Having dedicated most of 2010 to his supergroup side project, Fistful of Mercy, Joseph Arthur returns to his solo career with The Graduation Ceremony.
“There’s nothing to do in the Midwest but dream,” he sings on the album, which dresses up Arthur’s heartland pop songs with sweeping, atmospheric arrangements.
Strings, pianos, synths, and female harmonies all make frequent appearances, adding some swirls of color to what might otherwise be a stark break-up album.
Arthur is definitely hurting, and the song titles alone provide enough evidence of a relationship gone awry: “Out on a Limb,” “Almost Blue,” “Face in the Crowd,” “Love Never Asks You to Lie.” To cheer himself up, he gets a little help from his friends, leading a three-person band through these 12 songs and enlisting friends like Madi Diaz and Liz Phair to sing backup.
The result is an album that doesn’t sound as sad as its content.
Instead, we’re treated to the sort of elegantly weary, vaguely melancholic music that Ed Harcourt makes, with wistful melodies sung in either a smoky, folksy croon or a high falsetto register.
Heartbreak makes for some some long, lonely nights.
But it also makes for solid albums, provided you've got the right person in the driver's seat.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Out on a Limb | Joseph Arthur | Play | 03:24 | 7 MB | 20 MB |
| 2 | Horses | Joseph Arthur | Play | 04:10 | 9 MB | 23 MB |
| 3 | Almost Blue | Joseph Arthur | Play | 04:18 | 9 MB | 27 MB |
| 4 | Someone to Love | Joseph Arthur | Play | 04:22 | 10 MB | 26 MB |
| 5 | Watch Our Shadows Run | Joseph Arthur | Play | 03:54 | 8 MB | 23 MB |
| 6 | This Is Still My World | Joseph Arthur | Play | 03:35 | 8 MB | 20 MB |
| 7 | Over the Sun | Joseph Arthur | Play | 04:01 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 8 | Face in the Crowd | Joseph Arthur | Play | 04:25 | 10 MB | 26 MB |
| 9 | Midwest | Joseph Arthur | Play | 02:56 | 6 MB | 17 MB |
| 10 | Gypsy Faded | Joseph Arthur | Play | 04:01 | 9 MB | 24 MB |
| 11 | Call | Joseph Arthur | Play | 03:48 | 8 MB | 20 MB |
| 12 | Love Never Asks You to Lie | Joseph Arthur | Play | 03:31 | 8 MB | 20 MB |
| 46 mins | 106 MB | |||||
| 46 mins | 277 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ed Ackerson | Engineer |
| 2 | John Alagia | Bass, Engineer, Guitar, Mixing, Producer |
| 3 | Joseph Arthur | Bass, Drums, Guitar, Keyboards, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals |
| 4 | Sibyl Buck | Vocals (Background) |
| 5 | Brian Cohen | Vocals (Background) |
| 6 | Madi Diaz | Vocals (Background) |
| 7 | Sheldon Gomberg | Engineer |
| 8 | Scott Hull | Mastering |
| 9 | Jim Keltner | Drums |
| 10 | Liz Phair | Vocals (Background) |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| 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). |