Zopilote Machine
1994 studio album by the Mountain Goats
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Zopilote Machine is the debut studio album by the Mountain Goats. ("Zopilote" is Spanish for buzzard.) Note, however, that the Mountain Goats had been active since 1991, and before releasing this album had issued multiple long-playing cassette releases, as well as EPs (extended play records) and songs contributed to compilations. Zopilote Machine was originally released on CD only by Ajax Records in July 1994. In March 2005, it was re-released in CD and LP formats by the 3 Beads of Sweat label. It is the only full Mountain Goats album to include the entirety of The Bright Mountain Choir.
| Zopilote Machine | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 11, 1994 | |||
| Recorded | 1994 | |||
| Genre | Lo-fi | |||
| Length | 40:45 | |||
| Label | Ajax, 3 Beads of Sweat | |||
| Producer | John Darnielle | |||
| The Mountain Goats chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [1] |
| Sputnikmusic | [2] |
Critical retrospectives have noted that Zopilote Machine contains early examples of several song cycles and thematic preoccupations that would become central to John Darnielle's songwriting. The album features three tracks from what would become the Alpha series - "Alpha Incipiens," "Alpha Sun Hat," and "Alpha in Tauris" — early installments in the story of the dysfunctional couple whose story would span multiple albums before culminating in 2002's Tallahassee - a concept album about the Alpha Couple. Additionally, the album includes three entries in Darnielle's "Going To..." series and three songs drawing on Aztec mythology, establishing patterns that would recur throughout the Mountain Goats' discography.[1]
Track listing
All tracks are written by John Darnielle.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Alpha Incipiens" | 1:36 |
| 2. | "Azo Tle Nelli in Tlalticpac?" | 3:02 |
| 3. | "Alpha Sun Hat" | 1:24 |
| 4. | "The Black Ice Cream Song" | 2:03 |
| 5. | "Sinaloan Milk Snake Song" | 2:14 |
| 6. | "We Have Seen the Enemy" | 1:53 |
| 7. | "Standard Bitter Love Song #7" | 2:22 |
| 8. | "Quetzalcoatl Eats Plums" | 2:25 |
| 9. | "Orange Ball of Love" | 2:12 |
| 10. | "Orange Ball of Hate" | 2:09 |
| 11. | "Bad Priestess" | 1:29 |
| 12. | "Going to Bristol" | 2:02 |
| 13. | "Young Caesar 2000" | 2:17 |
| 14. | "Going to Lebanon" | 2:29 |
| 15. | "Grendel's Mother" | 2:20 |
| 16. | "Song for Tura Satana" | 2:03 |
| 17. | "Alpha in Tauris" | 2:09 |
| 18. | "Going to Georgia" | 2:15 |
| 19. | "Quetzalcoatl Is Born" | 2:21 |
| Total length: | 40:45 | |
Release history
Personnel
John Darnielle — vocals, guitar
The Bright Mountain Choir (Rachel Ware, Amy Piatt, Sarah Arslanian, Roseanne Lindley) — vocals
