Feast of Wire

Feast of Wire is the fourth studio album by American indie rock band Calexico. The album was released on June 18, 2003 through Quarterstick Records. The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[1]

Feast of Wire
Studio album by Calexico
Released	February 18, 2003
Studio	Wavelab Studio, Tucson, Arizona
Genre	Indie rock, americana, Tex-Mex, alternative country
Length	49:44
Label	Quarterstick
Producer	Joey Burns, John Convertino, Craig Schumacher
Calexico chronology
Hot Rail (2000) Feast of Wire (2003) Garden Ruin (2006)

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	86/100[2]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Alternative Press	5/5[4]
The Boston Phoenix	[5]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[6]
The Guardian	[7]
Mojo	[8]
Pitchfork	8.9/10[9]
Q	[10]
Rolling Stone	[11]
Uncut	[12]

Joe Tangari of Pitchfork called Feast of Wire Calexico's "first genuinely masterful full-length, crammed with immediate songcraft, shifting moods and open-ended exploration," and "the album we always knew they had in them but feared they would never make."[9]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
0.	Untitled (pregap hidden instrumental track)	2:16
1.	"Sunken Waltz"	2:27
2.	"Quattro (World Drifts In)"	4:36
3.	"Stucco"	0:20
4.	"Black Heart"	4:48
5.	"Pepita"	2:36
6.	"Not Even Stevie Nicks..."	2:42
7.	"Close Behind"	2:51
8.	"Woven Birds"	3:46
9.	"The Book and the Canal"	1:45
10.	"Attack el Robot! Attack!"	3:17
11.	"Across the Wire"	3:25
12.	"Dub Latina"	2:19
13.	"Güero Canelo"	2:57
14.	"Whipping the Horse's Eyes"	1:24
15.	"Crumble"	3:54
16.	"No Doze"	4:21
Total length:		49:44

Limited edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
17.	"Corona" (Minutemen cover)	3:19
18.	"Si tu disais" (Françoiz Breut cover)	3:25
19.	"Fallin' Rain" (Link Wray cover)	5:19
Total length:		1:01:47

Personnel

Credits adapted from CD Universe.[13]

Calexico

• Joey Burns – guitar, upright bass, accordion, percussion, cuatro, cello, orchestra bells, pump organ, mandolin, bowed banjo, vibes, synthesizer, melodica, vocals
• John Convertino – drums, percussion, piano (track 9)
• Paul Niehaus – pedal steel
• Jacob Valenzuela – trumpet (tracks 2, 7, 10, 11, 15)
• Martin Wenk – accordion (tracks 4, 7), trumpet (tracks 7, 11), bowed vibes (track 16)
• Volker Zander – upright bass (tracks 4, 16)

Additional personnel

• Ed Kay – flute (track 15)
• Eddie Lopez – button accordion (track 11)
• Nick Luca – synthesizer (tracks 2, 5, 10), piano (tracks 4, 15), vibes (track 10), electric guitar (track 15)
• Jeff "Fruitpie" Marchant – trombone (track 15)
• Craig Schumacher – synthesizer (tracks 2, 16), tympani (track 7), backup vocals (tracks 1, 2), trumpet (track 2)
• Fernando Valencia – violin (track 11)
• Joseph Valenzuela – trombone (track 2)

Charts

Chart	Peak position
UK Albums (OCC)[14]	71
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[15]	45
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[16]	23

References

1. Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (23 March 2010). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 978-0-7893-2074-2.
2. "Reviews for Feast of Wire by Calexico". Metacritic. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
3. Phares, Heather. "Feast of Wire – Calexico". AllMusic. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
4. "Calexico: Feast of Wire". Alternative Press (176): 86. March 2003.
5. Woodlief, Mark (March 13–20, 2003). "Calexico: Feast of Wire (Quarterstick)". The Boston Phoenix. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
6. Hermes, Will (February 14, 2003). "Feast of Wire". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 9, 2016. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
7. Simpson, Dave (February 14, 2003). "Calexico: Feast of Wire". The Guardian. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
8. "Calexico: Feast of Wire". Mojo (112): 98. March 2003.
9. Tangari, Joe (February 23, 2003). "Calexico: Feast of Wire". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
10. "Calexico: Feast of Wire". Q (200): 104. March 2003.
11. Simon, Jeremy (February 18, 2003). "Calexico: Feast Of Wire". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 27, 2003. Retrieved September 23, 2016.
12. "Calexico: Feast of Wire". Uncut (70): 98. March 2003.
13. "Calexico - Feast Of Wire CD Album". Cduniverse.com. 2003-02-18. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
14. "Calexico". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
15. "Calexico - Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
16. "Calexico - Independent Albums". Billboard. Retrieved November 17, 2017.

External links

• Feast of Wire at Discogs (list of releases)