Hadestown | ||||
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Studio album by Anaïs Mitchell | ||||
Released | March 9, 2010 (U.S.) | |||
Recorded | Brooklyn Recording Studio, New York | |||
Genre | Folk, Indie folk | |||
Length | 57:17 | |||
Label | Righteous Babe | |||
Producer | Todd Sickafoose | |||
Anaïs Mitchell chronology | ||||
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Hadestown is the fourth album by Vermont-based Anaïs Mitchell, and was released by Righteous Babe Records in the U.S. on March 9, 2010. The album, a concept album, follows a variation on the Ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, where Orpheus must embark on a quest to rescue his wife Eurydice from the underworld. It has been advertised as a 'folk opera'.[1] Several of the songs feature singers other than Ms. Mitchell, such as Justin Vernon (better known as lead vocal and guitar from Bon Iver), Ani DiFranco, Greg Brown, and Tanya, Petra and Rachel Haden (referred to in the track listing as 'The Haden Triplets').
Contents |
The album features orchestral arrangements by Michael Chorney, who was involved with Anaïs' recordings since Hymns for the Exiled in 2004. The recording itself is based upon a live version of the 'folk opera' which was performed by Ms. Mitchell with the collaboration of Mr. Chorney and a theatrical director, Ben T. Matchstick. These performances originally featured a 22-person cast and, after a tour of New England, the songs began to be edited and reworked.
In relation to the story, the part of Orpheus is played by Vernon, Persephone by DiFranco, Hades by Greg Brown, The Fates by Tanya, Petra and Rachel Haden, Hermes by Ben Knox Miller and Mitchell herself plays Eurydice.
While most of the recording was produced by Mr. Sickafoose at Brooklyn Recording Studio in New York, the lead vocals were often produced elsewhere in the U.S..[2]
The grammy nominated packaging was designed by Brian Grunert, Peter Nevins and Anaïs Mitchell, using the artwork of Peter Nevins.
Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
About.com | [3] |
Allmusic | [4] |
BBC | (positive)[5] |
Drowned in Sound | [6] |
The Guardian | [7] |
NME | [8] |
The Observer | (very positive)[9] |
The Times | [10] |
Uncut | [11] |
Upon release, Hadestown gained extremely positive reviews overall. Drowned in Sound awarded the album a rare 10/10, stating that "Mitchell traverses such a sweeping range of emotions, genres and styles over the course of Hadestown, it’s frankly remarkable that the whole thing works at all. That it works so brilliantly well, that in under an hour it creates a world you’ll want to return to time and time again, that it is a glittering model of the form – of collaboration itself – is nothing short of awe-inspiring." The Guardian and NME were similarly effusive in their praise, awarding the album 5/5 and 9/10 respectively. Stereo Subversion's Jonathan Sanders gave the album a perfect score and called it "a lasting example of where folk music can go when the right musicians take hold of history." The album also tops review aggregator website AnyDecentMusic?'s all time chart with a 9.2, the highest rating for any album.[12]
Chart (2010) | Peak position |
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Billboard Top Heatseekers (U.S.) | 33 |
Billboard Top Folk Albums (U.S.) | 9 |