Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse Present: Dark Night of the Soul
Encyclopedia
Dark Night of the Soul is an album written by Danger Mouse
and Sparklehorse
. It features a wide range of singers, which include James Mercer
of the Shins
, Wayne Coyne
of the Flaming Lips
, Gruff Rhys
of Super Furry Animals
, Jason Lytle
of Grandaddy
, Julian Casablancas
of the Strokes
, Black Francis of the Pixies, Iggy Pop
, Nina Persson
of the Cardigans
, Suzanne Vega
, Vic Chesnutt
, David Lynch
, and Scott Spillane
of Neutral Milk Hotel
and the Gerbils
; these singers also had a hand in composing and producing the work.
This was the final album Linkous completed before his suicide on March 6, 2010, although In the Fishtank 15
—recorded in 2007—was released later, and Linkous was working on another LP at the time of his death. It was also one of the final works recorded by Vic Chesnutt before his suicide.
, said to be a visual narrative for the music. This book was limited to 5,000 copies.
There are two book packages of Dark Night of the Soul:
EMI
, it was initially reported that there was a possibility that the album might never be released. However, the book is available for sale on the official Web site of Dark Night of the Soul, bundled with a blank recordable CD-R
. All copies were clearly labeled as follows:
Without going into detail, EMI acknowledged the legal dispute and released the following statement:
Both parties of the dispute remained silent about the particulars, but it is believed that the problems with distribution centered around a record deal that Danger Mouse signed with Lex Records
.
In early 2010, it was announced that Dark Night of the Soul was slated for a tentative summer 2010 release, even though the CD-R version had been available since the previous May. A Lex Records logo appears next to the Capitol Records logo on the final version.
The album was released July 12, 2010 in multiple formats.
and Sparklehorse
Deluxe Edition MP3 download bonus track
Exclusive MP3 download bonus tracks
Danger Mouse
Brian Joseph Burton , better known by his stage name Danger Mouse, is an American musician, songwriter and producer. He came to prominence in 2004 when he released The Grey Album, which combined vocal performances from Jay-Z's The Black Album with instrumentals from The Beatles' White Album.He...
and Sparklehorse
Sparklehorse
Sparklehorse was an American indie rock band led by the singer and multi-instrumentalist Mark Linkous.-History:Sparklehorse's first album, Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot featuring Bob Rupe of the Silos and Cracker, was a modest college radio success...
. It features a wide range of singers, which include James Mercer
James Mercer (musician)
James Russell Mercer is an American guitarist and Alternative rock musician. He is a founding member and lead singer-songwriter of the Grammy-nominated indie rock group The Shins. In 2009, Mercer and producer Danger Mouse formed the side project Broken Bells, for which they released a...
of the Shins
The Shins
The Shins are an American indie rock band comprising singer, songwriter, and guitarist James Mercer, guitarist/bassist Dave Hernandez, Eric Johnson of Fruit Bats, drummer Joe Plummer and bassist Ron Lewis. Their sound draws on several musical genres, including pop, alternative rock, indie rock,...
, Wayne Coyne
Wayne Coyne
Wayne Michael Coyne is the lead singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter for the band The Flaming Lips.-Early life:...
of the Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips are an American alternative rock band, formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1983.Melodically, their sound contains lush, multi-layered, psychedelic rock arrangements, but lyrically their compositions show elements of space rock, including unusual song and album titles—such as "What...
, Gruff Rhys
Gruff Rhys
Gruffydd Maredudd Bowen Rhys is a Welsh musician, performing solo and with several bands, including Super Furry Animals who obtained mainstream success in the 1990s. He also most recently formed the electro-pop outfit Neon Neon with Boom Bip. Their album Stainless Style was nominated for the 2008...
of Super Furry Animals
Super Furry Animals
Super Furry Animals are a Welsh rock band that lean towards psychedelic rock and electronic experimentation. Since their formation in Cardiff, Wales in 1993, the band has consisted of Gruff Rhys , Huw Bunford , Guto Pryce , Cian Ciaran and Dafydd Ieuan Super Furry Animals are a Welsh rock band...
