John Henry

They Might Be Giants

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 13, 1994)
• Original Release Date: September 13, 1994
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Elektra / Wea
• ASIN: B000002HFL
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (61 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #15,172 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

They Might Be Giants expands to a sextet on its fifth album, John Henry. Even with the addition of bass, drums, sax, and trumpet, the focus is still on the goofy vocals, silly lyrical puns, and accordion-driven hooks of John Flansburgh and John Linnell, and that is not a good thing. These 20 songs include a tune that quotes Allen Ginsberg's "Howl," love songs to a dirt bike and a copy shop clerk, and a song that takes its lyrics from Alice Cooper song titles. If that sounds like your idea of clever, enjoy. --Jim DeRogatis

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite TMBG album., August 13, 2000

By	J. T. Nite "mightybjorn" (Mesa, AZ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

TMBG graduate from drum machines and samples to a full band on this album, and the results are great. Purists label this TMBG's "bad" album, but I believe the full band lends these songs a shot of adrenalin. The lyrics are as good as ever, and they fit well into their new, energetic fixtures.

So many good songs -- the bells of "Destination Moon," the trippy distorted vocal on "Self called nowhere," the theremin on "AKA Driver." There are big rock songs and small gems throughout. Even a seeming throw-away like "Meet James Ensor" is a perfect pop confection (and probably the only song of that genre about a famous dutch artist).

I don't get the jibe "if that's your idea of clever" in the Amazon review. If an album that incorporates Alice Cooper, James Ensor, and Alan Ginsberg in the same 18 songs isn't clever, one wonders what is.

If you can deal with the fact that this album has a different sound than the first four TMBGs, you'll love this stuff.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best album ever, hands down., March 30, 2006

A Kid's Review

Okay. I absolutely adore this album. Critics panned it, but screw them--what do they know? From the hard-rocking "Snail Shell", to the bouncy "Destination Moon", to the beautifully sad "The End Of The Tour", this album is awesome.

Now for a track-by-track analysis.

1. Subliminal (2:45) - Pretty good. The backwards portion at the end is really cool. 4/5
2. Snail Shell (3:20) - Awesome. This song rocks out loud, pure and simple. 5/5
3. Sleeping In The Flowers (4:30) - This song is just cool. The chorus is really different from the verses, but it works. 5/5
4. Unrelated Thing (2:30) - Everyone hates this one, but I think it's good. 4/5
5. AKA Driver (3:14) - Another song that just rocks. 5/5
6. I Should Be Allowed To Think (3:09) - This is a song about teen rebellion, I think, and somehow, it works. 5/5
7. Extra Savoir-Faire (2:48) - Eh. One of the weaker tracks. 3/5
8. Why Must I Be Sad? (4:08) - Cool, in a dark sorta way. 5/5
10. O, Do Not Forsake Me (2:30) - This one's weird, but I kinda like it. 4/5
11. No One Knows My Plan (2:37) - This one's good for dancing! 5/5
12. Dirt Bike (3:05) - Another slightly weaker one. 3/5
13. Destination Moon (2:27) - This is an awesomely bouncy song, but knowing TMBG, the lyrics are darker. I love it! 5/5
14. A Self Called Nowhere (3:22) - Another dark, yet REALLY cool one. 5/5
15. Meet James Ensor (1:33) - Weaker. 3/5
16. Thermostat (3:11) - This one's really catchy and cool. 5/5
17. Window (1:00) - Nice. Has a very theme song-ish quality. 4/5
18. Out Of Jail (2:38) - Another extremely catchy song, with a very twisted theme. 5/5
19. Stomp Box (1:55) - Awesome and hard. Probably TMBG's hardest song yet. 5/5
20. The End Of The Tour (3:18) - Best. Song. Ever. It's so sad...I want it played at my funeral.

In short, buy this album. You won't regret it.

By Anna Ng, a 13-year-old TMBG fan, and no, that's not her real last name

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Oh do not forsake this review, December 1, 2000

By	Wakko (Cape Girardeau, MO United States) - See all my reviews

Well, what can I say? TMBG have done it again. Some people have said that John Henry is not as good as some of TMBG's other albums. To those people, I say it is your loss. This album is without a doubt, one of TMBG's best. Granted, some of the instrumentation sounds more like mainstream rock, but the lyrics are pure TMBG. My favorite tracks are; Subliminal, Sleeping in the Flowers, AKA Driver, I Should Be Allowed to Think, Extra Savoir Faire, Spy, O Do Not Forsake Me, No One Knows My Plan, Meet James Ensor, Thermostat, Out of Jail, and End of the Tour. Spy is one of my favorites because it sounds like a song that would be heard in a spy movie. O Do Not Forsake Me sounds like songs that I've heard my grandparents listen to. That statement is not ment as an insult, I prefer my grandparents' music to some songs I hear today. The song End ofthe Tour: It is TMBG's saddest song. Sure, a lot of their songs aresad, but those songs are usually disguised by up tempo rhythyms and peppy melodies. End of the Tour is just beautiful, and I'm glad the Johns wrote it. And as a final message to those who dislike this album, if you really want TMBG to not change, if you want nothing but Birdhouse in Your Soul or Particle Man, don't buy this album. People change over time, and as the people change, their tastes change. So don't get mad if TMBG makes changes that don't suit you.