Arrows and Anchors
Arrows and Anchors is the fourth and final studio album by the Texas progressive rock band Fair to Midland, released on July 11, 2011, by E1 Music in North America. In Europe, the record was released by Season of Mist the day before. The album was produced, recorded and mixed by Joe Barresi.[2][3][4] The record peaked at No. 65 on the Billboard 200.
| Arrows and Anchors | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 11, 2011 | |||
| Recorded | November–December 2010 at Joe's House of Compression, Pasadena, California | |||
| Genre | Alternative metal, progressive rock[1] | |||
| Length | 54:37 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | Joe Barresi | |||
| Fair to Midland chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Arrows and Anchors | ||||
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Release and promotion
On April 4, the band debuted the album's first single, "Musical Chairs", on the website ArtistDirect.com.[5] It became available on iTunes on April 18. On May 19, the band released the track "Amarillo Sleeps on My Pillow" for free download on their website.
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [6] |
| Decoy Music | [7] |
| Revolver | [8] |
| Sputnikmusic | [9] |
| Melodic.net | [10] |
The album debuted at no. 65 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling 7,000 copies and marking the band's highest spot on the chart.[11]
Track list
All lyrics are written by Darroh Sudderth; all music is composed by Fair to Midland
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Heavens to Murgatroyd" | 0:44 |
| 2. | "Whiskey & Ritalin" | 3:37 |
| 3. | "Musical Chairs" | 3:32 |
| 4. | "Uh-Oh" | 4:16 |
| 5. | "Amarillo Sleeps on My Pillow" | 4:42 |
| 6. | "A Loophole in Limbo" | 3:39 |
| 7. | "Typhoid Mary Sends Her Best" | 0:56 |
| 8. | "Short-Haired Tornado" | 4:19 |
| 9. | "The Upset at Bailey Bridge" | 0:52 |
| 10. | "Rikki Tikki Tavi" | 3:25 |
| 11. | "Golden Parachutes" | 3:44 |
| 12. | "Bright Bulbs & Sharp Tools" | 3:57 |
| 13. | "Coppertank Island" | 3:10 |
| 14. | "Three Foolproof Ways to Buy the Farm" | 2:47 |
| 15. | "The Greener Grass" | 10:57 |
- European limited edition and US ITunes bonus track
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 16. | "Pour the Coal to 'er" | 3:32 |
- US ITunes and Official Website Pre-order bonus track
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 17. | "Rikki Tikki Tavi" (Live) | 3:21 |
- Official Website Pre-order bonus track
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 18. | "Uh Oh" (Live) | 4:34 |
The live versions of "Rikki Tikki Tavi" and "Uh-Oh" were also released as B-sides on the digital single "Amarillo Sleeps on My Pillow".
- Out takes
No further tracks were recorded for the album, however several songs were considered for the album during pre-production:
- "Bravo Sierra", performed live once in August 2010 at Tree's in Dallas Texas was left out.
- The titles "The Dead Sea", "Ember Rose" and "Babe Ruthe" (reportedly re-titled to "God Save Us") can be seen written on the band's pre-production track list.
Personnel
- Fair to Midland
- Darroh Sudderth – vocals, banjo on "Amarillo Sleeps on My Pillow"
- Cliff Campbell – guitar
- Jon Dicken – bass guitar
- Matt Langley – keyboards, marxophone
- Brett Stowers – drums
- Production
- Brian Gardner – mastering
- Isaac "Eye-Sack" Flores – artwork
- Sean Oakley – assistant engineer
- Jun Murakawa – assistant engineer
- Morgan Stratton – assistant engineer
- Joe Barresi – mixed, recorded, producer
Chart position
| Charts (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 65[11] |
References
- "Fair to Midland Debut Music Video for "Musical Chairs" on GuitarWorld.com | Guitar World". Archived from the original on 2014-09-21. Retrieved 2014-07-01.
- "Entertainment One : Fair To Midland". Kochrecords.com. Archived from the original on March 20, 2012. Retrieved January 14, 2012.
- "Fair to Midland infuses alt-metal with bluegrass grooves | Lubbock Online | Lubbock Avalanche-Journal". Lubbock Online. March 4, 2011. Retrieved January 14, 2012.
- "Fair to Midland". Arrowsandanchros.wordpress.com. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
- "Fair To Midland Premiere "Musical Chairs" on ARTISTdirect.com – ARTISTdirect News". Artistdirect.com. Retrieved January 14, 2012.
- "Arrows & Anchors – Fair to Midland". AllMusic. July 12, 2011. Retrieved January 14, 2012.
- "Fair To Midland – Arrows & Anchors Review". DecoyMusic.com. Archived from the original on September 30, 2012. Retrieved January 14, 2012.
- "Review: Fair to Midland – Arrows & Anchors – Revolver Magazine". Revolvermag.com. July 11, 2011. Archived from the original on December 11, 2014. Retrieved January 14, 2012.
- "Fair To Midland – Arrows and Anchors (staff review)". Sputnikmusic. July 13, 2011. Retrieved January 14, 2012.
- "Melodic Net – Fair To Midland – Arrows And Anchors". Melodic.net. July 26, 2011. Archived from the original on March 13, 2012. Retrieved January 14, 2012.
- "Chart Moves: Bad Meets Evil's 'Lighters' Ignites on the Hot 100; Adele's 'Someone' Returns | Billboard". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2014-07-06. Retrieved 2014-07-02.