When I completed it, remember thinking that There and Back Again was my first consistently good album. It was my fifth, so one would hope that progress was being made! The songs and performances were stronger, and it felt like there was some thematic unity, which was helped by opening and closing the album with two parts of the same song, “Fever”. Although the title was inspired by the subtitle of The Hobbit, it has nothing to do with J.R.R. Tolkien’s universe.
I had a new job and was making some personal breakthroughs; the lyrics were more varied in emotional tone, though there was still a lot of darkness. Most of the songs were written in a burst of creativity in the spring of 1996, and the whole album was completed before the end of that year.
It was also the last album released on cassette tape. The next album, Machine Dream, would be CD only, and I actually went back and remixed There and Back Again for a CD release afterward. The formerly dreary green-toned cassette cover was much improved by the new, vibrant red-toned CD cover.
Be First to Comment