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Among My Swan

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Among My Swan
Studio album by
Mazzy Star
ReleasedOctober 29, 1996
GenreAlternative rock,[1] dream pop,[1] neo-psychedelia[1]
Length54:00
LabelCapitol
ProducerMazzy Star
Mazzy Star chronology
So Tonight That I Might See
(1993) 		Among My Swan
(1996) 		Seasons of Your Day
(2013)

Among My Swan is the third studio album by American band Mazzy Star, released on October 29, 1996 by Capitol Records. Although Among My Swan did not contain any US Billboard Hot 100 hits like its predecessor, So Tonight That I Might See, this album garnered the band its highest-ranking single on the UK Singles Chart, when "Flowers in December" reached No. 40 in November 1996.[2]

While the production of Among My Swan relies less on reverb than the group's previous albums, the music is not markedly different (as evidenced by tracks like "I've Been Let Down", on which Hope Sandoval sings over simple acoustic guitar and harmonica accompaniment).

"Flowers in December", "Disappear", "Happy" and "I've Been Let Down" were all released as singles from the album. Following the release of "I've Been Let Down" in 1997, Mazzy Star went on hiatus, and did not release new music until the single "Common Burn" / "Lay Myself Down" in 2011.

Release and promotion

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[3]
The Guardian[4]
Los Angeles Times[5]
Q[6]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[7]
Select4/5[8]
Spin3/10[9]
Uncut7/10[10]
Vox8/10[11]

Among My Swan was released by Capitol Records on October 29, 1996. Mazzy Star opted to eschew mainstream promotion for the record, with Capitol taking what they described as a "long-term approach" towards its marketing. An outtake from the album, "Tell Me Now", appeared on the soundtrack to Batman Forever in 1995, while album track "Rhymes of an Hour" featured on the soundtrack to Stealing Beauty prior to the album's release. A senior marketing director at Capitol called Mazzy Star "the quintessential artist-development band. David and Hope are artists. Every album they make is a work of art"; Billboard noted that both films "nicely bookend Mazzy Star's demographic, with Batman Forever appealing to the collegiate crowd and the critically acclaimed, art-house Stealing Beauty skewing toward the band's baby boomer fans."[12]

Music stores were given advance copies of the album from early September; the label conducted a contest where the store which best promoted the album would be rewarded with a live performance from the band.[A] The entire album was serviced to college radio on October 7, and lead single "Flowers in December" was issued to alternative and triple-A stations the following week. The duo appeared on the October 1996 cover of Alternative Press, and a music video for "Flowers in December" was completed that same month.[12] The song remains the duo's only song to enter the top forty of the UK Singles Chart.[13] "I've Been Let Down" was scheduled to be issued as the album's second commercial single in the spring of 1997,[12] but was released solely as a limited edition 7" vinyl in October 1996 as a double A-side with album track "Roseblood".[14]

Commercial performance

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The album peaked at number 67 on the Billboard 200.[15] As of 2001, it has sold over 214,000 copies in the United States.[16]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by David Roback and Hope Sandoval

No.TitleLength
1."Disappear"4:04
2."Flowers in December"4:57
3."Rhymes of an Hour"4:12
4."Cry, Cry"3:58
5."Take Everything"4:53
6."Still Cold"4:48
7."All Your Sisters"5:16
8."I've Been Let Down"3:17
9."Roseblood"4:51
10."Happy"3:58
11."Umbilical"4:49
12."Look on Down from the Bridge"4:47

Personnel

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Usage in media

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"Happy", "All Your Sisters", and "Look on Down from the Bridge" are featured in the 2005 film Down in the Valley.

"Look on Down from the Bridge" is featured during a funeral scene and over the end credits of the 1999 The Sopranos episode "Meadowlands", in the 2011 film Texas Killing Fields, and in two episodes of Rick and Morty, including the 2014 episode "Rick Potion No. 9" when the title characters bury their dead alternate-reality selves and the 2023 episode "Unmortricken" which includes a callback to the original scene.[17] “Cry Cry” was featured in a sequence in the 2024 movie Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

Charts

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Chart performance for Among My Swan
Chart (1996) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[18] 74
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[19] 41
Scottish Albums (OCC)[20] 65
UK Albums (OCC)[21] 57
US Billboard 200[15] 68

References

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Notes

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  1. ^ According to Billboard, the winning store was "decided by in-store play and point-of-purchase plans."[12]

Citations

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  1. ^ a b c d Raggett, Ned. "Among My Swan – Mazzy Star". AllMusic. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  2. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 357. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  3. ^ Hajari, Nisid (November 8, 1996). "Music Review: 'Among My Swan'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  4. ^ Penman, Ian (November 8, 1996). "Mazzy Star: Among My Swan (Capitol CD)". The Guardian. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  5. ^ Nichols, Natalie (November 10, 1996). "Mazzy Star, 'Among My Swan,' Capitol". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  6. ^ Cooper, Mark (December 1996). "Mazzy Star: Among My Swan". Q. No. 123. p. 138.
  7. ^ Cross, Charles R. (2004). "Mazzy Star". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 526. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  8. ^ Perry, Andrew (December 1996). "Mazzy Star: Among My Swan". Select. No. 78.
  9. ^ Wolk, Douglas (November 1996). "Mazzy Star: Among My Swan". Spin. Vol. 12, no. 8. pp. 124–125. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  10. ^ Bonner, Michael (October 2013). "The Prettiest Star...". Uncut. No. 197. p. 26.
  11. ^ Oldham, James (January 1997). "A Hope in Hell". Vox. No. 75. p. 107.
  12. ^ a b c d Mirkin, Steven (September 21, 1996). "Mazzy Star Shines On Third Album | Long-Term Development Key For Capitol Act". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 38. pp. 12, 14. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
  13. ^ "Mazzy Star | Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  14. ^ "I've Been Let Down" / "Roseblood" (Vinyl liner notes). Mazzy Star. Capitol Records. 1996. S7–19255.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  15. ^ a b "Mazzy Star Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
  16. ^ "Ex-Mazzy Star Vocalist Preps Solo Debut". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. August 14, 2001. Archived from the original on May 30, 2013. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  17. ^ "Rick and Morty Season 7 Episode 5's End Song Is a Powerful Thematic Callback to Season 1". Anime. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  18. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 180.
  19. ^ "Charts.nz – Mazzy Star – Among My Swan". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
  20. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
  21. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
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