The Mother, the Mechanic, and the Path is The Early November's second studio album. The triple disc concept album was released on July 11, 2006, via Drive-Thru Records.
| The Mother, the Mechanic, and the Path | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 11, 2006 | |||
| Recorded | February 28, 2005 – March 2006 | |||
| Studio | Portrait Recording, Pompton Plains, New Jersey | |||
| Genre | Emo, indie rock, acoustic | |||
| Length | 132:16 | |||
| Label | Drive-Thru | |||
| Producer | Ace Enders, Chris Badami | |||
| The Early November chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Mother, the Mechanic, and the Path | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AbsolutePunk.net | (83%) link |
| Allmusic |   link |
Production edit
The recording of the album began on February 28, 2005, and took over a year until its completion due to the nature of a triple disc record, stress, Enders changing the concept of the story several times mid-record, and ultimately the lack of focus which led to a mid-recording nervous breakdown. This forced the album's release to be postponed from its original June 2005 street date to July 2006. The third disc, The Path, was written by Enders and Jeff Kummer, and co-produced by Enders. According to an interview with Enders on Episode 17 of the Voice & Verse Podcast, there were multiple versions of the story that were recorded and considered. Though the first version to be submitted to Drive-Thru Records was not immediately accepted, the label was supportive and asked that some changes and additional work be done. In the end, it was Enders and those artistically involved with writing and presenting the story who ultimately re-worked the story and its presentation multiple times before it became the final product, despite rumors that Drive-Thru Records had turned down the story seven times for quality control issues before finally approving it. Enders also did the artwork for The Mother, the Mechanic and the Path, drawing up a father in a mechanics uniform named Matt, a mother and a son named Dean, for the cover and booklet.
Recording took place at Portrait Recording Studios in Pompton Plains, New Jersey, with Enders and Chris Badami producing the sessions. Badami also mixed and engineered the recordings. He was assisted by Michelle Dispenziere and Paul Spinella. Several people contributed to the recordings: David Rimelis (string and horn arrangements, nylon guitar and banjo), Arthur Fiacco (cello), Elizabeth Hostetter (viola), Andrea Schultz (violin), Angela Cordell (French horn), Richard Dispenziere (trumpet), Peter McGuinness (trombone), Kenny Sorenson (harmonica), Brian O'Neal (Roark) and Lynsie Crespo (background vocals), and Badami (piano and percussion). George Marino mastered The Mechanic disc and Greg Calbi mastered The Mother disc, both at Sterling Sound in New York City. Badami mastered The Path disc at Portrait Recording Studio.[1]
Music and lyrical content edit
The concept album[2] is broken down into three chapters:
- The Mechanic – the proclaimed "rock" disc of the album, showcasing the heavier side of the band. According to singer/guitarist Ace Enders, The Mechanic is the group's "safe bet", the album they would have made if it had only been one disc. It represents the technical progression from its predecessor The Room's Too Cold (2003), hence the title.
- The Mother – a mostly unplugged effort in the vein of The Early November's The Acoustic EP (2003) and Enders' solo CD I Can Make a Mess Like Nobody's Business (2004). The disc focuses on the band's mellow facet, featuring a more natural sound, conveyed by the use of predominantly acoustic instruments and few effects or filters.
- The Path – an audio theatre of sorts, which mixes dialogue between a young man named Dean and his psychiatrist with soft background music. The psychiatry sessions that narrate the story are interrupted by short "musical"-esque songs, also introducing the interaction of other characters. The songs cover a wide range of musical genres, including blues, country and folk.
Release edit
On May 1, 2005, the Early November's next album was announced for release in October that year.[3] They band released a split single with I Am the Avalanche that featured a demo of "Outside" and a live version of "Ever So Sweet".[4] Between October and December 2005, the Early November supported Saves the Day and Senses Fail on their co-headlining US tour.[5] An EP, dubbed Selections from the Forthcoming Triple Album, was posted on Downloadpunk.com in March 2006; it featured "Decoration", "Hair", "The One That You Hated", and a live video of "Sesame Shmesame".[6] In March and April 2006, the band supported Matchbook Romance and Silverstein on the Take Action Tour.[7] On April 15, 2006, The Mother, the Mechanic, and the Path was announced for release in three months' time.[8] "A Little More Time" was premiered through AbsolutePunk on May 30, 2006.[9] On June 7, 2006, "Drive South" premiered through Fuse's website.[10] The Mother, the Mechanic, and the Path was made available for streaming on July 2, 2006, before being released nine days later through Drive-Thru Records.[11] During the first weeks of sales, purchases of The Mother, the Mechanic, and the Path from Best Buy were accompanied by a bonus DVD (containing the music video to "Hair" and a 35-minute making-of documentary), while Target customers were rewarded with an exclusive bonus track.
