Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum (Album)
| Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum | |
| |
| Studio Album | |
| Released | 2005, re-released in 2008 |
|---|---|
| Length | 49:21 (2005), 1:08:18 (2008, with bonus tracks) |
| Label | Quack! Media, re-released on Atlantic Records |
| Producer | Tally Hall, Chris Shaw (co-producer '08) |
Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum (M.M.M.M.) is Tally Hall's debut studio album released under the newly created Quack! Media music label in November 2005 (there was never an official release DAY, though their official CD release party was held on 11/12/05 at The Double Door in Chicago, IL). Their previous recordings were all independently produced and distributed demos. All of the tracks on the album are fleshed-out, finished versions of their demo tracks, with the exception of "Haiku," which was a completely new song. The album gets its name from a museum of mechanized curiosities of the same name located in Farmington Hills, Michigan.
The album was officially re-released on September 12, 2006. The reasons for the re-release were never 100% clear, but this re-release coincided with additional publicity on MTV, national distribution in all major retail stores, and various other TV appearances including The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson. The music video for "Good Day" was first shown at Tally Hall's two Ann Arbor concerts, on September 23, 2006.
Tally Hall was later signed with Atlantic Records and was approved to go back and touch-up Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum at Stratosphere Sound Recording Studios in NYC. The first single (Good Day) from the new version of M.M.M.M. was released February 26, 2008. The new version of the album was released on April 1st, 2008. This release also included a vinyl LP pressing of the album.
Key Differences Between 2005 and 2008 Releases
Besides the album receiving new cover art and an overall tune up for the later Atlantic version (as well as iTunes bonus tracks), the differences between particular songs can amount to being anywhere from very minimal to entirely different recordings. On the Atlantic "Taken For A Ride," just before the previous track (“Welcome to Tally Hall”) ends, there is a climactic build up of clanking sounds right up to the start of the next song. In addition, the Vocoder technique being used on Andrew’s voice is much cleaner sounding in the later version, allowing one to more easily understand the lyrics. Pauses of silence are also minutely extended to create more punctuation. “The Bidding” was originally performed at a faster tempo, but the later version is significantly slower to the point that it adds roughly 10 seconds to the overall length. The Atlantic version sounds like a new recording and not simply a slower master of the ’05 release. Lots of balancing changes are dominant in “Banana Man,” the spoken intro sounds different on both releases. Of all the songs however, it appears that “Just Apathy” went through the most changes, as the Atlantic release is entirely different. The brief violin intro from the original is absent and the song starts off with the lyrics instead. Some small instrumental breaks were also omitted for the sake of moving through the beginning more quickly. A noticeable change for “Two Wuv” is that when the words “you dressed up like a bee” are sung, there is a faint buzzing sound to emphasize the joke in the wording. For whatever reason, this was removed from the ’08 release (perhaps considered too silly or obvious). “The Ruler of Everything” (along with its intro “13”) is, at the beginning, slightly lower in pitch than the older release. The lowering of pitch was caused by slightly slowing the song, according to Joe Hawley. The change was made, possibly to create a more ominous initial impression of the song. The silence and ambient wave sounds at the end are also extended, so that there is a longer wait time before “Hidden in the Sand” starts playing.
Trivia
In the original pressing of the 2005 version, there are a few mistakes in the packaging. The Zubin-page in the lyric sheets was colored purple instead of blue and the spine of the CD had a typographical error. It read: "Marvin's Marvelous Mechancial Museum" as opposed to "Mechanical". Both of these errors were fixed for the 2006 re-release.
