Nixon | ||||
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Released | February 7, 2000 | |||
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Length | 49:44 | |||
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Lambchop chronology | ||||
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Singles from Nixon | ||||
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Nixon is the fifth studio album by American rock band Lambchop. It was released on February 7, 2000 and was issued by Merge Records and City Slang.
Nixon became a breakthrough release for Lambchop in the United Kingdom, where it received critical acclaim and was named among the best albums of 2000 by numerous publications.
Composition
[edit]Nixon has been described as a merging of chamber pop, countrypolitan, and R&B sounds alongside "sweet" soul music.[1][2]
Artwork and title
[edit]The title Nixon alludes to Richard Nixon and was derived from the album's cover artwork, which is a painting by Wayne White, a friend of Lambchop frontman Kurt Wagner.[3] "He always plays around with slogans or words. He considered the material on the Nixon album to be tragicomic, and an image of Nixon came to mind," Wagner explained.[3]
Release
[edit]Nixon was released on February 7, 2000 by Lambchop's European label City Slang,[4] and on February 8, 2000 by the band's American label Merge Records.[5] It peaked at number 60 on the UK Albums Chart.[6] "Up with People" was released as a single from the album on May 2, 2000,[7] reaching number 66 on the UK Singles Chart.[8] According to The Guardian's John Aizlewood, Nixon established Lambchop as "standard bearers" for alternative country music, and "proved that the genre could be commercially viable if it painted its off-kilter pictures of redemption and loss in glorious Technicolor rather than mealy-mouthed monochrome."[9]
Critical reception
[edit]Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 84/100[10] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Entertainment Weekly | A−[11] |
Los Angeles Times | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Mojo | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
NME | 9/10[14] |
Pitchfork | 6.5/10 (2000)[15] 8.3/10 (2014)[16] |
Q | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Spin | 9/10[18] |
Uncut | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Nixon was released to highly positive reviews from music critics, receiving a score of 84 out of 100 on the review aggregation website Metacritic, indicating "universal acclaim".[10] The album was particularly well received by the British music press.[16] NME critic Gavin Martin deemed it Lambchop's best record and said that its "sheer sonorous delight" justified comparisons to The Beach Boys' 1966 album Pet Sounds,[14] while Allan Jones of Uncut praised Nixon as "one of the first great records of the new millennium".[19] At the end of 2000, Nixon was named one of the year's best albums by numerous British publications, including Uncut (who ranked it as the best album of 2000),[20] Mojo,[21] NME,[22] and Q.[23]
Nixon was later included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[24]
Track listing
[edit]All tracks are written by Kurt Wagner, except where noted
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "The Old Gold Shoe" | 6:21 | |
2. | "Grumpus" | 4:19 | |
3. | "You Masculine You" | 5:59 | |
4. | "Up with People" | 5:59 | |
5. | "Nashville Parent" | 5:38 | |
6. | "What Else Could It Be?" | 3:38 | |
7. | "The Distance from Her to There" | 4:20 | |
8. | "The Book I Haven't Read" |
| 5:44 |
9. | "The Petrified Florist" | 4:52 | |
10. | "The Butcher Boy" | Traditional | 2:54 |
Total length: | 49:44 |
Personnel
[edit]Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[25]
Lambchop
- Paul Burch – vibraphone, arrangements
- C. Scott Chase – "open end wrenches", "lacquer thinner can", arrangements
- Dennis Cronin – trumpet, cornet, backing vocals, arrangements
- John Delworth – Hammond B-3 organ, Rhodes piano, Juno synthesizer, arrangements
- Allen Lowrey – drums, arrangements
- Jonathan Marx – trumpet, backing vocals, arrangements
- Alex McManus – electric guitar, arrangements
- Mark Nevers – atmospheric guitar, electric guitar, arrangements
- Paul Niehaus – pedal steel guitar, Fender Telecaster guitar, backing vocals, arrangements
