Letting Off the Happiness

Studio album by

Bright Eyes

Released

November 2, 1998

Recorded

March 1997 – March 1998

Studio

Conor Oberst's basement,
Omaha, Nebraska
Chase Park Transduction,
Athens, Georgia

Genre

Length

57:02

Bright Eyes chronology

A Collection of Songs Written and Recorded 1995–1997
(1998)

Letting Off the Happiness
(1998)

Every Day and Every Night
(1999)

Singles from Letting Off the Happiness: A Companion

"Contrast and Compare (Companion version)"
Released: February 1, 2022
"St. Ides Heaven (Companion version)"
Released: March 22, 2022

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[2]
NME	8/10^[1]
Pitchfork	6.8/10^[4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	^[5]

Letting Off the Happiness is the second studio album released by the indie rock band Bright Eyes. The album was released on November 2, 1998. It was the first release by Bright Eyes to feature and be produced by Mike Mogis, now a permanent member of the band. A vinyl re-release of the album was included in the Bright Eyes Vinyl Box Set in 2012. Guest musicians include members of Cursive, Tilly and the Wall, and Elephant 6 collective's Neutral Milk Hotel and of Montreal.

This album is the 23rd release of Saddle Creek Records. The album was reissued alongside a six-track companion EP by Dead Oceans on May 27, 2022.

YouTube Encyclopedic

1/5
Views:
96 004
31 203
18 928
783 572
2 047 402

Transcription

Track listing

All tracks are written by Conor Oberst

*Letting Off the Happiness* track listing
No.	Title	Length
1.	"If Winter Ends"	3:25
2.	"Padraic My Prince"	3:48
3.	"Contrast and Compare"	3:57
4.	"The City Has Sex"	2:11
5.	"The Difference in the Shades"	4:23
6.	"Touch"	3:42
7.	"June on the West Coast"	3:34
8.	"Pull My Hair"	4:10
9.	"A Poetic Retelling of an Unfortunate Seduction"	4:24
10.	"Tereza and Tomas" (ends at 5:40, followed by guitar drone. "Contrast and Compare (Version)" (4:48) begins at 20:58.)	25:46

Japanese edition
No.	Title	Length
1.	"If Winter Ends"	3:25
2.	"Padraic My Prince"	3:48
3.	"Contrast and Compare"	3:57
4.	"The City Has Sex"	2:11
5.	"The Difference in the Shades"	4:23
6.	"Touch"	3:42
7.	"June on the West Coast"	3:34
8.	"Pull My Hair"	4:10
9.	"Empty Canyon, Empty Canteen"	2:46
10.	"A Poetic Retelling of an Unfortunate Seduction"	4:24
11.	"Tereza and Tomas"	25:46

*Letting Off the Happiness: A Companion* track listing
No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Difference in the Shades" (companion version; featuring Miwi La Lupa)	4:25
2.	"The City Has Sex" (companion version; featuring Waxahatchee)	2:27
3.	"Contrast and Compare" (companion version; featuring Waxahatchee)	3:16
4.	"Kathy With a K's Song" (companion version; with M. Ward)	4:54
5.	"St. Ides Heaven" (featuring Phoebe Bridgers; written by Elliott Smith)	2:40
6.	"June on the West Coast" (companion version; featuring Becky Stark)	3:38
Total length:		22:00

Personnel

Conor Oberst – vocals; guitar (1–5, 7–10); acoustic drums, electric drums (3); keyboards (6); piano (10)
Mike Mogis – atmospheric noises (2); pedal steel (3, 5, 8, 9); melodica, air organ (3); country guitar (4); keyboards (4, 6, 9); electric drums (8); organs (9); piano, bowed chimes (10); recording (2, 3, 10); mixing, mastering
Matt Maginn – bass (2)
Matt Focht – drums (2); percussion (10)
Matt Oberst – guitar (3)
Neely Jenkins – vocals (3, 8)
Andy LeMaster – vocals (4, 8); percussion (4); bass (5); lead guitar (8); recording, engineering (4, 5, 6, 9)
Jeremy Barnes – drums (4, 5, 6, 9); percussion (4); broken keyboards (6); accordion (9)
Kevin Barnes – Rhodes keyboard (5); angelic background vocals (9)
Ted Stevens – sloppy drums (8)
Aaron Druery – ebow bass (10)
Robb Nansel – finger cymbals (10)

Charts

Chart performance for *Letting Off the Happiness*
Chart (2012)	Peak position
US Vinyl Albums (Billboard)^[6]	4

Chart performance for *Letting Off the Happiness: A Companion*
Chart (2022)	Peak position
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)^[7]	92

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Naylor, Tony (April 18, 2001). "Bright Eyes : Letting Off The Happiness". NME. Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
^ ^a ^b D'Angelo, Peter J. "Letting Off the Happiness – Bright Eyes". AllMusic. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
^ ^a ^b "The 50 Best Albums of 1998". Pitchfork. February 18, 2018. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
^ Schneyer, Jeremy. "Bright Eyes: Letting Off the Happiness". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on November 6, 2008. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
^ Catucci, Nick (2004). "Bright Eyes". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 104–05. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
^ "Bright Eyes Chart History (Vinyl Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
^ "Bright Eyes Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved June 7, 2022.

v t e Bright Eyes
Mike Mogis Conor Oberst Nate Walcott
Studio albums	A Collection of Songs Written and Recorded 1995–1997 Letting Off the Happiness Fevers and Mirrors Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground A Christmas Album I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning Digital Ash in a Digital Urn Cassadaga The People's Key Down in the Weeds, Where the World Once Was
Live albums	Motion Sickness
Compilation albums	Noise Floor
EPs	Bright Eyes / Squadcar 96 Every Day and Every Night Insound Tour Support No.12 Oh Holy Fools Don't Be Frightened of Turning the Page There Is No Beginning to the Story One Jug of Wine, Two Vessels Four Winds
Singles	"Motion Sickness" "Lover I Don't Have to Love" "Lua" "Take It Easy (Love Nothing)" "When the President Talks to God" 'First Day of My Life" "Easy/Lucky/Free" "Hot Knives"
Related articles	Discography Songs Team Love Records Commander Venus Desaparecidos Monsters of Folk Park Ave. The Faint Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band

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This page was last edited on 26 December 2023, at 05:42