El Camino Real (Camper Van Beethoven album)

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El Camino Real
A blue-tinted cartoon drawing of two men gripping a telephone pole
Studio album by
Camper Van Beethoven
ReleasedMay 30, 2014 (2014-05-30)
Studio
  • East Bay Recorders in Berkeley, California, United States
  • Guerrilla Recording in Oakland, California, United States
  • Sharkbite Studios in Oakland, California, United States
  • Various living rooms
GenreAlternative rock
Length39:52
LanguageEnglish
Label429
Camper Van Beethoven chronology
La Costa Perdida
(2013) 		El Camino Real
(2014)

El Camino Real is a 2014 studio album by American alternative rock band Camper Van Beethoven, a companion piece to La Costa Perdida released the year prior, which found the band with enough extra songs written to immediately record a second album.[1] A concept album about Southern California,[2] the work has received positive reviews from critics.[3]

Reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic66⁄100[3]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
American Songwriter[4]
Consequence of SoundB−[5]
Louder Sound[6]
PopMatters7⁄10[7]
PopMatters[8]

According to the review aggregator Metacritic, El Camino Real received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 66 out of 100 from seven critic scores.[3] Editors at AllMusic rated this album 3 out of 5 stars, with critic Mark Deming writing that this album has a more somber mood than La Costa Perdida and this release "finds them playing with a technical skill that puts their early classics to shame but sounding curiously short on the joy and spontaneity that were once this band's trademark".[2] Hal Horowitz of American Songwriter rated this album 2.5 out of 5 stars, writing that "the music contains CVB’s mix of country, folk, rock and gypsy soul", but "the songwriting and general groove is not up to the quirky quality expected from CVB".[4] Matt Melis of Consequence of Sound scored El Camino Real a B−, praising the "disconnect between the music and what Lowery’s actually singing" and summed up that "irony, tight songwriting, and a delightfully askew window on the world make any new Camper record worth a spin".[5] In Louder Sound, Stephen Dalton highlighted that this music mixes "sardonic social commentary with sincerity", with "a surprisingly big-hearted, warm-blooded empathy" that draws comparison to Bruce Springsteen.[6] PopMatters' John Garratt wrote that the band "do not seem too preoccupied with sounding like their former selves" on this recording and "no one else sounds quite like them" with their mix of "themes of work, joy, paranoia and peace"; his ranking was a 7 out of 10.[7] In Record Collector, Paul McGuinness gave this work 2 out of 5 stars, ending his review, "There’s plenty of sun throughout, but it’s a rougher road and they’re a wearier set of travellers this time around... It feels as though CVB may have overstretched themselves with this second leg; while La Costa Perdida was worth the wait, El Camino Real leaves the listener having enjoyed the trip, but glad to be getting home."[8]

Track listing[edit]

  1. "The Ultimate Solution" – 2:56
  2. "It Was Like That When We Got Here" – 4:28
  3. "Classy Dames and Able Gents" – 2:15
  4. "Camp Pendleton" – 4:56
  5. "Dockweiler Beach" – 2:50
  6. "Sugartown" – 2:26
  7. "I Live in LA" – 4:23
  8. "Out Like a Lion" – 4:00
  9. "Goldbase" – 3:50
  10. "Darken Your Door" – 4:38
  11. "Grasshopper" – 3:06

iTunes bonus tracks

  2. "City of Industry" – 4:33
  3. "Camp Pendleton" (demo) – 4:59
  4. "Summer Days" – 5:40

Personnel[edit]

Camper Van Beethoven

Additional personnel

  • Myles Boisen – engineering at Guerrilla Recording
  • Jason Carmer – engineering at Sharkbite Studios
  • Joe Lambert – mastering
  • Adam Myatt – engineering at East Bay Recorders
  • Sanna Olsson – backing vocals
  • Michael Rosen – engineering at East Bay Recorders
  • Drew Vandenburg – mixing at Chase Park Transduction, Athens, Georgia, United States
  • Michael Wertz – artwork, design

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Garratt, John (February 13, 2013). "Someday Our Love Will Sell Us Out: An Interview with Camper Van Beethoven". Features. PopMatters. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Deming, Mark (n.d.). "Camper Van Beethoven – El Camino Real". AllMusic. RhythmOne. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c "El Camino Real by Camper Van Beethoven Reviews and Tracks – Metacritic". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. n.d. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Horowitz, Hal (June 3, 2014). "Camper Van Beethoven: El Camino Real". American Songwriter. ISSN 0896-8993. OCLC 17342741. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
  5. ^ a b Melis, Matt (June 4, 2014). "Album Review: Camper Van Beethoven – El Camino Real". Album Reviews. Consequence of Sound. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
  6. ^ a b Dalton, Stephen (August 13, 2014). "Camper Van Beethoven: El Camino Real". Reviews > Classic Rock. Louder Sound. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
  7. ^ a b Garratt, John (June 12, 2014). "Camper Van Beethoven: El Camino Real". Reviews. PopMatters. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
  8. ^ a b McGuinness, Paul (September 9, 2014). "El Camino Real". Record Collector. No. 432. ISSN 0261-250X. Retrieved August 10, 2023.

External links[edit]

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