E-Bow the Letter

E-Bow the Letter

Infobox Single
Name = E-Bow the Letter


Artist = R.E.M.
Album = New Adventures in Hi-Fi
B-side = "Tricycle"
Released = Start date|1996|8|27
Format = CD single, 7", Cassette
Recorded = Bad Animals Studio, 1996
Genre = Rock
Length = 5:22
Label = Warner Bros.
Writer = Bill Berry, Michael Stipe,
Mike Mills, Peter Buck
Producer = Scott Litt & R.E.M.
Last single = "Tongue"
(1995)
This single = "E-Bow
the Letter
"
(1996)
Next single = "Bittersweet Me"
(1996)
Misc = Extra chronology 2
Artist = Patti Smith singles
Type = single
Last single = "Summer Cannibals"
(1996)
This single = "E-Bow
the Letter
"
(1996)
Next single = "1959"
(1997)

"E-Bow the Letter" is the first single from R.E.M.'s tenth studio album "New Adventures in Hi-Fi". It was released in August 1996 just weeks before the album's release. During the same month, R.E.M. signed its then record-breaking five-album contract with Warner Bros. Records. Although it peaked at #4 on the UK Singles Chart, the highest any R.E.M. song charted in the UK until "The Great Beyond" in 2000, the song fared less well in the United States, reaching only #49 on the Billboard Hot 100. It became R.E.M.'s lowest charting lead single since "Fall on Me" released from "Lifes Rich Pageant" in 1986, when the band was on a smaller record label, I.R.S. Records.

History

Patti Smith sings guest backing vocals on this song. The song's title refers to the EBow, an electromagnetic field-generating device that induces sustained vibration in an electric guitar string (creating a violin-like effect), and to a "letter never sent" by Michael Stipe. It is believed that the letter in question was written to actor River Phoenix expressing Stipe's concern for his friend's spiraling substance abuse with the letter never being sent due to Phoenix's death; the words 'For River' are visible in the bottom of the rear view mirror that appears on the song's single sleeve. Guitarist Peter Buck can be seen using an EBow in the video for the song at approximately 1:27 to 1:30.

"E-Bow the Letter" was ranked number 21 on "NME" magazine's list of the "Singles of the Year". [cite web |url=http://acclaimedmusic.net/Current/S2117.htm |title=End of Year Lists |accessdate=2008-03-04 |publisher=Acclaimed Music] In 2003, song was placed on R.E.M.'s compilation "".

Track listing

All songs were written by Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills and Michael Stipe, except where noted.

7", Cassette and CD Single

# "E-Bow the Letter" – 5:22
# "Tricycle"Recorded during soundcheck at the Riverport Amphitheater, St. Louis, Missouri; September 22, 1995.] – 1:59

12" and CD Maxi single

# "E-Bow the Letter" – 5:22
# "Tricycle" – 1:59
# "Departure" [Recorded during soundcheck at the Paleur, Rome, Italy; February 22, 1995.] – 3:35
# "Wall of Death" [Taken from the Richard Thompson tribute album, "Beat the Retreat". Produced by John Keane.] (Richard Thompson) – 3:07

Personnel

Band
* Michael Stipevocals
* Bill Berrydrums, percussion
* Peter Buckguitar, electric sitar
* Mike Millsbass, organ, mellotron, moog synthesizer

Additional personnel
*Patti Smith – vocals on "E-Bow the Letter"

Charts

Notes

External links

*
* [http://www.mtv.com/lyrics/rem/e_bow_the_letter/993067/lyrics.jhtml Lyrics]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • E-Bow the Letter — Single par R.E.M. extrait de l’album New Adventures in Hi Fi Sortie 27 août 1996 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • E-Bow the Letter — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda «E Bow the Letter» Sencillo de R.E.M. del álbum New Adventures in Hi Fi Publicación 1996 Formato CD case …   Wikipedia Español

  • The Place We Ran From — Studio album by Tired Pony Released June 5, 2010 ( …   Wikipedia

  • The Coral Sea (book) — This article is about the poem by Patti Smith. For the album, see The Coral Sea (album). The Coral Sea   …   Wikipedia

  • The Coral Sea (album) — This article is about the album by Patti Smith and Kevin Shields. For the poem by Smith, see The Coral Sea (book). The Coral Sea Live album by Patti Smith and Kevin Shields …   Wikipedia

  • The Last Puritan — The Last Puritan: A Memoir in the Form of a Novel was written by the American philosopher George Santayana. The novel is set largely in the fictional town of Great Falls, Connecticut; Boston; and England, in and around Oxford. It relates the life …   Wikipedia

  • The Adventure of the Priory School — by Arthur Conan Doyle Released 1903 Series The Return of Sherlock Holmes Client(s) Thorneycroft Huxtable The Duke of Holdernesse Set in 1903 Villain(s) James Wilder, Reuben Hayes, and the Duke as a complaisant conspirator and bankroll …   Wikipedia

  • The Chaser's War on Everything — season two intertitle Genre Comedy, Satire Created by The Chaser …   Wikipedia

  • The Adventure of the Dancing Men — by Arthur Conan Doyle Released 1903 Series The Return of Sherlock Holmes Client(s) Hilton Cubitt Set in 1898 Villain(s) Abe Slaney The Adventure of the Dancing Men , one of the 56 Sherlock Holme …   Wikipedia

  • The Incarnation —     The Incarnation     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► The Incarnation     I. The Fact of the Incarnation     (1) The Divine Person of Jesus Christ     A. Old Testament Proofs     B. New Testament Proofs     C. Witness of Tradition     (2) The Human… …   Catholic encyclopedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”