my father my king
12": rock action [ROCKACT10] one-sided 180gm vinyl
cd: rock action [ROCKACTCD10]
usa cd: matador [ole538-2] 23rd oct 2001
japan cd: toys factory [TFCK-87273] 19th dec 2001
australia cd: spunk [URA055]
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production/recording notes |
the inspiration for this interpretation of a traditional jewish hymn apparently came from legendary producer arthur baker. a different version was recorded in 1999 for inclusion on arthur's album of collaborations, 'the one that got away', which remains unreleased.
'my father my king' clocks in at 20 minutes and 12 seconds in length. recorded with steve albini at mayfair studios, london, in august 2001 (just prior to reading festival). mastered at abbey road by steve albini and nick webb. arrangement by mogwai and arthur baker. violin by luke sutherland. cello by caroline barber
sleeve artwork by andy vella. photo by steve gullick.
additional tracks on some non-uk/us releases:
australia/new zealand cd: 'you don't know jesus' (live) + 'helicon 1' (live)
japan cd: 'you don't know jesus' (live) + 'helicon 1' (live) + 'dial:revenge' (video)
live tracks recorded at rothesay pavilion, bute (14th april 2001)
see singles discography for details.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Father_My_King
the first new release from glasgow’s mogwai since this past spring’s 'rock action', the new ep 'my father my king' is an extraordinary recording. back to the wall of shimmering guitar power after the more mellow moves of rock action, the ep is a single 21-minute long song of epic power and beauty. based on a simple ancient jewish melody taught to the band by arthur baker, mogwai surround it with their trademark sound to produce a gigantic composition that has been a huge hit at recent live performances.in this case, they worked with veteran producer steve albini to ensure that the full glory of the live performance was adequately captured in the studio, and the result is nothing short of stunning.
mogwai are set to release their most extreme record to date and announce a uk tour for november.
mogwai have just completed recording a version of “my father, my king” — a traditional jewish hymn — with steve albini. “my father, my king” is the most extreme recording mogwai have ever committed to record. running in at over 20 minutes, the track will be released as one track single on october 22nd in the uk through pias recordings.
mogwai originally recorded the song over a year ago for inclusion on arthur baker’s as yet unreleased lp. it has since become a live favourite and was their set-closer at last weekend’s carling weekend festival. albini has managed to capture mogwai at their most intense for the new recording: two parts beautiful serenity and one part death metal. due to the single’s length it will be ineligible for inclusion in the single charts.
this review originally appeared on
kowz.co.uk
0.00 press play and settle back.
0.15 remember this song really clearly from seeing them live.
0.48 turn stereo right up. remember i always do this then shit myself when it goes all mogwai.
1.22 put the kettle on.
1.32 drums kick in.
1.58 glad mogwai have returned to the style of cody, as i thought rock action was pretty lame.
2.11 more guitars - all good.
2.49 gets heavier. sense a 'f***ing heavy' moment imminent.
3.25 more guitars.
4.01 stuart braithwaite hits the overdrive pedal.
4.35 someone else hits the overdrive pedal.
5.11 someone else hits the overdrive pedal. this is ace.
5.12 upstairs neighbour bangs on ceiling.
5.44 cool lead guitar bit. take advantage of lull to nip into the kitchen and make a cuppa. no milk so forced to have peppermint tea.
6.28 everything stops except drums, bass and lead guitar.
6.52 goes all quiet in the way you know precedes a stupidly loud bit.
7.28 really quiet.
7.47 really really quiet.
8.28 slightly louder (still quiet mind you).
8.45 get the fear.
9.05 i am the music; from mogwai all living things must flow.
9.10 drums are back. strangely disappointed.
9.38 eric the terrier decides to lick my face excessively.
9.48 guitar is building up layer upon layer again - really intense.
10.05 noise!
10.31 louder noise!
10.59 amazing lead guitar, crank the volume up. neighbour bangs again but i don't care. do stuart braithwaite impression and feel dead cool.
11.01 want to see mogwai live right now.
11.42 this is such a good song.
12.07 text my friend matt to tell him to buy it.
12.59 some more good noises appear.
13.47 wish i had a strobe light.
14.10 wonder what's going to happen in the next 6 minutes.
14.39 enjoy the calming properties of peppermint tea.
15.05 realise this song is a similar length to the strokes lp.
15.39 remember when used to put 'blue room' by the orb on pub jukebox. that was 39 minutes long.
15.45 all the intensity tails off a bit.
15.54 another amazing noise.
16.42 lots of feedback, little else.
17.41 bashing the shit out of guitars creates random wailing.
18.28 stereo used to great effect; different nasty noises emit from each speaker.
18.31 eric the terrier gets freaked out by white noise.
18.33 lisa the writer gets freaked out by white noise.
20.12 and like that.......it's gone.
single of the year - no f***ing contest.
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review, by aquarius records, san francisco |
so the sticker on the front of this new mogwai e.p. says that
this is a companion to their 'rock action' record. not sure what that
means. maybe it means all the loud parts that were missing from 'rock
action' can be found here. maybe not. the sticker also describes this
20 minute song as "two parts beautiful serenity and one part death
metal". that's a lot to live up to. unfortunately it doesn't quite
manage. not to say that this isn't good. it is. in fact, it's great.
definitely the best thing they've done since 'young team'. but... it
sounds exactly like 'young team'. not a bad thing if, like us, you've
been missing those beautiful tranquil space scapes and the huge
washes of monstrous guitar rock that mogwai does better than almost
anyone else. so if you own 'young team' already, you either need this
(more of a good thing can't be bad?) or you don't (been there, heard
that). if you don't own 'young team', pick it up and find out where
50 percent of your favorite new indie rock bands have been stealing
their ideas (the other 50 are stealing from slint presumably).
