Pack Up Your Shadows (2020), by The Successful Failures

Pack Up Your Shadows (2020)

by The Successful Failures

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Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
The album jacket, designed by our graphics guru Mike Virok, features a reworking of images from a Mick Chorba collage. It's such a joy to see this design in a 12 x 12 format - but the real allure here is the beautiful sound of this album on the vinyl. Also included in this order is the 11 x 11 full color insert / lyric sheet, the SF Beer Tour sticker (designed by freelance artist Jason Kochis), and the "The Successful Failures" classic logo sticker in green. With the order of the vinyl you will also receive a digital download and physical cd of an intimate acoustic version of the full album. So let's tally it up....12" record, digital files of entire album, plus digital download/physical cd of acoustic version of album...plus the stickers! We'll sign the record if you want...just let us know (we'll have to break the seal).

Includes unlimited streaming of Pack Up Your Shadows (2020) via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
Enjoy the new album on compact disc technology - the jewel case packaging, designed by graphics guru Mike Virok, includes a reworking of images from a Mick Chorba collage. All CD orders will be fulfilled by Kool Kat Musik who is exclusively releasing the album on compact disc You will also receive the bonus CD from Kool Kat Musik featuring an acoustic guitar-only recording of each song in sequence. Finally your order will be accompanied by an SF sticker for you to slap on your notebook, car bumper, or laptop computer (or wherever you feel it will look best obviously).

Includes unlimited streaming of Pack Up Your Shadows (2020) via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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$16 USD or more

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Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
For those of you who did not order our last album ("Saratoga")on vinyl here's a special offer - you get both "Pack Up Your Shadows" and "Saratoga" on vinyl. This is a very limited offer as we don't have many Saratoga's left. You will also get the digital download of "Pack Up Your Shadows" as well as the bonus acoustic album and the SF stickers. This is pretty good deal I must say.

Includes unlimited streaming of Pack Up Your Shadows (2020) via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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$30 USD or more

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Ticket
We will come to your place and play the album live - you provide the outdoor space, invite your friends. Let's celebrate. The full band will perform the entire new album plus whatever other SF tunes you want to hear. Basically you get a house concert. For those further out than a 50 mile radius of central NJ we may have to negotiate a different price to accommodate travel expenses. You can do this (and still be safe via common sense social distancing and face masks). Live music is not dead!! Of course you get a digital download of the new album plus CD or vinyl. Let us know your preference. Oh and of course you get the full acoustic album as a bonus too.

$200 USD or more

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Full Digital Discography Full Digital Discography

26

releases

Get all 26 The Successful Failures releases available on Bandcamp and save 50%.

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Wrong Together (2023), Sally MacLannane, If I Should Fall From Grace With God (single), Millions of People (single), If I Ever (3-song EP), Uncle Jimmy (single), James Cotton Mather (2021), Hand Grenades (single), and 18 more. , and , .

