Thank You Happy Birthday

Cage the Elephant | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 11, 2011)
• Original Release Date: 2011
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Jive - R.E.D.
• ASIN: B0049JPUCQ
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,651 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Always Something

2. Aberdeen

3. Indy Kidz

4. Shake Me Down

5. 2024

6. Sell Yourself

7. Rubber Ball

8. Right Before My Eyes

9. Around My Head

10. Sabertooth Tiger

11. Japanese

12. Flow

Editorial Reviews

Cage The Elephant will release their eagerly awaited sophomore album, Thank You, Happy Birthday, on January 11, 2011. Produced by Jay Joyce and recorded at Tragedy/Tragedy Studios in Nashville, TN, the album is the bands follow up to their critically acclaimed 2009 self titled debut, which has sold nearly 400,000 copies to date, spawned 3 top 5 singles at Alternative radio and has kept the band on the road for nearly two years. Now, Cage The Elephant returns with a 13 song collection of a raucous and inspired rock that displays an expanded sound for the band, and a bold reminder of exactly why they are one of the most loved bands in rock music today.

The young five-piece from Bowling Green, KY, Matt Shultz (vocals), Brad Shultz (guitar), Daniel Tichenor (bass), Lincoln Parish (guitar) and Jared Champion (drums), accumulated 80 songs worth of ideas during a 2-year period touring around the globe and living abroad in England supporting their eponymous debut. As they began sorting through their arsenal of songs upon returning to Kentucky to record album two, they were unwavering in their devotion to making a record that reflected their vast musical growth and interests as a band.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Not as catchy as their debut, but then... February 12, 2011

By brian t raymer

Format:Audio CD

With an attitude that only the young and talented can pull off, this new disc is hard to understand, which is part of what makes it great. Furthermore, it took me several (seven or so) close listens to decide if I even liked it. I do.

My suggestion to Sony Music, now that they own CTE, is to allow these guys to spend all the time they can in the studio putting down what they have to say NOW! Should CTE get three more full-length discs out within the next couple of years, they will have cemented a place in rock history. This brilliant intensity can only last a few more years before age/money/drugs/ego will take its toll.

22 of 29 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Cage The Elephant's "Thank You, Happy Birthday" - Incredible Range For A Second Album January 11, 2011

By Mark #1 HALL OF FAMETOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

Cage The Elephant's Thank You Happy Birthday is both surprising and impressive. This album makes it clear that they already knew what they wanted their music to sound like before their debut. When bands have a very strong first album, it's hard to follow it up with something that is fresh and still their own. Some bands can buck that trend, but few rarely do. Reading that they worked on 80 song ideas while on tour only makes me even more anxious for the third album.

Whatever they have in the water in KY, it seems to be working. This is the best sophomore album in recent memory.

On the one hand this album has some tracks that are much more polished than the first one. Songs like "Always Something," "Aberdeen" and "Right Before My Eyes" sound like they could have come right off of BRMC's Baby 81.

Yet it still has that raw energy that makes CTE so powerful. "Sell Yourself," "Japanese Buffalo" and "Sabertooth Tiger" have the same raw energy that made "Ain't No Rest For The Wicked" such a great single.

Other songs stand alone as stripped down indie rock. I love the smoother "Flow" and "Rubber Ball."

The melodic "Shake Me down" and "Around My Head" have clear pop melodies mixed with a hard edge that reminds me of some of the best of 90s rock.

It's hard to listen to "2024" without hearing the influence of classic punk rockers like The Ramones. And the rocking rhythm of "Indy Kidz" is infectious.

CONCLUSION

It's difficult to overstate how diverse and impressive this album is. I have seen this band a few times during their first tour, and their live performances have the same immediacy as their albums have had thus far. I highly recommend you give this record a listen. Not every song will appeal to every listener, but most will find at least a few tracks to their liking. And I suspect that the rest will grow on a lot of people.

Enjoy.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars What the heck guys? Both albums are fan-freaking-tastic! September 20, 2011

By SuccessfulFailure

Format:Audio CD

"Thank You Happy Birthday" is another great and original album by Cage the Elephant. What makes this album so awesome is the diversity it offers throughout the tracks. While the first album offered consistency in sound, but also enough variety to keep it from getting boring, this album just oozes variety. It's a colorful assortment of great beats that you can't help but find yourself moving all along in an empty room, while still offering the same eargasmic sounds that are found in the first album. While the feel is more 90s compared to the 70s Zeppelin-esque feel of the first, this album only proves Cage's ability to expand their musical range. There is also a gentleness in a couple of songs on the album ("Rubber Ball", "Right Before My Eyes", "Flow") that further show the band's ability to delve deeper into lyrical thought while also showing maturity. I have nothing but praise for both albums, but "Thank You Happy Birthday" shows that Cage the Elephant can do more than just rock out, but they can provide heart-felt lyrics that truly hit home, under all of the musical eargasmicness that is Cage the Elephant.