Seven's Travels is the third studio album by the Minneapolis hip hop group Atmosphere, their first and only for Epitaph. It was released on September 23, 2003. "Trying to Find a Balance" and "National Disgrace" were released as singles and music videos were made for both.
| Seven's Travels | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 23, 2003 | |||
| Genre | Hip hop | |||
| Length | 70:31 | |||
| Label | Rhymesayers / Epitaph | |||
| Producer | Ant | |||
| Atmosphere chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Alternative cover | ||||
.png) Original unreleased album cover. It would eventually be used for the 10th anniversary reissue. | ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| HipHopDX | [2] |
| RapReviews | (6.5/10)[3] |
| Rolling Stone | [4] |
| Stylus Magazine | B−[5] |
| Village Voice |  [6] |
Background
editThe original cover features a naked, bare-breasted woman laying in a field.[7] It was changed to a plain white cover resembling The White Album due to the death of Marissa Mathy-Zvaifler, a 16-year-old girl who was murdered by a janitor during an Atmosphere show in Albuquerque, NM on July 16, 2003. The janitor, convicted child sex offender Dominic Akers, had led the girl backstage, claiming he would allow her to meet vocalist Sean Daley (aka Slug).[8] Slug dedicates the album to Zvaifler in the liner notes,[9] and later wrote about the incident and his reaction in a song entitled "That Night,[10] which appears on the 2005 album You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having. Slug would later describe the song as one he "wasn't supposed to write"[11] and marks the 2005 album as a whole as a beginning point of Slug's more positive storytelling in his music.[11][12]
Release
editOn December 10, 2013, 3,000 limited edition vinyl pressings were released in celebration of the album's tenth anniversary. It uses the album's original cover art and contains bonus tracks.[13]
Track listing
editAll songs are produced by Ant.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "History" | 1:24 |
| 2. | "Trying to Find a Balance" | 4:17 |
| 3. | "Bird Sings Why the Caged I Know" | 2:55 |
| 4. | "Reflections" | 4:19 |
| 5. | "Gotta Lotta Walls" | 4:46 |
| 6. | "The Keys to Life vs. 15 Minutes of Fame" | 2:38 |
| 7. | "Apple" | 1:59 |
| 8. | "Suicidegirls" | 2:40 |
| 9. | "Jason" | 0:47 |
| 10. | "Cats Van Bags" (featuring Brother Ali) | 4:01 |
| 11. | "Los Angeles" | 2:14 |
| 12. | "Lifter Puller" | 6:18 |
| 13. | "Shoes" | 3:01 |
| 14. | "National Disgrace" | 5:02 |
| 15. | "Denvemolorado" | 3:11 |
| 16. | "Liquor Lyles Cool July" | 2:24 |
| 17. | "Good Times (Sick Pimpin')" | 4:56 |
| 18. | "In My Continental" | 4:28 |
| 19. | "Always Coming Back Home to You" | 4:02 |
| 20. | "Say Shh..." (Hidden track) | 5:09 |
| Total length: | 70:31 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 21. | "DMFD" | 1:45 |
| 22. | "On the Battlefield" | 0:45 |
| 23. | "Quiet Pimpin'" | 1:05 |
| 24. | "My Songs" | 5:18 |
| 25. | "A Song We Made With Sage" (featuring Sage Francis) | 5:18 |
| 26. | "Knock Knock Joke 2" | 2:45 |
| 27. | Untitled | 3:23 |
Personnel
edit- Slug – vocals
- Nate "the Guitar Man" Collis – additional guitar on "Trying to Find a Balance" and "Always Coming Back Home to You"
- Cameron H., Kristin B., and Nate the Merchant – additional vocals on "Bird Sings Why the Caged I Know"
- Tasha Baron – additional rhodes on "Gotta Lotta Walls" and "Good Times (Sick Pimpin')"
- Anthony D. – additional vocals on "Gotta Lotta Walls"
- Sara, Katie and others – additional vocals on "Suicidegirls"
- Jason Cook – additional vocals on "Jason"
- Brother Ali – guest vocals on "Cats Van Bags"
- Sara Lindsay, Sage Francis – additional vocals on "Lifter Puller"
- Nate Collis – additional jawharp on "Shoes" and "National Disgrace"
- Crescent Moon and Advizor – additional vocals on "Liquor Lyles Cool July"
- I Self Devine – additional vocals on "In My Continental"
References
edit- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ J-23 (2003-09-23). "review". Hiphopdx.com. Retrieved 2013-07-08.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "review". Rapreviews.com. 2003-11-18. Retrieved 2013-07-08.
- ^ Rolling Stone review Archived September 30, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Stylus Magazine review
- ^ Christgau, Robert (28 October 2003). "Rousing Constituencies". Village Voice.
- ^ "Seven's Travels Original Artwork". Flickr – Photo Sharing!. 31 May 2004.
- ^ "ABQjournal: Sunshine Theater Killer Gets Life". abqjournal.com.
- ^ "Images for Atmosphere (2) - Seven's Travels". Discogs.
- ^ "Atmosphere – That Night". Genius.
- ^ a b "A song Slug 'wasn't supposed to write' | Star Tribune". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on 2013-10-17. Retrieved 2013-10-17.
- ^ "Atmosphere's Slug Tells How the Rape and Murder of a Fan Changed His Music and His Life". SF Weekly. [dead link]
- ^ "RECORD STORE DAY – Seven's Travels [3xLP 10 Year Anniversary Edition]". recordstoreday.com.