The Lemon of Pink

The Lemon of Pink is the second studio album by American musical duo the Books. It was released on October 7, 2003 by Tomlab.[3] Like much of the duo's work, the songs on The Lemon of Pink juxtapose samples with folk and string instrumentation and other melodic elements, including guest vocals by Anne Doerner.[4]

The Lemon of Pink
Studio album by
the Books
ReleasedOctober 7, 2003 (2003-10-07)
Genre
Length37:20
LabelTomlab
The Books chronology
Thought for Food
(2002)		 The Lemon of Pink
(2003)		 Lost and Safe
(2005)
Alternative cover
2011 reissue

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic86/100[5]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Alternative Press5/5[6]
Pitchfork8.4/10[7]
Q[8]
Stylus Magazine7.9/10[9]
Tiny Mix Tapes5/5[10]
Tom Hull – on the WebB+ ((1-star Honorable Mention))[11]

The initial critical response to The Lemon of Pink was very positive. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 86, based on nine reviews.[5] "It isn't often that one finds an American artist with such a mastery of collage technique and a desire to incorporate traditional folk instruments and melodies", wrote AllMusic critic Daphne Carr, who added that the Books "open up territory for relaxed electro-acoustic listening without compromising their creative process."[4] Alternative Press hailed The Lemon of Pink as "the rare sort of album that convinces you original music still exists."[6] Mark Richardson of Pitchfork found that several of the album's songs "are even better" than those on The Books' debut Thought for Food, "with more dynamic range and a greater sense of development."[7] He concluded that The Lemon of Pink "may sound a bit like" Thought for Food, "but it also sounds like nobody else."[7]

Andy Battaglia of The A.V. Club said that while "some of the exposed-seam splicing sounds sloppy and/or twee", the Books "wield a solid musical hand over melodic figures that hint at swooning grandeur without falling prey to florid temptation."[12] The Village Voice's Robert Christgau gave the album a three-star honorable mention rating, indicating "an enjoyable effort consumers attuned to its overriding aesthetic or individual vision may well treasure", and summarized it as "ambient musique concrète out of acoustic instruments, fractured song structures, and talky voices".[2][13]

At the end of 2003, Pitchfork ranked The Lemon of Pink as the year's second best album.[14] The record was later included at number 20 on Pitchfork's list of the top 100 albums of 2000 to 2004.[15]

Legacy

In a 20th anniversary review, Sadie Sartini Garner of Stereogum deemed Lemon one of the United States' "most comforting, confounding, and heartwarming pieces of experimental music". She called it "a staggering technical achievement" that kept its "humble, small, heartwarming, [and] charmingly handmade" feel in the years since its release.[16]

Track listing

All music is composed by The Books (Paul de Jong and Nick Zammuto)

No.TitleLength
1."The Lemon of Pink" (titled "The Lemon of Pink I" on reissues)4:40
2."The Lemon of Pink" (titled "The Lemon of Pink II" on reissues)1:34
3."Tokyo"3:43
4."Bonanza"0:52
5."S Is for Evrysing"3:32
6."Explanation Mark"0:19
7."There Is No There"3:36
8."Take Time"3:36
9."Don't Even Sing About It"4:09
10."The Future, Wouldn't That Be Nice?"3:15
11."A True Story of a Story of True Love"4:25
12."That Right Ain't Shit"2:44
13."PS"0:55
Total length:37:20

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of the 2003 and 2011 issues of the album.[17][18]

The Books

  • Paul de Jong – music, mastering, mixing
  • Nick Zammuto – music, mastering, mixing

Additional personnel

  • Anne Doerner – vocals[4] (uncredited)
  • Frieda Luczak – cover design

References
  1. Macdonald, Cameron (October 28, 2006). "Lost and Safe with The Books". Tape Op. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  2. Christgau, Robert. "The Books: The Lemon of Pink". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved January 2, 2016.
  3. "The Books: The Lemon Of Pink". Tomlab. Archived from the original on November 1, 2003. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  4. Carr, Daphne. "The Lemon of Pink – The Books". AllMusic. Retrieved January 2, 2016.
  5. "The Lemon Of Pink by The Books Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved February 27, 2021.
  6. "The Books: The Lemon of Pink". Alternative Press. No. 186. January 2004. p. 110.
  7. Richardson, Mark (November 4, 2003). "The Books: The Lemon of Pink". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
  8. "The Books: The Lemon of Pink". Q. No. 209. December 2003. p. 120.
  9. Estefan, Kareem (October 10, 2003). "The Books – The Lemon of Pink". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on November 7, 2004. Retrieved January 2, 2016.
  10. Mr P. "The Books – Lemon of Pink". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved January 2, 2016.
  11. Hull, Tom (April 19, 2021). "Music Week". Tom Hull – on the Web. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  12. Battaglia, Andy (December 16, 2003). "The Books: The Lemon Of Pink". The A.V. Club. Retrieved January 2, 2016.
  13. Christgau, Robert (2000). "Key to Icons". Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s. St. Martin's Griffin. p. xvi. ISBN 0-312-24560-2. Retrieved January 2, 2016.
  14. "Top 50 Albums of 2003". Pitchfork. December 31, 2003. p. 5. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
  15. "The Top 100 Albums of 2000–04". Pitchfork. February 7, 2005. p. 9. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
  16. Sartini Garner, Sadie (October 6, 2023). "The Books' 'The Lemon Of Pink' Turns 20". Stereogum. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  17. The Lemon of Pink (liner notes). The Books. Tomlab. 2003. tom 32.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  18. The Lemon of Pink (liner notes). The Books. Temporary Residence Limited. 2011. TRR181 CD.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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