Letting Off the Happiness

Bright Eyes

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 2, 1998)
• Original Release Date: November 2, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Saddle Creek
• ASIN: B00000HXU7
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #53,240 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

David Daley, Magnet Magazine

The enigmatic young man who calls himself Bright Eyes is quite a grand song writer. You may not always see it coming, but his music and especially his lyrics hit you in a way that never lets you doubt the absolute truth of what he's saying. I am also keen on the way he writes a love song. His sweet sonnets are never about being enamored by a lovely young lady, instead the passion he ruminates on is that of a time and place, of salvation and a more innocent definition of the word hope. Songs like "The City has Sex," "Tereza and Thomas," "Pull on My Hair," and "June on the West Coast" show his sorrow that springs from ending a love affair with the future and having a one night stand with the present. (miles curtiss, supafly #3)

___________________________________________ Magnet Magazine www.magnetmagazine.com

Fifteen years ago, a Nebraska teenager named Matthew Sweet turned his correspondence with Athens, GA., heroes like Michael Stipe into a musical career, ultimately moving to Georgia after high school to play in Oh-OK with Stipe's younger sister, Linda, and Linda Hopper (Magnapop). Now, there's another teenage songwriter working the Nebraska/Athens axis, Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst, whose second CD features contributions from members of Neutral Milk Hotel, Of Montreal, and midwesterners Lullaby for the Working Class. Oberst's lo-fi bedroom confessionals restore the magic to a genre that long ago lost its luster to every self-indulgent loner with a four-track. Oberst's honest, sensitive lyrics are never less than affecting and experienced beyond his years, and Athenians Kevin Barnes (Of Montreal) and Jeremy Barnes (Neutral Milk Hotel) add their wonderfully skewed melodic sense and innovative instrumentation (accordian, pedal steel, weird keyboards) that puts this well above the usual bedroom noodling. Trouble is, the recording (done in sessions in both Athens and Nebraska) doesn't capture the full dynamism of the songs. There's a lot going on here that's almost impossible to hear, lost in a mix that's often cluttered or scratchy. Perhaps in the future, studios like John Keane's or David Barbe's can really capture their visionary imaginations.

lemon pepper fanzine issue 1 . december 1998

Conor Oberst has more passion in his young 18 year old body than in your little pinky. Last year a friend of mine made me a tape of Bright Eyes stuff and it made me cry. This album is less sad and much more dynamic. As the mastermind behind Bright Eyes, Conor enlists help from friends and family to record songs that originally grew out of the Oberst family basement. I love the scrapped together feel of the songs. If you like slow pop like Ida, or you're a Karate fan, you'll love Bright Eyes.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I don't know if music gets more emotional than this, September 14, 2002

By	Stephen (USA) - See all my reviews

The album starts off with noise that leaves you wondering what to expect, then all of the sudden, a tenderly strummed acoustic guitar comes into the sonic realm and your worries are relieved. "If Winter Ends" isn't a song to listen to while driving..."Padraic my Prince", melodically, is one of the best songs on here. Lyrically, it tells the tale of untimely death and a suicide pact to make up for it...it's not a happy album, folks. The female backing vocals give "Contrast and Compare" an interesting sound. The songs full of great lines people sometimes quote: 'I can't breathe with these words in my mouth'. "The City has Sex" is a faster paced song about the city and the people in it. One reviewer called "Touch" 'bedroom techno', and I can't think of a better way to describe it. It starts off semi-industrial but then morphs into something that sounds like an oldies station with manic depression. "June on the West Coast" is basically a country song without the typical redneck style vocals. The simple melody and Dylan-ish vocal delivery have been stuck in my head on many, many days. "A Poetic Retelling of an Unfortunte Seduction" is haunting to say the least. The album closes with "Tereza and Tomas" (a reference to Milan Kundera's excellent book The Unbearable Lightness of Being). The song is aching in its beauty. Its about love and escape, two of the things that often keep us going. If you listen to this with your eyes closed, it takes you away to another place. This album is underproduced, some might say, but a lo-fi fan might say that's exactly what makes it great. I don't know. The lack of production makes it seem very earnest, very genuine, and very very real. Unlike a lot of the fake and contrived "emo" out there today, this album is truly an emotional experience. I don't know if that requires it be labeled emo, but if it does, it certainly lives up to the title. Conor writes with such genuine honesty that you can't help but listen to and remember every word he sings. And the singing, oh my...he sings like he cries and it doesn't sound lame. If that's not an accomplishment, I don't know what is.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a new discovery, April 22, 2003

By	James Stanton (New Orleans, LA United States) - See all my reviews

i've recently become a bright eyes fan in the past few months. since then i've managed to snag lifted, fever and mirrors, and lettings off the happiness. it took a bit to grow on me, but, they are all flawless. conor has the ability to speak to many in a manner that few others do; its almost disconcerting. the songs are painstakingly beautiful, yet honest. last saturday i got to see bright eyes play at the howlin' wolf in new orleans, and it was amazing! pick up one of these albums or stop by a show, it will be worth the time and money invested.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars mind blowing, November 19, 2005

By	rockismylife - See all my reviews

I am a huge Bright Eyes fan, and even though I don't think this is Oberst's best album, it is the most admirable. He was 17 and 18 when it was being recorded. I am the same age and all this makes me think is, "What am i doing with my life?" That and Conor Oberst is amazing. The ups and downs on this album are great and, as always, the lyrics are both everything you had always thought and things you had never thought of before. Definetly a good buy.