The Mother, the Mechanic, and the Path

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The Mother, the Mechanic, and the Path
Studio album by The Early November
Released	July 11, 2006
Recorded	Portrait Recording Studio (Lincoln Park, New Jersey)
Genre	Rock, indie rock
Length	2:11:55
Label	Drive-Thru Records
Producer(s)	Ace Enders, Chris Badami
Professional reviews
Absolutepunk.net (86%) link All Music Guide link
The Early November chronology
The Early November/I Am the Avalanche EP (2005)	The Mother, the Mechanic, and the Path (2006)

The Mother, the Mechanic, and the Path is The Early November's sophomore full-length CD. The triple disc concept album was released on July 11, 2006 via Drive-Thru Records. The album is broken down into three chapters:

• The Mechanic – the proclaimed "rock" disc of the album, showcasing the heavier side of the band. According to singer/guitarist Ace Enders, The Mechanic is the group's "safe bet", the album they would have made if it had only been one disc. It represents the technical progression from its predecessor The Room's Too Cold (2003), hence the title.
• The Mother – a mostly unplugged effort in the vein of The Early November's The Acoustic EP (2003) and Ender's solo CD I Can Make a Mess Like Nobody's Business (2004). The disc focuses on the band's mellow facet, featuring a more natural sound, conveyed by the use of predominantly acoustic instruments and only few effects and filters.
• The Path – an audio theatre of sorts, which mixes dialogue between a young man named Dean and his psychiatrist with soft background music. The psychiatry sessions that narrate the story are interrupted by short "musical"-esque songs, also introducing the interaction of other characters. The songs cover a wide range of musical genres, including blues, country and folk.

The recording of the album began on February 28, 2005 and took over a year until its completion. The third disc alone was re-recorded several times at the request of the label and to the dismay of the band and their fans. This forced the album's release to be postponed from its original June 2005 street date to July 2006. Once released, Drive-Thru Records made an effort to boost record sales with various promotion campaigns, bonus offers and price discounts. During the first weeks of sales, purchases of The Mother, the Mechanic, and the Path from Best Buy were accompanied by a bonus DVD (containing the music video to "Hair" and a 35-minute making-of documentary), while Target customers were rewarded with an exclusive bonus track. As of November 2006, the band has sold 72,658 copies of The Mother, the Mechanic, and the Path.^[1]

[edit] Track listing

(all songs written by Ace Enders)

The Mechanic

1. "Money in His Hand" – 3:44
2. "The Rest of My Life" – 2:41
3. "Decoration" – 3:21
4. "No Good at Saying Sorry (One More Chance)" – 3:45
5. "This Wasn't in Our Plan" – 4:06
6. "The One That You Hated" – 3:55
7. "Long Talks" – 4:01
8. "Outside" – 4:07
9. "Make a Decision" – 3:51
10. "The Car in 20" – 3:46
11. "Figure It Out" – 4:54
12. "5 Years" (Target only bonus track) – 3:41

The Mother

1. "My Lack of Skill" – 3:31
2. "A Little More Time" – 3:26
3. "Little Black Heart" – 4:00
4. "Hair" – 3:06
5. "Driving South" – 3:21
6. "Scared to Lose" – 3:17
7. "From Here to L.A." – 3:17
8. "Is It My Fault" – 4:03
9. "I Don't Know How to Say This" – 3:11
10. "The Truth Is" – 4:38
11. "1000 Times a Day" – 5:39

The Path

1. "Intro" – 2:16
2. "We Grew Up the Same" – 4:26
3. "Runaway" – 3:42
4. "Session 01" – 2:37
5. "This Is Love" – 1:17
6. "Session 02" – 0:40
7. "Were Finding Something Out" – 1:31
8. "Session 03" – 1:12
9. "Decoration" – 1:30
10. "Session 04" – 1:16
11. "Uncle" – 0:44
12. "Session 05" – 1:41
13. "Never Coming Back" – 3:03
14. "Guess What" – 1:10
15. "Session 06" – 0:21
16. "You Don't Know What It's Like" – 1:35
17. "Session 07" – 1:57
18. "Look at Me" – 1:58
19. "Session 08" – 3:03
20. "Session 08 Part II" – 2:19
21. "Runaway II" – 3:43
22. "Session 09" – 0:54
23. "I Think This Is Love" – 1:06
24. "A Bigger Meaning" – 6:12

[edit] Credits

• Sergio Anello – bass
• Chris Badami – piano, percussion
• Angela Cordell – French horn
• Lynsie Crespo – background vocals
• Richard Dispenziere – trumpet
• Ace Enders – vocals, guitar
• Arthur Fiacco – cello
• Elizabeth Hostetter – viola
• Jeff Kummer – drums
• Bill Lugg – guitar
• Joseph Marro – guitar, keyboards
• Peter McGuinness – trombone
• Brian O'Neal (Roark) – background vocals
• David Rimelis – string and horn arrangements, nylon guitar, banjo
• Andrea Schultz – violin
• Kenny Sorenson – harmonica

[edit] References

1. ^ Soundscan Results: November 29th, 2006. Absolutepunk.net. Retrieved on November 29, 2006.