Where the Humans Eat

Where the Humans Eat
Studio album by Willy Mason
Released October 12, 2004
Recorded Old Soul Studio
Label Virgin Records
Producer Willy Mason, Sam Mason, Tom Schick
Willy Mason chronology

Where the Humans Eat
(2004)
(2005 UK)
If the Ocean Gets Rough
(2007)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic link
Pitchfork Media 7.0/10 link

Where the Humans Eat is the first full-length album released by American singer-songwriter Willy Mason. It was recorded in Catskill, New York in early May 2004. Songs were mostly recorded live, and feature Mason singing and playing guitar (adding cello, accordion, and vibraphone in the studio), and his younger brother Sam on drums. Mason wanted to capture the atmosphere of a live performance in the recordings, and tried to avoid re-recording songs: “I made a rule that we couldn’t record any of the songs in more than three takes. It allows you to make mistakes and accept those mistakes. Listening back, sometimes the wrong notes are the best parts of the song, the imperfections are what keeps it spontaneous and live-feeling."

The album's two singles, "Oxygen" and "So Long", charted on the UK Singles Chart, and the album reached #38 on the UK Albums Chart in 2005. The song "Oxygen" was covered by the operatic soprano Renée Fleming on her 2010 album Dark Hope.

This album is the second release of Team Love Records.

Track listing

  1. Gotta Keep Movin'
  2. All You Can Do
  3. Still a Fly
  4. Where the Humans Eat
  5. Fear No Pain
  6. Hard Hand to Hold
  7. Letter #1
  8. Sold My Soul
  9. Our Town
  10. So Long
  11. Oxygen
  12. 21st Century Boy