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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
Universal acclaim
Based on 33 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 155 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: Saddle Creek
Release Date: 25 January 2005
Discs: 1 disc
Genre(s): Indie, Rock
Summary
'I'm Wide Awake' is the more country/acoustic of Conor Oberst's twin January 2005 releases under the Bright Eyes name. Emmylou Harris provides vocals on three tracks.
Also By This Artist: Cassadaga Digital Ash In A Digital Urn Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground Motion Sickness [Live] Noise Floor (Rarities 1998-2005)
Also On The Web: Bright Eyes @ Saddle Creek
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Alternative Press
A raw portrait of a 20-something disenchanted with his city, his country and his life. [Feb 2005, p.81]
Q Magazine
The finest alt-country album this side of Gram Parsons. [Jan 2005, p.129]
Drowned In Sound
It’s the closeness and the honesty which makes ‘I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning’ a thing of awe.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times
An album with the simmering glow of a masterpiece.
Stylus Magazine
Bright Eyes may well be on the verge of finally bridging the gap between his precocious talent and the maturity of an ageless songwriter.
Read Full Review >Filter
Simply a great record. [#14, p.95]
Neumu.net
Though this new political bent shows a heightened sense of maturity and substance, two of Morning's best tracks are poignant, unabashed love songs.
Read Full Review >Spin
An often-great set of songs about loneliness. [Feb 2005, p.85]
Village Voice (Consumer Guide)
Like the empathy of so many young men, especially artists, his is more self-involved than saints like us prefer. But at least he expresses empathy--to memorable melodies that very nearly bear up under the repetitions his rarely witless or superfluous lyrics require.
Read Full Review >Dot Music
The record that Bright Eyes fans have been praying for - carefully played, quietly honest, dripping with glorious poetry and painful insight, truly the work of utter genius.
Read Full Review >Mojo
Magic.... Its rhapsodies present a portait of an artist at an early height of his powers. [Feb 2005, p.102]
Rolling Stone
It comes down to the songs, and these are the most intense he's ever written, one instant classic after another.
Read Full Review >Uncut
Where Ryan Adams replicates old records, this is something new. [Album of the Month, Feb 2005, p.72]
Pitchfork
I'm Wide Awake weaves the personal and the political more fluidly than most singers even care to try, and the consummate tunefulness just strengthens those moments where he pinches a nerve.
Read Full Review >cokemachineglow
Easily the most cohesive and consistent album of his career, and one of the first great albums of 2005.
Read Full Review >New Musical Express (NME)
A remarkable album... like an Americana 'OK Computer.' [22 Jan 2005, p.49]
The Onion (A.V. Club)
A culmination of Bright Eyes' decade-long habit of reviving folk-rock conventions and social engagement for a generation raised on the celebratory egomania of rap and reality television.
Read Full Review >Junkmedia
Stripped down and folky... there's no denying Oberst's presence as a major artist who continues to evolve and explore his craft with each release.
Read Full Review >Blender
Despite all the lonely missives and political outrage, Oberst comes off more like a troubadour of hope. [Mar 2005, p.132]
ShakingThrough.net
[Oberst] displays a mastery of material, a reigning in of indulgences that promises stronger work to come.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly
For the first time, Oberst sounds as if he's trying to conform his lyrics to his tunes, not the other way around. [4 Feb 2005, p.130]
Tiny Mix Tapes
The theatrical tricks -- and they are tricks -- are more interesting this time around. But by and large, it's more of the same.
Read Full Review >Almost Cool
While it's all produced and performed immaculately, it just feels like too many of the rough edges have been smoothed off.
Read Full Review >Delusions of Adequacy
I’m Wide Awake is an uneven product, full of everything there is to loathe and love about Oberst.
Read Full Review >Village Voice
A handsome channel 13 complimentary tote bag of an album that polishes his image as the fantasy rebellious son who hangs at socialist bookstores and swipes your Gram Parsons records.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle
Moments, ideas, turns of phrase are jumbled together, good and bad, resulting in the sweet smell of garbage.
Read Full Review >All Music Guide
Far from being the second coming of Dylan, Oberst is as precious as Paul Simon, but without any sense of rhyme or meter or gift for imagery, puking out lines filled with cheap metaphors and clumsy words that don't scan.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this album is 7.8 (out of 10) based on 155 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
CJ gave it a1:
Did someone actually write "It's about time someone got political"? I'm going to go ahead and assume that was a joke, since the entire industry seems to have turned into a left-leaning think-tank for amateur foreign-policy aficionados. Or maybe rock stars just like to throw temper tantrum whenever there's something going on in the world that actually puts their significance into perspective. Rock stars do hate perspective. This one is no different. I mean that in every conceivable way it could be interpreted. If this is what rock gods have come to, rock is dead.
Tim A gave it a10:
This album is bright eyes greatest masterpiece, the lyrics and melodies are all amazing. Conor's voice sounds at it's best on this record, and is beautifully complemented by the simple, but effective Instrumentation.
Kenny M gave it a10:
Conor seems like he finally grown up on this album, finally forgetting about how self-absorbed he is and crafting a beautiful album weaving emotion and politics into something that will be remembered forever in the history of music as a turning point....a true classic. that is not to say, however, that conor's older efforts weren't as good as this, but just that we can all watch conor grow up through his music, and it is a beautiful thing.
Jason W gave it a10:
Before i bought this album, i just thought of bright eyes as...mediocre at best. However, after purchashing this cd just out of curiosity, i have now become a bright eyes fanatic. two days after i bought this cd, i went out and bought digital ash in a digital urn, just because this cd didn't fill my appetite for conor's genius. i have been completely turned around in my opinion on bright eyes and will absolutely add every cd that he makes to my ever expanding collection of amazing songs, no matter what the genre.
Nelson D gave it a4:
In the grand scheme of MTV and VH1 pop music, this album is a goldmine. In the indie/alternative world (and especilly compared to Bright Eyes previous masterpieces), this album is a giant disapointment. After the grand LIFTED in which he seemed to put all his worries finally aside, he seems to go back to pre-adolescent lyrics and themes in this album. The fact the he decided to make it a sort of Singer/Songwriter album also ruins it because unlike LIFTED and his previous albums, this one is unadorned, simplistic and in many cases (example: Lua) almost devoid of music. Maybe if the lyrics werent as crypted as an emo kid's poem, then maybe, the album would work better, but with such boring music acompanying it, it just doesnt work. Digital Ash in a Digital Urn, at least, is far more interesting music wise, for its diversity, though the lyrics suffer as before. Here's hoping Conor acts his age for the next album.
Andy gave it a9:
Its about time soneone got political. Another great effort from Conner, the lyrics will give you goosebumps.
anna gave it a10:
honest and true. oberst manages to surprise listeners on every track, while at times being blunt and at others, elusive. he transforms into a master story-teller and universalizes his lyrics without detaching a human element. from the intro to the final note on the last track a listener is captivated.
