User Score
Universal acclaim- based on 214 Ratings
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, 2013An absolutely lovely album that is one of Oberst's best. It's definitely not for everyone, but for those whose tastes are attuned to this acoustic-folk sound, it's some of the highest quality stuff you can listen to.
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Nov 7, 2011"I'm not sure what the trouble was that started all of this, the reasons all have run away but the feeling never did - It's not something I would recommend, but it is one way to live, cause what is simple in the moonlight, by the morning never is..." - Lua, Bright Eyes
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Mar 1, 2011
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Feb 2, 2011In spite of the odd decent tune, the dislike I feel for the man singing is hard to suppress. He's like Dylan with a fraction of the musical talent and without any sort of artistic vision (not counting the ideas he stole from Dylan).
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ChadBMay 20, 2009Amazing.
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CJSep 27, 2007
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TimAAug 24, 2007This 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.
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JasonWDec 19, 2006
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NelsonDSep 9, 2006
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AndyAug 16, 2006Its about time soneone got political. Another great effort from Conner, the lyrics will give you goosebumps.
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annaJul 17, 2006honest 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.
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ginnytJun 30, 2006I was simply blown away. Like the first time I heard the Decemberists, or Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins. It's is VERY VERY rare to find a record that is worth listening to the ENTIRE way through. Beautifully done. This will be in heavy rotation for a long time...
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BobbyJJJun 26, 2006bad
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TheCriticTheCriticJun 14, 2006C'mon!!!! All of you who don't like this album don't like music. He has a great voice and is a great songwriter. What more could you want?
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msJun 5, 2006
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hibbMay 26, 2006I think that this album has been argued to death. It's far from incredible, but much more tolerable than most of his other works. Some of the songs are solid, but the others aren't substatial enough. "First Day of my Life" stands on its own as a great song, but it gets lost in the raucous disoder that is "Road to Joy."
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PhilMApr 28, 2006Brilliant, I could listen to this all day
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DavidPApr 8, 2006I have an academic respect for this album, but unfortunately it falls far short of what I expected musically, given the high praise it has received. The meaningful lyrics don't do much for me without compelling music, and the music is far from compelling.
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LachlanWApr 5, 2006An incredible album. Probably Obhert's masterpiece.
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garibaldimFeb 6, 2006
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JackDJan 28, 2006I did enjoy this album and I still do, specifically First Day of My Life. However, I do not feel this album warrants a perfect 10 by any means. He needs to work on the consistency of his music through out the entire record.
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alexyJan 27, 2006simply amazing - the music is superb, and the words are equally amazing. just by reading the lyrics, you can tell that conor oberst is a genius.
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cablesJan 18, 2006I just dont understand the hatred some people have for this album. it's fantastic. I hate emo, but i love this album. Don't lump this poor guy into the emo category, he's anything but.
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LizJan 15, 2006Personally, I thought this was the best cd i've ever owned and bought. When I first listened to it, Conor's voice had this distinctive sound, and it made me want to hear more. I also love how the music makes you forget everything and it captures you, making you want to go through it again. This is a work of art.
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36ThoughtlessJan 5, 2006
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JoeBJan 3, 2006This album is one of my personal favorites; I enjoy the rhythms and Oberst's vocals. He's certainly not the 'next Bob Dylan'--and to blame him for said label is not fair, nor reason to give a bad review. The lyrics are great, the instrumental is great. An all-around solid effort.
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JeffBDec 25, 2005Fucking fantastic.
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JoshHDec 22, 2005
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ChrisF-TDec 18, 2005
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K.A.Nov 28, 2005
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haileyaNov 21, 2005This album is amazing. One of his best, other than digital ash. He's a phenomenal writer and the melodies in this album are to die for.
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ewrfdfvOct 25, 2005what a baby
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JDrofOct 22, 2005It is amazing and not as emo as fevers and mirrors makes you feel his deppresion
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mattfOct 11, 2005this is one of the best albums i have ever owned. i will admit, it took me a good four listens to really appreciate it, but now, i swear, it has probably moved into my top five favorite albums of all-time. the lyrics on this cd are unmatched. He's not Dylan, granted, but he is a marvelous departure from the blythe repititous indie world.
