eyes
Released	April 10, 2007
Recorded	2006 New York City, Portland, OR, and Lincoln, NE[1]
Genre	Indie folk
Length	62:05
Label	Saddle Creek, Polydor (UK, GER, ITA)
Producer	Mike Mogis
Professional reviews
Allmusic link IGN (9.1/10) link Los Angeles Times link Pitchfork Media (6.0/10) 04/09/2007 PopMatters (9/10) 04/11/2007 Q May 2007 Robert Christgau (A-) link Rockfeedback (4/5) [1] Rolling Stone link Stylus (C+) link Slant link
Bright Eyes chronology
Motion Sickness (2005) Cassadaga (2007)

Cassadaga is the seventh studio album by Bright Eyes, released on April 10, 2007. Around 25 to 30 songs were recorded in 2006,^[2] with 13 of these appearing on the final track list. The album is named after the town of Cassadaga, Florida, a community of mediums and followers of spiritualism.^[3]

Z Berg of the Like, Sherri DuPree and Stacy DuPree of Eisley as well as solo artist Rachael Yamagata all appear on this album. The first single, "Four Winds" was released on March 6, 2007, from the Four Winds EP with five B-sides not on Cassadaga.^[1]

Cassadaga debuted at number four on the U.S Billboard 200, selling about 58,000 copies in its first week.^[4] The album is the 103rd release of Saddle Creek Records. This album was #12 on Rolling Stone's list of the Top 50 Albums of 2007.^[5]

Johnny Depp named Cassadaga one of his "favorite things" of 2007.^[6]

The first single from the album, "Four Winds" can be heard in the background briefly during the party scene in the 2008 film Cloverfield.

Cover

The CD and LP versions of the album come with a "Spectral Decoder" which allows users to see the true cover art on the album. One particular segment of text located on the back of the case includes a phrase in Russian; "тяните другую кровавую ванну" meaning "draw another bloody bath", a reference to the first track's lyrics. Another hidden phrase is in Greek; "παρελθόν παρουσιάζω μέλλον" meaning "the past presents the future", which is also the title of an album by Her Space Holiday, with whom Bright Eyes released a split single.

Hidden phrases in English:

• "Dog faced apologists pleasing themselves on the burning sand"
• "These myths are sacred and profane!"
• "Rocks beneath the water" (Which is what "Cassadaga" means in the Seneca language.)
• "Citrus slaves throwing dice in the dirt, amusement"
• "We love you, Breezy, and we miss you!!!" (One can only assume that this is a dedication to Sabrina Duim - see below.)
• "Swollen saints bathing in a backwards river under a sliver of a moon"
• "Mighty Saturn enters your eighth house"

Hidden phrases in French:

• "Est-ce minuit ou midi?" ("Is it midnight or noon?")

Hidden phrases in Portuguese:

• "Virgens doentes de sol ficando frescas no túmulo do faraó" ("Virgins sick from the sun staying fresh in the grave of Pharaoh")
• "Plantas de pirâmedes cheio de cores tatuado na barriga de uma puta" ("Pyramide blueprints, full of colours, tattooed in the belly of a whore")

"For Sabrina" is written on the inside of the CD case in memory of Sabrina Duim, a harpist and Stanford University undergraduate who toured with Bright Eyes and died in January 2007.^[7]

On the back of the UK standard edition, "If the Brakeman Turns My Way" is misprinted as "If the Breakman Turns My Way". This UK standard edition was modified by designers at Polydor/Universal from the U.S. release (digipak, equivalent to the UK deluxe version).

On February 10, 2008, Cassadaga won a Grammy award for Best Recording Package.^[8]

Track listing

All songs written by Conor Oberst, except where noted.

1. "Clairaudients (Kill or Be Killed)" – 6:08
2. "Four Winds" – 4:16
3. "If the Brakeman Turns My Way" (Conor Oberst and Jason Boesel) – 4:53
4. "Hot Knives" – 4:13
5. "Make a Plan to Love Me" – 4:14
6. "Soul Singer in a Session Band" – 4:14
7. "Classic Cars" – 4:19
8. "Middleman" – 4:49
9. "Cleanse Song" – 3:28
10. "No One Would Riot for Less" – 5:12
11. "Coat Check Dream Song" (Conor Oberst and Nate Walcott) – 4:10
12. "I Must Belong Somewhere" – 6:19
13. "Lime Tree" – 5:53

B-sides

"Susan Miller Rag" is a B-side to the album. The song was released on CD and vinyl formats, and was only available to customers who pre-ordered Cassadaga.

