It's Heavy in Here
| It's Heavy in Here | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 26, 1995 | |||
| Recorded | Musicraft, Wilsonville, Oregon and Sound Impressions, Milwaukie, Oregon | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 41:07 | |||
| Label | Sub Pop | |||
| Producer | Eric Matthews | |||
| Eric Matthews chronology | ||||
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| Singles from It's Heavy in Here | ||||
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It's Heavy in Here is the first solo studio album by the American singer-songwriter Eric Matthews.[2][3] It was released by Sub Pop Records on September 26, 1995.[4] A track from the album, "Fanfare", was released as a single in the UK, charting at No. 95.[5]
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [6] |
| Robert Christgau | C+[7] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A−[8] |
The New York Times concluded that Matthews "further defines the intersection where the self-styled pop arrangers of the 60's, the new-wave romantics of the 90's and the chamber-music composers of the 19th century meet."[9] Rolling Stone noted that "repeated listens to It's Heavy in Here open up the comparisons to Robert Kirby's beautiful orchestration of English folk hero Nick Drake's work and even John Cale's haunting arrangements of Nico's solo material."[10] Greg Kot, of the Chicago Tribune, listed the album as the fourth best of 1995.[11]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Eric Matthews
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Fanfare" | 2:53 |
| 2. | "Forging Plastic Pain" | 3:14 |
| 3. | "Soul Nation Select Them" | 3:21 |
| 4. | "Faith to Clay" | 2:21 |
| 5. | "Angels for Crime" | 3:01 |
| 6. | "Fried Out Broken Girl" | 3:27 |
| 7. | "Lust Takes Time" | 2:40 |
| 8. | "Hop and Tickle" | 2:56 |
| 9. | "Three-Cornered Moon" | 3:06 |
| 10. | "Distant Mother Reality" | 2:18 |
| 11. | "Flight and Lion" | 3:38 |
| 12. | "Poisons Will Pass Me" | 2:36 |
| 13. | "Sincere Sensation" | 2:54 |
| 14. | "Fanfare (reprise)" | 2:18 |
Personnel
- Phil Baldino – clarinets on "Angels for Crime"
- Robin Baldino – violin on "Soul Nation Select Them", "Three-Cornered Moon" and "Poisons Will Pass Me"
- Karen Bryan – violin on "Soul Nation Select Them", "Three-Cornered Moon" and "Poisons Will Pass Me"
- Kim Burton – viola on "Three-Cornered Moon" and "Poisons Will Pass Me"
- Dennis Conti – tenor saxophone on "Three-Cornered Moon"
- Curtis Daily – string bass on "Three-Cornered Moon" and "Poisons Will Pass Me"
- Jason Falkner – electric guitar on "Fanfare", "Forging Plastic Pain", "Hop and Tickle", "Distant Mother Reality" and "Flight and Lion"; bass[ambiguous] on "Fanfare", "Soul Nation Select Them", "Hop and Tickle", "Distant Mother Reality", "Flight and Lion" and "Sincere Sensation"; drums on "Soul Nation Select Them" and "Lust Takes Time"; acoustic guitar on "Distant Mother Reality"; piano on "Flight and Lion"
- Steve Hanford – drums on "Fanfare", "Angels for Crime", "Hop and Tickle", "Flight and Lion" and "Sincere Sensation"
- Wendy Karden – flutes on "Soul Nation Select Them"
- Tony Lash – drums on "Forging Plastic Pain"; tambourine on "Sincere Sensation"
- Eric Matthews – all vocals; electric guitar on "Fanfare", "Lust Takes Time" and "Distant Mother Reality"; acoustic guitar on "Soul Nation Select Them", "Angels for Crime", "Hop and Tickle", "Flight and Lion", "Sincere Sensation" and "Fanfare (reprise); piano on "Soul Nation Select Them" and "Fried Out Broken Girl"; trumpets on "Fanfare", "Fried Out Broken Girl" and "Three-Cornered Moon"; harpsichord on "Faith to Clay" and "Three-Cornered Moon"; bass on "Angels for Crime" and "Lust Takes Time"; organ on "Three-Cornered Moon" and "Poisons Will Pass Me"; tenor recorder on "Distant Mother Reality"; Hammond B-3 organ on "Sincere Sensation"; percussion on "Sincere Sensation"
- Wes Matthews – acoustic guitar on "Faith to Clay"
- Lori Presthus – cello on "Soul Nation Select Them", "Three-Cornered Moon" and "Poisons Will Pass Me"
- Karen Strand – oboe on "Soul Nation Select Them"
References
- ^ Mettler, Mike (October 1996). "Top Cat: Jason Falkner". Guitar World. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
- ^ "Cardinal". Trouser Press.
- ^ Nixon, Chris (January 5, 1996). "Classically Trained Musician Turns to Pop". Morning Edition. NPR.
- ^ "Eric Matthews – It's Heavy in Here". Sub Pop.
- ^ "Eric Matthews". Official Charts. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
- ^ Greenwald, Matthew. It's Heavy in Here at AllMusic. Retrieved September 11, 2011.
- ^ "Eric Matthews". Robert Christgau.
- ^ Smith, Ethan (October 27, 1995). "Review – It's Heavy in Here". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on September 5, 2008. Retrieved September 11, 2011.
- ^ Strauss, Neil (October 19, 1995). "The Pop Life". The New York Times. p. C16.
- ^ O'Connor, Rob (October 19, 1995). "It's Heavy in Here by Eric Matthews". Rolling Stone. No. 719. p. 150.
- ^ Kot, Greg (December 3, 1995). "Thumbs Up". Arts & Entertainment. Chicago Tribune. p. 14.
External links
- Wilonsky, Robert, "Who gives a Hootie? Farewell to 1995, a year in music we'd rather forget", Dallas Observer, December 28, 1995
- Athitakis, Mark, "The Lateness of the Hour", Salon.com, September 4, 1997
- Perry, Douglas, "Eric Matthews wants you (but only if it's the right way)", "The Oregonian", January 16, 2008 (includes photograph of Eric Matthews)