John Henry (album)

John Henry is the name of They Might Be Giants' fifth original album, although it is the sixth disc in their discography. It was released in 1994. It is the first album in which John Linnell and John Flansburgh utilized a full band, as opposed to playing most or all of the instruments themselves. The album's name, a reference to the man vs. machine fable of John Henry, is an allusion to the band's fundamental switch to more conventional instrumentation, especially the newly-established use of a human drummer instead of a drum machine.

John Henry is TMBG's longest record and was the band's highest-charting adult album, having peaked at #61 on the Billboard 200, until 2011's Join Us.

Lyrical themes

The lyrics to the song "AKA Driver" refer to a "NyQuil driver". Legal issues required a title with no reference to the medicine, and the lyrics to the song are omitted from the CD insert. John Flansburgh states: "It was a brief education for us in the difference between protected speech and trademark infringement. Although it was a possibility that we could have gotten away with it, or settled with the NyQuil manufacturers for a small amount of money, the path of least hassle was simply omitting the name from the package. According to our lawyer you can say pretty much anything in a song about a product, and that expression is a protected part of every American's freedom of speech. However when you title a song after a trademarked product and then start selling your recording (which is also a product) you run the risk of the trademark holder suing you for infringing on their trademark. To make matters tougher on ol' NyQuil Driver, trademark holders are compelled by the law to protect their trademark or they run the risk of their product name falling into the public domain." ^[2]

"I Should Be Allowed to Think" excerpts the first line (I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving, hysterical) of the poem Howl by Allen Ginsberg.

"Meet James Ensor" refers to an eccentric Belgian expressionist painter whose works excited John Flansburgh. In an interview, Flansburgh explained that "the line 'Dig him up and shake his hand' is actually very specific – a parallel idea to a lot of his paintings which involve resurrections, skeletons and puppets being animated. [...] With the song, I'm trying to encapsulate the issues of his life – an eccentric guy who became celebrated and was soon left behind as his ideas were taken into the culture and other people became expressionists."^[3]

"Why Must I Be Sad?" is a string of references to Alice Cooper song titles and lyrics, involving several titles from the Billion Dollar Babies album including "No More Mr. Nice Guy," "I Love the Dead," and more.

Track listing

(All songs by They Might Be Giants unless otherwise noted)

1. "Subliminal" – 2:45
2. "Snail Shell" – 3:20
3. "Sleeping in the Flowers" – 4:30
4. "Unrelated Thing" – 2:31
5. "AKA Driver" – 3:14 (They Might Be Giants, Tony Maimone, Brian Doherty)
6. "I Should Be Allowed to Think" – 3:09 (They Might Be Giants, Tony Maimone)
7. "Extra Savoir-Faire" – 2:48
8. "Why Must I Be Sad?" – 4:08
9. "Spy" – 3:06
10. "O, Do Not Forsake Me" – 2:30
11. "No One Knows My Plan" – 2:37
12. "Dirt Bike" – 3:05
13. "Destination Moon" – 2:27
14. "A Self Called Nowhere" – 3:22
15. "Meet James Ensor" – 1:33
16. "Thermostat" – 3:11
17. "Window" – 1:00
18. "Out of Jail" – 2:38
19. "Stomp Box" – 1:55
20. "The End of the Tour" – 3:18

Deluxe Edition

1. "Doctor Worm" - 3:01
2. "New York City" - 3:02
3. "I Can Hear You" – 1:57

Personnel

John Henry is the first album credited to They Might Be Giants as a full band, rather than a duo:

• Brian Doherty – drums
• John Flansburgh – Vocals, guitar
• John Linnell – vocals, keyboard, horns
• Tony Maimone – bass guitar
• Graham Maby – bass guitar

Guests

• Robert Quine - guitar solos on "Sleeping in the Flowers" and "No One Knows My Plan"
• Hudson Shad – vocals on "O, Do Not Forsake Me"

References

External links

• John Henry at This Might Be a Wiki