Aimee Mann: Lost In Space : Special Edition - Disc 2 of 2 CD Track Listing

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Aimee Mann Lost In Space : Special Edition - Disc 2 of 2 (2003)
Lost In Space : Special Edition - Disc 2 of 2\n2003 SuperEgo Records\n\nOriginally Released August 27, 2002\n2CD Special Edition Released December 9, 2003\nMFSL Hybrid SACD Edition Released July 8, 2003\n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: It is, in a sense, a trick of the times that Lost in Space conveys such a vivid visual quality; thanks to the high profile given to her music on the Magnolia soundtrack, it's now impossible to miss the narrative strength of Mann's writing. The mood throughout this album is autumnal, with filmy keyboard beds and expressive shifts between major and minor enhancing the subdued eloquence of her lyrics. (A major chord at the end of "Guys Like Me offers an ironic twist on the smug portraiture that precedes it.) Though recorded free of the legal snarls that plagued most of her previous albums, Lost in Space seems to be mainly about alienation and, at least as a metaphor, addiction. The latter point is made clear in "This Is How It Goes," with its assertions that "it's all about drugs, it's all about shame." But it's clear as well when Mann offers to "be your heroine" -- or is it heroin? -- amidst slithering slide guitars and rainy gray textures on "High on Sunday 51," or confesses to seeking salvation where "It's Not." Recorded largely in Ryan Freeland's home studio, some of these songs receive discreet electronic treatments -- moments of abstract noise whose application always enhances the otherwise low-tech arrangements. For all the shadows that stretch across Lost in Space, what lingers in the wake of this music is the realization that Mann remains spectacularly underrated among contemporary songwriters; no one surpasses her as a master of poetic regret, and few albums examine the peculiar beauty of depression with the skill she brings to Lost in Space. -- Robert L. Doerschuk\n\nAmazon.com Editorial Review\nDividing her time between waging war on the music industry and writing sublime pop songs, Aimee Mann shows on her fourth solo album that she is equally adept at both. "Let's hear it for guys like me," she sings over the lilting rhythms and stylish guitar work of "Guys Like Me." Her case for toppling the corporate structure is airtight; just check her Web site for the latest bulletin. Her music, meanwhile, keeps getting better. The success of the Magnolia soundtrack may have restored her confidence following the record company strife that followed her first two solo releases--Whatever and I'm With Stupid--but the wounds have not healed. "All the perfect drugs and superheroes wouldn't be enough to bring me up to zero," the former 'Til Tuesday singer imparts over the layered, lush tones of the opening "Humpty Dumpty." Meanwhile, on the emotionally distressed "It's Not," she muses over a forlorn 16-piece string section, "I keep waiting for a change but I don't know for what." It could be the prettiest, most polite battle cry ever. --Aidin Vaziri \n\nAmazon.com Customer Review\nUm..."Lost in Space" is utterly brilliant., September 5, 2002 \nReviewer: invisiboy2001 from Chicago, IL United States \nHow do you follow up a masterpiece like "Bachelor No. 2?" Well, most artists would throw their hands in the air and follow it with a subpar album, knowing that the fans would buy the CD not matter what. But not Aimee Mann! Note-for-note and word-for-word, this CD matches the unabashed brilliance of Aimee's previous release. \n\nFrom the first line, "Humpty Dumpty" is nothing less than captivating. And "The Moth" may very well be a perfect pop song-- profound, simple and thoroughly engaging. Aimee even rocks a little more than usual on "Pavlov's Bell," a curiously smart song. In fact, all of these songs range from very good to fantastic. (Not a turkey in the bunch!) I am surprised at how satisfying this CD is. In fact, I was all set to be gravely disappointed with it, because I was already comparing it to "Bachelor No. 2," even before I heard it. DO NOT MAKE THAT MISTAKE.\n\n"Lost in Space" is a worthy successor. It is a wonderful listen. It is pure Aimee Mann. Buy it, buy it, buy it!! \n\nAmazon.com Customer Review\nA Masterpiece, September 21, 2002 \nReviewer: phdynamic from Spring, Texas USA \nAimee Mann's latest album has garnered less than stellar reviews from leading publications (such as Rolling Stone and Spin) as of late, ostensibly because these new tracks don't push any sonic envelopes like the ones on the Magnolia soundtrack and Bachelor No. 2 did. But so what? The bombast of Mann's previous work has been toned down here and transformed into something much more subtle and (ultimately) affecting than any of her previous work. \n\nThe key to understanding this album can be found in "Invisible Ink." Mann's effort to impart meaning is likened to drawing a picture in invisible ink -- an illustration that, for all of the artist's work, comes up a blank in the eyes of an unsympathetic listener. Mann sings:\n\nThe plot is cliche the jokes are stale\nand baby we've all heard it all before\nOh I could get specific but\nnobody needs a catalog\nwith details of a love I can't sell anymore\n\nClearly, Lost in Space is Aimee Mann's attempt to understand human ambivalence by means of lyrical sketches. Instead of wallowing in cliche, the lyrics turn cliches inside-out. "Invisible Ink" addresses the issue directly, managing to do so without sacrificing the song's emotional core.