American Utopia is the tenth studio album by Scottish-American rock musician David Byrne, released on March 9, 2018 through Todo Mundo and Nonesuch Records. The release is his first true solo studio album since 2004's Grown Backwards, and serves as a musical component of a larger multimedia project titled Reasons to Be Cheerful, which attempts to spread positivity. Byrne announced the album and posted its lead single, "Everybody's Coming to My House", online on January 8, 2018.[1] The album received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Alternative Music Album.[2]
The album is part of a larger multimedia project titled Reasons to Be Cheerful which aims to give reasons for being happy and optimistic in spite of political strife and environmental problems.[1] The title is derived from the Ian Dury song "Reasons to Be Cheerful, Part 3".[3]
American Utopia received generally positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 72 based on 32 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[5] The Arts Desk's Howard Male gave the album a positive review calling it a "a muscular and quirky return to form".[16] Erik Adams of The A.V. Club gave the album a B, calling the album an uneven "mixed bag" but praising the album's themes.[7]
Commercial reception
American Utopia became Byrne's first solo top 10 album on the Billboard 200, debuting at No. 3 with the equivalent of 63,000 copies sold in the United States.[17]
The release of the album was backed by a world tour that lasted from March to November 2018. The elaborate concert featured an empty stage surrounded by metal chains and a cast of twelve musicians (including Byrne himself) sporting bare feet and wearing identical gray suits. Cutting-edge technology in wireless audio, MIDI, lighting and real-time tracking was used to totally untether the musicians from any cables, allowing free movement and complex choreography like in Byrne's previous tours. In addition to songs from American Utopia, the setlist incorporated material from Byrne's solo catalogue, several hits by Talking Heads and a cover of Janelle Monáe's "Hell You Talmbout".
In September 2019, an altered version of the concert was previewed at the Colonial Theatre in Boston. It now featured small changes to the setlist and to the structure to achieve a format closer to that of a musical stage production. It premiered on Broadway at the Hudson Theatre in previews on October 4, 2019 and officially on October 20, closing on February 16, 2020.[18] A second run, scheduled to start in September 2020, was postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic. It was eventually moved to the St. James Theatre, where it started on September 17, 2021 and ended on April 3, 2022.
An homonymous picture book was released in late 2020, intended to be a companion piece to the Broadway show.[22] The book includes words and lyrics by Byrne and illustrations by Maira Kalman.
Track listing
All tracks are written by David Byrne and Brian Eno, except where noted.
On the digital deluxe edition, all tracks are noted as "Live From Kings Theatre, September 2018".
Personnel
The American Utopia Tour featured elaborate choreography, a variety of instruments, and matching gray suits for the personnelAmerican Utopia continues the collaboration between Byrne and British electronic musician Brian Eno (pictured in 2017) that stretches back to the late 1970s
Personnel according to David Byrne's homepage.[23]
David Byrne– vocals; guitar on "I Dance Like This", "Gasoline and Dirty Sheets", "Every Day Is a Miracle", "It's Not Dark Up Here", "Bullet", "Doing the Right Thing", "Everybody's Coming to My House", and "Here"; keyboards on "I Dance Like This", "Gasoline and Dirty Sheets", "Bullet", and "Everybody's Coming to My House"; pads on "Everybody's Coming to My House"; production
Airhead– drums on "Bullet"
Ben Anderson– cymbal on "Every Day Is a Miracle"
Isaiah Barr– saxophone on "Gasoline and Dirty Sheets" and "Everybody's Coming to My House"
Thomas Bartlett (Doveman)– Mellotron on "I Dance Like This" "Gasoline and Dirty Sheets", "Bullet", and "Everybody's Coming to My House"; piano on "I Dance Like This"
Jamie Edwards– sitar samples on "Gasoline and Dirty Sheets"
Brian Eno– drum programming, vocoder, background vocals and "prog ride tracks" on "I Dance Like This"; keyboards on "It's Not Dark Up Here" and "Doing the Right Thing"; percussion on "It's Not Dark Up Here" and "Everybody's Coming to My House"; voice effects, whistling, celeste, and brass on "It's Not Dark Up Here"; drums on "Doing the Right Thing"; "robot rhythm guitar" on "Everybody's Coming to My House"; original tracks
Alex Epton– drum programming on "Gasoline and Dirty Sheets", "It's Not Dark Up Here", and "Doing the Right Thing"; choir programming on "Gasoline and Dirty Sheets", synthesizer stabs on "Every Day Is a Miracle", bass guitar on "Bullet", cymbals on "Doing the Right Thing"; shaker on "Everybody's Coming to My House"
Ethan P. Flynn– "middle 8 section synthesizer" on "Everybody's Coming to My House"
Happa– drum programming on "Gasoline and Dirty Sheets" and "Everybody's Coming to My House", electronics and drums on "Every Day Is a Miracle", synthesizer solo on "Everybody's Coming to My House"
Jam City– synth stabs, guitar, and drums on "Every Day Is a Miracle"
Nathan Jenkins– harmonica solo and voices on "Gasoline and Dirty Sheets"
Koreless– drums on "Every Day Is a Miracle"
Daniel Lopatin– keyboards on "Dog's Mind", "This Is That", "Doing the Right Thing", and "Here", drums on "Dog's Mind", "This Is That", and "Here", synthesizers and bass on "Dog's Mind", processing and textures on "Doing the Right Thing" and "Everybody's Coming to My House"; strings on "Doing the Right Thing"
Rodaidh McDonald– arrangements on "Gasoline and Dirty Sheets", "Every Day Is a Miracle", "Dog's Mind", "This Is That", and "Here"; additional keyboards on "I Dance Like This", "Gasoline and Dirty Sheets", "Every Day Is a Miracle", "It's Not Dark Up Here", "Doing the Right Thing", "Everybody's Coming to My House"; drum programming on "Gasoline and Dirty Sheets", "Every Day Is a Miracle", "Dog's Mind", "This Is That", "It's Not Dark Up Here", "Bullet" "Doing the Right Thing", and "Everybody's Coming to My House"; "verse percussion" on "I Dance Like This", bells on "It's Not Dark Up Here", strings on "Bullet"; production
MMPH– main orchestral arrangement and sounds on "Doing the Right Thing"
Magnus Bang Olsen– piano on "Every Day Is a Miracle"
Jack Peñate– keyboards on "Gasoline and Dirty Sheets", "Every Day Is a Miracle", and "Bullet"; backing vocals on "Gasoline and Dirty Sheets" and "Bullet"; textures on "Gasoline and Dirty Sheets"; drums, bass and shaker on "Every Day Is a Miracle"
"Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 201811 on the field besides the word "Zobrazit", and then click over the word to retrieve the correct chart data. Retrieved April 8, 2019.
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