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ZackASep 26, 2005Bright Eyes really just annoys me. His voice sound just too forced to be authentic. He is trying too hard to fit that mold of the "next Bob Dylan" that all these short-sighted (no pun intended) reviewers have constructed.
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StevenWAug 28, 2005
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EdMAug 23, 2005I hate to say it, but this album is borderline terrible, full of folk music at its most self-important and least interesting. Compared to something like Sufjan Stevens' Illinoise, which is bursting with ideas, Bright Eyes' cloying lyrics and empty strumming sound mostly like a whiny teenager. There really is a clear line between singers who have maturity and those who try to force it.
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PaulGAug 22, 2005While this new album from Bright Eyes is pleasant enough, it does not justify the attention it has gotten nor the praise. There has been a lot of grooming of this young artist as the new Bob Dylan or what have you, but his work is too slight and for this album, (I have not heard the others) somewhat forgettable. One might look at Sufjan Stevens or Iron and Wine
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DavidMAug 19, 2005
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fayeAAug 18, 2005without a doubt one of the best if not the best albums this year. bright eyes lyrics have to be his best and his voice captivates me. cant say enough good things, and as far as him being anything like gc...plain stupidity.
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JimWAug 5, 2005Beautiful lyrics. Very thoughtfully done.
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ScottYJul 9, 2005Highly overrated...pratically unintelligible.
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ZachL.Jul 5, 2005One of the best albums of the year. I can't believe some idiot even suggested good charolette was anything even remotely like him. Good Charolette is some of the lowest of the low. Get your standards right, buddy.
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StuartYJun 24, 2005Best album of 2005 so far. Sheer joy, from the folksy strumming of the opener to the angry, ecstatic noise of the finisher. Let's hope that next time round they get proper mainstream recognition.
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GlennMMay 29, 2005This is probably one of the best albums i have ever heard. His lyrics and tunes are so amazing, and more deep than another other artist around right now. I cant belive some guy compared him to linking park?
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JoshuaMMay 20, 2005
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MikeAMay 6, 2005His best effort to date, great lyrics (This is the first day of my life, Land locked blues, ...), great melodies, Emmylou Harris, it has it all... Along with Springsteen's Devils and Dust, best folk album of the year so far.
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UhhuhhimMay 1, 2005"All Music Guide - guides you somewhere you don't want to be."
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MikeJApr 28, 2005weak. It seems this record is just the forced wishes of a society who desperately needs some kid of pretentious folk singer tobe the light in dark times. That is a noble cause, but lets make sure there is actual talent behind the person.
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[Anonymous]Apr 28, 2005Great pop songs with great lyrics. Oberst's voice gets a little old after a while but there's not denying this is a great CD.
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MichaelWApr 25, 2005Amazing album. Every song is fantastic. A classic that will be mentioned decades from now. Best album of the year already. Made me go out and download every single one of his albums
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JamesApr 14, 2005A beautiful record thats much more polished than his earlier albums. I'm not sure when it became cool to hate this guy but he's a marvelous song writer who is going to continue to make great music long into the future.
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TimFApr 8, 2005
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BillWApr 1, 2005
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markfMar 29, 2005
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NickRMar 25, 2005Terrible whinging music sung in a kind of 'Help, i'm so weak and pathetic' kind of voice that just got right on my tats. Digital Ash in A Digital Urn is definatley the better of the two.
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JohnoMar 24, 2005Absolutely marvellous. If you ever bump into this guy, buy him a beer and don't mention Dylan. He's one of the greatest songwriters around. Check out 'Fevers & Mirrors' and 'Lifted' too.
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GrantWMar 21, 2005I can't believe how much he has improved since his first almost boring first album.
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PhilPhilMar 20, 2005
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BryanMMar 15, 2005"I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning" is Conor's best work yet. Every song on this folk rock masterpiece is spectacular. My favorite tracks include "Old Soul Song", "Land Locked Blues", "Poison Oak", and "Road To Joy".
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LaunceRMar 15, 2005By turns exuberant, melancholy, bitter and sweet, Oberst scores with this disc. Emmylou's presence is a special treat.
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PaulLMar 12, 2005Great songcraft and very tuneful, but ultimately it's one of those albums you leave in your CD rack after a month of listening and never feel like listening to again. It won't move you but it's nice enough.
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JimBMar 9, 2005the new dyan?...my friend he is much bettter than that!
