Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum (album)
Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum is the debut studio album by American rock band Tally Hall, originally released on November 22, 2005. Their previous recordings were all independently produced and distributed demos. All of the tracks on the album are finished versions of their demo tracks, with the exception of "Haiku," which is a completely new song. The album gets its name from a museum of mechanized curiosities that is located in Farmington Hills, Michigan. The album's cover art is also based on a number of machines located within the museum.
| Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | November 22, 2005 | |||
| Recorded | June–October 2005 May–June 2007 (2008 reissue) | |||
| Studio | Stratosphere Sound, New York City[1] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 49:10 50:06 (re-issue) 61:35 (Needlejuice re-issue) | |||
| Label |
| |||
| Producer | Tally Hall Chris Shaw & Tally Hall (re-issue, "The Bidding" and "Just Apathy") | |||
| Tally Hall chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Alternate cover | ||||
 2008 re-release cover art | ||||
| Singles from Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
The album was officially re-released on September 12, 2006, under the Quack! Media label.[3] This re-release coincided with additional publicity on MTV, national distribution in all major retail stores, and various other TV appearances including The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. The music video for "Good Day" was first shown at Tally Hall's two Ann Arbor concerts on September 23, 2006.
Tally Hall was later signed with Atlantic Records, and was approved to re-record Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum at Stratosphere Sound Recording Studios in NYC. The remastered version of the album was released in April 2008, with "Good Day" being released as a single. The album received generally positive reviews.
"Good Day"
The single "Good Day" from the new version of the album was released on February 26, 2008.[4] The re-recorded version of the album was released on April 1, 2008.[1] This release also included a vinyl LP pressing of the album. It was reissued on vinyl, cassette, and CD by Needlejuice Records on March 13, 2021.
"Good Day" was written by Andrew Horowitz and won a prize of $10,000 with the 2004 BMI John Lennon Scholarship for "the best and brightest young songwriters between the ages of 15 and 24".[5]
The song was featured on The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson.[6] The song was also featured in the April 6, 2006, episode of The O.C., a prime-time drama series.[7] A "simlish" version of "Good Day" was created for use in The Sims 2.[8] This version of "Good Day" was later featured as a new hidden track on the pregap of the Needlejuice Records CD rerelease of Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum.[9][10]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Rob Cantor, Joe Hawley, Andrew Horowitz, and Zubin Sedghi (respectively, as denoted)
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Good Day" | Horowitz | Hawley, Cantor, Sedghi | 3:24 |
| 2. | "Greener" | Cantor | Cantor | 3:42 |
| 3. | "Welcome to Tally Hall" | Hawley (music & lyrics), Cantor, Sedghi (lyrics) | Cantor, Sedghi, Hawley | 5:04 |
| 4. | "Taken for a Ride" | Horowitz | Horowitz, Hawley | 4:40 |
| 5. | "The Bidding" | Hawley | Hawley, Cantor, Sedghi | 2:29 |
| 6. | "Be Born" | Cantor | Cantor | 3:09 |
| 7. | "Banana Man" | Hawley | Hawley | 4:08 |
| 8. | "Just Apathy" | Cantor | Cantor | 3:12 |
| 9. | "Spring and a Storm" | Hawley | Hawley | 4:43 |
| 10. | "Two Wuv" | Horowitz | Sedghi | 3:41 |
| 11. | "Haiku" | Cantor | Cantor, Hawley | 2:57 |
| 12. | "The Whole World and You" | Horowitz | Horowitz | 1:44 |
| 13. | "13" | Hawley | instrumental | 0:13 |
| 14. | "Ruler of Everything" | Hawley | Hawley, Sedghi | 4:13 |
| 15. | "Hidden in the Sand" (hidden track) | Hawley | Hawley | 1:51 |
| Total length: | 49:21 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Good Day" | Horowitz | Hawley, Cantor, Sedghi | 3:26 |
| 2. | "Greener" | Cantor | Cantor | 3:43 |
| 3. | "Welcome to Tally Hall" | Hawley (music & lyrics), Cantor, Sedghi (lyrics) | Cantor, Sedghi, Hawley | 5:10 |
| 4. | "Taken for a Ride" | Horowitz | Horowitz, Hawley | 4:43 |
| 5. | "The Bidding" | Hawley | Hawley, Cantor, Sedghi | 2:40 |
| 6. | "Be Born" | Cantor | Cantor | 3:10 |
| 7. | "Banana Man" | Hawley | Hawley | 4:09 |
| 8. | "Just Apathy" | Cantor | Cantor | 3:11 |
| 9. | "Spring and a Storm" | Hawley | Hawley | 4:47 |
| 10. | "Two Wuv" | Horowitz | Sedghi | 3:43 |
| 11. | "Haiku" | Cantor | Cantor, Hawley | 3:02 |
| 12. | "The Whole World and You" | Horowitz | Horowitz | 1:44 |
| 13. | "13" | Hawley | instrumental | 0:13 |
| 14. | "Ruler of Everything" | Hawley | Hawley, Sedghi | 4:32 |
| 15. | "Hidden in the Sand" (hidden track) | Hawley | Hawley | 1:53 |
| Total length: | 50:06 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16. | "Mucka Blucka" | Hawley | Federman | 1:38 |
| 17. | "Dream" | Horowitz | instrumental | 1:49 |
| Total length: | 53:33 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0. | "Good Day Simlish" (Pregap bonus track) | Horowitz | Hawley, Cantor, Sedghi | 3:32 |
| 18. | "Just a Friend" | Biz Markie | Cantor, Sedghi | 4:30 |
| Total length: | 61:35 | |||
Notes
- On vinyl & cassette releases of the album, "The Whole World and You" is track 7. "The Whole World and You" is the last of side A on the vinyl, rather than track 12, and on cassette editions, "Banana Man" is the last track of side A.