, Jason Lytle
Jason Lytle
Jason Lytle is an American musician best known for his work in the indie rock group Grandaddy. He released a solo album in 2009 and is currently in the band Admiral Radley.-Biography:...
of Grandaddy
Grandaddy
Grandaddy was an American indie rock band, formed in 1992 in Modesto, California by singer, guitarist, and keyboardist Jason Lytle, bassist Kevin Garcia, and drummer Aaron Burtch. Guitarist Jim Fairchild and keyboardist Tim Dryden later joined the band in 1995...
, Julian Casablancas
Julian Casablancas
Julian Fernando Casablancas is an American singer-songwriter and musician of The Strokes. Casablancas pursued a solo career during The Strokes' hiatus, releasing the album Phrazes for the Young on November 3, 2009....
of the Strokes
The Strokes
The Strokes are an American indie rock band formed in 1999 in New York City. Consisting of Julian Casablancas , Nick Valensi , Albert Hammond, Jr. , Nikolai Fraiture and Fabrizio Moretti ....
, Black Francis of the Pixies, Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Though considered an innovator of punk rock, Pop's music has encompassed a number of styles over the years, including pop, metal, jazz and blues...
, Nina Persson
Nina Persson
is the lead singer and lyricist for the Swedish pop group The Cardigans. She has also worked as a solo artist, releasing two albums as A Camp and appearing on the tribute album to Serge Gainsbourg entitled Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited...
of the Cardigans
The Cardigans
The Cardigans are a Swedish rock band formed in the town of Jönköping in October 1992.Their debut album Emmerdale gave them a solid base in their home country and enjoyed some success abroad, especially in Japan. It was not until their second album Life that an international reputation was secured...
, Suzanne Vega
Suzanne Vega
Suzanne Nadine Vega is an American songwriter and singer known for her eclectic folk-inspired music.Two of Vega's songs reached the top 10 of various international chart listings: "Luka" and "Tom's Diner"...
, Vic Chesnutt
Vic Chesnutt
James Victor "Vic" Chesnutt was an American singer-songwriter from Athens, Georgia. His first album, Little, was released in 1990, but his breakthrough to commercial success didn't come until 1996 with the release of Sweet Relief II: Gravity of the Situation, a tribute album of mainstream artists...
, David Lynch
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
, and Scott Spillane
Scott Spillane
Scott Spillane is one of the leaders of the Athens, Georgia, USA band The Gerbils. He is also known for his work playing horns for Neutral Milk Hotel, and appearing on albums and in live shows by Elephant 6 artists such as The Olivia Tremor Control, of Montreal and Elf Power.-References:...
of Neutral Milk Hotel
Neutral Milk Hotel
Neutral Milk Hotel was an American indie rock band formed by singer, guitarist and songwriter Jeff Mangum in the early 1990s. The band was noted for its experimental sound, obscure lyrics and eclectic instrumentation....
and the Gerbils
The Gerbils
The Gerbils are an indie rock band that formed in Athens, GA in 1998. Part of the Elephant Six Collective, the band released two albums and toured nationwide during their tenure.-Bio:...
; these singers also had a hand in composing and producing the work.
This was the final album Linkous completed before his suicide on March 6, 2010, although In the Fishtank 15
In the Fishtank 15
In the Fishtank 15 is a collaborative EP by Sparklehorse and Christian Fennesz. It is the fifteenth and most recent installment of the collaboration project by Konkurrent and the final release by Sparklehorse before the death of leader Mark Linkous in 2010...
—recorded in 2007—was released later, and Linkous was working on another LP at the time of his death. It was also one of the final works recorded by Vic Chesnutt before his suicide.
