Alligator (The National album)

Alligator is the third studio album by American indie rock band The National, released on April 12, 2005 on Beggars Banquet. Recorded and produced by Peter Katis and Paul Mahajan, the album brought The National critical acclaim and increased their fanbase significantly.

Alligator appeared on many year-end top 10 lists, including Uncut and Planet Sound, both of which ranked it as the number two album of 2005. Pitchfork Media ranked Alligator at number 40 in their top albums of the 2000s list.^[1] Alligator has sold over 200,000 copies worldwide.^[2]

The band performed album track "The Geese of Beverly Road" at the wedding of producer Peter Katis. A photo of the band performing on stage, with couples dancing in the foreground, became the cover of the band's next album Boxer.

The band supported Barack Obama's presidential candidacy in 2008. In July of that year, the band designed and sold a T-shirt featuring Obama's image above the words "Mr. November," a reference to both the closing track on the album and the month of the U.S. presidential election. All proceeds were donated to Obama's campaign. The song had been written, in part, about John Kerry's candidacy four years earlier.^[3]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	82/100^[4]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[5]
Alternative Press	4/5^[6]
Entertainment Weekly	A−^[7]
Mojo	^[8]
NME	6/10^[9]
Pitchfork Media	7.9/10^[10]
Q	^[11]
Rolling Stone	^[12]
Stylus Magazine	A−^[13]
Uncut	^[14]

Track listing

All tracks written by Matt Berninger and Aaron Dessner, except where noted.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Secret Meeting" (Berninger, A. Dessner, Scott Devendorf)	3:44
2.	"Karen" (Berninger, Bryce Dessner)	3:59
3.	"Lit Up"	2:55
4.	"Looking for Astronauts"	3:23
5.	"Daughters of the SoHo Riots" (Berninger, B. Dessner, S. Devendorf)	3:59
6.	"Baby, We'll Be Fine"	3:21
7.	"Friend of Mine"	3:25
8.	"Val Jester" (Berninger, B. Dessner)	3:00
9.	"All the Wine" (The National)	3:15
10.	"Abel"	3:37
11.	"The Geese of Beverly Road" (Berninger, A. Dessner, S. Devendorf)	4:57
12.	"City Middle" (Berninger, B. Dessner)	4:28
13.	"Mr. November"	3:57

Limited expanded edition bonus disc
No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Thrilling of Claire"	4:32
2.	"Driver, Surprise Me"	3:20
3.	"Lit Up" (Remix)	3:00
4.	"Secret Meeting" (Remix)	3:45
5.	"The Geese of Beverly Road" (Live)	4:35
6.	"Abel" (Enhanced Video)
7.	"Lit Up" (Enhanced Video)
8.	"Daughters of the SoHo Riots" (Enhanced Video)

Singles

"Abel" (March 14, 2005)
- CD single b/w: "Driver, Surprise Me" and "Keep It Upstairs"
- 7" single b/w: "Warm Singing Whores"
- Digital download b/w: "The Thrilling of Claire"
"Secret Meeting" (August 29, 2005)
- Digital download: "Secret Meeting" (Remix) b/w: "The Geese of Beverly Road" (Live)
"Lit Up" (November 14, 2005)
- CD single: "Lit Up" (Remix) b/w: "You've Done It Again, Virginia"
- Digital download: "Lit Up" (Remix) b/w: "You've Done It Again, Virginia" and "Lit Up" (Parisian Party Version)

Personnel

The National

Matt Berninger - lead vocals
Aaron Dessner - lead and rhythm guitars, backing vocals, keyboards, piano, bass
Bryce Dessner - rhythm and lead guitars
Scott Devendorf - bass, backing vocals, rhythm guitar
Bryan Devendorf - drums, percussion

Additional musicians

An-Lin Bardin – cello
Carin Besser – backing vocals
Nathalie Dessner – backing vocals
Rachael Elliott – bassoon
Peter Katis – backing vocals
Nick Lloyd – piano, organ, keyboards
Nate Martinez – additional guitar
Padma Newsome – viola, violin, piano, organ, orchestration
Sara Phillips – clarinet

Recording personnel

Paul Mahajan - recording
Peter Katis - additional recording and production, mixing
Greg Calbi - mastering

Artwork

Mathieu Saura - photography
Distant Station Ltd. - design

References

↑ "The Top 200 Albums of the 2000s: 50-21". Pitchfork Media. 2009-10-01. Archived from the original on 16 October 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-01.
↑ Archived October 4, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
↑ "The National". musicOMH. 2009-08-27. Retrieved 2012-01-13.
↑ "Reviews for Alligator by The National". Metacritic. Retrieved January 13, 2012.
↑ Monger, James Christopher. "Alligator – The National". AllMusic. Retrieved January 13, 2012.
↑ "The National: Alligator". Alternative Press (202): 174. May 2005.
↑ Weingarten, Marc (April 18, 2005). "Alligator". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
↑ "The National: Alligator". Mojo (138): 108. May 2005.
↑ "The National: Alligator". NME: 58. April 9, 2005.
↑ Tangari, Joe (April 4, 2005). "The National: Alligator". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
↑ "The National: Alligator". Q (226): 114. May 2005.
↑ Hoard, Christian (April 21, 2005). "Alligator". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
↑ Funk, Peter (April 12, 2005). "The National – Alligator – Review". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved January 13, 2012.
↑ Hughes, Robert (May 9, 2005). "The National – Alligator". Uncut. Retrieved November 10, 2012.

The National

Matt Berninger Aaron Dessner Bryce Dessner Bryan Devendorf Scott Devendorf

Studio albums	The National Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers Alligator Boxer High Violet Trouble Will Find Me

Extended plays	Cherry Tree The Virginia EP

Singles	"Mistaken for Strangers" "Apartment Story" "Fake Empire" "Bloodbuzz Ohio" "Exile Vilify" "Demons" "Don't Swallow the Cap" "I Need My Girl"

Films	A Skin, A Night Mistaken for Strangers

Related articles	Discography EL VY Pfarmers Clogs Dark Was the Night 4AD Brassland Records Aaron and Bryce Dessner

Book:The National

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/17/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.