Songs of the Unforgiven

Almost immediately after recording "Puss 'n' Boots", Brad Roberts, Ellen Reid and Dan Roberts proceeded to prepare recording the follow-up, with Roberts acknowledging he went "through this phase where I was extremely prolific and I wrote like three records worth of material in a space of months."

The band pursued a decisively raw, acoustic, stripped-down sound for "Songs of the Unforgiven", and turned to the Internet in search of a recording studio that featured a pipe organ. By Googling "recording studios" plus “pipe organ”, the first result revealed Sacred Heart Studios in Duluth, Minnesota: a church originally constructed in 1894 that was later abandoned and eventually restored and turned into a venue for concerts. Having discovered Sacred Heart Recording Studio included a 1493-pipe, Felgemaker pipe-organ, the band drove to Duluth and recorded the album the following January.

The album is decidedly apocalyptic thematically, featuring lyrics replete with Biblical references and imagery. Other unconventional instruments appear on the record, including the harp and kettle drums.

Suzzy Roche (of female vocal group "The Roches" fame) provides backing vocals on the album's three sonnets.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Prelude"	Chris Brown & Brad Roberts	0:19
2.	"Sonnet 1 (And When the Sun Goes Down)"	Brad Roberts	2:32
3.	"And So Will Always Be"	Brad Roberts	3:17
4.	"The Unforgiven Ones"	Brad Roberts	2:54
5.	"Interlude 1"	Chris Brown & Brad Roberts	0:23
6.	"Come Down to the Sinkhole"	Brad Roberts	2:35
7.	"Is the Spell Really Broken?"	Brad Roberts	3:53
8.	"Everlasting Peace"	Brad Roberts	2:39
9.	"Sonnet 2 (And Back in Ages Past)"	Brad Roberts	2:41
10.	"The Beginning of the End"	Brad Roberts	3:00
11.	"Interlude 2"	Chris Brown & Brad Roberts	0:37
12.	"You've Had Your Run"	Brad Roberts	3:22
13.	"There Is No Final Winner"	Brad Roberts	2:13
14.	"You've Done It Once Again"	Brad Roberts	3:46
15.	"Sonnet 3 (The Cold Is Here)"	Brad Roberts	2:04
16.	"The Wicked and the Evil"	Brad Roberts	3:03
17.	"Postlude"	Chris Brown & Brad Roberts	1:17

Personnel

Brad Roberts, vocals, acoustic guitar on "There Is No Final Winner"
Ellen Reid, backing vocals
Suzzy Roche, backing vocals, vocals on "Sonnet 1 (And When the Sun Goes Down)," "There Is No Final Winner," and "Sonnet 3 (The Cold Is Here)"
Chris Brown - Pipe organ, Pump organ, Piano, Wurlitzer piano, Accordion, Harmonium on "The Beginning of the End"
Scott Harding, acoustic and electric guitars, Cymbals on "Sonnet 1 (And When the Sun Goes Down)," Vibraphone on "Everlasting Peace," backing vocals on "Is the Spell Really Broken?"
Andrew Hall, acoustic bass
Drew Glackin, acoustic guitar, lap steel, electric bass, resophonic guitar on "There Is No Final Winner," Tremolo Bass on "Sonnet 3 (The Cold Is Here)"
Jane Scarpantoni, Cello
David Mansfield, Banjo, Violin
Mimi Parker, drums on "The Unforgiven Ones"
Alan Sparhawk, electric guitar on "Come Down to the Sinkhole"
Todd McMillon, Church bell on "The Beginning of the End"

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[1]
Winnipeg Sun	^[2]

The album resulted in the band receiving their best reviews since God Shuffled His Feet. Allmusic writer Rob Theakston gave the album 4 out of 5 stars and states that "with the Dummies stripped of all the electronic experimentation and quirky, Shel Silverstein-esque lyrics that hindered their past few releases, the haunting, sparse acoustic instrumentation makes a welcome return to the forefront of the songwriting process. This only reinforces and complements Roberts' existentially bereft baritone folk tales to their fullest potential. The sonnets used for lyrics are some of the Crash Test Dummies' darkest and most brooding in their entire catalog, talking tales of murder, sinister deeds, punishment, sin, and death. Songs of the Unforgiven is the record die-hard fans have been patiently waiting for, and it's outstanding.".^[1] In addition, Darryl Sterdan of the Winnipeg Sun, who also gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, states that the "over swirling pump organs, slowly strummed guitars and molasses-slow grooves, the baritone Roberts sombrely intones psalms of death, darkness and delivery, coming off like a cross between Leonard Cohen, Nick Cave, Tom Waits and Elmer Gantry. And the brooding neo-classical folk hymns of Songs of the Unforgiven come off as his most sincere, spiritual thoughts to date.".^[2]

External links

Songs of the Unforgiven at MusicBrainz

References

↑ 1.0 1.1 Theakston, Rob. "Crash Test Dummies: Songs of the Unforgiven > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
↑ 2.0 2.1 Sterdan, Darryl. "Crash Test Dummies: Songs of the Unforgiven > Review". Winnipeg Sun. Retrieved 29 April 2010.

Crash Test Dummies

Brad Roberts Ellen Reid Dan Roberts Benjamin Darvill Mitch Dorge

Demo Tapes	Original Recipe Demo Tape 2

Studio albums	The Ghosts That Haunt Me God Shuffled His Feet A Worm's Life Give Yourself a Hand I Don't Care That You Don't Mind Jingle All the Way Puss 'n' Boots Songs of the Unforgiven Oooh La La!

EPs	The Cape Breton Lobster Bash Series

Compilations	The Best of Crash Test Dummies Demo-litions

Live Albums	Crash Test Dude (Brad Roberts solo)

Singles	"Superman's Song" "The Ghosts That Haunt Me" "Androgynous" "The First Noel" "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" "Swimming in Your Ocean" "Afternoons & Coffeespoons" "God Shuffled His Feet" "The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead" "He Liked to Feel It" "My Own Sunrise" "My Enemies" "Keep a Lid on Things" "Get You in the Morning" "Give Yourself a Hand" "Every Morning" "On and On" "The Day We Never Met" "White Christmas" "I'm the Man" "Flying Feeling" "The Unforgiven Ones" "And So Will Always Be" "And It's Beautiful" "Now You See Her"

Videos	Symptomology of a Rock Band: The Case of Crash Test Dummies Crash Test Dude

Discography