We Shall All Be Healed
| We Shall All Be Healed | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | February 3, 2004 | |||
| Studio | Bear Creek, Woodinville, Washington | |||
| Genre | Folk rock | |||
| Length | 44:45 | |||
| Label | 4AD | |||
| Producer | ||||
| The Mountain Goats chronology | ||||
| ||||
We Shall All Be Healed is the eighth studio album by The Mountain Goats. The album focuses on semi-fictional accounts of band leader John Darnielle's years as a teenager, particularly his friends' and acquaintances' experiences in California and in Portland, Oregon, as methamphetamine addicts. As The Mountain Goats' official website puts it: "All of the songs on We Shall All Be Healed are based on people John used to know. Most of them are probably dead or in jail by now." Like Tallahassee, but unlike the rest of Darnielle's repertoire up to its release, We Shall All Be Healed was recorded with a full band in a recording studio, and produced by John Vanderslice, as opposed to The Mountain Goats' previous practice of recording at home on a boom box with, at most, one or two backup vocalists or a bassist. "Palmcorder Yajna" (the primary single), when played in concert, is often played with the backing of members of one or more of the opening acts on tour with The Mountain Goats. The song "Cotton" was featured in an episode of the television series Weeds.
One of the provisional titles for the album was New Age Music Will Save Your Wretched Soul.[1]
Reception[edit]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 77/100[2] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [3] |
| Alternative Press | 4/5[4] |
| Blender | [5] |
| Mojo | [6] |
| Pitchfork | 6.9/10[7] |
| Q | [8] |
| Rolling Stone | [9] |
| Spin | 8/10[10] |
| Uncut | [11] |
| The Village Voice | A[12] |
We Shall All Be Healed was generally liked by critics, but divisive in some circles regarding the different direction The Mountain Goats took in the albums creation. With a new production style and a band playing alongside the typically solo John Darnielle, came criticism regarding the changed sound, and its effect the heart of the music. Some of the critics see this as less authentic to the sound of The Mountain Goats used in earlier albums and states that the band is not used that effectively in the first place.[7] Other critics, however, say that the change leads to a clearer and more simple sound that adds to John Darnielle's voice creating a more in-depth album.[3] Another criticism of the album is that the album offers nothing new in the growth of the Mountain Goats, that many of the songs have the same rhythmic and lyrical feeling as past albums. The critics argue that because of this lack of innovation within the work that the overall album falls short of expectations but is still enjoyable. This leads to the analysis of the songs themselves where "The Young Thousands" and "Cotton" are singled out as being some of the stronger compositions. "The Young Thousands" is singled out because of its uplifting and powerful tone throughout the song while "Cotton" is discussed because of the beat used and the lyrics.[7]
Track listing[edit]
All tracks are written by John Darnielle
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Slow West Vultures" | 2:41 |
| 2. | "Palmcorder Yajna" | 4:08 |
| 3. | "Linda Blair Was Born Innocent" | 2:46 |
| 4. | "Letter from Belgium" | 3:11 |
| 5. | "The Young Thousands" | 4:34 |
| 6. | "Your Belgian Things" | 3:49 |
| 7. | "Mole" | 4:32 |
| 8. | "Home Again Garden Grove" | 3:15 |
| 9. | "All Up the Seething Coast" | 3:45 |
| 10. | "Quito" | 2:03 |
| 11. | "Cotton" | 3:25 |
| 12. | "Against Pollution" | 3:43 |
| 13. | "Pigs That Ran Straightaway into the Water, Triumph Of" | 2:52 |
| Total length: | 44:45 | |
Personnel[edit]
- John Darnielle – vocals, guitar
- John Vanderslice – production
- Franklin Bruno – piano
- Peter Hughes – bass
- Nora Danielson – violin
- Christopher McGuire – drums
References[edit]
- ^ The Mountain Goats [@mountain_goats] (October 3, 2016). "@defundpoppunk yeah that was a working title, I forget where I first mentioned it" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Reviews for We Shall All Be Healed by The Mountain Goats". Metacritic. Retrieved October 6, 2012.
- ^ a b Phares, Heather. "We Shall All Be Healed – The Mountain Goats". AllMusic. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
- ^ "The Mountain Goats: We Shall All Be Healed". Alternative Press. No. 188. March 2004. p. 94.
- ^ Jenkins, Mark (March 2004). "The Mountain Goats: We Shall All Be Healed". Blender. No. 24. p. 124. Archived from the original on April 28, 2004. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
- ^ "The Mountain Goats: We Shall All Be Healed". Mojo. No. 124. March 2004. p. 96.
- ^ a b c Bowers, William (February 2, 2004). "The Mountain Goats: We Shall All Be Healed". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on March 12, 2008. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
- ^ "The Mountain Goats: We Shall All Be Healed". Q. No. 212. March 2004. p. 107.
- ^ Hoard, Christian (February 19, 2004). "The Mountain Goats: We Shall All Be Healed". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 22, 2004. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
- ^ Gross, Joe (April 2011). "Discography: The Mountain Goats". Spin. Vol. 27, no. 3. p. 57. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
- ^ "Kid Rock". Uncut. No. 82. March 2004. p. 100. Archived from the original on September 5, 2018. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (March 23, 2004). "Edges of the Groove". The Village Voice. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