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1.	Honeycomb 03:18	lyrics	buy track
Honey come home, my little honeycomb Honey come honey come home Honey come home, my little honeycomb Honeycomb honey come home I’ve been sittin’ down in the kitchen Waiting for the river to run I’ve been sittin’ down in the kitchen I listen for the whippoorwill hum I listen for the whippoorwill hum I been gettin’ up I been sittin’ back down I been gettin’ up I been walkin’ around, I been walkin’ around I been going out I been comin’ back home I been goin’ out I been all alone, I been all alone I been talkin’ to Nobody but me I been talkin’ to Nobody here but me Nobody here but me I been goin’ to bed I ain’t gettin’ no sleep I been goin’ to bed All I can do is dream
2.	On Down the Line 03:04	lyrics	buy track
We don’t know a better way of passing the time Than passing a bottle, on down the line On down the line, on down the line We don’t know a better way of making people smile Than by pickin’ and a grinnin’, foot stompin’ time On down the line, on down the line You won’t change my mind On down the line We don’t know a better way of helping you out Than with some words of kindness and a song that you can shout On down the line, on down the line We don’t know a better way of having a good time We’ll roll you a number and send it down the line On down the line, on down the line You won’t change my mind On down the line We don’t know a better way of doin’ this thing right That to cut enough pieces so we all get somma dat pie! On down the line, on down the line You won’t change my mind, On Down the line
3.	Murder 'Neath the Silver Moon 04:38	lyrics	buy track
Murder ‘Neath the Silver Moon What did you do when you went out? What did you do when you went out? What did you do when you went out today? What did you do? I met the girl with the long black veil I met the man with the long black tail We danced and danced around the open flame She held my hand and he spoke my name I met the girl in the hollow tree She took me in and she married me We danced and danced under the silver moon She played the fiddle and I played the spoons I met the girl with the clear blue eyes Under the nettles by the river side We danced and danced until the sun went down She held my head under the river drowning me What did you do when you went out? What did you do when you went out? What did you do when you went out today? What did you do? I met the girl in the shallow grave She laid me down in the bed we made We danced and we danced and then she kissed me dear And then she left me lying here I met the girl with the clear blue eyes Under the nettles by the river side We danced and danced until the sun went down She held my head under the river drowning me What did you do when you went out? What did you do when you went out? What did you do when you went out today? What did you do?
4.	This Girl 03:48	lyrics	buy track
She used to, she used to be naked Now she’s always undressed She used to be lonely now she’s only Making the best of this world She’s making the best of it She used to, she used to be angry Now she’s only depressed She used to be steely now she’s really Bent out of shape by this world But she’s makin the best of it This world, sure made a mess of it This world, show me the rest of it This girl, she always turns me around She used to, she used to be crazy Now she’s out of her mind She used to be sleepy now she’s deeply Afraid of wakin’ up in this world But she’s making the best of it This world, sure made a mess of it This world, show me the rest of it This girl, she always turns me around
5.	How Many Words 03:35	lyrics	buy track
How many words, fell into that bucket? How many words, fell under the seat? How many words, fell to the bottom? How many words, into the sea? How many words, did I surrender? How many words, did I leave? How many words did I leave broken? How many words, died inside of me? How many words, do I remember? How many words, did I just dream? How many words, just left me lonely? How many words, do I believe? How many words, did I surrender? How many words, dids I leave? How many words, did I leave unspoken? How many words, died inside of me?
6.	More of the Same 04:23	lyrics	buy track
I get up out of bed I slip into my shoes I put a hat on my head I got nothin’ to do I wish I had a little honey ooh Or a story to tell But it’s the same ol’ story That you know know so well It’s just more of the same It’s just more of the same thing Just more of the same Just more of the same thing Let’s take all the rights Put ‘em up in the trees And we’ll keep all the ladders For my cronies and me Then we’ll make a lot of money And feed the factory With the very same branches From those very same trees It’s just more of the same It’s just more of the same (old) thing Just more of the same Just more of the same thing I want to be a real boy I want to cut these strings I want to be a real grown boy and do real boy things But I make bad decisions And I make my mama cry And I make my own prison Until the day I die It’s just more of the same It’s just more of the same (old) thing Just more of the same Just more of the same thing
7.	Whiskey Song 04:03	lyrics	buy track
We could sing a song about women We could sing it all night long We could sing a song about true love And how it has gone wrong I could sing a train song to you And we’d make that whistle blow Like it’s coming through the tunnel We’d make it rumble long and low But we’ll sing a song about whiskey And how it makes a weak man strong Yeah we’ll sing a song about whiskey And how the good times have all gone This is a whiskey song I could sing a song about the girl Who made me feel this way I could sing a song about her And about the mess she made But we’ll sing a song about whiskey The lovely golden brown Yeah we’ll sing a song about whiskey And we’ll have another round This is a whiskey song Come on come on come on come on come on along… I could sing a song about the dreams That never will come true We could sing a song about the dreams We still hold on to But we’ll sing a song about whiskey And not the trouble that it brings Yeah we’ll sing a song about whiskey And forget about everything This is a whiskey song
8.	Something Good 03:40	lyrics	buy track
I’m one of those who always complains The glass is half empty or going down the drain I don’t see the rainbow, I only see rain My pleasure is jumped by my pain I can’t seem to figure this out Get these worries out of my head I can’t seem to figure this out Will these troubles never end? Is there something good comin’ round the bend? I’m not bragging so don’t put me down But I live in the shadow of darkness and doubt My mother and father will always be proud Until the day I let them both down I can’t seem to figure this out Get these worries out of my head I can’t seem to figure this out Will these troubles never end? Is there something good comin’ round the bend?
9.	My Bucket's Got a Hole In It 05:03	info	buy track
10.	Millions of People 03:27	info	buy track

