These Friends of Mine (album)

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These Friends of Mine
Studio album by
ReleasedDecember 12, 2006 (2006-12-12)
Recorded2006
GenreIndie folk
Length39:35
LabelSing-A-Long, Nettwerk
ProducerJosh Myers
Rosie Thomas chronology
If Songs Could Be Held
(2005)
These Friends of Mine
(2006)
A Very Rosie Christmas
(2008)

These Friends of Mine is the fourth album by American singer-songwriter Rosie Thomas, released in 2006. Jeremy Enigk, Sufjan Stevens (who also co-produced), David Bazan, Damien Jurado, and Denison Witmer also appear on this album.[1][2][3] The album was initially only available for purchase at online music stores. On March 13, 2007 it was released on compact disc.

The album was recorded over a two-year period in a Brooklyn apartment that Thomas shared with Stevens and Witmer, and includes cover versions of R.E.M.'s "The One I Love" and Fleetwood Mac's "Songbird".[1][4]

Reception[edit]

The BBC called it a "whimsical, stripped down album", "an album that brims with introspective beauty and exposes Thomas’ song writing ability".[5] Allmusic gave the album a three and a half out of five rating, calling it "a mixed bag, a long EP that works great when the song choice and left-of-center recording techniques meld into one, and lackluster when they do not".[6] PopMatters gave the album 7 out of 10, with reviewer Andrew Vietze describing the songs as "heartbreakingly beautiful and they seem painfully authentic", and calling it "arguably the best Rosie Thomas record so far".[4] The Boston Globe gave it a favorable review, stating "If folky girls hit your heartstrings, Thomas's work is a perfect soundtrack to coffee-shop dreaming and scribbling."[3] The Washington Post called it "an album of quiet, folksy ballads".[7] The Sunday Mercury described it as "a delightfully home-spun affair", calling it "an album not just to love but to treasure".[1] Liz Colville, reviewing the album for Pitchfork Media gave it 3.8 out of 10, calling it "a sleepy, easy folk album".[2] The Manchester Evening News called it "an album full of serenity and dreaminess".[8]

Track listing[edit]

  1. "If This City Never Sleeps" – 1:57
  2. "Why Waste More Time?" – 3:46
  3. "The One I Love" (Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe) – 2:54 (originally by R.E.M.)
  4. "Much Farther to Go" – 4:18
  5. "Paper Doll" – 3:50 (originally by Denison Witmer)
  6. "Kite Song" – 2:52
  7. "Songbird" (Christine McVie) – 3:10 (originally by Fleetwood Mac)
  8. "All the Way to New York City" – 2:40
  9. "Say Hello" – 2:19 (featuring Sufjan Stevens)
  10. "These Friends of Mine" – 5:02

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Daniels, Jack (2007) "music: ROSIE THOMAS These Friends Of Mine (Nettwerk)", Sunday Mercury, May 13, 2007.
  2. ^ a b Colville, Liz (2007) "Rosie Thomas These Friends of Mine", Pitchfork Media, April 9, 2007. Retrieved January 20, 2014
  3. ^ a b Donnelly, Elisabeth (2007) "SOUND CHECK - NEW ALBUM REVIEWS", The Boston Globe, April 10, 2007.
  4. ^ a b Vietze, Andrew (2007) "Rosie Thomas: These Friends of Mine", PopMatters, March 11, 2007. Retrieved January 20, 2014
  5. ^ Kutchinsky, Serena (2007) "Rosie Thomas These Friends Of Mine Review", BBC. Retrieved January 20, 2014
  6. ^ Lankford, Ronnie D. Jr. "These Friends of Mine Review", Allmusic. Retrieved January 20, 2014
  7. ^ "Media Mix; A Quick Take on New Releases", The Washington Post, March 11, 2007.
  8. ^ "Rosie Thomas – These Friends of Mine", Manchester Evening News, May 15, 2007. Retrieved January 20, 2014