I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning

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For the One Tree Hill episode, see I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning (One Tree Hill).
I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
Studio album by
Bright Eyes
ReleasedJanuary 25, 2005 (2005-01-25)
RecordedFebruary 2004
StudioPresto! (Lincoln, Nebraska)
Genre
Length45:41
LabelSaddle Creek
ProducerMike Mogis
Bright Eyes chronology
One Jug of Wine, Two Vessels
(2004) 		I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
(2005) 		Digital Ash in a Digital Urn
(2005)
Singles from I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
  1. "Lua"
    Released: October 26, 2004
  2. "First Day Of My Life"
    Released: March 21, 2005
Singles from I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning: A Companion
  1. "Old Soul Song (For the New World Order) (Companion version)"
    Released: August 10, 2022

I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning is the sixth studio album by American band Bright Eyes, released on January 25, 2005 by Saddle Creek Records (the same day as their seventh album, Digital Ash in a Digital Urn).

The album was reissued by Dead Oceans alongside a six-track companion EP on November 11, 2022.[5]

Songs[edit]

The music video for "First Day of My Life" was directed by John Cameron Mitchell.

This was the first Bright Eyes album to feature Nate Walcott, who is now a permanent member of the band.

"Road to Joy" contains an interpolation of Beethoven's "Ode to Joy". The title of the album is taken from a lyric in this song.

Bright Eyes achieved success on the US charts when the singles "Lua" and "Take It Easy (Love Nothing)" (the latter from Digital Ash) took the top two positions on the Billboard Hot Singles Sales chart in 2004. In 2005, the band set off on a two-part world tour to promote the album along with Digital Ash in a Digital Urn, with the first half of the tour centring on the folk-influenced first album, and the latter half featuring the more electronic second album. Both records made it into the top 20 of the Billboard albums charts, with I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning peaking at number 10 on the Billboard 200 and at number 2 on the Billboard Independent Albums chart.[6] The tour was captured on the album Motion Sickness, released later in the year.

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic85/100[7]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
Blender[9]
Entertainment WeeklyB[10]
Los Angeles Times[11]
NME8/10[12]
Pitchfork8.7/10[13]
Q[14]
Rolling Stone[15]
SpinA−[16]
The Village VoiceA−[17]

I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning received widespread acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, the album received an average score of 85 out of 100, based on 33 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim".[7] Los Angeles Times describes it as "An album with the simmering glow of a masterpiece."[11] Drowned in Sound critic Sean Adams called the album a "thing of awe", praising the lyrics and "calculated attention to detail".[18] Pitchfork's Chris Dahlen gave the album 8.7 out of 10 and states "I'm Wide Awake weaves the personal and the political more fluidly than most singers even care to try, and the consummate tunefulness just strengthens those moments where he pinches a nerve."[13]

In a less positive review, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic criticized Oberst's "heavy-handed pretension in the words and [...] affectedness in his delivery", calling the album proof that "instead of reaching musical maturity, he's wallowing in a perpetual adolescence."[8]

Up to 2014, the album had sold 522,000 copies in US.[19] In 2007 it was awarded a gold certification from the Independent Music Companies Association, which indicated sales of at least 100,000 copies throughout Europe.[20]

Year-end rankings[edit]

The album was ranked on several lists for best albums released during the year 2005.

Critic/publication Rank
Amazon.com Editor's Picks[21] 79
Blender[22] 4
Metacritic[23] 17
Planet Sound 1
Q[24] 5
Rolling Stone[25] 8
Spin[26] 21
Time[27] 10
All Songs Considered[28] 2

It was also ranked at number 50 on Rolling Stone list of "Top 100 Albums of the Decade"[29] and at number 31 on NME's "Top 100 Greatest Albums of the Decade".[30]

Track listing[edit]

Original release[edit]

All tracks are written by Conor Oberst

No.TitleLength
1."At the Bottom of Everything"4:34
2."We Are Nowhere and It's Now"4:12
3."Old Soul Song (for the New World Order)"4:30
4."Lua"4:30
5."Train Under Water"6:05
6."First Day of My Life"3:08
7."Another Travelin' Song"4:16
8."Land Locked Blues"5:46
9."Poison Oak"4:50
10."Road to Joy"3:54
Total length:45:41

I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning: A Companion[edit]

