Nixon (album)

Nixon is the fifth studio album by American rock band Lambchop. It was released on February 7, 2000 and was issued by Merge Records and City Slang.

Nixon
Studio album by
Lambchop
ReleasedFebruary 7, 2000 (2000-02-07)
Studio
Genre
Length49:44
Label
Producer
Lambchop chronology
What Another Man Spills
(1998)		 Nixon
(2000)		 Tools in the Dryer
(2001)
Singles from Nixon
  1. "Up with People"
    Released: May 2, 2000

Nixon became a breakthrough release for Lambchop in the United Kingdom, where it received critical acclaim and was named among the best albums of 2000 by numerous publications.

Composition

Nixon has been described as a merging of chamber pop, countrypolitan, and R&B sounds alongside "sweet" soul music.[1][2]

Artwork and title

The title Nixon alludes to Richard Nixon and was derived from the album's cover artwork, which is a painting by Wayne White, a friend of Lambchop frontman Kurt Wagner.[3] "He always plays around with slogans or words. He considered the material on the Nixon album to be tragicomic, and an image of Nixon came to mind," Wagner explained.[3]

Release

Nixon was released on February 7, 2000 by Lambchop's European label City Slang,[4] and on February 8, 2000 by the band's American label Merge Records.[5] It peaked at number 60 on the UK Albums Chart.[6] "Up with People" was released as a single from the album on May 2, 2000,[7] reaching number 66 on the UK Singles Chart.[8] According to The Guardian's John Aizlewood, Nixon established Lambchop as "standard bearers" for alternative country music, and "proved that the genre could be commercially viable if it painted its off-kilter pictures of redemption and loss in glorious Technicolor rather than mealy-mouthed monochrome."[9]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic84/100[10]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[11]
Los Angeles Times[12]
Mojo[13]
NME9/10[14]
Pitchfork6.5/10 (2000)[15]
8.3/10 (2014)[16]
Q[2]
Rolling Stone[17]
Spin9/10[18]
Uncut[19]

Nixon was released to highly positive reviews from music critics, receiving a score of 84 out of 100 on the review aggregation website Metacritic, indicating "universal acclaim".[10] The album was particularly well received by the British music press.[16] NME critic Gavin Martin deemed it Lambchop's best record and said that its "sheer sonorous delight" justified comparisons to The Beach Boys' 1966 album Pet Sounds,[14] while Allan Jones of Uncut praised Nixon as "one of the first great records of the new millennium".[19] At the end of 2000, Nixon was named one of the year's best albums by numerous British publications, including Uncut (who ranked it as the best album of 2000),[20] Mojo,[21] NME,[22] and Q.[23]

Nixon was later included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[24]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Kurt Wagner, except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Old Gold Shoe" 6:21
2."Grumpus" 4:19
3."You Masculine You" 5:59
4."Up with People" 5:59
5."Nashville Parent" 5:38
6."What Else Could It Be?" 3:38
7."The Distance from Her to There" 4:20
8."The Book I Haven't Read"
5:44
9."The Petrified Florist" 4:52
10."The Butcher Boy"Traditional2:54
Total length:49:44

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[25]

Lambchop

  • Paul Burch – vibraphone, arrangements
  • C. Scott Chase – "open end wrenches", "lacquer thinner can", arrangements
  • Dennis Cronin – trumpet, cornet, backing vocals, arrangements
  • John Delworth – Hammond B-3 organ, Rhodes piano, Juno synthesizer, arrangements
  • Allen Lowrey – drums, arrangements
  • Jonathan Marx – trumpet, backing vocals, arrangements
  • Alex McManus – electric guitar, arrangements
  • Mark Nevers – atmospheric guitar, electric guitar, arrangements
  • Paul Niehaus – pedal steel guitar, Fender Telecaster guitar, backing vocals, arrangements
  • Matt Swanson – bass guitar, arrangements
  • Marc Trovillion – bass guitar, arrangements
  • Deanna Varagona – baritone saxophone, backing vocals, arrangements
  • Kurt Wagner – vocals, 1946 Gibson L-7 guitar, Juno synthesizer, arrangements

Additional musicians

  • Matt Bach – bass guitar
  • Lloyd Barry – string arrangements
  • Paul Booker – electric guitar
  • Ken Coomer – additional percussion
  • Tony Crow – piano
  • Nashville String Machine – strings
  • Sanchez – choral arrangements

Production

  • Brady Barnett – editing
  • Dennis Cronin – recording (assistant)
  • Tommy Dorsey – mastering
  • Brian Miles – recording (assistant)
  • Mark Nevers – production, mixing, recording
  • David Streit – recording (assistant)
  • Kurt Wagner – production, mixing

Design

Charts
Chart (2000) Peak
position
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[26] 27
Scottish Albums (OCC)[27] 98
UK Albums (OCC)[6] 60
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[28] 7

References
  1. Deming, Mark. "Nixon – Lambchop". AllMusic. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
  2. Maconie, Stuart (March 2000). "Lambchop: Nixon". Q. No. 162. p. 102. Archived from the original on December 2, 2000. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
  3. Kolovos, Yiannis (April 27, 2004). "Straight from Nashville, Lambchop is adding new life to old country sounds". Kathimerini. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  4. Abbott, Simon; Baird, Dugald; Byrne, Michael; Brown, Jimmy; FitzGerald, Tom; Gold, Adam; Jones, Stephen; Moss, Sophie; Tesco, Nick (January 29, 2000). "Reviews – For Records Out on 7 February 2000" (PDF). Music Week. pp. 14–15. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  5. Morris, Chris (February 5, 2000). "M.S. Execs Speak Out on Troubles". Billboard. Vol. 112, no. 6. p. 94. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  6. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
  7. "current and upcoming releases". City Slang. Archived from the original on June 8, 2000. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  8. "Lambchop". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  9. Aizlewood, John (February 15, 2002). "Definitely maybe". The Guardian. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  10. "Nixon by Lambchop Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  11. Brunner, Rob (February 25, 2000). "Nixon". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
  12. Cromelin, Richard (March 12, 2000). "Lambchop, 'Nixon,' Merge". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on August 6, 2016. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
  13. Segal, Victoria (January 2011). "Lambchop: Nixon / Is a Woman". Mojo. No. 206. p. 112.
  14. Martin, Gavin (February 2, 2000). "Lambchop – Nixon". NME. Archived from the original on March 1, 2000. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
  15. Rockermann, Kristin Sage (October 10, 2000). "Lambchop: Nixon". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
  16. Powell, Mike (January 29, 2014). "Lambchop: Nixon". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
  17. Kot, Greg (March 2, 2000). "Lambchop: Nixon". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 15, 2008. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
  18. Milner, Greg (May 2000). "Lambchop: Nixon". Spin. Vol. 16, no. 5. p. 158. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
  19. Jones, Allan (March 2000). "Lambchop: Nixon". Uncut. No. 34. pp. 73–74.
  20. "2000 Exposed!". Uncut. No. 44. January 2001.
  21. "The Best of 2000". Mojo. No. 86. January 2001. pp. 56–59.
  22. "Top 50 Albums of the Year – Lambchop: Nixon". NME. December 23–30, 2000. p. 78.
  23. "50 Best Albums of 2000 – Lambchop: Nixon". Q. No. 172. January 2001. p. 93.
  24. Morton, Rob (2006). "Lambchop: Nixon". In Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Universe Publishing. p. 879. ISBN 978-0-7893-1371-3.
  25. Nixon (liner notes). Lambchop. Merge Records. 2000. MRG175CD.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  26. "Norwegiancharts.com – Lambchop – Nixon". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  27. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  28. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
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