In mid-September, the band went on a UK tour alongside the Starting Line and Anberlin.[12] In October and November 2006, the band supported New Found Glory on their headlining US tour.[13][14] The music video for "Decoration" was posted online on October 31, 2006.[15] They supported Fall Out Boy on their headlining US tour in January 2007.[16] On March 13, 2007, the band announced they would be going on an indefinite hiatus following their touring engagements.[17] In March and April 2007, they went on a headlining US tour with support from the Rocket Summer, Mêlée, and the Verdict.[18] Following this, the band appeared at The Bamboozle festival.[19]
As of January 2007[update], the band has sold 78,669 copies of The Mother, the Mechanic, and the Path.[20] In May 2014, the album was released on vinyl through TDR Records.[21]
Track listing edit
All songs written by Ace Enders.[1]
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The Mechanic (disc one)
The Mother (disc two)
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The Path (disc three)
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- "No Good at Saying Sorry" has been rereleased under Ace Enders' side project, I Can Make a Mess Like Nobody's Business, album titled "Dust'n Off The Ol' Guitar"
Personnel edit
Personnel per booklet.[1]
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The Early November
Additional musicians
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Production
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References edit
- ^ a b c The Mother, the Mechanic, and the Path (booklet). The Early November. Drive-Thru Records. 2006. 06076-83630-2/DTR#68.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Vegas, Rachel (March 9, 2015). "The Early November transcends genre with unassuming ease". AXS. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
- ^ Paul, Aubin (May 3, 2005). "The Early November to release triple CD on October 25th". Punknews.org. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
- ^ Paul, Aubin (May 31, 2005). "Upcoming releases from Drive-Thru include Houston Calls, Early November/I Am the Avalanche split". Punknews.org. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
- ^ Paul, Aubin (August 13, 2005). "Saves the Day touring with Senses Fail, the Early November, Say Anything". Punknews.org. Archived from the original on October 10, 2016. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
- ^ Paul, Aubin (March 3, 2006). "Exclusive EP From The Early November on Downloadpunk.com". Punknews.org. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
- ^ August, Justin (December 22, 2005). "Take Action dates taking shape". Punknews.org. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
- ^ Paul, Aubin (April 15, 2006). "Details on upcoming triple album from The Early November". Punknews.org. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
- ^ Winberg, Pär (May 30, 2006). "Listen to a New Early November Song". Melodic. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
- ^ Paul, Aubin (June 7, 2006). "The Early November post another track from upcoming triple album". Punknews.org. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
- ^ Paul, Aubin (July 2, 2006). "Stream The Early November's triple album". Punknews.org. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
- ^ "AbsolutePunk.net". AbsolutePunk. SpinMedia. Archived from the original on October 5, 2007. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
- ^ Paul, Aubin (July 27, 2006). "New Found Glory (North America, UK)". Punknews.org. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
- ^ Paul, Aubin (August 22, 2006). "More new music, Justin Timberlake cover from New Found Glory". Punknews.org. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
- ^ Reinecker, Meg (October 31, 2006). "The Early November post new video". Punknews.org. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
- ^ Shultz, Brian (December 1, 2006). "Fall Out Boy / New Found Glory / Lifetime (select dates)". Punknews.org. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
- ^ Paul, Aubin (March 13, 2007). "The Early November announce hiatus". Punknews.org. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
- ^ Paul, Aubin (December 19, 2006). "The Early November / The Rocket Summer / Melee / The Verdict". Punknews.org. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
- ^ Paul, Aubin (February 2, 2007). "More additions to Bamboozle". Punknews.org. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
- ^ "Soundscan Results: January 04". Absolutepunk.net. Archived from the original on January 7, 2007. Retrieved January 5, 2007.
- ^ Wippsson, Johan (May 9, 2014). "The Early November's Acclaimed Triple Album 'the Mother, The Mechanic, And The Path' To". Melodic (magazine). Retrieved January 29, 2018.