Personnel
Tally Hall
- Rob Cantor – vocals, guitar, ukulele, percussion, songwriting
- Joe Hawley – vocals, guitar, ukulele, melodica, songwriting
- Zubin Sedghi – bass, vocals, co-songwriting (3)
- Andrew Horowitz – keyboards, percussion, vocals, songwriting
- Ross Federman – drums, percussion, marimba, vocals (16), auctioneer voice (5)
Other musicians
- Alison Kartush – backing vocals (4, 12)
- Andrew Papas – backing vocals (4, 12)
- Ashley Hurst – backing vocals (4, 12)
- Bora Karaca – backing vocals (1, 5, 7), whistling (7)
- Brett Trzcinski – backing vocals (1, 5, 7)
- Caitlyn Thomson – backing vocals (4, 12)
- Claire Smith – backing vocals (4, 12)
- Donald Milton III – backing vocals (1, 5, 7)
- Emily Barkin – backing vocals (4, 12)
- Greg Jaffe – backing vocals (1, 5, 7)
- Jason Ceo – backing vocals (1, 5, 7)
- Jessica Fetter – backing vocals (4, 12)
- Jon Zande – backing vocals (1, 5, 7)
- Karl Pestka – backing vocals (4, 12)
- Lisa Bakale-Wise – backing vocals (4, 12)
- Michael Anuzis – backing vocals (4, 12)
- Michael Steelman – backing vocals (1, 5, 7)
- Rebecca Blinder – backing vocals (4, 12)
- Stephanie Fajuri – backing vocals (4, 12)
- Tim Wagner – backing vocals (1, 5, 7)
- Victor Szabo – backing vocals (1, 5, 7)
- Jim Roll – banjo (6)
- Keith Reed – double bass (4, 6, 9, 12)
- Anna Schultz – cello (3, 4, 9, 13, 14)
- Rachel Hsieh – cello (3, 8, 13, 14)
- Andres Ivan Navedo – clarinet (12)
- Brittni Troy – French horn (4, 9)
- Eric Brummitt – French horn (4, 9)
- Ben Began – mandolin (14)
- Bobby Streng – saxophone (3, 4)
- Melissa Gardiner – trombone (3, 4, 12)
- Steve Peterson – trombone (5, 7)
- David Tenerelli – trumpet (4, 5, 7)
- Jeff Blim – trumpet (3, 12)
- Matt Lyon – tuba (5, 7)
- Michael Nickens – tuba (3, 4, 12)
- Laurel Borden – viola (2, 4, 9, 13, 14)
- Jeremy Kittel – violin (6)
- Shawn Jaeger – violin (3, 4, 9, 13, 14)
- Marvin Yagoda – voice (3, 15)
- The Haiku Dinner Party – crowd (11)
- Roberta Tamm – kid voice (9)
- Taylor Janssen – kid voice (9)
Technical personnel
- Patrick Fong – art direction, design
- Zubin Sedghi – artwork
- Court Jones – artwork [cover]
- Joe Hawley – artwork [direction, design]
- Austin Ash Lemon – artwork [back cover layout, 2021]
- Ben Began – engineer
- Bora Karaca – engineer [assistant]
- Rudyard Lee Cullers – engineer [digital assembly]
- Jennifer Tzar – photography
- Tally Hall – producer
References
- "Tally Hall Say 'Good Day' to America; 'MARVIN'S MARVELOUS MECHANICAL MUSEUM' Set for April 1, 2008 Release". Top40-Charts.com. February 22, 2008. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
- AllMusic review
- Montgomery, James. "Tally Hall". MTV. Archived from the original on May 29, 2013. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
- "Good Day (Album Version), Tally Hall". Qobuz. February 26, 2008. Retrieved December 11, 2022.
- "BMI Foundation Announces 2004 Lennon Scholarships". BMI Foundation. December 5, 2004.
- "Tally Hall - Good Day (Live on The Late Late Show)". YouTube.
- Chou, Kimberly (April 6, 2006). "Tally Hall takes trip to 'The O.C.'". The Michigan Daily. Retrieved October 11, 2021 – via Google Books.
- "Sims 2 Apartment Life Soundtrack - IGN". November 2021.
- "Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum - Bandcamp". March 2022.
- "Good Day (Song) - Hidden in the Sand". March 2022.
External links
- Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum on Needlejuice Records Archived March 14, 2021, at the Wayback Machine
- Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum at Discogs (list of releases)