No.TitleLength
1."Old Soul Song (For the New World Order)" (companion version) (featuring Becky Stark)4:39
2."First Day of My Life" (companion version) (featuring Maria Taylor) 
3."Fare Thee Well, Miss Carousel" (featuring Gillian Welch) (Townes Van Zandt) 
4."We Are Nowhere and It's Now" (companion version) (featuring Maria Taylor) 
5."Road to Joy" (companion version) 
6."Land Locked Blues" (companion version) (featuring Emmy Lou Harris) 

Personnel[edit]

Charts[edit]

Chart (2005) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[31] 81
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[32] 46
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[33] 41
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[34] 53
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[35] 21
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[36] 9
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[37] 12
UK Albums (OCC)[38] 23
US Billboard 200[39] 10
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[40] 2

References[edit]

  1. ^ Cooper, Leonie (June 7, 2016). "20 Best Folk Music Albums of All Time". NME. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  2. ^ "The 100 Best Indie Folk Albums of All Time". Paste. May 20, 2020. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
  3. ^ Dolan, Jon (January 25, 2018). "The Only Living Boy In New York: Our February 2005 Conor Oberst Story". Spin. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
  4. ^ "The 50 Best Alt-Country Albums of All Time". Paste. August 4, 2016. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
  5. ^ Arcand, Rob; Ruiz, Matthew Ismael (August 10, 2022). "Bright Eyes Announce More "Companion" Reissues of Early Albums". Pitchfork.
  6. ^ "Bright Eyes Album and Song Chart History". Billboard chart history for Bright Eyes. Retrieved on March 27, 2012.
  7. ^ a b "Reviews for I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning by Bright Eyes". Metacritic. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
  8. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "I'm Wide Awake It's Morning – Bright Eyes". AllMusic. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
  9. ^ Norris, Chris (March 2005). "Bright Eyes: I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning/Digital Ash in a Digital Urn". Blender (34): 132. Archived from the original on March 1, 2005. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
  10. ^ Browne, David (January 31, 2005). "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on May 17, 2017. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
  11. ^ a b Hilburn, Robert (January 9, 2005). "With all senses awakened". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
  12. ^ "Bright Eyes: I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning". NME: 49. January 22, 2005.
  13. ^ a b Dahlen, Chris (January 23, 2005). "Bright Eyes: I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning / Digital Ash in a Digital Urn". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
  14. ^ "Bright Eyes: I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning". Q (222): 129. January 2005.
  15. ^ Sheffield, Rob (January 28, 2005). "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 10, 2017. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
  16. ^ Caramanica, Jon (February 2005). "Split Myself in Two". Spin. 21 (2): 85–86. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
  17. ^ Christgau, Robert (June 27, 2005). "Consumer Guide: Sustenance Enough?". The Village Voice. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
  18. ^ Adams, Sean (January 23, 2005). "Album Review: Bright Eyes – I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on January 27, 2016. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
  19. ^ Ugwu, Reggie (April 28, 2014). "Conor Oberst: The Ex Boy Wonder of Indie Rock Moves to a Major Label". Billboard. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  20. ^ "Color". Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2017.
  21. ^ "Top 100 Editors' Picks". Amazon.com. 2005. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
  22. ^ "Top 50 Albums of 2005". Blender. 2005.
  23. ^ "Album Releases by Score". Metacritic. 2005. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
  24. ^ "Q magazine's top records of 2005". Evening Standard. December 1, 2005. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
  25. ^ The Top 50 Records of 2005 Archived December 14, 2006, at the Wayback Machine. Rolling Stone. 2005.
  26. ^ Spin staff (December 31, 2005). "The 40 Best Albums of 2005". Spin. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
  27. ^ Tyrangiel, Josh (December 16, 2005). "Best of 2005: Music". Time. Archived from the original on December 23, 2005. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
  28. ^ "The Best Music of 2005". NPR. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  29. ^ "100 Best Albums of the '00s". Rolling Stone. July 18, 2011. Archived from the original on April 11, 2012. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
  30. ^ "The Top 100 Greatest Albums of the Decade". NME. November 2009. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
  31. ^ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 14 February 2005" (PDF) (781). Australian Web Archive. February 20, 2005: 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2005-02-19. Retrieved December 23, 2019. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  32. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Bright Eyes – I'm Wide Awake It's Morning" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  33. ^ "Ultratop.be – Bright Eyes – I'm Wide Awake It's Morning" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  34. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Bright Eyes – I'm Wide Awake It's Morning" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  35. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Bright Eyes – I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  36. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Bright Eyes – I'm Wide Awake It's Morning". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  37. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Bright Eyes – I'm Wide Awake It's Morning". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  38. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  39. ^ "Bright Eyes Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  40. ^ "Bright Eyes Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
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