\n\nThis deft balancing act of self-conscious songcraft and emotional honesty is maintained consistently throughout the album and, unquestionably, makes it one of the most satisfying listens of 2002. \n\nAmazon.com Customer Review\nNo danger here, Will Robinson, October 18, 2002 \nReviewer: gg_spencer from Plantation, FL USA \nIf you're not familiar with the music of Aimee Mann, she sums it up for you in Humpty Dumpty, the first song on her new album Lost in Space:\nGet out while you can\nBaby, I'm pouring quicksand\nAnd sinking is all I had planned.\nBut if you choose to stay, our favorite drama queen is inviting you to another of her elegant pity parties, if you're ready to groove on 43 minutes of musings on drug addition, loneliness and depression. \nLost in Space isn't about robots and Lassie's mom, "it's all about drugs, it's all about shame," Mann sings in the soaring chorus of This is How it Goes.\nYou don't wash the car or drive the kids to baseball practice with an Aimee Mann disc in the background - it's for sitting and contemplating. Is she singing about being a savior or a codependent on High on Sunday 51? Without the edgily illustrated lyric booklet it's up to you to figure out how she spells the last word in the sentence "let me be your heroin."\nIt takes a crafty artist to make alienation, anger and pain hummable. \n\nAmazon.com Customer Review\nThe Good Fight, October 10, 2002 \nReviewer: zenchicken from St. Louis \nRoger McGuinn said that he has never seen a penny of royalties from all of the mega-selling albums he made with the Byrds in the late sixties and early seventies. Indeed, McGuinn has made more money in the couple of years he has hawked his self produced music on MP3.com, than all of the years he was producing million sellers on Columbia Records. Aimee Mann is another case in point. During most of the 1990s, Geffen Records did more to sabotage Aimee's career than promote her as the talented artist she is. Like McGuinn, Aimee reclaimed her career via the internet, fighting off hordes of entertainment lawyers in the process. If the major labels are stealing royalties and refusing to promote artists, what is their relevance to anything? Aimee Mann has proven the major labels to be dinosaurs and has provided an alternate path for musicians wishing to free themselves from the buzzards in the music business. Aimee is past 40 years and is finally free to make the music she has always wanted to. "Lost In Space" is her second album (not counting "Magnolia") on her own Super Ego records and her existential muse has lost none of it's power. Gone are the catchy Bacharach style melodies as she weaves a dark ambience which suits are often caustic lyrics. It's a side of Aimee we'd probably never see had she not liberated herself from Geffen Records. Like Wilco's "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" there is no catchy radio ready song, but the power of "Lost In Space" is that the whole exceeds the sum of it's parts. This is not the romantic tripe of a twenty-something; it is the story of love between adults and it's devastating consequences. Let's hope Aimee continues her development as an artist and her relentless war against the recording industry. \n\nAmazon.com Customer Review\nThis is good stuff!, October 3, 2002 \nReviewer: kore79 \nA lot of reviewers seem to be saying that while this is a good album, it's just too similar to previous Aimee Mann outings to be truly outstanding. Or that it's too slow in terms of tempo. This record grabbed me right away and affected me just as deeply as the Magnolia songs. Her sad lyrics define the state of mind that I am in right now. There is a heartbreaking, hopeless theme of isolation and disconnection that runs through the whole album, linked by songs like "Lost in Space" and "I'm Not," both of which find Mann stuck in a rut. \n\nAmazon.com Customer Review\nNot quite as good as last time, September 23, 2002 \nReviewer: Andrew H. Otwell from Berlin, Germany \nJon Brion's touch really is missing a bit here, as someone else pointed out below. While this is certainly a great album, with impeccable songs brilliantly delivered, it's just not the perfect genius of Bachelor No. 2. Jon Brion brought a pop complexity and even a sense of humor that is almost totally absent on this album. The result is a much darker and more sonically narrow album than anything else Mann's done; it's really quite bleak in places. \n\nWorth mention is the really terriffic cover art and extensive lyrics booklet by comic artist Seth. It's a simple comic about the momentary power of a song to lift a man out of his aimless depression, and a series of illustrations that match Mann's song in tone, if not in subject. You can see all of these illustrations at aimee mann's web site, as well as preview the music. \n\nAmazon.com Customer Review\nA little further down the same road, September 19, 2002 \nReviewer: Brad Hoehne from Columbus, OH United States \nIf the world were a just place Aimee Mann would be the platinum selling artist, and Sheryl Crow would starting up an independent label just to get her music more widely heard. Alas, as Aimee would undoubtedly tell you, the world is not a just place- it is full of heartbreak, stuggle and confusion.