Shootenanny!

Eels

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 3, 2003)
• Original Release Date: June 3, 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Dreamworks
• ASIN: B00009B8G2
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #52,459 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Head Eel Mark "E" Everett purges his soul with a smile on Shootenanny!, as he delivers bursts of bittersweet wit and lighthearted drama. Unlike solemn 1996 epic Electro-Shock Blues and 2001’s thorny Souljacker, E's songwriting here puts the emphasis on light melodies and clean pop craft. While his limber genre-jumping often earns comparisons to Beck, there's also some of Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy in E’s razor-burn voice. And though Shootenanny! isn’t out on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot’s experimental ledge, it has a similar unruly twang that injects a dose of whimsy into soul-searching songs like "Love of the Loveless." "Wrong About Bobby," for instance, glides along on sunny, jangling guitars while E tries and fails to forgive a violent grudge. By mixing sweet with sour, E's warm and fuzzy mope rock sounds great whether it's blasting out of a convertible on a sunny day or playing in the background on a rainy night. --Matthew Cooke

Product Description

UK Version with Exclusive Enhanced Studio Footage and Performance. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Who's Going To Play With Me?, August 25, 2003

By	David Bradley "David Bradley" (Sterling, VA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I hate this type of comparison, but here goes: if you took Wilco, made a young Tom Waits their singer, and forced them to stick to more traditional Blues-based forms, you'd have something akin to Eels.

The subtitle of SHOOTENANNY!--"Everybody Knows These Are Rock Hard Times"--says it all. The album plays like a deep blue depression on a sunny day, pounding along across it's own unique aural landscape. Some of the more fatalistic stuff is hard to take repeatedly, but "Saturday Morning" is stunning and, while most of the rest of the album is sure-fire Alt Rock, there are moments towards the end, like "Numbered Days," which have some kind of late 60s/early 70s atmosphere to them.

SHOOTENANNY! has been in my short stack of CDs for a month now; it's inspiration may not be unique but the effect the Eels create is.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best of the Year??, June 4, 2003

By A Customer

I've always enjoyed E's stuff, and the Eels...very good indeed. But, this is perhaps E's masterpiece and arguably the Best Album of the Year thus far. At just over 40 minutes it doesn't overstay its welcome (like so many who think they must use 50-60 minutes of a CD, even if half of it is filler), and leaves you coming back for more time and again. Great E-Pop with some very hard-edged guitar riffs thrown in - a perfect balance, really. Don't miss this one - all of E and the Eels promise finally comes together. Awesome.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars EELS BEST, June 12, 2003

By A Customer

Every time an Eels CD comes out, there is ALWAYS the usual grumbling about it not being up to par, etc. It was that way for every release. Then, in time, the album shows itself for what it really is. I believe this album is the best Eels album to date. Clearly he is going for a succinct, direct sound and message without pretense. It's direct, human and great! I could hear Muddy Water's singing the lyric of "Love Of The Loveless." Well done, again, Eels.