The Mountain Goats

The Mountain Goats: We Shall All Be HealedWe Shall All Be Healed (2004)
4AD Records

Reviewer Rating: 4

User Rating:

Contributed by: KevinKevin
(others by this writer | submit your own)
Published on May 14th 2004To start off with, I'd like to say that if I could re-name this album, I wouldn't. But if I had to, I would for sure call it "Tallahasse part two" because to me, that's what it is. Despite everything I heard about this album prior to its release it was a lot different then I expected. Mainly because.

To start off with, I'd like to say that if I could re-name this album, I wouldn't. But if I had to, I would for sure call it "Tallahasse part two" because to me, that's what it is. Despite everything I heard about this album prior to its release it was a lot different then I expected. Mainly because some interviews and discussion made it sound like this album would be the darkest of all The Mountain Goats albums, which it isn't at all.

The album, if anything - is more upbeat and good for a bike ride or walk when the sun is out, although some of the tracks would fit moody weather and a sore mood pretty well.

I got this album the first friday after its release date and never really got around to listening to it. But on a bike ride with a friend I went through the whole thing, many times. Now if you're a Mountain Goat fan you and I both know John Darnielle is a mere genious. We also know that most likely anything this man does musically will be good, so of course going into the album I already knew it would be good. Returning with a full band and a complete studio sound this album will feel better on your ears then some of his earlier lo-fi albums (even though those are some of the best albums around, pick one up!).

Everything on this album reminds me a world of Tallahassee, even the cover art and CD case. But more importantly the mood of the CD. Ranging from happy rants, to sad ones, to even religous ones. I enjoyed this album a lot and would recomend it to anyone who's just getting into the Mountain Goats. Start out with tracks 2, 4, or 13, they should give you a basic feel. Im not saying this is his best work, but it's for sure not his worst. Like I've said before, it's basically the second part of Tallahassee which of course, is also great. But it's no "All Hail West Texas".

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Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not respon sible for them in any way. Seriously.

Anonymous (May 30, 2004)

For all this talk about Tallahasee (no comparison there, really) and other MG albums, I rank this one right behind Zopilote and The Hound Chronicles, so there ya go...

Anonymous (May 22, 2004)

TMU 065 / TMUSSS010 ATOM AND HIS PACKAGE
"Going To Ames: A Tribute to the Mountain Goats" 7"

This limited Atom and His Package single is titled "Going to Ames: A Tribute To The Mountain Goats," and that's exactly what it says it is - Atom's tribute to the amazing MOUNTAIN GOATS. Only 500 pressed. Hand die-cut and hand numbered.

OUT OF PRINT.

Anonymous (May 22, 2004)

atom released a 7" limited to 500 copies with Going Down to Georgia and The Seed Song on it in May of 2000.

It was released on a label called Troubleman Unlimited, based out of Bayonne, NJ.

Accompanying it is an atom with a description of how Atom discovered Mountain Goats, and is cut out by hand.

Yeah. So that's the 7", for anybody who gives a damn.

Anonymous (May 21, 2004)

thanks to the package i am a fan 100%, I love their lyrics

REALPUNX4LIFE (May 20, 2004)

He also did The Seed Song and Alpha Desperation March. Those three songs were on his Redefining Music record.

lieutenant (May 20, 2004)

I've only heard Atom's wonderful rendition of "Going to Georgia". I had no idea it was from a record.

Anonymous (May 19, 2004)

has anybody listened to Atom and His Package's "Tribute to Mountain Goats" 7"?

maybe it's just me then...

Anonymous (May 19, 2004)

the buck stops here

lieutenant (May 19, 2004)

Show me the money

Anonymous (May 19, 2004)

No soup for you.

REALPUNX4LIFE (May 18, 2004)

...so then Jerry says "What kind of lives are these?"

Anonymous (May 18, 2004)

"bitch patrol" and "ass monger"??? you are trying way too hard to be funny or sound cool or whatever.

Anonymous (May 17, 2004)

You got served is also a movie so it's technically just a general pop culture reference, bitch patrol. Did you catch the Family Guy reference too, ass monger? It wasn't an attempt to outhip anyone, just to tell this dude that he got fucking served. Obviously.

Anonymous (May 17, 2004)

this score is for putting a south park quote in a post. how original.

REALPUNX4LIFE (May 16, 2004)

Kevin dude, you just got served. F-ed in the A, my friend. The review sounded fine to me but that's because I know the Mountain Goats. The people bitching, though, should totally stop. At least two people have provided fairly accurate descriptions of the Mountain Goats so it doesn't matter that you couldn't figure it out from the review. You now have it figured out: pop folk rock. Quit getting up in this guy's grill.