\n\nIt's hard not to compare "Lost in Space" with Aimee Mann's last recording "Bachelor #2", which, itself was merely an expanded version of the Magnolia soundtrack. Here again, Aimee sings mournful but sweetly beautiful songs of sadness, broken relationships and existential angst- with just a grain of hope thrown in to keep things interesting. Put all three of CDs in a disc changer and hit "Random", and the first time listener would be hard pressed sorting the songs into 3 respective piles. (Discounting, of course, the non-Mann songs on Magnolia.) \n\nHowever, after a few plays, one notices a difference. This time around Aimee is a thematically bit sadder, lyrically a bit darker, vocally a bit sweeter, a bit more intimate and a bit less "catchy"- of all the songs only "Humpty Dumpty" and "Guys Like Me" feel like singable pop songs. The rest are quieter, more abstract tone paintings- fitting the "Night" mood that Mann has chosen. There also seens to be a trend in Aimee's music away from syrupy production and toward a more natural and acoustic sound.\n\nThere are a few positively sublime moments on this recording. In the song "This is How it Goes" the lyrics "cause it's all about drugs/ it's all about shame" are sung in the the most delicate, sweet voice imaginable, and the irony of this makes all the little hairs on my arm stand on end. \n\nA special delight comes in the packaging. The illustrated lyrics are bookended with two, small, graphic novel-type stories which contribute to the somber, yet momentarily hopeful, tone.\n\nI really like Aimee Mann's music, and "Lost in Space" is definitely beautiful and listenable, but for fans, hearing this new CD may be a little bit like having like a 4th consecutive scoop of mocha chip ice cream- you still like it, but you're ready for something different.\n\nA hint of what might be in store for us comes in the accompanying 3-song bonus CD. The final song, "Backfire" is a comparatively upbeat, bouncy little song which washes away the mood of the rest of the music just heard. \n\nHalf.com Album Notes\nPersonnel includes: Aimee Mann (vocals, guitar, 6- & 12-string acoustic guitars, piano, bass, percussion, tambourine); Michael Lockwood (guitar, 12-string acoustic guitar, baritone guitar, slide guitar, dobro, zither, autoharp, celeste, chamberlain, omnichord, marxophone, harmonium, Mini-Moog synthesizer, Prophet synthesizer, theremin, bass, shakers); Jebrin Bruni (piano, chamberlain, Prophet synthesizer); Mike Deeneen (Wurlitzer piano, harpsichord); Patrick Warren (chamberlain); Dave Palmer (organ); Jason Faulner (bass); Ryan Freeland, Michael Menn (loops); John Sands (drums, shakers); Jay Bellerose (drums); Darian Sahanaja, Buddy Judge, Rusty Squeezebox, Mike Randle (background vocals). \nRecorded at Sonora Recorders, Hensons Recording Studio and Stampede Origin Studios, Los Angeles, California; Kampo, New York, New York; and QSound, Boston, Massachusetts.\n\nGiven a set of trials and tribulation that could have been created by Charles Dickens, that fact that Aimee Mann keeps recording albums is something of a surprise, though certainly not an unwelcome one. With her record label problems behind her, LOST IN SPACE is her fourth solo album (not including her contributions to the MAGNOLIA soundtrack). The tracks combine an acoustic sensibility that highlighting Mann's expressive guitar work with occasional an understated electric edge that includes shimmering distortion, all in the service of her rich voice and eloquent lyrics. Standouts include: "Lost in Space," which features a slow, rolling beat and an insistent string section; "Pavlov's Bell," with its alternately plaintive and searing guitar accents; "Invisible Ink," a quietly introspective track that builds to include an orchestral backing; and the comparatively uptempo "The Moth," with background instrumentation from harpsichords and keyboards.\n\nQ Magazine (10/01/2002)\n4 stars out of 5 ...Songs which are wry, funny, adult and perceptive, all wrapped up in handsome melodies....It has the unmistakable aroma of a talent renewing itself...\n\nSpin (10/01/2002)\n6 out of 10 ...[The album] maps the mazes that lovers lead each other through...Q Magazine (10/02, p.112) 4 stars out of 5 ...Songs which are wry, funny, adult and perceptive, all wrapped up in handsome melodies....It has the unmistakable aroma of a talent renewing itself...