Tell Balgeary, Balgury Is Dead is an EP

Extended play

An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

 released in 2003 by Ted Leo and the Pharmacists

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists are an American rock band formed in 1999 in Washington, D.C. and currently recording for Matador Records. They have released six full-length studio albums and have toured internationally...

, although it mostly comprises Ted Leo's solo work. The title track is carried over from the band's previous album, Hearts of Oak

Hearts of Oak (album)

Hearts of Oak is the third album by the Washington, D.C. rock band Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, released in 2003 by Lookout! Records. A music video was filmed for the single "Where Have All the Rude Boys Gone?"-Track listing:...

, as is "The High Party" (rerecorded as a solo version this time around). "Bleeding Powers" and "Loyal to My Sorrowful Country" are given full band treatment on 2004's Shake the Sheets

Shake the Sheets

Shake the Sheets is the fourth album by the Washington, D.C. rock band Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, released in 2004 by Lookout! Records. It was the band's last album for the Lookout! label...

and 2005's Sharkbite Sessions

Sharkbite Sessions

During their late 2004 tour promoting the Shake the Sheets album, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists stopped over at Sharkbite Studios in Oakland, CA. There, the band -- along with Ryan Massey of Communiqué -- recorded full-band versions of two songs featured on 2003's Tell Balgeary, Balgury Is Dead EP...

, respectively.

Leo includes three (solo) covers on this album — tributes to those who influenced his musical stylings. This styling of "Dirty Old Town

Dirty Old Town

"Dirty Old Town" is a song written by Ewan MacColl in 1949 that was made popular by The Dubliners and has been recorded by many others since.-History:...

" was made famous by The Pogues

The Pogues

The Pogues are a Celtic punk band, formed in 1982 and fronted by Shane MacGowan. The band reached international prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. MacGowan left the band in 1991 due to drinking problems but the band continued first with Joe Strummer and then with Spider Stacy on vocals before...

, while "Ghosts" and "Six Months in a Leaky Boat" were created by The Jam

The Jam

The Jam were an English punk rock/New Wave/mod revival band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. They were formed in Woking, Surrey. While they shared the "angry young men" outlook and fast tempos of their punk rock contemporaries, The Jam wore smartly tailored suits rather than ripped...

 and Split Enz

Split Enz

Split Enz were a New Zealand band of the 1970s and early 1980s featuring Phil Judd and brothers Tim Finn and Neil Finn. They achieved chart success in New Zealand, Australia, and Canada during the early 1980s ‒ most notably with the single "I Got You", and built a cult following elsewhere...

, respectively. "Six Months in a Leaky Boat" also receives the full band treatment on Sharkbite Sessions

Sharkbite Sessions

During their late 2004 tour promoting the Shake the Sheets album, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists stopped over at Sharkbite Studios in Oakland, CA. There, the band -- along with Ryan Massey of Communiqué -- recorded full-band versions of two songs featured on 2003's Tell Balgeary, Balgury Is Dead EP...

.

Lastly, the album includes two tracks — "[Decaying Artifact]" and "Untitled (Space Echo)" — that are reminiscent of the tej leo(?), Rx / pharmacists

Tej leo(?), Rx / pharmacists

tej leo, Rx / pharmacists is the debut album by the Washington, D.C. rock band Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, released in 1999 by Gern Blandsten Records. Though considered the band's first album, it is actually a solo effort by Ted Leo with some contributions by Jodi V.B. of The Secret Stars...

 album. The latter is a hidden track

Hidden track

In the field of recorded music, a hidden track is a piece of music that has been placed on a CD, audio cassette, vinyl record or other recorded medium in such a way as to avoid detection by the casual listener...

, not listed on the packaging or in the liner notes. Many fans believe that "[Decaying Artifact]" was reserved for a cover of Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...

's "Dancing in the Dark

Dancing in the Dark (Bruce Springsteen song)

"Dancing in the Dark" is a 1984 song, written and performed by American rock singer Bruce Springsteen. Adding up-tempo synthesizer riffs and some syncopation to his sound for the first time, it became his biggest hit and, as the first single released from Born in the U.S.A., started it off to...

," a live favorite of the Pharmacists, but that Springsteen asked for more money than the other three covers combined. Instead of removing the track, Leo just reverted back to his experimental style so that "Ghosts" and "Six Months in a Leaky Boat" could remain separate.

The title of the EP could be in reference to an old english tale called "The King of the Cats"

The King o' the Cats

The King o' the Cats or The King of the Cats is an English fairy tale adapted by Joseph Jacobs from several sources, including one collected by Charlotte S. Burne in Herefordshire. It is Aarne-Thompson type 6070B.-The story:...

Track listing

1. "Tell Balgeary, Balgury Is Dead"
2. "The High Party" (solo)
3. "The Sword in the Stone"
4. "Bleeding Powers"
5. "Dirty Old Town
   Dirty Old Town
   "Dirty Old Town" is a song written by Ewan MacColl in 1949 that was made popular by The Dubliners and has been recorded by many others since.-History:...
   
   "
6. "Ghosts"
7. "Decaying Artifact"
8. "Six Months in a Leaky Boat
   Six Months in a Leaky Boat
   "Six Months in a Leaky Boat" is a single from New Zealand art rock group Split Enz's album Time and Tide. It was written by Tim Finn and released as a single in 1982....
   
   "
9. "Loyal to My Sorrowful Country"
10. "Untitled (Space Echo)"