Aimee Mann - Bachelor No. 2 Or The Last Remains Of The Dodo (2000)

Aimee Mann (born September 8, 1960) is an American rock singer, singer-songwriter, bassist and guitarist. She was the bassist and a vocalist for the band 'Til Tuesday during the 1980s and since then she has primarily released albums and performed as a solo musician. She is married to Michael Penn.

It's no shock that Aimee Mann's Bachelor No. 2, or the last remains of the dodo sounds identical to her songs for Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia, since it was written and recorded at roughly the same time (the two records share four songs). Yet Bachelor No. 2 is hardly a retread, having its own identity and flow; it's more intimate, a little more fragile, a little more craftmanslike -- more like an Aimee Mann record, really. That, of course, is not a bad thing, especially since Mann has never sounded as assured as she does here, nor has she ever had a better set of songs. Surprisingly, this cohesive album was produced by a handful of different producers and Mann collaborated with three songwriters (Jon Brion being the most noteworthy of both categories).
 It sounds like the work of one writer and one production team, which is testament to the fact that Mann has finally found the ideal sound to match her literate, mildly self-deprecating, clever, melancholy, melodic style. Bachelor No. 2 is crisp, clear, and direct, but deceptive. It's hardly a guitar-and-voice record, there are layers of details in the arrangements, particularly in how the various guitars and keyboards weave seamlessly together.
There has never been a better sound for her songs, and she's never been more consistently compelling as a writer either. To call Bachelor No. 2 a masterpiece may be overstating the matter somewhat, since an album this unassuming (but not unconfident) is too intimate to be labeled as such, yet it isn't hyperbole to call it the finest record Mann has made to date.

Track listing (US and Japan releases)

01.  "How Am I Different"  (Jon Brion, Mann) - 5:03
02.  "Nothing Is Good Enough" - 3:10
03.  "Red Vines" - 3:44
04.  "The Fall of the World's Own Optimist"  (Elvis Costello, Mann) - 3:06
05.  "Satellite" - 4:10
06.  "Deathly" - 5:37
07.  "Ghost World" - 3:30
08.  "Calling It Quits" - 4:09
09.  "Driving Sideways"  (Michael Lockwood, Mann) - 3:49
10.  "Just Like Anyone" - 1:22
11.  "Susan" - 3:51
12.  "It Takes All Kinds"  (Brion, Mann) - 4:06
13.  "You Do" - 3:43
14.  "Save Me" - 4:35  (Japan bonus track)

All songs by Aimee Mann, unless otherwise noted.

Credits
Aimee Mann – acoustic guitar, bass guitar, electric guitar, tambourine, lead vocals, background vocals, hi-hat
Jon Brion – drums, electric guitar, keyboard, background vocals
Mark Flannagan – trumpet
Juliana Hatfield – background vocals
Michael Hausman – percussion, tambourine
Butch – drums, percussion
Buddy Judge – background vocals, Wurlitzer, drum loop
Michael Lockwood – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, keyboard, background vocals, soloist, 12 string electric guitar, 12 string acoustic guitar
Ric Menck – drums
Brendan O'Brien – bass guitar, slide guitar
Michael Penn – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, background vocals, slide guitar, introduction, guitar feedback
Grant Lee Phillips – background vocals
John Sands – drums
Clayton Scoble – electric baritone guitar
Benmont Tench – piano, Chamberlin
Jennifer Trynin – electric guitar
Patrick Warren – piano, accordion, celeste, keyboard, Chamberlin, soloist

Production
Producers - Aimee Mann, Jon Brion, Mike Denneen, Buddy Judge, Brendan O'Brien
Executive producer - Michael Hausman
Engineers - Mike Denneen, Nick DiDia, Ryan Freeland, S. "Husky" Höskulds, Dustin Jones, Buddy Judge, Hank Linderman, Brian Scheuble
Assistant engineers - Elijah Bradford, Carlos Castro, Connie Hill, Dustin Jones
Mixing - David Boucher, Bob Clearmountain, Ryan Freeland
Mastering - Shawn R. Britton
Extensive Help with Production - Buddy Judge
Assistants - David Boucher, Ryan Freeland
Computers - Buddy Judge
Drum engineering - Hank Linderman
Vocal engineer - S. "Husky" Hoskulds
Drum programming - Michael Hausman, Buddy Judge, Hank Linderman
Art direction - Aimee Mann, Gail Marowitz
Design - Aimee Mann, Gail Marowitz

Notes
Released - May 2, 2000
Genre - Pop rock
Length - 49:21
© 1999

Label - SuperEgo, V2