\n\nAmazon.com Customer Review (Special Edition)\nA great album augmented with great extras., May 5, 2005\nReviewer: Michael Stack (Chelmsford, MA USA)\nAimee Mann's "Lost in Space" had the unfortunate problem of being released after the fantastic "Bachelor No. 2" and "I'm With Stupid", and suffers in comparison. Its not that its not a superb album, on the contrary, there's quite a bit of great material here, its just that it had a lot to live up to. \n\nWhat's most immediately noticable is a feeling of relaxation and confidence in these pieces, be it the magnificent throbbing "Humpty Dumpty" (with completely magical vocal harmonies), the subtlety of the playing on "This is How It Goes", the incredible guitars, strings and vocals of "Pavlov's Bell" or the unnervingly brilliant countryish "The Moth", it sounds as though Mann has finally found the sound she wants. \n\nThere is some experimentation that goes awry on this one ("High on Sunday 51" is Aimee does blues and doesn't quite work, and "Real Bad News"'s pacing makes it lethargic), and there's enough unmemorable material to impact opinion of the album, but again, this may be a side effect of coming after two great albums, and there's certainly enough good material here to make it worth the investment. \n\nOn this edition, there's an additional CD of live material, b-sides and unreleased tracks. The live take of "Real Bad News" alone makes the extra disc worth having, delicately performed with what sounds like a ukelele anchoring it and while "The Moth" doesn't quite translate live as well as the studio take, the remainder of the live tracks are consistently high quality. The b-sides ("Nightmare Girl" and "Backfire") are both pretty much throwaway "Fighting the Stall" and "Observatory" are significantly better-- the former has some great vocal arrangements, the latter is just a superb pop song. The album closes with a live on the BBC version of "It's Not" that, while superior to the studio version, still does little for me. \n\nThis package is a great value-- I gave the album four stars, but this set gets five. Highly recommended, even if you have the album.\n\nAmazon.com Customer Review (Special Edition)\nSpecial Edition: Perfect pairing of Aimee and Seth, March 2, 2005\nReviewer: J. Weiner "jonathingy" (San Francisco, CA United States)\nI've just (re)-discovered Aimee Mann, after finally managing to procure the Magnolia soundtrack and cluing in to the fact that she was the lead singer from Til Tuesday, a favorite band of mine while I was in high school. When I bought Magnolia, I also bought the LIS special edition, and I'm extrememly glad I did. \n\nOften I find that musicians kind of run out of steam after a while and end up repeating themselves, producing watered-down versions of the hits that made them famous, but Mann just seems to get better. Pavlov's Bell and the Moth are personal favorites of mine, but truthfully, every track is extremely strong. It was also great to hear the unreleased tracks on the second CD. \n\nI actually had to sit and listen to this album a couple of times for me to really get a grasp on how great it was. That's kind of how Lost In Space is, it takes time to sink in completely. \n\nBut what I also loved about this special edition release was the inclusion of more of Seth's art, in the form of a mini-comic and illustrations for each song. I used to enjoy reading his comic Palookaville and I have to say that the style and content of his work jibes perfectly with Aimee's sound. He's done stuff for her website too, which looks great. I'm normally not much of a packaging whore, but I really enjoyed the way this special edition was put together. \n\nIf you haven't gotten Lost In Space yet, fork over the extra few bucks and get the special edition release, it's worth it. \n\nI can't wait until her new album, The Forgotten Arm, comes out in May!\n\nAmazon.com Customer Review (Special Edition)\nConstant Complainer Like My First Five Wives, February 15, 2004\nReviewer: Hoppy Doppelrocket (Atlanta, GA) \nThis tall girl sure can complain. But she can really write some great songs--and sing them too! And 'Lost in Space' is one of my favorite albums. Fairly short (unlike the good lookin' singer) at something like 40 minutes, but there's not a bad track on the album. Naturally, I bought the original release and then had to figure out whether or not to buy this one.\nWell, here's the deal: This limited edition release (limited to 20,000 copies) contains an extra 40+ minutes of music (when you add cd1 and cd2 you get barely over 80 minutes total--but still, mathematically, twice what you get if you just buy the one). Anyhow, I'd say this edition is worth grabbing--whether you've already purchased the single disc version or not (and if you haven't, what the heck is wrong with ya?).\n\nThe second disc contains 10 songs (two B-sides, two previously unreleased tracks, and six live songs--five recorded live in Stockholm and one at the BBC). The B-sides are great (as usual) and the unreleased tracks strangely unreleased and now released. All fit within the style of Lost in Space and all are filled with the typical pathos and beauty that defines this attractive singer from Boston. I should mention the discs come in one of those annoying digipacks where you slide the cds in an envelope-type contraption (where they are easily scratched). On the other hand, the insert is pretty much a great big cartoon book. One other bonus to tip yer hand: There's a video of "Pavlov's Bell" on disc two. I couldn't get the entire thing to play on my old PC, but I was able to play enough to freeze frame the singer stretched out on an old bed. Ooooh Laaa La!!!\nBuy it. Indeeeeeed. HHD.
This folk cd contains 11 tracks and runs 64min 23sec.
Freedb: 890f150b

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