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SteveYMar 7, 2005One of the best albums I've ever heard. A beautiful collection of tracks that flow seemlessly. Truly a classic album that will be talked about for years to come. The start of what Conor Oberst truly has in him.
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StooMar 4, 2005
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EdwardEMar 2, 2005I bought 'Lifted' long ago & despised the incessant whining & lack of songcraft. Although Oberst seems to be pulling his ideas together more melodically & sonically with this release, I still think he should employ a singer to convey his thoughts.
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JamieSMar 2, 2005nothing special here, bad attempts at country and some of the worst dylan ripoffs in recent years. as in note for note ripoffs.
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JebBFeb 28, 2005The next Bob Dylan? More like the next lowfat pie filling. Stop encouraging this whiner to put out mediocre records.
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JimRFeb 26, 2005God this crap is boring. If you wanna here this kinda music done professionally seek out the latest M. Ward or Bonnie Prince Billy cds.
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KayleighHFeb 25, 2005Amazing, really. He has a mood everyone can relate to in everysong. I truely think its their best yet.
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brendanhFeb 21, 2005awesome
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TristramFeb 19, 2005
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TonySFeb 18, 2005This is a great work-and just blow past all the hype and listen-really listen to this and let it lyrically, musically take you along to the worlds it presents. I was not prepared for the artistry here. Like the couple plunging 30,000 feet in the brilliant opener "At The Bottom of Everything" these songs are so filled with life.
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justinbFeb 18, 2005classic cd
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BrianKFeb 16, 2005
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kstewFeb 16, 2005
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SueMFeb 15, 2005I've never been much of a fan of country-style music, more into alternative rock, but Conor Oberst opened my ears and mind with "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning". He is a storyteller and the emotion really comes through here.The more I listen, the more I love it!
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JulieCFeb 14, 2005
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JacobCFeb 12, 2005Every moment of this album is perfect.
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JasonLFeb 8, 2005In the last two weeks I bought I'm Wide Awake, the remastered first Slits album Cut, and the remastered Here Come The Warm Jets by Brian Eno. By far I've listened to Wide Awake the most, which is as much praise as I can give it. Land Locked Blues is a thing of beauty, and several of the songs come close to it.
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mattsFeb 8, 2005one of the best lyrically written albums i've heard in a long time, Oberst has echoed the voice of a nation
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NateMFeb 7, 2005Amazing album. Buy it!
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giuliaFeb 7, 2005all in all´its a good record, i will go to a bright eyes concert in about one month, and i m happy about it.
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EBFeb 3, 2005Lovely.
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AndrewSFeb 3, 2005I really loved The Lifted... album. but this one feels there is something missing. Lyrically, Oberst is fantastic as ever.
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TimMFeb 2, 2005Such great stuff. Love the entire album.
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JonHFeb 2, 2005While I enjoyed the album it didn't effect me as much as Lifted... did, didn't have the same emotional empact that that one gave me, still though, there some solid material here.
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ChadVJan 30, 2005a honest, emotional, and brilliantly conveyed record. Bright Eyes carving out his legacy with each release.
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RobertRJan 30, 2005I find it interesting that the critics at All Music Guide find Celine Dion a gifted Canadian artist, while refering to Oberst's work as simplistic and plodding.
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MarkJan 30, 2005The only reason this disc doesn't get a 0 is because sadly there is another worse than it... Digital Ash.
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ChrisFJan 30, 2005
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ChadSJan 29, 2005
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ChadBJan 28, 2005Amazing.
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JoshBJan 28, 2005This is the best thing Conor's ever released. It is a masterpiece and will most definitely stand the test of time. The lyrics are amazing and the simple, beautiful sound will mesmerize you.
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JosephKJan 27, 2005The gentle, perfectly engineered, unbearably sad and honest album he's been building towards his whole life. Better than Fevers and Mirrors, which is saying plenty. A thousand times more focused and vulnerable than Lifted... Don't hesitate on this one.
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EmiliaBJan 26, 2005
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ericmJan 26, 2005Someone needs to beat this kid up.
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AshleyMJan 26, 2005This album shows his growth as an artist. Extrordinary
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TMoneyJan 25, 2005simply amazing. his most beautiful work yet. (except for maybe fevers and mirrors).
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Awards & Rankings
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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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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.
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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.