Bright Eyes LIFTED OR THE STORY IS THE SOIL: KEEP YOUR EAR TO

Bright Eyes: Conor Oberst (vocals, arranger, guitar, piano, Fender Rhodes piano, organ). Additional personnel includes: Todd Baechle (vocals); Andy LeMaster (electric guitar, keyboards, background vocals); Maria Taylor (piano, organ, background vocals). Recorded at Presto Studios, Lincoln, Nebraska between December 2001 & January 2002. Personnel: Andy LeMaster (vocals, electric guitar, keyboards); Jiha Lee (vocals, flute); Orenda Fink (vocals, trumpet); Maria Taylor (vocals, piano, organ); Jennifer Lewis, Todd Fink (vocals); Mike Mogis (electric guitar, dobro, banjo, hammer dulcimer, mandolin, vibraphone, glockenspiel, bells); Ted Stevens (electric guitar); Tiffany Kowalski (violin); Clark Baechle (clarinet, drums); Chris Brooks (piano); Mike Sweeney (drums). Audio Mixer: Mike Mogis. Recording information: Presto!, Lincoln, NE (12/2001-01/2002). Nebraskan singer/songwriter Conor Oberst began combining troubadourism with emo rock at a ridiculously early age, inspired by the older, more literate Nebraska cult hero Simon Joyner (whose huge influence is somehow always overlooked by journalists). Recording prolifically for local indie label Saddle Creek, Oberst (as Bright Eyes, with or without accompaniment) gradually refined his Neil Young-with-ADD sound over the years. LIFTED OR THE STORY IS IN THE SOIL...is his most ambitious outing to date, featuring keyboards, horns, woodwinds, strings, etc., all laid out in a panoramic manner that stands in marked contrast to Oberst's decidedly lo-fi beginnings. The songwriting seems to have jumped up a notch too, and for what's stil essentially a singer-songwriter record, that doesn't hurt a bit.

• Genre: Pop
• Format: CD
• Released: 08/13/2002