Lived to Tell is an album by the American alternative rock band Eleventh Dream Day, released in 1991.[2][3] Like the band's other two Atlantic Records albums, Lived to Tell was a commercial disappointment.[4] The band supported the album with a North American tour.[5]

Lived to Tell
Studio album by
Released1991
GenreRock
LabelAtlantic[1]
ProducerPaul McKenna
Eleventh Dream Day chronology
Borscht
(1990)
Lived to Tell
(1991)
Two Sweeties
(1992)

Production

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Produced by Paul McKenna, the album was recorded in Cub Run, Kentucky, in a studio that had been built in an old barn.[6][7] All four band members contributed to the songwriting.[8]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [9]
Austin American-Statesman    [6]
Calgary HeraldB+[10]
Robert ChristgauA−[11]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music     [7]
Entertainment WeeklyB[12]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide     [13]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide     [14]

Entertainment Weekly wrote that the band "sport a wild instrumental attack, oblique lyrics, and a sturdy, unflinching belief in the healing effects of a silky, soaring guitar."[12] Robert Christgau thought that "a notable guitar sound evolves into an undeniable band sound, roots/trad sonics (steel and slide under lead) and rhythms (buried hints of r&b strut and shuffle) just barely keeping their balance."[11] Trouser Press opined that some songs "waver instead of stampede; for the first time, the band seems to know where they’re going, and that takes some joy out of the ride."[1]

The New York Times wrote: "When the tempos are fast and the guitarists strum at top speed, the songs emerge in a passionate rush. But when songs grow more leisurely, collegiate pretensions emerge; songs called 'Daedalus' and 'It's All a Game' are just the clichés their titles promise."[15] The Chicago Tribune deemed Lived to Tell "an album that ranks as one of the best ever made by a Chicago band."[16] The Boston Globe concluded that "the band's cleverly oblique lyrics are often lost in the guitar din, but for pure energy, you won't find a hotter new band."[17]

AllMusic wrote that "[Rick] Rizzo and Beveridge Bean make a fantastic pair of front singers, strong without being overbearing, on joint harmonies hitting something not far off from the brilliant combination of X's John Doe and Exene Cervenka."[9]

Track listing

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No.TitleLength
1."Rose of Jericho"3:42
2."Dream of a Sleeping Sheep"3:15
3."I Could Be Lost"3:38
4."It's Not My World"4:58
5."You Know What It Is"3:41
6."Frozen Mile"4:22
7."Strung Up and/or Out"3:14
8."North of Wasteland"3:16
9."It's All a Game"4:32
10."Trouble"2:41
11."There's This Thing"4:00
12."Daedalus"3:41
13."Angels Spread Your Wings"2:54

Personnel

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  • Janet Beveridge Bean - drums, vocals
  • Baird Figi - guitar
  • Douglas McCombs - bass
  • Rick Rizzo - guitar, vocals

References

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  1. ^ a b "Eleventh Dream Day". Trouser Press. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  2. ^ "Eleventh Dream Day | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  3. ^ "Spins". SPIN. SPIN Media LLC. March 1, 1991 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ Petrusich, Amanda (August 19, 2008). It Still Moves: Lost Songs, Lost Highways, and the Search for the Next American Music. Farrar, Straus and Giroux – via Google Books.
  5. ^ Abbott, Jim (1 Feb 1991). "New Tix". Calendar. Orlando Sentinel. p. 3.
  6. ^ a b McLeese, Don (31 Jan 1991). "Eleventh Dream Day offers musical catharsis". Onward. Austin American-Statesman. p. 18.
  7. ^ a b Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 3. MUZE. pp. 254–255.
  8. ^ Robins, Wayne (27 Jan 1991). "Four Dream Day Believers". Part II. Newsday. p. 15.
  9. ^ a b "Lived to Tell - Eleventh Dream Day | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  10. ^ Muretich, James (3 Feb 1991). "Recent Releases". Calgary Herald. p. F5.
  11. ^ a b "Robert Christgau: CG: Eleventh Dream Day". www.robertchristgau.com.
  12. ^ a b "Lived to Tell". Entertainment Weekly.
  13. ^ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 384.
  14. ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 223.
  15. ^ Pareles, Jon (17 Feb 1991). "Recordings View: Gazing Into an Opaque Crystal Ball". The New York Times. p. A26.
  16. ^ Kot, Greg (31 Jan 1991). "Eleventh Heaven". Tempo. Chicago Tribune. p. 9.
  17. ^ Morse, Steve (31 Jan 1991). "Recordings". Calendar. The Boston Globe. p. 10.