Bachelor No. 2 or, the Last Remains of the Dodo

Bachelor No. 2
Studio album by Aimee Mann
Released May 2, 2000
Genre Pop, Rock
Length 49:21
Label SuperEgo
Producer Jon Brion
Mike Denneen
Buddy Judge
Aimee Mann
Brendan O'Brien
Aimee Mann chronology
Magnolia
(1999)
Bachelor No. 2
(2000)
Ultimate Collection
(2000)
Singles from Bachelor No. 2
  1. "Red Vines"
    Released: 2001

Bachelor No. 2 is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Aimee Mann, released in 2000. Its full title is Bachelor No. 2 or, the Last Remains of the Dodo. The album is notable for the fact that Mann was initially without a record company and sold the album through her website, but the album went on to gain a worldwide release and achieve respectable sales. This was aided by the success of the Magnolia soundtrack, for the film of the same name by Paul Thomas Anderson, with which the album shares material.

The first release was a limited-run 7-song preview EP which was sold at concerts and via her website.

The full album was slated for a release through Interscope, but they did not think the material had commercial appeal. Mann purchased back the rights for "six figures", and began selling the album online. It was one of the first albums to be successful with only online sales, eventually selling 25,000 copies from Mann's website. After attracting attention, a distribution deal to traditional retail channels led to sales topping 200,000.[1]

The Japanese version of the album contains bonus material, the European version has a different track listing and slightly different material. The album was remastered and released in 2004 by the audiophile record label Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (MFSL) as a hybrid stereo SACD and as an LP on 180-gram virgin vinyl.

Contents

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [2]
The A.V. Club (Favourable)[3]
Entertainment Weekly (A-)[4]
Rolling Stone [5]

Bachelor No. 2 or, the Last Remains of the Dodo placed on Slant Magazine's list of best albums of the 2000s at number 100.[6]

Track listing

All songs by Aimee Mann, unless otherwise noted.

US and Japan Release

  1. "How Am I Different" (Jon Brion, Mann) – 5:03[7]
  2. "Nothing Is Good Enough" – 3:10[7][8]
  3. "Red Vines" – 3:44[7]
  4. "The Fall of the World's Own Optimist" (Elvis Costello, Mann) – 3:06[7]
  5. "Satellite" – 4:10[7]
  6. "Deathly" – 5:37[9]
  7. "Ghost World" – 3:30
  8. "Calling It Quits" – 4:09[7]
  9. "Driving Sideways" (Michael Lockwood, Mann) – 3:49[9]
  10. "Just Like Anyone" – 1:22[7]
  11. "Susan" – 3:51
  12. "It Takes All Kinds" (Brion, Mann) – 4:06
  13. "You Do" – 3:43[9]
  14. "Save Me" – 4:35[9] (Japan bonus track)
  15. "Save Me" (Video) (Japan Bonus track)

European Release

The E.U. Edition of the Bachelor No. 2 CD on V2 Records has a rearranged track listing that removes "Driving Sideways" and adds a new track "Backfire". The Japanese bonus tracks are included.

  1. "How Am I Different" – 5:03
  2. "Nothing Is Good Enough" – 3:10
  3. "Red Vines" – 3:44
  4. "The Fall of the World's Own Optimist" – 3:06
  5. "Satellite" – 4:10
  6. "Deathly" – 5:37
  7. "Ghost World" – 3:30
  8. "Calling It Quits" – 4:09
  9. "Susan" – 3:51
  10. "Backfire" – 3:25
  11. "It Takes All Kinds" – 4:06
  12. "Save Me" – 4:35
  13. "Just Like Anyone" – 1:22
  14. "You Do" – 3:43
  15. "Save Me" (Video)

MFSL Release

The MFSL SACD and LP releases features the same tracklist as the 13 track US CD release.

Personnel

Production

Charts

Album ndash Billboard (North America)

Year Chart Position
2000 The Billboard 200 134
2000 Top Internet Albums 20
2001 Top Independent Albums 48

Notes

  1. ^ Playboy.com: March 20, 2001
  2. ^ Allmusic review
  3. ^ The A.V. Club review
  4. ^ Entertainment Weekly review
  5. ^ Rolling Stone review
  6. ^ Newlin, Jimmy. "Best of the Aughts: Albums". Slant Magazine. http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/feature/best-of-the-aughts-albums/215. Retrieved February 10, 2010. 
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Appeared on the self-published EP.
  8. ^ Instrumental appeared on the Magnolia soundtrack.
  9. ^ a b c d Appeared on the Magnolia soundtrack.