Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum (Album)

Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum
MMMM08.jpg
Studio Album
Released 2005, re-released in 2006 and 2008
Recorded June-October 2005, 2007 (re-release)
Length 49:21 (2005),
01:01:35 (2008, with bonus tracks)
Label Quack! Media (2005),
Atlantic Records (2008),
Needlejuice Records (2021)
Producer Tally Hall, Chris Shaw (co-producer '08)

Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum (M.M.M.M.) is Tally Hall's first studio album, released under the Quack! Media label on November 22nd 2005, re-released on September 12th 2006, and finally re-recorded/remixed for release by Atlantic Records on April 1st 2008.

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.

History

2005 and 2006

Tally Hall signed a recording contract with Quack!Media's Al McWilliams in 2005 and started recording in June of the same year. McWilliams pressured the group to finish the album in about a month, but they needed more time to finish the album. They would also run into budgetary concerns, as the album cost more than triple their original budget.[1] After 4 months of recording and mixing, the album would be finished and released on November 22nd, 2005.

Later on, the album was officially re-released on September 12th, 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.

This 2006 re-release also fixed some errors with the 2005 release. In the original pressing, the Zubin page in the lyric sheets was colored purple instead of blue and the spine of the CD had a typographical error. It reads "Marvin's Marvelous Mechancial Museum" as opposed to "Mechanical". Both of these errors were fixed for the 2006 re-release.

2008

Tally Hall would sign with Atlantic Records in early 2007 and was approved to go back and touch-up Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum at Stratosphere Sound Recording Studios in NYC with producer Chris Shaw. During this time the band filmed multiple vlog style videos cataloging the recording of this new version. The first single, Good Day, was released on February 26th, 2008. Another single from the album, Welcome To Tally Hall would be released but only as a radio promotional item. The new version of the album was released on April 1st, 2008 and included a limited black vinyl LP pressing of the album.

If you're looking for the differences between 2005 and 2008, please look for the "History" section on each song.

M.M.M.M. CDs bought at Tally Hall concerts after the album's re-release included a download code for three bonus tracks. These are Mucka Blucka, Dream, and Just A Friend. Mucka Blucka and Dream were included with the iTunes release of Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum along with the Good Day music video and first episode of Tally Hall's Internet Show Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum. Just A Friend however would stay exclusive to the download code for years, until Tally Hall released Admittedly Incomplete Demos in 2015.

2021

After a resurgence in popularity, Tally Hall signed to Needlejuice Records and agreed to re-release physical copies of the 2008 version of Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum on CD, Vinyl, and for the first time: cassette tapes. This version also includes Mucka Blucka, Dream, and Just A Friend as bonus tracks.[2] The physical releases include new artwork by Court Jones, the artist behind the original album cover.[3]

The Simlish version of Good Day recorded for The Sims 2 also appears for the first time on physical and digital platforms, being the "pregap" track on the 2021 CD and a hidden track on the Bandcamp release.

Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum has become a favorite among many fans since its release(s) for its variety and strong tracklist, and original vinyl copies have been in high demand in recent years. Among the tracks on the album, Hidden In The Sand and The Bidding have enjoyed a big boost in popularity after the rise of the social media app TikTok.

Trivia

  • In 2015, Tally Hall posted a "#throwbackthursday" showcasing the original sketches for the cover art[4]
  • The 2008 and 2021 vinyl have track listings that differ from the other formats. Specifically, The Whole World And You had to be moved up to Side A in order for all the songs to properly fit on each side of the record.
  • Though the 2006 re-release of the album corrected the purple coloring and the spine typo, it can still be hard to determine if you have a 2005 or 2006 printing when it's still sealed. The best way to know is by the barcode. The barcode for the 2005 is: 6-1689268282-0. The barcode for the 2006: is 7-8144491001-7.

Track Listings

2005 CD

 
The cover of the 2005 issue. Both versions were illustrated by Court Jones
# 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
 
The cover of the 2008 version.

2008 CD

# Title Writers Lead Singers Duration
1. "Good Day" Horowitz Hawley, Cantor, Sedghi 3:26
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 4:43
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

# 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 & 2021 Vinyl Release

 
All variants of the 2021 vinyl release from Needlejuice Records. The Marionette Quintet variant is available in 6 colors: Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Grey, and Orange
# 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, Hawley 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
 
Mockup of the 2021 CD release from Needlejuice Records

2021 CD

# Title Writers Lead Singers Duration
1. "Good Day" Horowitz Hawley, Cantor, Sedghi 3:26
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 4:43
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" (bonus track) Hawley Federman 1:38
17. "Dream" (bonus track) Horowitz n/a 1:49
18. "Just A Friend" (bonus track) Biz Markie Cantor, Sedghi 4:29

References