Anonymous (May 16, 2004)

www.punksnooze.org

Anonymous (May 16, 2004)

i don't think its the mall punks and nofx fans that are bagging your review. you suck, and got called out. deal with it.

Anonymous (May 16, 2004)

such it bitches. i hope my review was as informal as possible. go listen to nofx.

*wink*

Anonymous (May 16, 2004)

the coroner's gambit is my favorite mountain goats album. family happiness is the most amazing song...

and yes, this review was bad. but this score is for the mountain goats.

Anonymous (May 15, 2004)

this review was weak.... you need to go into the music a little more ...

Hulka (May 15, 2004)

He also sounds a bit like John K. Samson from the Weakerthans.

lieutenant (May 15, 2004)

If this may help anyone, the Mountain Goats are a sometimes melodic, sometimes less-than melodic, sometimes obscure, sometimes upbeat, sometimes catchy, always quirky, folk/pop rock band driven by an acoustic guitar and a high-pitched voice reminiscent of John K. Samson. The Mountain Goats is essentially John Darnielle, though on different tracks this disc features an accompanying rhythm section as well as keys and a fiddle. To me, the most important characteristics of the songs lies in the lyrics, which are absolutely brilliant and charming. Darnielle, like a classic folk singer, paints beautiful images and weird, obscure stories.

Let some mysterious chunk of space debris
Puncture the roof and set me free

I would say he maintains a lot of the quirkiness and story-telling ethic of Samson from the Weakerthans, but Darnielle is definately a lot more obscure. He is a very interesting song-writing, and the music is quite simple, but inspiring and unique. These aren't your typical, catchy acoustic songs, nothing close to 'emo' but not Dylan or Bragg either. He's Darnielle, and that is a name that can only describe itself.

Below you can find a track off of the disc, though take note that this is quite a poppier and more melodic exception from the rest of the disc, which usually follows a more meloncholy and slow-driving mood. Nonetheless, it's one of my favourites. I apologize if this has been written at a fourth grade level, I just wanted to get the idea across.

http://www.4ad.com/weshallallbehealed/Palmcorder_Yajna .mp3

lieutenant (May 15, 2004)

Best disc of 2004, so far.

Call me crazy, or call me a Mountain Goats fan.

Personally, I think the two words are connected.

sk8punx4evr (May 15, 2004)

i'd say it's a good album. the really solid tracks outweigh the bad ones, so it's an enjoyable listen.

Anonymous (May 15, 2004)

mountain goats are like like a country deal from what i've heard.

the guy is super nice.

some1 (May 15, 2004)

jeez, this is the worst review ever. I've never heard the Mountain Goats, and after reading this, I still have NO IDEA what they sound like. I learned zero things from this review. I don't even know what score to give it because I don't know anything about it.

yellowtrash (May 14, 2004)

This is a pretty bad review.

REALPUNX4LIFE (May 14, 2004)

Not to sound like a broken record, but these folks are 100% correct. This is far from Tallahassee Part 2. It's almost closer to All Hail West Texas Part 2. I wouldn't agree with the people that say this is bad, though. It's a really great record, it's just definitely not his best.

As for the Mountain Goats' sound, that's a bit tougher but should've been summed up in the review. The first couple hundred Mountain Goats songs were generally solo, acoustic ditties recorded into a boombox. Lately the sound has been expanded to include a full band. Kind of a pop rock folk band, I suppose. I'm not good at describing music, so that's exactly why I've never wasted anyone's time by writing reviews. Hopefully this helped a little bit, though. Definitely check out any of the singles collections, and then All Hail West Texas, Full Force Galesburg or Tallahassee in any order.

inagreendase (May 14, 2004)

Were you on a Mountain Bike when you listened? OMGROFL

Seriously though...there is no description of the band's sound here.

Hulka (May 14, 2004)

It "sounds like 'Tallahassee'" in that, unlike all the other Mountain Goats records except for those two, it was recorded in a real studio with a "full band," instead of into a boombox with an acoustic guitar.

I think it's a little bit more "rock" than "Tallahassee" ... a little more aggro ... more drums and fewer slow songs. (Which makes sense, I guess, since it's supposedly a record about tweakers, and "Tallahassee" was a record about a married couple drinking themselves to death in an old house.)

unconcerned (May 14, 2004)

tally cd = amazing... this one = boring

top 2 would be the tallahassee cd and the all hail west texas cd... and really anything before this new album is fucking great but this cd just makes me want to drink a bucket of lead paint

Anonymous (May 14, 2004)

from everything I've heard, this cd is mediocre at best.

I've yet to hear the cd, but it sounds like people want to give props to The Moutanin Goats for their creativity.

it's sure creative, but does it come up bland?

cubaricho (May 14, 2004)

first off this sounds nothing like tallahassee, and secondly, I do not enjoy this record in the least.