Personnel

• Conor Oberst – voice (1–13), guitar (tracks 1, 2, 4–13), piano (track 3), synthesizer (track 13)
• Mike Mogis – guitar (tracks 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11), bass (tracks 1, 3–6, 9), pedal steel (tracks 1, 3, 10, 11), voice (tracks 3, 9, 11), lap steel (tracks 6, 8, 9), mandolin (tracks 2, 12), dobro (tracks 4, 12), percussion (tracks 8, 9), vibraphone (tracks 1, 11), 12-string (track 2), baritone (track 8), ukulele (track 9), glockenspiel (track 1)
• Nate Walcott – organ (1–3, 6, 7, 10, 12), piano (tracks 4, 6, 7), string arrangement (tracks 4, 10, 13), electric piano (tracks 2, 11), orchestral arrangement (tracks 1, 5), woodwind arrangement (tracks 8, 9)
• M. Ward – guitar (tracks 1, 4, 6), voice (track 6)
• Janet Weiss – drums (tracks 1, 4, 6)
• Clark Baechle – percussion (track 1)
• Stacy DuPree – voice (tracks 4, 5, 10, 11, 13)
• Sherri DuPree – voice (tracks 4, 5, 10, 11, 13)
• Z Berg – voice (tracks 1, 4, 5, 10, 11, 13)
• Rachael Yamagata – voice (tracks 1, 4, 5, 10, 11, 13)
• Hassan Lemtouni – voice (tracks 1, 11)
• Suzie Katayama – conductor (tracks 1, 5)
• Bill Meyers – conductor (tracks 4, 10, 13)
• Dan McCarthy – bass (track 2)
• Jason Boesel – drums (tracks 2, 3, 7, 10–12), voice (tracks 3, 8)
• Anton Patzner – violin (tracks 2, 6)
• Maria Taylor – voice (track 2), drums (track 5)
• Andy LeMaster – voice (track 2)
• David Rawlings – guitar (tracks 5, 7, 12)
• Tim Luntzel – bass (tracks 7, 10)
• Gillian Welch – voice (track 7)
• Ted Stevens – voice (track 8)
• Sean Foley – voice (track 8)
• John McEntire – percussion (tracks 8, 9, 11), electronics (track 11)
• Michael Zerang – percussion (tracks 8, 9)
• Jonathan Crawford – percussion (tracks 8, 9, 11)
• Dan Bitney – percussion (tracks 8, 9)
• Dan Fliegel – percussion (tracks 8, 9)
• David Moyer – bass clarinet (track 8)
• Brian Walsh – clarinet (track 9), bass clarinet (track 8)
• Shane Aspegren – drums (track 11), percussion (track 9)
• Sarah Wass – flute (track 9)
• Myka Miller – oboe (track 9)
• Stefanie Drootin – bass (tracks 11, 12)
• Jake Bellows – voice (track 12)

References

1. ^ ^{a b} ""Bright Eyes Bio"". Saddle Creek Records LBJ-103. 2006. http://saddle-creek.com/bands/brighteyes/brighteyes.html. Retrieved 2007-01-21. 
2. ^ Katie Hasty (2006-04-09). ""Bright Eyes Gets Busy On New Album"". Billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/search/google/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002314395. Retrieved 2007-01-21. 
3. ^ "Cassadaga". Saddle Creek Records. http://store.saddle-creek.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=SCOS&Product_Code=LBJ-103-1&Category_Code=Bright_Eyes. Retrieved 2007-04-02. 
4. ^ Katie Hasty, "'NOW' Remains No. 1 As Bright Eyes Debuts High", Billboard.com, April 18, 2007.
5. ^ Robert Christgau, David Fricke, Christian Hoard, Rob Sheffield (December 17, 2007). "The Top 50 Albums of 2007" Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2007-12-20
6. ^ Photo 14 | Celebrity Must Lists: Stars Pick Their '07 Faves | Photos | EW.com
7. ^ Fong, Kelley (2007-01-18). "A tragic loss of life". The Stanford Daily. http://daily.stanford.edu/article/2007/1/18/aTragicLossOfLife. Retrieved 2009-03-28. 
8. ^ GRAMMY.com

External links

• Cassadaga at Saddle Creek Records