- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
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Bright Eyes may well be on the verge of finally bridging the gap between his precocious talent and the maturity of an ageless songwriter.
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Alternative PressA raw portrait of a 20-something disenchanted with his city, his country and his life. [Feb 2005, p.81]
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Q MagazineThe finest alt-country album this side of Gram Parsons. [Jan 2005, p.129]
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It’s the closeness and the honesty which makes ‘I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning’ a thing of awe.
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Los Angeles TimesAn album with the simmering glow of a masterpiece.
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FilterSimply a great record. [#14, p.95]
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Though this new political bent shows a heightened sense of maturity and substance, two of Morning's best tracks are poignant, unabashed love songs.
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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.
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SpinAn often-great set of songs about loneliness. [Feb 2005, p.85]
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It comes down to the songs, and these are the most intense he's ever written, one instant classic after another.
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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.
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MojoMagic.... Its rhapsodies present a portait of an artist at an early height of his powers. [Feb 2005, p.102]
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Undoubtedly his best and most credible album to date.
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This is the best album of the year so far.
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UncutWhere Ryan Adams replicates old records, this is something new. [Album of the Month, Feb 2005, p.72]
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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.
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Easily the most cohesive and consistent album of his career, and one of the first great albums of 2005.
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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.
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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.
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This is an album overflowing with passion and tension.
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New Musical Express (NME)A remarkable album... like an Americana 'OK Computer.' [22 Jan 2005, p.49]
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The sound of an artist finally catching up with his talent.
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BlenderDespite all the lonely missives and political outrage, Oberst comes off more like a troubadour of hope. [Mar 2005, p.132]
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The quality is high throughout.
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Lyrically, he's never been better.
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[Oberst] displays a mastery of material, a reigning in of indulgences that promises stronger work to come.
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Entertainment WeeklyFor 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]
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The theatrical tricks -- and they are tricks -- are more interesting this time around. But by and large, it's more of the same.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 177 out of 214
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Mixed: 14 out of 214
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Negative: 23 out of 214
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Jun 17, 2014
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Sep 18, 2013
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Nov 7, 2011