2005 Track listing
| # | Title | Writers | Lead Singers | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Good Day" | Horowitz | Hawley, Cantor | 3:25 |
| 2. | "Greener" | Cantor | Cantor | 3:43 |
| 3. | "Welcome To Tally Hall" | Cantor, Hawley, Sedghi | Cantor, Sedghi, Hawley | 5:10 |
| 4. | "Taken For A Ride" | Horowitz | Horowitz, Hawley | 4:40 |
| 5. | "The Bidding" | Hawley | Hawley, Cantor, Sedghi | 2:29 |
| 6. | "Be Born" | Cantor | Cantor | 3:10 |
| 7. | "Banana Man" | Hawley | Hawley | 4:09 |
| 8. | "Just Apathy" | Cantor | Cantor | 3:12 |
| 9. | "Spring And A Storm" | Hawley | Hawley | 4:43 |
| 10. | "Two Wuv" | Horowitz | Sedghi | 3:41 |
| 11. | "Haiku" | Cantor | Cantor, Hawley | 2:58 |
| 12. | "The Whole World And You" | Horowitz | Horowitz | 1:45 |
| 13. | "13" | n/a | n/a | 0:13 |
| 14. | "Ruler Of Everything" | Hawley | Hawley, Sedghi | 4:17 |
| 15. | "Hidden In The Sand" (hidden track) | Hawley | Hawley | 1:54 |
2008 Track listing
| # | Title | Writers | Lead Singers | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Good Day" | Horowitz | Hawley, Cantor | 3:26 |
| 2. | "Greener" | Cantor | Cantor | 3:43 |
| 3. | "Welcome To Tally Hall" | Cantor, Hawley, Sedghi | Cantor, Sedghi | 5:10 |
| 4. | "Taken For A Ride" | Horowitz | Horowitz, Hawley | 4:43 |
| 5. | "The Bidding" | Hawley | Hawley, Cantor, Sedghi | 2:40 |
| 6. | "Be Born" | Cantor | Cantor | 3:10 |
| 7. | "Banana Man" | Hawley | Hawley | 4:09 |
| 8. | "Just Apathy" | Cantor | Cantor | 3:11 |
| 9. | "Spring And A Storm" | Hawley | Hawley | 4:47 |
| 10. | "Two Wuv" | Horowitz | Sedghi | 3:43 |
| 11. | "Haiku" | Cantor | Cantor, Hawley | 3:02 |
| 12. | "The Whole World And You" | Horowitz | Horowitz | 1:44 |
| 13. | "13" | n/a | n/a | 0:13 |
| 14. | "Ruler Of Everything" | Hawley | Hawley, Sedghi | 4:32 |
| 15. | "Hidden In The Sand" (hidden track) | Hawley | Hawley | 1:53 |
| 16. | "Mucka Blucka" (iTunes bonus track) | Hawley | Federman | 1:38 |
| 17. | "Dream" (iTunes bonus track) | Horowitz | n/a | 1:49 |
2008 Bonus Downloads
Those who purchased a physical copy of the album received a card with a download code from the band at concerts. The bonus downloads are as follows:
| # | Title | Writers | Lead Singers | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Mucka Blucka" | Hawley | Federman | 1:38 |
| 2. | "Dream" | Horowitz | n/a | 1:49 |
| 3. | "Just A Friend" | Biz Markie | Cantor, Sedghi | 4:29 |
2008 Vinyl Release
| # | Title | Writers | Lead Singers | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1. | "Good Day" | Horowitz | Hawley, Cantor | 3:26 |
| A2. | "Greener" | Cantor | Cantor | 3:43 |
| A3. | "Welcome To Tally Hall" | Cantor, Hawley, Sedghi | Cantor, Sedghi | 5:10 |
| A4. | "Taken For A Ride" | Horowitz | Horowitz, Hawley | 4:43 |
| A5. | "The Bidding" | Hawley | Hawley, Cantor, Sedghi | 2:40 |
| A6. | "Be Born" | Cantor | Cantor | 3:10 |
| A7. | "The Whole World And You" | Horowitz | Horowitz | 1:44 |
| B1. | "Banana Man" | Hawley | Hawley | 4:09 |
| B2. | "Just Apathy" | Cantor | Cantor | 3:11 |
| B3. | "Spring And A Storm" | Hawley | Hawley | 4:47 |
| B4. | "Two Wuv" | Horowitz | Sedghi | 3:43 |
| B5. | "Haiku" | Cantor | Cantor, Hawley | 3:02 |
| B6. | "13" | n/a | n/a | 0:13 |
| B7. | "Ruler Of Everything" | Hawley | Hawley, Sedghi | 4:32 |
| B8. | "Hidden In The Sand" (hidden track) | Hawley | Hawley | 1:53 |