Maps of Music
American Utopia (2018)
Where the lyrics of American Utopia take you, and where it was really made.
Byrne's name is the only one on the credits, yet Brian Eno wrote 8 of the 10 songs.
View on the mapKey places
Recorded at Reservoir Studios, New York (2018)
Recording site Chung King Studios — Discogs lists Reservoir Studios among the studios where the album was recorded, alongside DB Spare Bedroom in New York. The point marks the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there: See the map for directions.
Recorded at Livingston Studios, London (2018)
Recording site Wild Bunch Studios (London) — Discogs lists Livingston Studios among the recording locations. The pin is placed at the centre of London, not at the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there: See the map for directions.
Album story
Overview
- American Utopia: eighth studio album by American rock musician David Byrne
- Released 9 March 2018 through Todo Mundo and Nonesuch Records
- Credited to Byrne alone, but Brian Eno wrote 8 of the 10 songs and played on four of them
- First solo-credited studio album by Byrne since Grown Backwards (2004)
- Musical component of the multimedia project Reasons to Be Cheerful
Background
- Reasons to Be Cheerful aims to give reasons for being happy and optimistic despite political strife and environmental problems
- Title taken from the Ian Dury song "Reasons to Be Cheerful, Part 3"
- Byrne announced the album and released lead single "Everybody's Coming to My House" on January 8, 2018
- Second single "This Is That" followed on January 31
Recording
- Recording credits list Reservoir Studios in New York and Livingston Studios in London
- Some parts were recorded in DB Spare Bedroom, New York
- David Wrench handled mix and additional programming, with mix engineers Marta Salogni, Jack Sugden and Tuck Nelson
- Mastered by Greg Calbi
Cover
- Cover art by Purvis Young
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com · de.wikipedia.org · ko.wikipedia.org
Tracklist
| 1 | I Dance Like This | 3:34 |
| 2 | Gasoline and Dirty Sheets | 3:20 |
| 3 | Every Day Is a Miracle | 4:46 |
| 4 | Dog’s Mind | 2:30 |
| 5 | This Is That | 4:31 |
| 6 | It’s Not Dark Up Here | 4:11 |
| 7 | Bullet | 3:10 |
| 8 | Doing the Right Thing | 3:39 |
| 9 | Everybody’s Coming to My House | 3:30 |
| 10 | Here | 4:14 |
Sources: musicbrainz.org
Artist
Formation
- Born May 14, 1952 in Dumbarton, Scotland; family moved to Canada and then Arbutus, Maryland, USA.
- Co-founded Talking Heads in New York City in 1975 as founding member, principal songwriter, lead vocalist and guitarist.
Members
- Byrne was the youngest member of Talking Heads; Jerry Harrison joined in 1977.
Career
- Talking Heads released eight studio albums, seven of them certified gold or platinum, and disbanded in 1991; inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.
- Solo career began in 1981 with My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (with Brian Eno), with solo work accelerating after Talking Heads' hiatus in 1988.
- Worked across film, theatre, opera, fiction and non-fiction; won an Academy Award, a Grammy, a Special Tony Award and a Golden Globe.
- Collaborators include Brian Eno, Fatboy Slim, Ryuichi Sakamoto, St. Vincent and X-Press 2.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Reception
At release
- Metacritic normalizes reviews from mainstream critics to a 100-point scale
- Album average of 72 based on 32 reviews, indicating generally favorable reviews
- The Arts Desk's Howard Male gave a positive review, praising the album as a muscular and quirky return to form
- The A.V. Club's Erik Adams gave the album a B
- Adams called the album an uneven mixed bag but praised its themes
Records
- Debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200
- Byrne's first top 10 album on the Billboard 200
- Debut equivalent to 63,000 copies sold in the United States
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org · de.wikipedia.org
Trivia
- The concert staged an empty stage ringed by metal chains, with twelve musicians including Byrne barefoot in identical gray suits.
- Wireless audio, MIDI, lighting and real-time tracking freed the players from cables, and the choreography was developed by Annie-B Parson.
- The setlist mixed album songs, Byrne's solo catalogue, Talking Heads hits and a cover of Janelle Monáe's Hell You Talmbout.
- An altered version of the concert was previewed in Boston in September 2019 before moving to Broadway.
- The Broadway recording received a Grammy nomination for Best Musical Theater Album.
- Spike Lee directed a documentary/concert film of the Broadway show, released in late 2020.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com · es.wikipedia.org
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