Track Listing

1. Dear John
2. King Of The Jailhouse
3. Goodbye Caroline
4. Going Through The Motions
5. I Can’t Get My Head Around It
6. She Really Wants You
7. Video
8. Little Bombs
9. That’s How I Knew This Story Would Break My Heart
10. I Can’t Help You Anymore
11. Clean Up For Christmas
12. Beautiful

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #28228 in Music
• Released on: 2006-07-01
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .23 pounds

Album Description
Quality is never an issue with an Aimee Mann album. Even without hearing a note, it’s a certainty that at some level the album will be excellent. With the exception of Magnolia (lessened simply due to the fact that its finest moments are available on Bachelor No. 2), Mann’s catalogue is a five star treasure trove, and The Forgotten Arm is a worthy addition.

Loosely based around the story of a couple called John and Caroline, the album covers the story of their road-trip across 70s America, tying in with their own personal journeys. As always, Mann is an impeccable storyteller, especially on the lyrically poignant but upbeat "Clean Up For Christmas".

Musically, it swings between two styles: "Mott The Hoople meets alt. country" according to Mann herself, with the former obvious on the gently loping "King Of The Jailhouse" and "Little Bombs", the latter in the piano textures that dominate the album but never forsakes the power of a great chorus or an tastefully-placed string section.

In short, there is little here for fans of Mann herself to complain about; this is an excellently written, well produced, solidly played album. And what more does anyone really need? --Thom Allott

CD Description
Fifth studio album from Virginia-born singer songwriter Aimee Mann. Produced by Joe Henry and recorded in just five days, the album has a laid back minimalist feel to it. Blendinginfluences of alternative country rock with her own unique bluesy style, this album offers a stripped down sound not heard from Mann previously.

Customer Reviews

Beautifully Crafted
I would guess that most Aimee Mann fans have already bought this album. I'm glad I didn't review it immediately when it was released, because it's definitely a grower. On the first couple of listens it sounded pretty unremarkable, but once you take time to get to know it, this is a superb album. The melancholy melodies of 'That's How I Knew This Story...' and 'Video' are completely beautiful, but for me the highlight is 'Going Through The Motions', which is faster than most of her midtempo songs and unbelievably catchy and singalong.

'The Forgotten Arm' isn't quite up to the highest standards set by 'Lost in Space' - some of the songs are slightly samey, and after a while, perhaps on its 1,000th use, the repeated word baby begins to grate, but for quality songwriting and the uniqueness of an Aimee Mann album, this should be bought. Oh and, again, the packaging and artwork is superb, with the songs presented as a short story narrative in the colourful inlay.

A future classic (available now).
Just about everyone who encounters Aimee Mann's music tends to be impressed. Clever lyrics, catchy tunes and neat middle eights in which one can slot one's own ideas whilst listening to the very talented band. This album though is a little different. Yes it is catchy, yes it has great lyrics (etc) but there is something more on offer here. The 'something' in question is a well worked out narative of one of the million human relationships that starts with a look and then gently begins to go off the rails.
It is really difficult to precisely express what Ms Mann has actually achieved, in terms of transcending the medium, without falling into similies. For those who like similies, here are a couple, this album is like a classic movie without a picture, another way of expressing the point is to imagine what sort of a musician E Hopper (Nighthawks etc) would have been had he been forbidden to paint.
Possibly certain critics have made too much of the boxing motif, it provides a thematic connection and an ample supply of metaphorical material but the album has more to do with troubled love than boxing: not only boxing matches come in bouts.
Overall this is a great album that will in a few years be seen as a Great Album. If you like songs written from the heart, buy it.

Possibly the best Aimee Mann album...
I wouldn't give out the 5-star rating lightly, but this album is really special. I should say that I'm fairly new to Aimee Mann and have been working backwards through her output for the last several months, and whilst that may limit my perspective, the latest is my favourite.

A few reviews here has described this album as a grower. I wouldn't entirely agree. Musically, this is the most homoginous of her records, having reportedly been recorded mostly live in a five day stint, and as such it will probably *initially* sound more 'same-y'. That's because all the instruments pretty much sound the same from song to song; the piano, which sounds like a battered old upright propped up in the corner, is always in the same place in the mix - on the left, with Sheryl Crow's guitarist dualing on the right. This homogeny serves the ultimate goal, because this album is very much 'as a piece'.

You may of heard that it's a concept album. Don't put too much stock in that - it's not Tommy, for instance, and the narrative for its part is elaborated in a very open and to some extent ambiguous way. But the songs on this album do form a natural progression, and having the same musicians hammering out the same basic sounds from song to song lends itself to emphasising the emotional flow of the album as a whole. The lyrics, the tempo, and Mann's expressive voice work beautifully to deliniate the overall picture she's trying to build.

That said, I don't think you'll find a single song as exquisitely awesome and *poppy* as Humpty Dumpty or Pavlov's Bell on this album, but there are more exquisite songs on The Forgotten Arm than on Lost In Space, and the whole is even more than the sum of its parts. It'd be hard to list my favourites, but to choose the first song; Dear John - one from the middle; Video - and the last song; Beautiful - would do me.

I'll be listening to this album in years from now.