Track Listing

1. Grace Kelly Blues
2. Packing Blankets
3. The Sound Of Fear
4. I Like Birds
5. Daisies Of The Galaxy
6. Flyswatter
7. It's A Motherfucker
8. Estate Sale
9. Tiger In My Tank
10. A Daisy Through Concrete
11. Jeannie's Diary
12. Wooden Nickles
13. Something Is Sacred
14. Selective Memory
15. Mr. E's Beautiful Blues

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8212 in Music
• Released on: 2000-02-28
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Explicit Lyrics
• Dimensions: .18 pounds
• Running time: 43 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Eels burst out to prominence with 1996's witty, bold paean to geekdom Beautiful Freak, which matched black humour with bold arrangements and catchy melodies. Its follow-up, Electro Shock Blues--written against the backdrop of the suicide of frontman E's sister and the terminal disease afflicting his mother--was beautiful, but its bleak content proved too naked for fans of hits like "Novocaine For The Soul" and "Susan's House". Daisies Of The Galaxy pulls back from the abyss to which E took his music having lighter arrangements and more of his quirky lyricism. The themes are largely unchanged--his mother died during the making of the album and it opens with a track, "Grace Kelly's Blues", which recalls a New Orleans funeral--but Daisies also meditates on escape ("Packing Blankets") and desire ("Jeannie's Diary"). The pervading sense of loneliness and loss clings nevertheless, notably on the deeply moving ballad "It's A Motherfucker" ("being here without you"). It can't all be sweetness and light. --Mike Pattenden

CD Description
Having used ELECTRO-SHOCK BLUES as a dark musical therapy session in the wake of losing his mom and sister, Eels frontman E (aka Mark Oliver Everett) returned with a more optimistic follow-up, one steeped in gorgeous pop-craft. Utilising avocal style not unlike Beck's creaky delivery, E created songs marked by unblinking, Randy Newman-like observations, minus the sardonic edge.
E touches on a range of subjects--he pays tribute to his late mom's love of winged creatures (the gently bouncy "I Like Birds"), sings of unrequited love (the heartbreaking "Jeannie's Diary") and bemoans the evils of advertising (the irresistible "Tiger in My Tank"). Like fellow pop savant Jon Brion, E calls upon a handful of modern-rock pals, including Peter Buck and Grant Lee Phillips, to season his idiosyncratic arrangements. Among the most engaging numbers are the Nilsson-inspired "It's a Motherf#&!@r", as well as the Vince Guaraldi-flavoured "A Daisy Through Concrete" and "The Sound of Fear" The last of these is a classicstraight out of the Phil Spector/Brian Wilson school of arranging. The hidden track, "Mr. E's Beautiful Blues", is an optimistic number that nicely ties up this great collection, which finds E emerging from the dark so that the healing canbegin.

Customer Reviews

The simple songs are the most beautiful.
Before this album i saw the Eels as being a decent lo-fi band who would cruise along without really doing anything spectacular. DOTG changes everything. From the opener "Grace Kelly Blues" to the bonus track and single "Mr E's Beautiful Blues" there is not one weak track. It's incredible how good an ear E has for a catchy tune. Songs like the single and "Flyswatter" will have you strutting your stuff, while others like "It's a Motherfucker" and "Jeannie's diary" are amongst the most moving tracks you'll hear all year. Superb stuff.

Touched by genius
Simple songs, beatiful songs, happy songs, sad songs.At times stunningly original. The sad songs seem to have more impact than on 'Electro-Shock' because they're in a setting of such innocent sweetness. For me it's a dream of that innocence of childhood we all hunger for in musical form , mixed with waking up to the sadness of the grown-up world.

I like Birds
Another classic album from the group who brought you Beautiful Freak and the wonderful Electroshock Blues. Musically this is a lighter album than Electroshock and less mainstream than Freak as we see the band start to experiment with different sounds and instruments, nothing like a bit of horn. Lyrically Daisies is stock Eels fare, with a variety of songs touching on love, loss and loneliness.

Particular highlights include Grace Kelly Blues - "The Kid at the mall works at hoddog-on-a-stick; his hat is a funny shape, his heart is a brick," - Selective Memory and Something Is Sacred.

Eels seem to go from strength to strength and this album is just another step up the ladder.