Book and album
The album features a hand-numbered 100-plus-page book of photos taken by David LynchDavid Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
, said to be a visual narrative for the music. This book was limited to 5,000 copies.
There are two book packages of Dark Night of the Soul:
- Dark Night of the Soul book and blank CD-R
- Limited edition art book containing 100+ pages of original photographs by celebrated film director David LynchDavid LynchDavid Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
. Only 5,000 copies were printed and each one was hand-numbered. - 24"×36" poster
- Custom-designed CD-R
- Limited edition art book containing 100+ pages of original photographs by celebrated film director David Lynch
- Dark Night of the Soul alternate poster and blank CD-R
- Alternate 24"×36" poster
- Alternate CD-R design
Album
There are multiple music packages of Dark Night of the Soul:- Dark Night of the Soul deluxe boxed set (Only 5,000 copies)
- 1 Double-Vinyl Gatefold LP (complete album)
- 2 CDs - (complete album and complete instrumental)
- 3 Lobby Cards
- 1 Poster
- 1 Photo Print
- 1 12" booklet with David Lynch photography
- Dark Night of the Soul Standard LP
- 1 Standard LP (13 tracks)
- Dark Night of the Soul heavyweight double vinyl gatefold LP
- 1 Standard LP (Complete Album - 13 tracks)
- This set comes with the complete mp3 downloads of the album.
- Dark Night of the Soul CD
- 13 tracks
- Dark Night of the Soul MP3 download
- 13 tracks
- Dark Night of the Soul Deluxe MP3 download
- 14 tracks
- Bonus track – "Dark Night of the Soul" (featuring David Lynch) [Sparklehorse Mix]
- Dark Night of the Soul exclusive version MP3 download
- 15 tracks
- Bonus tracks – Instrumental versions of "Revenge" and "Every Time I'm with You"
Legal dispute with EMI
Because of a dispute with the record labelRecord label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
, it was initially reported that there was a possibility that the album might never be released. However, the book is available for sale on the official Web site of Dark Night of the Soul, bundled with a blank recordable CD-R
CD-R
A CD-R is a variation of the Compact Disc invented by Philips and Sony. CD-R is a Write Once Read Many optical medium, though the whole disk does not have to be entirely written in the same session....
. All copies were clearly labeled as follows:
Without going into detail, EMI acknowledged the legal dispute and released the following statement:
Both parties of the dispute remained silent about the particulars, but it is believed that the problems with distribution centered around a record deal that Danger Mouse signed with Lex Records
Lex Records
Lex Records is an independent record label founded by Tom Brown in 2001. The label was an imprint of Warp Records and run from their North London offices, until September 2005.Lex has a low volume of releases, rarely releasing more than three albums annually...
.
In early 2010, it was announced that Dark Night of the Soul was slated for a tentative summer 2010 release, even though the CD-R version had been available since the previous May. A Lex Records logo appears next to the Capitol Records logo on the final version.
The album was released July 12, 2010 in multiple formats.
Track listing
All songs written and composed and produced by Danger MouseDanger Mouse
Brian Joseph Burton , better known by his stage name Danger Mouse, is an American musician, songwriter and producer. He came to prominence in 2004 when he released The Grey Album, which combined vocal performances from Jay-Z's The Black Album with instrumentals from The Beatles' White Album.He...
and Sparklehorse
Sparklehorse
Sparklehorse was an American indie rock band led by the singer and multi-instrumentalist Mark Linkous.-History:Sparklehorse's first album, Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot featuring Bob Rupe of the Silos and Cracker, was a modest college radio success...
- "Revenge" (featuring The Flaming LipsThe Flaming LipsThe Flaming Lips are an American alternative rock band, formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1983.Melodically, their sound contains lush, multi-layered, psychedelic rock arrangements, but lyrically their compositions show elements of space rock, including unusual song and album titles—such as "What...
