Sumday
| Sumday | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Grandaddy | ||||
| Released | May 13, 2003 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 52:27 | |||
| Label | V2 | |||
| Producer | Jason Lytle | |||
| Grandaddy chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Sumday | ||||
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Sumday is the third studio album by American indie rock band Grandaddy, released on May 13, 2003 by record label V2.
Content
According to frontman Jason Lytle, the album "represents the closest I've been to singing in the first person, writing passionately".[1]
Release
Sumday was released on May 13, 2003 by record label V2. The album gave the band its highest chart placing in the UK, peaking at No. 22.[2] By 2006, the album had sold 110,000 copies.[3]
An expanded version of the album was released five months later, with a bonus disc of songs recorded live at the Glastonbury Festival in 2003 (tracks 1–6) and three tracks taken from The Black Sessions in Paris (tracks 7–9).
Critical reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 78/100[4] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [5] |
| Blender | [6] |
| Robert Christgau |  [7] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A[8] |
| Mojo | [9] |
| NME | 8/10[10] |
| Pitchfork | 8.1/10[11] |
| Rolling Stone |  [4] |
| Spin | A[12] |
| Uncut | [13] |
The album was well-received by critics. PopMatters viewed the album as one where Lytle had decided to "tone down on the experimentation, and concentrate on developing some terrific melodies", calling it "really the next logical step for the band". He commented on similarities to the Alan Parsons Project ("Now It's On"), ELO ("The Go in the Go-for-It") and John Lennon ("Lost on Yer Merry Way"), and noted an improvement in Lytle's songwriting.[14] The CMJ New Music Report made it their 'essential release' in May 2003, calling it a "genuinely wholehearted work",[15] and in their end-of-year review placed it at number 7 in their list of the top albums of the year.[16] Jim DeRogatis, in his book Turn on Your Mind: Four Decades of Great Psychedelic Rock, viewed the melodies as "even more effervescent and more memorable" than on The Sophtware Slump.[17] Sophie Best of The Age called it "another sprawling sonic Grandaddy adventure, shimmering with wistful sincerity and rural-tinged psychedelia".[1] NME gave it 8/10, saying the songs sound "pretty much like Neil Young if he'd heard an Aphex Twin record".[10]
Heather Phares of AllMusic, however, criticised the album, calling it "bland and complacent" and opining that it failed to live up to the expectations of The Sophtware Slump.[5]
Track listing
All songs written and composed by Jason Lytle.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Now It's On" | 4:08 |
| 2. | "I'm on Standby" | 3:13 |
| 3. | "The Go in the Go-for-It" | 3:40 |
| 4. | "The Group Who Couldn't Say" | 4:08 |
| 5. | "Lost on Yer Merry Way" | 6:17 |
| 6. | "El Caminos in the West" | 3:22 |
| 7. | "'Yeah' Is What We Had" | 3:45 |
| 8. | "Saddest Vacant Lot in All the World" | 3:52 |
| 9. | "Stray Dog and the Chocolate Shake" | 3:43 |
| 10. | "O.K. with My Decay" | 6:11 |
| 11. | "The Warming Sun" | 5:44 |
| 12. | "The Final Push to the Sum" | 4:24 |
| Expanded version bonus disc | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 1. | "The Crystal Lake" | |
| 2. | "For the Dishwasher" | |
| 3. | "Yeah Is What We Had" | |
| 4. | "AM 180" | |
| 5. | "Our Dying Brains" | |
| 6. | "Laughing Stock" | |
| 7. | "The Go in the Go for It" | |
| 8. | "Saddest Vacant Lot in All the World" | |
| 9. | "He's Simple, He's Dumb, He's the Pilot" | |
Personnel
- Grandaddy
- Jason Lytle – lead vocals, guitar, various instruments, production, engineering
- Kevin Garcia – bass guitar
- Aaron Burtch – drums
- Jim Fairchild – guitar
- Tim Dryden – keyboards
- Technical
- Lucky Lew – engineering
- Michael H. Brauer – mixing
- Nathaniel Chan – mixing assistance
- Rick Chavarria – mixing assistance
- Greg Calbi – mastering
- Shinzou Maeda – cover photography
References
- 1 2 Best, Sophie (July 4, 2003). "Everyone's Grandaddy". The Age. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
- ↑ "Grandaddy | Artist | Official Charts". Official Charts. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
- ↑ Bronson, Kevin (June 5, 2006). "Grandaddy Leader Finally Changes His Tune on Band". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. p. 5E. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
- 1 2 "Reviews for Sumday by Grandaddy – Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
- 1 2 Phares, Heather. "Sumday – Grandaddy | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. AllRovi. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
- ↑ "[Sumday review]". Blender (17): 140.
- ↑ Christgau, Robert. "Robert Christgau: CG: Grandaddy". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
- ↑ "[Sumday review]". Entertainment Weekly: 96. June 13, 2003.
- ↑ "[Sumday review]". Mojo: 94. June 2003.
- 1 2 "NME Album Reviews – Grandaddy : Sumday – nme.com". NME. June 13, 2003. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
- ↑ Petrusich, Amanda (June 8, 2003). "Grandaddy: Sumday | Album Reviews | Pitchfork". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
- ↑ Raihala, Ross (August 2003). "Grandaddy Sumday". SPIN: 116. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
- ↑ "[Sumday review]". Uncut: 114. July 2003.
- ↑ Begrand, Adrian (27 June 2003). "Grandaddy: Sumday | PopMatters". PopMatters. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
- ↑ Santangelo, Antonia (May 26, 2003). "Grandaddy Sumday". CMJ New Music Report: 6. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
- ↑ Borolla, Caroline (December 29, 2003). "CMJ Top 10 of 2003: No. 7 – Grandaddy Sumday". CMJ New Music Report: 7. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
- ↑ DeRogatis, Jim. Turn on Your Mind: Four Decades of Great Psychedelic Rock. p. 557. ISBN 978-0-634-05548-5.
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