Far Away (Wolfmother song)
Encyclopedia
"Far Away" is a song by Australian hard rock
band Wolfmother
, featured on their 2009 second studio album Cosmic Egg
. Written by vocalist and guitarist Andrew Stockdale
, the song was released as the fourth single
from the album on 3 June 2010, backed with a live cover version
of the Kate Bush
song "Wuthering Heights
".
, David Marchese reviewed the song thus:
English music magazine NME
praised the song as "the only ‘progress’" on the album, describing it as "sound[ing] like it was expelled by Axl Rose
during an enema in early sessions for ‘Chinese Democracy
’." In revealing that the song would be released as the fourth single from Cosmic Egg, Australian news website Access All Areas described "Far Away" as "the hands aloft summit of Wolfmother's colossal second album," adding that it is "Wolfmother's sitting on the porch torch song, an epic slice of melancholic keys and searing guitar that sounds like a big ole bag of all-time good times."
for "Far Away" onto his Facebook
profile, in an album titled "Farrah Weigh". On 5 March more photos were uploaded onto the official Wolfmother website, while a news post revealed that the video was directed by Sam Stephens of direction team Hydra, known for the videos for Passion Pit
's "The Reeling
" and Muse
's "Uprising
". The video, which record label Modular Recordings
described as "old timey and 'reflective'", debuted on Wolfmother's Vevo
channel on YouTube
on 9 April 2010, and was credited as being directed by Hydra.
Production personnel
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
band Wolfmother
Wolfmother
Wolfmother is an Australian rock band from Erskineville, Sydney. Formed in 2000, the group was originally a trio composed of vocalist and guitarist Andrew Stockdale, bassist and keyboardist Chris Ross and drummer Myles Heskett. Wolfmother released their self-titled debut album in October 2005,...
, featured on their 2009 second studio album Cosmic Egg
Cosmic Egg
Cosmic Egg is the second studio album by Australian rock band Wolfmother, released on 23 October 2009. It is the first album by the second lineup of the band, featuring vocalist, songwriter and lead guitarist Andrew Stockdale, bassist and keyboardist Ian Peres, rhythm guitarist Aidan Nemeth and...
. Written by vocalist and guitarist Andrew Stockdale
Andrew Stockdale
Andrew James Stockdale is an Australian hard rock musician, he is the lead singer, lead guitarist and the only mainstay member of the rock band, Wolfmother which formed in 2000. In 2007, alongside his Wolfmother band mates, he won 'Songwriter of the Year' at the APRA Awards...
, the song was released as the fourth single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
from the album on 3 June 2010, backed with a live cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of the Kate Bush
Kate Bush
Kate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...
song "Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights (song)
"Wuthering Heights" is a song by Kate Bush released as her debut single in January 1978. It became a No.1 hit in the UK singles chart and remains her biggest-selling single. The song appears on her 1978 debut album, The Kick Inside. The B-side of the single was another song by Bush named "Kite" -...
".
Style and reception
"Far Away" has been generally well-received by critics. Writing for SpinSpin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
, David Marchese reviewed the song thus:
English music magazine NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
praised the song as "the only ‘progress’" on the album, describing it as "sound[ing] like it was expelled by Axl Rose
Axl Rose
W. Axl Rose is an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is the lead vocalist and only remaining original member of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he enjoyed great success and recognition in the late 1980s and early 1990s, before disappearing from the public eye for several years...
during an enema in early sessions for ‘Chinese Democracy
Chinese Democracy
Chinese Democracy is the sixth studio album by American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, released in November 2008 on Geffen Records. It is the band's first studio album since "The Spaghetti Incident?" , released exactly 15 years before Chinese Democracy, and their first album of original studio...
’." In revealing that the song would be released as the fourth single from Cosmic Egg, Australian news website Access All Areas described "Far Away" as "the hands aloft summit of Wolfmother's colossal second album," adding that it is "Wolfmother's sitting on the porch torch song, an epic slice of melancholic keys and searing guitar that sounds like a big ole bag of all-time good times."
Music video
On 23 February 2010, bassist and keyboardist Ian Peres uploaded a number of photos from the recording of a music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for "Far Away" onto his Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
profile, in an album titled "Farrah Weigh". On 5 March more photos were uploaded onto the official Wolfmother website, while a news post revealed that the video was directed by Sam Stephens of direction team Hydra, known for the videos for Passion Pit
Passion Pit
Passion Pit is an American electropop band from Cambridge, Massachusetts. The group, which formed in 2007, consists of Michael Angelakos , Ian Hultquist , Ayad Al Adhamy , Jeff Apruzzese and Nate Donmoyer...
's "The Reeling
The Reeling
"The Reeling" is a song by American electronic band Passion Pit. It was released in May 2009 as the first single from the band's debut album Manners....
" and Muse
Muse (band)
Muse are an English alternative rock band from Teignmouth, Devon, formed in 1994. The band consists of school friends Matthew Bellamy , Christopher Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard...
's "Uprising
Uprising (song)
"Uprising" is a song by English rock band Muse, featured on their fifth studio album The Resistance. Written by lead vocalist and guitarist Matthew Bellamy, the song was released as the lead single from the album on 7 September 2009...
". The video, which record label Modular Recordings
Modular Recordings
Modular Records is an Australian record label. It was established by Sydney-based music promoter Steve Pavlovic as a joint-venture with EMI, but is now distributed by Universal Music in Australia...
described as "old timey and 'reflective'", debuted on Wolfmother's Vevo
Vevo
Vevo is a music video website. It is a joint venture among Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Abu Dhabi Media with EMI licensing its content to the group without taking an ownership stake. The service was launched officially on December 8, 2009...
channel on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
on 9 April 2010, and was credited as being directed by Hydra.
Personnel
Wolfmother- Andrew StockdaleAndrew StockdaleAndrew James Stockdale is an Australian hard rock musician, he is the lead singer, lead guitarist and the only mainstay member of the rock band, Wolfmother which formed in 2000. In 2007, alongside his Wolfmother band mates, he won 'Songwriter of the Year' at the APRA Awards...
– vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s - Ian Peres – bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, Rhodes pianoRhodes pianoThe Rhodes piano is an electro-mechanical piano, invented by Harold Rhodes during the fifties and later manufactured in a number of models, first in collaboration with Fender and after 1965 by CBS.... - Aidan Nemeth – rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
- Dave AtkinsDave AtkinsDave "Acosta" Atkins is an Australian drummer, guitarist, bass player, producer, engineer & co-founder and Director Of Hydrofunk Records from Brisbane, Queensland. He is currently performing with hip hop band Resin Dogs...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Production personnel
- Alan MoulderAlan MoulderAlan Moulder is one of Britain's premier alternative rock record producers. He has worked with such artists as Depeche Mode, Erasure, Elastica, Gary Numan, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Curve, Ride, Lush and My Bloody Valentine, Lostprophets, Shihad, Ivyrise and Placebo, as well as with many American...
– productionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may... - Joe BarresiJoe BarresiJoe Barresi is an American record engineer and producer who has worked with bands such as Kyuss, The Melvins, Tool, Queens of the Stone Age, Coheed and Cambria, Tomahawk, L7, The Jesus Lizard, Parkway Drive and Bad Religion.-Biography:...
– engineeringAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...