) – 4:52 - "Just War" (featuring Gruff RhysGruff RhysGruffydd Maredudd Bowen Rhys is a Welsh musician, performing solo and with several bands, including Super Furry Animals who obtained mainstream success in the 1990s. He also most recently formed the electro-pop outfit Neon Neon with Boom Bip. Their album Stainless Style was nominated for the 2008...
) – 3:44 - "Jaykub" (featuring Jason LytleJason LytleJason Lytle is an American musician best known for his work in the indie rock group Grandaddy. He released a solo album in 2009 and is currently in the band Admiral Radley.-Biography:...
) – 3:52 - "Little Girl" (featuring Julian CasablancasJulian CasablancasJulian Fernando Casablancas is an American singer-songwriter and musician of The Strokes. Casablancas pursued a solo career during The Strokes' hiatus, releasing the album Phrazes for the Young on November 3, 2009....
) – 4:33 - "Angel's Harp" (featuring Black Francis) – 2:57
- "Pain" (featuring Iggy PopIggy PopIggy Pop is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Though considered an innovator of punk rock, Pop's music has encompassed a number of styles over the years, including pop, metal, jazz and blues...
) – 2:49 - "Star Eyes (I Can't Catch It)" (featuring David LynchDavid LynchDavid Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
) – 3:10 - "Every Time I'm with You" (featuring Jason LytleJason LytleJason Lytle is an American musician best known for his work in the indie rock group Grandaddy. He released a solo album in 2009 and is currently in the band Admiral Radley.-Biography:...
) – 3:09 - "Insane Lullaby" (featuring James MercerJames Mercer (musician)James Russell Mercer is an American guitarist and Alternative rock musician. He is a founding member and lead singer-songwriter of the Grammy-nominated indie rock group The Shins. In 2009, Mercer and producer Danger Mouse formed the side project Broken Bells, for which they released a...
) – 3:12 - "Daddy's Gone" (featuring Mark LinkousMark LinkousMark Linkous was an American singer, songwriter and musician, best known as leader of Sparklehorse. He was also known for his collaborations with such notable artists as Tom Waits, PJ Harvey, Daniel Johnston, Radiohead, Black Francis, Julian Casablancas, Nina Persson, Sean Terrington Wright, David...
and Nina PerssonNina Perssonis the lead singer and lyricist for the Swedish pop group The Cardigans. She has also worked as a solo artist, releasing two albums as A Camp and appearing on the tribute album to Serge Gainsbourg entitled Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited...
) – 3:09 - "The Man Who Played God" (featuring Suzanne VegaSuzanne VegaSuzanne Nadine Vega is an American songwriter and singer known for her eclectic folk-inspired music.Two of Vega's songs reached the top 10 of various international chart listings: "Luka" and "Tom's Diner"...
) – 3:09 - "Grim Augury" (featuring Vic ChesnuttVic ChesnuttJames Victor "Vic" Chesnutt was an American singer-songwriter from Athens, Georgia. His first album, Little, was released in 1990, but his breakthrough to commercial success didn't come until 1996 with the release of Sweet Relief II: Gravity of the Situation, a tribute album of mainstream artists...
) – 2:32 - "Dark Night of the Soul" (featuring David LynchDavid LynchDavid Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
) – 4:38
Deluxe Edition MP3 download bonus track
- "Dark Night of the Soul" (Sparklehorse Mix) – 4:34
Exclusive MP3 download bonus tracks
- "Revenge" (featuring The Flaming LipsThe Flaming LipsThe Flaming Lips are an American alternative rock band, formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1983.Melodically, their sound contains lush, multi-layered, psychedelic rock arrangements, but lyrically their compositions show elements of space rock, including unusual song and album titles—such as "What...
) [Instrumental] – 4:54 - "Every Time I'm with You" (featuring Jason LytleJason LytleJason Lytle is an American musician best known for his work in the indie rock group Grandaddy. He released a solo album in 2009 and is currently in the band Admiral Radley.-Biography:...
) [Instrumental] – 3:11