Король Иаков: История альбома Harvey Danger

King James Version is the second studio album by American rock band Harvey Danger, released on September 12, 2000, through London Sire Records. It was the band's only album recorded for a major label, and their last with drummer Evan Sult. Written and recorded and over the span of 16 months with producer John Goodmanson, the album marked a substantial departure from the lo fi sound of the band's debut Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone? (1997); it encompassed a variety of rock music styles and explored "the conflict between faith and skepticism". As a result, Harvey Danger disbanded at the end of the album's supporting tour in April 2001. Despite its commercial failure, King James Version gradually attained a cult following and critical acclaim in the years following its release, and was later named one of the best albums of the 2000s by PopMatters. Harvey Danger performed the album in its entirety for one show in 2008.

In 1997, Harvey Danger released their debut studio album, Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone?, through the Arena Rock Recording Company. Although the album was not a commercial success, major labels engaged in a bidding war to sign Harvey Danger after the album's second track, "Flagpole Sitta", began receiving airplay from several college radio stations and Los Angeles based KROQ. Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone? was reissued by Slash/London the following month to great commercial success, largely due to "Flagpole Sitta"; the album went on to sell over 500,000 copies in the United States, and in February 1999 was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). "Private Helicopter" was issued as the album's second single in October 1998, but it did not make an impact on any singles charts. Shortly thereafter, Harvey Danger ceased touring and returned to Seattle in November 1998. Upon returning to Seattle, Harvey Danger went on a short hiatus during the winter holiday season. The band briefly considered breaking up, but decided against it, and began writing new material for their next album in November 1998. The band's new material was more experimental and less commercial sounding than their prior output. The band intended to distance themselves from "Flagpole Sitta", which they thought had marked them as a one hit wonder and a "major label fabrication" because of its ironic lyrics, which frontman Sean Nelson believed listeners had taken at "face value". At Bearsville, the band recorded the album's basic tracks and some overdubs, before ultimately deciding to return to Seattle to record the rest of the album. Harvey Danger had hoped to release King James Version in August or September 1999, but owing to a series of corporate mergers and restructurings, the album was indefinitely delayed. Universal Music Group (UMG), which had merged with London Recordings' parent company PolyGram in December 1998, had sold London Recordings' US division to Warner Music Group. Then, in August 1999, Warner Music Group announced that it would be merging London with its Sire Records Group to create London Sire Records. Shortly thereafter, a dispute arose between London Sire and UMG over the rights to Harvey Danger's contract, resulting in the band being moved into a "corporate black hole" at UMG. Nelson later stated that he felt "morose" and "suicidally depressed" throughout 1999 as a result of the album's delays. During what Nelson described as the album's "second gestation period", Recording was completed in late February 2000, and in June 2000, the band re mixed/mixed the majority of the album's tracks at The Warehouse Studio in Vancouver, B. C. alternative rock Reviews also noted that the album was influenced by power pop, rockabilly, glam rock In contrast to the band's debut album, King James Version features a less grungy and lo fi sound, Guitarist Jeff J. Lin, a classically trained musician, composed cello and viola arrangements for the album, which were played by members of the Seattle Symphony. "(Theme from) Carjack Fever" is a reworked version of "Carjack Fever", an early Harvey Danger song first recorded in 1995, which later appeared in an unfinished state and played in reverse as a hidden track on Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone?. "Pike St./Park Slope" is a sombre piano ballad and was compared to the works of Ben Folds and John Lennon's "Imagine". The overall atmosphere and direction of King James Version was, in part, informed by the English rock band Radiohead and their 1997 album OK Computer. The album's lyrics are often humorous, cynical, sarcastic or deadpan, and they reference historical popular culture, literature and places. Various popular figures and musicians, such as Jesus, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Nathanael West, the Malboro Man and Morrissey are mentioned on the album's tracks. "Sad Sweetheart of the Rodeo" directly alludes to Sweetheart of the Rodeo by The Byrds, and also references "Lonesome Cowboy Bill" by The Velvet Underground. The referential nature of King James Version's lyrics was inspired by the works of Frederic Tuten, an American novelist known for his style of referencing to the past via the present. Nelson stated, "I feel that's a huge part of listening to rock n' roll music. As a listener, when I want to talk about anything with my friends, I can casually say half a line from any of a hundred songs and they know exactly what I'm talking about. I don't have to elucidate the sentiment any further. It's admitting rock songs can be a response to rock songs, and not necessarily be just so referential that they're just about rock songs. "King James Version was released in the United States and Canada on September 12, 2000. Alongside the album, a self titled EP containing three B sides from the King James Version sessions was sold with purchases of the album exclusively at Circuit City stores, limited to 3,000 copies. Speaking with The Morning Call three weeks after the album's release, Nelson stated that he had anticipated, and received, "a lot of indifference" towards King James Version release, and felt that most of Harvey Danger's audience was made up of "the sort of people who buy whatever is on the radio, or they buy a record for a hit and they don’t listen to, or care about, what’s on the rest of the record". The single became a minor hit for the band, reaching number 27 on Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and remaining on the chart for nine weeks. The band filmed a music video for the song, directed by Evan Bernard, in Los Angeles, California on August 15 and 16, 2000. it was due to premiere on MTV's 120 Minutes on September 24, 2000, The band also appeared on The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn on October 18, 2000. The album's second single, "Authenticity", was released on August 28, 2001, through Gold Circle Records. At that point, the band had been proposing that the song be released as a single for nearly a year because it had been included in the soundtracks of Dude, Where's My Car? (2000) and Soul Survivors (2001), as well as the trailer of Soul Survivors''. However, the single did not receive a music video or widespread promotion, as Harvey Danger had broken up by the time it was released. From October 7 to October 27, 2000, Harvey Danger toured as an opening act for the pop punk band SR 71 alongside the power pop band Wheatus. Following the end of the band's tour with SR 71, London Sire pulled the band's touring support, leaving Harvey Danger unable to tour nationally and financially constrained to the Pacific Northwest of the US. The remainder of the band's shows in 2000 took place in the band's hometown of Seattle during late December, where the band performed three songs for the Screaming Santa's X Mas Show at the I Spy on December 23, and a New Year's Eve show at Consolidated Works. From March 22 to 24, 2001, Harvey Danger performed as an opener for Alien Crime Syndicate. The band played their final show of that year on April 21, 2001, alongside Hazel and Quasi.

RegionDateLabelFormatCatalog #Ref. (References)United StatesSeptember 12, 2000London Sire RecordsCD, DL31143 2CanadaCD 31143