about

Originally intended as a between album ep this project blossomed into a full-blown album. Thanks to some late February in-studio inspiration and extra time due to the coronavirus quarantine this collection came together in a very short period of time. "It's how I always wanted to make an album," says Mick Chorba, "show up at the studio with a rudimentary knowledge of the material and work through it together, get it done in a few weeks." So here it is - less than a year after the 7th SF record, "Saratoga"! "Pack Up Your Shadows" is being co-released with the NJ based label Kool Kat Musik who will be exclusively distributing the physical CD version of the album which will be accompanied by an acoustic full album (all 9 songs) bonus cd (you will also receive the bonus CD as a digital download). The acoustic album features a live performance of each song by Mick Chorba and his acoustic guitar (he plays a little harmonica and whistles once or twice). The limited edition 12" vinyl version is available exclusively here. Order it up!

Here's an advance review from the most excellent The Big Takeover rock magazine:

Chesterfield, NJ’s SFs make a one-off Americana rock album they’ve been flirting with, going in full on a style that’s flecked recent records Saratoga and Ichor of Nettle. Now, Ron Bechamps mans mandolin as often as bass. Mick Chorba remains a supreme songwriter and throaty vocalist whatever they play, while his Replacements-esque flair has proceeded from “Hold My Life” to “Hey Good Looking.” What if Hank Williams hadn’t died at 29 and became a rock ’n’ roller, recording for Sam Phillips’s Sun with punkier guitars? He’d change the words to “I Saw the Light” to become “Something Good!” Other songs drive by Drive-By-Truckers; ‘More of the Same” is like a Lead Belly-via-Creedence “Midnight Special,” update; and the temptation-turns-tragic “Murder ’Neath the Silver Moon” duet with Grace Quackenboss reverses 1930s “lass gets murdered” ballads—“Omi Wise,” “Pearl Bryan,” “Pretty Polly,” “Fair Florella”—by making the maiden the motive-free murderess—he didn’t have it coming” like “Goodbye Earl.” Pack is another Failures’ success.

credits

released July 10, 2020

All songs written by Mick Chorba Dinner Time Music c 2020
Except for “My Bucket’s Got a Hole In It” written by Clarence Williams
Recorded by Matt Weber at Gradwell House in Haddon Heights, NJ
Except for “My Bucket’s Got a Hole In It” recorded live at Retromedia Studios in Red Bank, NJ
Additional recording at FDR Studio C in Chesterfield, NJ
Mixed by Adam Vaccarelli in Red Bank, NJ
Mastered by Drew Mazurek in Baltimore, MD
Graphic Design and Album Layout by Mike Virok in Hamilton, NJ

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The Successful Failures Trenton, New Jersey

"The first thing you should know about The Successful Failures is that any attempt to plug them into one genre or another is very much a fool’s errand. Hailing from Trenton, N.J., the band deftly combines Americana, Pop, Rock, and enough of a dusting of Bluegrass that serves as an appetizer to the main course without overwhelming the entire meal." - July 2020, Rock is the New Roll ... more

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