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Let It Come Down (James Iha album)

(Redirected from Be Strong Now)

Let It Come Down is the first solo album by American guitarist James Iha.[1] It was released in 1998, during which Iha was still with the Smashing Pumpkins, before the release of Adore. Iha took on a more acoustic country sound reminiscent of the songs he contributed to the Pumpkins, notably shying away from the darker sound of Billy Corgan's songwriting.

Let It Come Down
Studio album by
James Iha
ReleasedFebruary 10, 1998 (1998-02-10)
Recorded1997
GenreAlternative rock
Length40:16
Label
Producer
James Iha chronology
Let It Come Down
(1998) 		Look to the Sky
(2012)

Iha had said that the quieter tone of the songs reflected the fact that many of them were written in his hotel rooms during the Smashing Pumpkins tours, and he did not want to disturb other guests by playing too loudly.

"Be Strong Now" was released as a 4-track single, featuring the bonus studio tracks "Falling", "My Advice" and "Take Care", and as a two-track promo single where the other track is a 12-second call out hook. Both versions of the "Be Strong Now" single feature the same cover. There is also an extended promo version of the single called "Be Strong Now (With Intro)" lasting 3:35. The song "Jealousy" was released as a promo single, without any B-sides.

The album was remastered and re-issued in February 2012 with the three tracks previously released as B-sides added as bonus tracks.

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [2]
Entertainment WeeklyC+[3]
Pitchfork4.9/10[4]
Rolling Stone     [5]

The Guardian wrote that "Iha has regressed to a state of wistful, whimsical child-likeness... Sample sparingly and you can float away on reveries of psychedelic summer afternoons."[6]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by James Iha

No.TitleLength
1."Be Strong Now"2:48
2."Sound of Love"3:56
3."Beauty"3:44
4."See the Sun"3:59
5."Country Girl"3:01
6."Jealousy"3:26
7."Lover, Lover"3:21
8."Silver String"3:53
9."Winter"4:25
10."One and Two"3:31
11."No One's Gonna Hurt You"4:12
Japanese bonus track
No.TitleLength
12."My Advice"3:15
2012 remaster
No.TitleLength
12."My Advice"3:37
13."Take Care"2:30
14."Falling"3:56

Personnel

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  • James Iha – vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, bass, producer, string arrangements, production
  • Neal Casal – harmony vocal, electric guitar
  • Greg Leisz – pedal steel, lap steel and electric guitars, bass on "Lover, Lover"
  • Adam Schlesinger – piano, bass on "Country Girl"
  • Solomon Snyder – bass
  • John Ginty – Hammond organ, piano
  • Matt Walker – drums, percussion
  • Curt Bisquera – percussion
  • Eric Remschneider – cello
  • James Sanders – violin
  • Stacia Spencer – violin on "Silver String"
  • Jim Goodwin – saxophone on "Jealousy"
  • Ralph Rickert – trumpet on "Jealousy"
  • D'arcy Wretzky – harmony vocal on "One and Two"
  • Nina Gordon – harmony vocal on "Beauty"
  • Tonya Lamm and Shawn Barton – harmony vocal on "No One's Gonna Hurt You" and "Country Girl"
  • Eric Remschneider – string arrangement

Additional personnel

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  • Dave Menet – guitar tech
  • Russ Spice – equipment
  • Chris Billheimer – art direction
  • Jeremy Goldberg – cover photograph
  • Anette Aurell – back photograph
  • James Iha, Kevin Wells, Larry Hirshowitz – collage photographs
  • Lou Kregel, Patti West – illustrators
  • Todd Tatnall – Pro Tools editing

Production

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  • Jim Scott – production
  • Scott Humphrey – post-production
  • Podboy – post-production
  • Flood – post-production on "One and Two"
  • Jim Scott – engineering
  • Steve Spapperi – additional engineering
  • Jim Scott – mixing
  • Mike Scotella – mix assistance
  • Stephen Marcussen – mastering

Charts

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Chart performance for Let It Come Down
Chart (1998) Peak
position
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[7] 53
UK Albums (OCC)[8] 76
US Billboard 200[9] 171

References

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  1. ^ Diehl, Matt (Feb 1998). "Let It Come Down". Interview. Vol. 28, no. 2. p. 38.
  2. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Let It Come Down – James Iha". AllMusic. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  3. ^ Snierson, Dan (February 13, 1998). "Let It Come Down Review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  4. ^ Schreiber, Ryan (December 31, 1999). "James Iha: Let It Come Down: Pitchfork Record Review". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on June 11, 2008. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  5. ^ Kemp, Mark (February 7, 1998). "James Iha: Let It Come Down". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  6. ^ Sullivan, Caroline (6 Feb 1998). "This week's pop CD releases". The Guardian. p. T018.
  7. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – James Iha – Let It Come Down". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  8. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  9. ^ "James Iha Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
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