- Matt Swanson – bass guitar, arrangements
- Marc Trovillion – bass guitar, arrangements
- Deanna Varagona – baritone saxophone, backing vocals, arrangements
- Kurt Wagner – vocals, 1946 Gibson L-7 guitar, Juno synthesizer, arrangements
Additional musicians
- Matt Bach – bass guitar
- Lloyd Barry – string arrangements
- Paul Booker – electric guitar
- Ken Coomer – additional percussion
- Tony Crow – piano
- Nashville String Machine – strings
- Sanchez – choral arrangements
Production
- Brady Barnett – editing
- Dennis Cronin – recording (assistant)
- Tommy Dorsey – mastering
- Brian Miles – recording (assistant)
- Mark Nevers – production, mixing, recording
- David Streit – recording (assistant)
- Kurt Wagner – production, mixing
Design
- Eric Bailey – design
- Wayne White – cover painting
Charts
[edit]Chart (2000) | Peak position |
---|---|
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[26] | 27 |
Scottish Albums (OCC)[27] | 98 |
UK Albums (OCC)[6] | 60 |
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[28] | 7 |
References
[edit]- ^ a b Deming, Mark. "Nixon – Lambchop". AllMusic. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
- ^ a b Maconie, Stuart (March 2000). "Lambchop: Nixon". Q. No. 162. p. 102. Archived from the original on December 2, 2000. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
- ^ a b Kolovos, Yiannis (April 27, 2004). "Straight from Nashville, Lambchop is adding new life to old country sounds". Kathimerini. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
- ^ Abbott, Simon; Baird, Dugald; Byrne, Michael; Brown, Jimmy; FitzGerald, Tom; Gold, Adam; Jones, Stephen; Moss, Sophie; Tesco, Nick (January 29, 2000). "Reviews – For Records Out on 7 February 2000" (PDF). Music Week. pp. 14–15. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
- ^ Morris, Chris (February 5, 2000). "M.S. Execs Speak Out on Troubles". Billboard. Vol. 112, no. 6. p. 94. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
- ^ a b "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
- ^ "current and upcoming releases". City Slang. Archived from the original on June 8, 2000. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
- ^ "Lambchop". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
- ^ Aizlewood, John (February 15, 2002). "Definitely maybe". The Guardian. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
- ^ a b "Nixon by Lambchop Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
- ^ Brunner, Rob (February 25, 2000). "Nixon". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
- ^ Cromelin, Richard (March 12, 2000). "Lambchop, 'Nixon,' Merge". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on August 6, 2016. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
- ^ Segal, Victoria (January 2011). "Lambchop: Nixon / Is a Woman". Mojo. No. 206. p. 112.
- ^ a b Martin, Gavin (February 2, 2000). "Lambchop – Nixon". NME. Archived from the original on March 1, 2000. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
- ^ Rockermann, Kristin Sage (October 10, 2000). "Lambchop: Nixon". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
- ^ a b Powell, Mike (January 29, 2014). "Lambchop: Nixon". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
- ^ Kot, Greg (March 2, 2000). "Lambchop: Nixon". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 15, 2008. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
- ^ Milner, Greg (May 2000). "Lambchop: Nixon". Spin. Vol. 16, no. 5. p. 158. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
- ^ a b Jones, Allan (March 2000). "Lambchop: Nixon". Uncut. No. 34. pp. 73–74.
- ^ "2000 Exposed!". Uncut. No. 44. January 2001.
- ^ "The Best of 2000". Mojo. No. 86. January 2001. pp. 56–59.
- ^ "Top 50 Albums of the Year – Lambchop: Nixon". NME. December 23–30, 2000. p. 78.
- ^ "50 Best Albums of 2000 – Lambchop: Nixon". Q. No. 172. January 2001. p. 93.
- ^ Morton, Rob (2006). "Lambchop: Nixon". In Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Universe Publishing. p. 879. ISBN 978-0-7893-1371-3.
- ^ Nixon (liner notes). Lambchop. Merge Records. 2000. MRG175CD.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Lambchop – Nixon". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
- ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
- ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 30, 2018.