John Henry (album)

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John Henry is the name of They Might Be Giants' fifth original album, although it is the sixth disc in their discography. It was released in 1994 (see 1994 in music). It is the first album in which John Linnell and John Flansburgh utilized a full band, as opposed to playing most or all of the instruments themselves. The album's name, a reference to the man vs. machine fable of John Henry, is roughly an allusion to the band's fundamental switch to more conventional instrumentation, especially the newly-established use of a human drummer instead of a drum machine.

John Henry is both TMBG's longest record (twenty tracks clocking it at about a full hour) and their most divisive. The hard-rocking live sound, abundance of guitar solos, and unrelenting dreariness was almost entirely unexpected by fans and panned by most mainstream critics.

Track listing

1. "Subliminal"
2. "Snail Shell"
3. "Sleeping in the Flowers"
4. "Unrelated Thing"
5. "AKA Driver"
6. "I Should Be Allowed To Think"
7. "Extra Savoir-Faire"
8. "Why Must I Be Sad?"
9. "Spy"
10. "O, Do Not Forsake Me"
11. "No One Knows My Plan"
12. "Dirt Bike"
13. "Destination Moon"
14. "A Self Called Nowhere"
15. "Meet James Ensor"
16. "Thermostat"
17. "Window"
18. "Out of Jail"
19. "Stomp Box"
20. "End of the Tour"

Personnel

John Henry is the first album credited to They Might Be Giants as a full band, rather than a duo:

• John Flansburgh – vocals, guitar
• John Linnell – vocals, keyboard, horns
• Tony Maimone – bass guitar
• Graham Maby – bass guitar
• Brian Doherty – drums

Guests

• Hudson Shad – vocals on "O, Do Not Forsake Me"

Trivia

• While the lyrics to the song "AKA Driver" refer to a "NyQuil driver," legal issues—whether real or perceived—required a title with no reference to the medicine, and the lyrics to the song are omitted from the CD insert.

External links

• [John Henry] page at This Might Be A Wiki

They Might Be Giants
John Flansburgh | John Linnell | Dan Miller | Danny Weinkauf | Marty Beller
Brian Doherty | Dan Hickey | Graham Maby | Tony Maimone | Eric Schermerhorn
Discography
Albums: They Might Be Giants | Lincoln | Flood | Apollo 18 | John Henry | Factory Showroom | Long Tall Weekend | Mink Car | No! | The Spine | Here Come the ABCs
EPs: Wiggle Diskette | 1985 Demo Tape | Don't Let's Start | (She Was A) Hotel Detective | They'll Need a Crane | Purple Toupee | Birdhouse In Your Soul | Istanbul (Not Constantinople) | The Statue Got Me High | The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight) | I Palindrome I | Why Does The Sun Shine? (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas) | O Tannenbaum | Back to Skull | S-E-X-X-Y | Working Undercover for the Man | Boss of Me (EP) | Man, It's So Loud in Here | They Might Be Giants in Holidayland | Bed, Bed, Bed | Indestructible Object | The Spine Surfs Alone
Live albums: ''Live	> Severe Tire Damage | Live | The Spine Hits the Road | Almanac | Venue Songs''
Compilations: Don't Let's Start | Miscellaneous T | [[Then: The Earlier Years]] | Best of the Early Years | They Got Lost | [[Dial-A-Song: 20 Years of They Might Be Giants]] | A User's Guide to They Might Be Giants | Venue Songs DVD/CD
Songs
"Don't Let's Start" | "Ana Ng" | "Birdhouse In Your Soul" | "Particle Man" | "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" | "Doctor Worm" | "Boss of Me" | "Experimental Film"
Video Releases
Direct From Brooklyn | Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns) | Here Come the ABCs DVD/CD | Venue Songs DVD/CD

 

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