The Eels' second release, Electro-Shock Blues, is a much darker album than their underrated debut, 1996's Beautiful Freak, but just as rewarding.
Singer/guitarist/songwriter E experienced many upheavals in his personal life between albums (the passing of several family members and close friends), and decided to work his way through life's tribulations via his music.
The result is a spectacular epic work, easily on par with such classic albums cut from the same cloth -- Neil Young's Tonight's the Night, Lou Reed's Magic and Loss.
For some of the most introspective and haunting tunes of recent times, look no further than the title track, "Last Stop: This Town," and "Elizabeth on the Bathroom Floor." And although the lyrics deal almost entirely with mortality, the music for "Hospital Food," "Cancer for the Cure," and "Going to Your Funeral, Pt.
1" is comparable to Beck's funky noise, while "Efils' God," "The Medication Is Wearing Off," and "My Descent Into Madness" are all ethereal, soothing compositions.
One of the finest and fully realized records of 1998, a must-hear.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Elizabeth on the Bathroom FloorEels | Eels | Play | 02:08 | 4 MB | 9 MB |
| 2 | Cancer for the CureEels, Mickey P. | Eels | Play | 04:46 | 10 MB | 30 MB |
| 3 | 3 SpeedEels | Eels | Play | 02:45 | 6 MB | 13 MB |
| 4 | Hospital FoodEels, Jim Lang | Eels | Play | 03:23 | 7 MB | 22 MB |
| 5 | Electro-Shock BluesEels, Mickey P. | Eels | Play | 02:29 | 5 MB | 8 MB |
| 6 | Efils' GodEels, Michael Simpson | Eels | Play | 03:19 | 7 MB | 16 MB |
| 7 | Baby GeniusEels, Jim Lang | Eels | Play | 02:03 | 4 MB | 11 MB |
| 8 | Climbing to the MoonEels | Eels | Play | 03:38 | 8 MB | 20 MB |
| 9 | Ant FarmEels | Eels | Play | 02:11 | 5 MB | 11 MB |
| 10 | Dead of WinterEels | Eels | Play | 02:59 | 6 MB | 14 MB |
| 11 | The Medication Is Wearing OffEels, Mickey P. | Eels | Play | 03:51 | 8 MB | 17 MB |
| 12 | P.S. You Rock My WorldEels | Eels | Play | 03:08 | 7 MB | 17 MB |
| 13 | Going to Your Funeral Part I | Eels | Play | 02:37 | 6 MB | 13 MB |
| 14 | Going to Your Funeral Part II | Eels | Play | 01:30 | 3 MB | 7 MB |
| 40 mins | 93 MB | |||||
| 40 mins | 215 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Butch ? | Drums, Vocals |
| 2 | Jon Brion | Chamberlin, Guest Artist, Organ |
| 3 | T-Bone Burnett | Bass, Guest Artist |
| 4 | Greg Collins | Engineer, Mixing |
| 5 | E | Bass, Engineer, Guitar, Keyboards, Lyricist, Mixing, Vocals |
| 6 | Eels | Composer, Primary Artist |
| 7 | Lisa Germano | Guest Artist |
| 8 | Parthenon Huxley | Composer, Guest Artist, Guitar |
| 9 | Jim Jacobsen | Bass, Clarinet, Composer, Conductor, Engineer, Keyboards, Mixing |
| 10 | Elton Jones | Performer, Primary Artist |
| 11 | Jim Lang | Arranger, Composer, Conductor, Engineer, Mixing |
| 12 | John Leftwich | Bass (Upright), Bowed Bass |
| 13 | Bill Liston | Saxophone |
| 14 | Stephen Marcussen | Mastering |
| 15 | Cynthia Merrill | Backwards Recording, Cello |
| 16 | Mickey P. | Composer, Engineer, Mixing |
| 17 | Valerie Pack | Production Coordination |
| 18 | Grant-Lee Phillips | Banjo, Guest Artist, Guitar (Electric), Vocals (Background) |
| 19 | Francesca Restrepo | Art Direction, Artwork |
| 20 | Michael Simpson | Composer, Digital Editing, Engineer, Mixing |
| 21 | Stuart Wylen | Fender Rhodes, Flute (Alto), Flute (Bass), Guitar |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |