Ode to J. Smith

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Ode to J. Smith
Studio album by
Travis
Released29 September 2008
RecordedFebruary–March 2008
StudioRAK Studios
GenreAlternative rock, indie rock
Length36:56
LabelRed Telephone Box, Fontana
ProducerEmery Dobyns
Travis chronology
The Boy with No Name
(2007) 		Ode to J. Smith
(2008) 		Where You Stand
(2013)
Singles from Ode to J. Smith
  1. "J. Smith"
    Released: 30 June 2008
  2. "Something Anything"
    Released: 15 September 2008
  3. "Song to Self"
    Released: 5 January 2009
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Pitchfork Media
(5.0/10) link
Planet Sound(8/10) link

Ode to J. Smith is the sixth studio album by

rock band Travis, released on 29 September 2008 in the United Kingdom and received generally positive reviews. The album was released in the United States on 4 November 2008.[2] The first single from the album, "J. Smith", was released on 30 June 2008 and the second single Something Anything", was released on 15 September, and despite being generally well received by Travis fans gained very little airplay.[3]

Ode to J. Smith entered the

UK Album Chart at #20, and spent 3 weeks on the chart. The album peaked at #122 on the Billboard 200
.

Background

The band announced in December 2007 that a short tour was planned for February 2008, with only five dates in different small club venues around the UK. Shortly after, they would start recording their sixth studio album. Singer/songwriter

J. Smith EP, along with two other new songs, from 30 June 2008. However, Healy confirmed that the EP would not be the 'official' first single from the album, which was "Something Anything". The EP was released on 'Red Telephone Box Records', which was the label Travis set up to release their first EP "All I Want to Do Is Rock" 12 years previously.[6]

Release and reception

Following a short UK tour, where the band tested some new material, Travis recorded their sixth album in two weeks in February/March 2008, having been inspired by the speed and simplicity of their recent recording session with Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick while participating in a BBC programme celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album.[7]

In early June 2008, a vinyl EP of the song "J. Smith" was announced online as the first release from Ode to J. Smith for 30 June.[8] It was an EP limited to 1000 copies and not an 'official' single, instead more of a taster of the album for fans.

Fran Healy said, "The album is called Ode to J. Smith partly giving a heads up to the key song and partly because all the songs are written about nameless characters or to nameless characters." He has also described the album as a novel with 12 chapters, with each chapter being a song. In live shows promoting the album in spring 2009, Healy said the song Friends was written from the perspective of the girlfriend of the album protagonist (J.Smith), about friends who are only there to ask for favours. The album would be released through their own record label Red Telephone Box, with the lead single "Something Anything" being released on 15 September.[9] Two weeks later on 29 September, Ode to J. Smith was released.[10] The band also headlined a 12-gig UK tour to coincide with the releases between 22 September and 8 October. The second single released from Ode To J. Smith was "Song To Self", on 5 January 2009.

Ode to J. Smith received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 66 based on 17 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[1] Early reviews were very positive, with some calling it Travis' best record ever.[11][12] In the December 2008 issue of Q Magazine, Ode To J Smith appeared at number 28 on a list of the Readers' Best Albums Of 2008.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Fran Healy, except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Chinese Blues" 3:46
2."J. Smith" 3:04
3."Something Anything"Healy, Dougie Payne2:22
4."Long Way Down"Healy, Payne2:39
5."Broken Mirror" 3:12
6."Last Words"Healy, Payne4:11
7."Quite Free"Healy, Payne, Andy Dunlop4:00
8."Get Up"Healy, Payne3:13
9."Friends" 3:24
10."Song to Self" 3:46
11."Before You Were Young" 3:19
Japanese Bonus Track
No.TitleLength
12."Sarah"4:26

Personnel

Charts

Chart (2008) Peak
position
UK Albums Chart 20
Austrian Albums Chart 36
French Albums Top 150 87
German Albums Chart 49
Italian Albums Chart 95
Mexican Albums Chart 25
Norwegian Albums Chart 27
Swiss Albums Chart 16
US Billboard 200 122

References

  1. ^
    CBS Interactive
    . Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  2. ^ "Ode To J. Smith - the new album". travisonline.com. 5 August 2008. Archived from the original on 7 August 2008. Retrieved 5 August 2008.
  3. ^ "New Single: Something Anything". travisonline.com. 31 July 2008. Archived from the original on 5 August 2008. Retrieved 5 August 2008.
  4. ^ "Fran Healy Album 6 - Blog 1". Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 1 March 2008.
  5. ^ Official website
  6. ^ Fran Healy announces new EP Archived 9 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ "Fran Healy Album 6 - Blog 1". Travisonline.com. 4 January 2008. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 12 January 2010.
  8. ^ "J Smith vinyl". Travisonline.com. Archived from the original on 2 December 2008. Retrieved 12 January 2010.
  9. ^ "New Single: Something Anything". travisonline.com. 31 July 2008. Archived from the original on 5 August 2008. Retrieved 5 August 2008.
  10. ^ "Ode To J. Smith — the new album". travisonline.com. 5 August 2008. Archived from the original on 7 August 2008. Retrieved 5 August 2008.
  11. ^ "Travis: Ode To J Smith". Metro.co.uk. 28 September 2008. Archived from the original on 30 September 2008. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
  12. ^ "Music — Review of Travis — Ode To J Smith". BBC. Retrieved 12 January 2010.
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