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Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground
Studio album by Bright Eyes
Released	August 13, 2002
Recorded	December 2001 – January 2002
Studio	Presto!, Lincoln, Nebraska
Genre	Indie folk country rock emo chamber pop
Length	73:08
Label	Saddle Creek (US) LBJ-46
Producer	Mike Mogis
Bright Eyes chronology
There Is No Beginning to the Story (2002) Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground (2002) A Christmas Album (2002)
Singles from Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground
"Lover I Don't Have to Love" Released: 2002
Singles from Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground: A Companion
"You Will. You? Will. You? Will. You? Will. (Companion version)" Released: August 10, 2022

Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground is the fourth studio album by Bright Eyes and the 46th release of Saddle Creek Records. The band made its national television debut in support of the album, performing "The Trees Get Wheeled Away" (a track that was not on the album) on the Late Show with David Letterman.

The album was reissued by Dead Oceans alongside a six-track companion EP on November 11, 2022.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	77/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Blender
The Guardian
Los Angeles Times
NME	7/10
Pitchfork	7.7/10
Q
The Rolling Stone Album Guide
Spin	8/10
The Village Voice	B+

Lifted received positive reviews, ranking fourth on Rolling Stone's list of the best albums in 2002, and was lauded as a breakthrough album for Bright Eyes and Conor Oberst. Kludge included it on their list of best albums of 2002. Blender ranked the album at 52 on their list of "100 Greatest Indie-Rock Albums Ever", which appeared in the December 2007 issue.

Lifted was the band's first to reach The Billboard 200, spending one week at No. 161. The set has sold 184,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. As of 2009 it has sold over 340,000 copies in the US.

Track listing

Personnel

• Conor Oberst – guitar, piano, rhodes, organ, voice (tracks 1–13)
• Mike Mogis – banjos, bells, hammered dulcimer, vibraphone, glockenspiel, mandolin, guitar, dobro, pedal steel (tracks 2–9, 11–13)
• Matt Focht, Clint Schnase, Mike Sweeney – drums
• Todd Baechle, Jenny Lewis, Blake Sennett, Choir – vocal harmonies
• Andy LeMaster – electric guitar, keyboards, vocal harmonies (tracks 2–4, 6–8, 11)
• Clark Baechle – drums, clarinet
• Clay Leverett – drums, vocal harmonies
• Jiha Lee – flute, vocal harmonies (tracks 3, 6, 8, 9)
• Chris Brooks – piano (track 9)
• Gretta Cohn – cello (tracks 3, 5, 7, 12)
• Sean Cole – harmonica (tracks 9, 13)
• Julee Dunekacke – French horn (track 3)
• Margaret Fish – bassoon (tracks 3, 13)
• Orenda Fink – trumpet, vocal harmonies (tracks 2, 3, 7, 11, 13)
• Jason Flatowicz – trombone (tracks 3, 13)
• Tiffany Kowalski – violin (tracks 3, 5, 7, 12)
• Matt Maginn – bass (tracks 2, 4, 7, 9)
• Casey Scott – bass (tracks 3, 8, 9, 12, 13)
• Katie Muth – oboe (tracks 3, 6, 8, 12)
• Ted Stevens – electric guitar (track 9)
• Maria Taylor – piano, organ, vocal harmonies (tracks 2–4, 8, 12, 13)

Charts

References

1. ^ Hagan, Joe (September 2002). "Bright Eyes: Lifted or the Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground". Spin. 18 (9): 133–34. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
2. Arcand, Rob; Ruiz, Matthew Ismael (August 10, 2022). "Bright Eyes Announce More "Companion" Reissues of Early Albums". Pitchfork.
3. "Reviews for Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground by Bright Eyes". Metacritic. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
4. Wilson, MacKenzie. "Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground – Bright Eyes". AllMusic. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
5. Simmons, Sylvie (September 2002). "Bright Eyes: Lifted or the Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground". Blender (9): 143. Archived from the original on April 13, 2005. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
6. Clarke, Betty (August 9, 2002). "Bright Eyes: Lifted, or: The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground". The Guardian. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
7. Cromelin, Richard (August 11, 2002). "From a Leisurely Journey Comes Bravura Rock". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
8. Mulvey, John (August 10, 2002). "Bright Eyes : Lifted Or The Story Is In The Soil, Keep Your Ear To The Ground". NME: 32. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
9. Carr, Eric (August 12, 2002). "Bright Eyes: Lifted, or, The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
10. "Bright Eyes: Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground". Q (194): 101. September 2002.
11. Catucci, Nick (2004). "Bright Eyes". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 104–05. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
12. Christgau, Robert (December 31, 2002). "Consumer Guide: Don't Call It a Comeback". The Village Voice. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
13. "The Best of 2002". Kludge. Archived from the original on July 22, 2004. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
14. "The 100 Greatest Indie-Rock Albums Ever — #60 to #51". Blender. December 2007. Archived from the original on 2010-02-10.
15. "Bright Eyes Greets New Year With Two Albums". Billboard.com. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
16. "Tree Folk". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 29 August 2009. Retrieved 29 September 2017 – via Google Books.
17. "Swedishcharts.com – Bright Eyes – Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
18. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
19. "Bright Eyes Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
20. "Bright Eyes Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
21. "Bright Eyes Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 3, 2022.

External links

• Saddle Creek Records

• 2002 albums
• Bright Eyes (band) albums
• Saddle Creek Records albums
• Albums produced by Mike Mogis