| Birds of My Neighborhood | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by The Innocence Mission | ||||
| Released | August 10, 1999 | |||
| Recorded | 1997-1999 | |||
| Genre | Alternative, folk | |||
| Length | 37:17 | |||
| Label | Kneeling Elephant / RCA Badman Recording Co. |
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| Producer | The Innocence Mission | |||
| The Innocence Mission chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [1] |
| Pitchfork Media | (7.7/10)[2] |
Birds of My Neighborhood is The Innocence Mission's fourth full-length studio album.
Originally released on the RCA sub-label Kneeling Elephant in 1999, the album was long-out of print until their current record label - Badman Recording Co. - acquired license to remaster and reissue the material in 2006.
This was the groups first release as a trio following the departure of founding member Steve Brown in 1997. With the exception of his sole contribution to the album - drums and brushes on "Snow" - the album is largely bereft of drums. Don Peris took up percussional duties on "Birdless" and the closing moments of his self-penned "Green Grass, Red Tree," but otherwise the group adapted to its new trio status by replacing Mike Bitt's electric bass with an upright bass and taking on a more acoustic, folk-based sound than their previous guitar-heavy work.
Their cover of "Follow Me" was recorded in late 1997 for inclusion on the John Denver tribute album Take Me Home, which had an estimated release date of 1998. With that record's release being continually delayed, however, Don Peris approached that record's curator, the Red House Painters's Mark Kozelek, for permission to include the cover on The Innocence Mission's own record. Mark Kozelek agreed, on condition that the song still be included on the tribute record when a general release was finally given in April 2000.[3]
In 2007, "The Lakes of Canada" garnered significant attention when it was covered by Sufjan Stevens. Link. He had been referring to the influence the song has had on him, however, since 2004, when he told NPR's "All Songs Considered" section:[4]
| “ | "But what I always come back to ... is the small song that makes careful observations about everyday life. This is what makes the music by The Innocence Mission so moving and profound. '(The) Lakes of Canada' creates an environment both terrifying and familiar using sensory language: incandescent bulbs and rowboats are made palpable by careful rhythms, unobtrusive rhyme schemes, and specificity of language. What is so remarkable about Karen Peris' lyrics are the economy of words, concrete nouns - fish, flashlight, laughing man - which come to life with melodies that dance around the scale like sea creatures. Panic and joy, a terrible sense of awe, the dark indentations of memory all come together at once, accompanied by the joyful strum of an acoustic guitar. This is a song in which everyday objects begin to have tremendous meaning." | ” |
Contents |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Where Does the Time Go?" | 3:32 |
| 2. | "Snow" | 3:47 |
| 3. | "Follow Me" (John Denver) | 3:19 |
| 4. | "The Lakes of Canada" | 4:35 |
| 5. | "You Are the Light" | 2:56 |
| 6. | "Birdless" | 3:34 |
| 7. | "I Haven't Seen This Day Before" | 2:09 |
| 8. | "She May Turn Around" | 2:17 |
| 9. | "I Was in the Air" (Don Peris) | 2:38 |
| 10. | "July" | 3:22 |
| 11. | "Going Away" (Karen Peris, Don Peris) | 3:06 |
| 12. | "Green Grass, Red Tree" (Don Peris) | 2:20 |
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Total length:
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37:17 | |
All tracks written by Karen Peris, except where noted.
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