CASSADAGA (ALBUM)

'''Cassadaga''' is the seventh studio album by Bright Eyes, released on April 10, 2007. Around 25 to 30 songs were recorded in 2006,^[2] with 13 of these appearing on the final track list. The album is named after the town of Cassadaga, Florida, a community of mediums and followers of spiritualism.^[3]
Z Berg of the Like, Sherri DuPree and Stacy DuPree of Eisley as well as solo artist Rachael Yamagata all appear on this album. The first single, "Four Winds" was released on March 6, 2007, from the ''Four Winds EP'' with five B-sides not on ''Cassadaga''.¹ Pre-orders of the album received a bonus track, "Susan Miller Rag," on 3" (8cm) CD for CD orders and on 7" (18cm) vinyl for LP orders.
''Cassadaga'' debuted at number four on the U.S Billboard 200, selling about 58,000 copies in its first week.^[4] The album is the 103rd release of Saddle Creek Records.

Contents

Cover

Track listing

B-sides

Personnel

External links

References

Cover

The CD and LP versions of the album come with a "Spectral Decoder" which allows users to see the true cover art on the album. One particular segment of text located on the back of the case includes the phrase in Russian "тяните другую кровавую ванну" meaning "draw another bloody bath", a reference to the first track's lyrics.
Hidden phrases in English:

★ "Dog faced apologists pleasure themselves on the burning sand"

★ "These myths are sacred and profane!"

★ "Rocks beneath the water" (Which is what Cassadaga means in the Seneca language.)

★ "Citrus slaves throwing dice in the dirt, amusement"

★ "We love you, Breezy, and we miss you!!!" (One can only assume that this is a dedication to Sabrina Duim - see below.)

★ "Swollen saints bathing in a backwards river under a sliver of a moon"

★ "Mighty Saturn enters your eighth house"
Hidden phrases in French:

★ "Est-ce minuit ou midi?" ("Is it midnight or noon?")
Hidden phrases in Portuguese:

★ "Virgems doentes do sol ficando frescas no túmulo do farão" ("Virgins sick of the sun staying fresh in the grave of Pharaoh"

★ "Plantas de pirâmedes cheio de cores tatuado na barriga de puta" ("Pyramide herbs, full of colours, tattooed in the belly of a whore")
"For Sabrina" is written on the inside of the CD case in memory of Sabrina Duim, a harpist and Stanford University undergraduate who toured with Bright Eyes and died in January 2007.
On the back of the UK standard edition, "If the Brakeman Turns My Way" is misprinted as "If the Breakman Turns My Way". This UK standard edition was modified by designers at Polydor/Universal from the US release (digipak, equivalent to the UK deluxe version).

Track listing

All songs written by Conor Oberst, except where noted.
# "Clairaudients (Kill or Be Killed)" – 6:08
# "Four Winds" – 4:16
# "If the Brakeman Turns My Way" (Conor Oberst and Jason Boesel) – 4:53
# "Hot Knives" – 4:13
# "Make a Plan to Love Me" – 4:14
# "Soul Singer in a Session Band" – 4:14
# "Classic Cars" – 4:19
# "Middleman" – 4:49
# "Cleanse Song" – 3:28
# "No One Would Riot for Less" – 5:12
# "Coat Check Dream Song" (Conor Oberst and Nate Walcott) – 4:10
# "I Must Belong Somewhere" – 6:19
# "Lime Tree" – 5:53

B-sides

B-side	Availability
"Tourist Trap"	''Four Winds''
"Reinvent the Wheel"	''Four Winds''
"Cartoon Blues"	''Four Winds''
"Smoke Without Fire"	''Four Winds''
"Stray Dog Freedom"	''Four Winds''
"Endless Entertainment"	Download here
"Susan Miller Rag"	3" (8cm) with ''Cassadaga'' pre-order

Personnel

★ Conor Oberst – voice (1–13), guitar (tracks 1, 2, 4–13), piano (track 3), synthesizer (track 13)

★ Mike Mogis – guitar (tracks 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11), bass (tracks 1, 3–6, 9), pedal steel (tracks 1, 3, 10, 11), voice (tracks 3, 9, 11), lap steel (tracks 6, 8, 9), mandolin (tracks 2, 12), dobro (tracks 4, 12), percussion (tracks 8, 9), vibraphone (tracks 1, 11), 12-string (track 2), baritone (track 8), ukulele (track 9), glockenspiel (track 1)

★ Nate Walcott – organ (1–3, 6, 7, 10, 12), piano (tracks 4, 6, 7), string arrangement (tracks 4, 10, 13), electric piano (tracks 2, 11), orchestral arrangement (tracks 1, 5), woodwind arrangement (tracks 8, 9)

★ M. Ward – guitar (tracks 1, 4, 6), voice (track 6)

★ Janet Weiss – drums (tracks 1, 4, 6)

★ Clark Baechle – percussion (track 1)

★ Stacy DuPree – voice (tracks 4, 5, 10, 11, 13)

★ Sherri DuPree – voice (tracks 4, 5, 10, 11, 13)

★ Z Berg – voice (tracks 1, 4, 5, 10, 11, 13)

★ Rachael Yamagata – voice (tracks 1, 4, 5, 10, 11, 13)

★ Hassan Lemtouni – voice (tracks 1, 11)

★ Suzie Katayama – conductor (tracks 1, 5)

★ Bill Meyers – conductor (tracks 4, 10, 13)

★ Dan McCarthy – bass (track 2)

★ Jason Boesel – drums (tracks 2, 3, 7, 10–12), voice (tracks 3, 8)

★ Anton Patzner – violin (tracks 2, 6)

★ Maria Taylor – voice (track 2), drums (track 5)

★ Andy LeMaster – voice (track 2)

★ David Rawlings – guitar (tracks 5, 7, 12)

★ Tim Luntzel – bass (tracks 7, 10)

★ Gillian Welch – voice (track 7)

★ Ted Stevens – voice (track 8)

★ Sean Foley – voice (track 8)

★ John McIntire – percussion (tracks 8, 9, 11), electronics (track 11)

★ Michael Zerang – percussion (tracks 8, 9)

★ Jonathan Crawford – percussion (tracks 8, 9, 11)

★ Dan Bitney – percussion (tracks 8, 9)

★ Dan Fliegel – percussion (tracks 8, 9)

★ David Moyer – bass clarinet (track 8)

★ Brian Walsh – clarinet (track 9), bass clarinet (track 8)

★ Shane Aspegren – drums (track 11), percussion (track 9)

★ Sarah Wass – flute (track 9)

★ Myka Miller – oboe (track 9)

★ Stefanie Drootin – bass (tracks 11, 12)

★ Jake Bellows – voice (track 12)

External links

★ ''Cassadaga'' at Saddle Creek Records

References

1. "Bright Eyes Bio"
2. "Bright Eyes Gets Busy On New Album" Katie Hasty
3. Cassadaga
4. Katie Hasty, "'NOW' Remains No. 1 As Bright Eyes Debuts High", Billboard.com, April 18, 2007.