For Emma, Forever Ago
Nine songs made alone in a hunting cabin over one winter, self-released and then picked up by Jagjaguwar.
Bon Iver, 2007
- Released
- 2007 (self-released); 19 February 2008 (Jagjaguwar)
- Recorded
- Late 2006 to early 2007
- Studio
- A hunting cabin in northwestern Wisconsin; Fairall, Raleigh, North Carolina
- Label
- Jagjaguwar
- Producer
- Justin Vernon
- Length
- 37:14
Vernon sang, played guitar and recorded it himself. The only other players are Christy Smith, on drums and vocals on Flume, and John DeHaven and Randy Pingrey, on trumpet and trombone on the title track. The official site's account is short: "It wasn't planned. The goal was to hibernate."
It reached 64 on the Billboard 200 and topped the Heatseekers chart, and the RIAA certified it platinum in 2017. Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield called it a quiet marvel, the Guardian's Jude Rogers found nothing overplayed and nothing throwaway, and Robert Christgau dissented with a C+. Pitchfork ranked it 29th among the albums of the 2000s, and it is on Rolling Stone's 2020 list of the 500 greatest albums.
Track listing
- Flume3:40
- Lump Sum3:20
- Skinny Love4:00
- The Wolves (Act I and II)5:22
- Blindsided5:30
- Creature Fear3:06
- Team1:56
- For Emma3:40
- re: Stacks6:40
Personnel
- Justin Vernon vocals, guitar, production, recording
- John DeHaven trumpet on For Emma
- Randy Pingrey trombone on For Emma
- Christy Smith drums, vocals on Flume
- Nick Petersen mastering
More from Bon Iver
Blood Bank (2009), Bon Iver, Bon Iver (2011)
Sources
- For Emma, Forever Ago, Wikipedia
- For Emma, Forever Ago, Bon Iver
- The TLOBF interview: Bon Iver, The Line of Best Fit (2008-06-03)