Hadestown (album)


Hadestown is the fourth album by Vermont-based Anaïs Mitchell, and was released by Righteous Babe Records on March 9, 2010. The concept album, which later produced the stage musical of the same name, follows a variation on the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, where Orpheus must embark on a quest to rescue his wife Eurydice from the underworld. It has been advertised as a "folk opera". Several of the songs feature singers other than Mitchell, including Justin Vernon, Ani DiFranco, Greg Brown, and Tanya, Petra and Rachel Haden.
The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Recording Package in the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards.

Production

Between 2006 and 2007, Mitchell staged performances of Hadestown, a musical based on the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Unsure what lay ahead for the stage musical, she decided to turn it into a concept album. Raising a few thousand dollars by emailing her fan base and asking them to pitch in in exchange for shirts and other merchandise, Mitchell worked on the album for over a year.
The album features orchestral arrangements by Michael Chorney, who was involved with Anaïs' recordings since Hymns for the Exiled in 2004.
Within the narrative of the album, the part of Orpheus is played by Vernon, Persephone by DiFranco, Hades by Greg Brown, The Fates by Tanya, Petra and Rachel Haden, Hermes by Ben Knox Miller and Mitchell herself plays Eurydice.
While most of the recording was produced by Todd Sickafoose at Brooklyn Recording Studio in New York City, the lead vocals were often produced elsewhere in the United States.

Plot

As the album begins, "Wedding Song" describes the courtship of Orpheus and Eurydice. Living in a time of economic depression, she asks him how he can possibly afford to marry her and give her a good life, to which he replies that his musicianship will bring them everything they desire. Although she loves Orpheus, Eurydice seems wary and unsure whether he can provide for them. Orpheus then sings of how Hades built his empire in the underworld, using exploitation and trickery to force the residents to do his bidding. Hermes visits Eurydice and teaches her how to get to Hadestown, telling her it is a world full of prosperity and far away from the poverty she fears. She seems convinced although Orpheus tries to change her mind by making Hadestown out to be full of slavery and unending work. He is drowned out by Persephone, who sings of the coming end of summer when she will be taken back to the underworld to reunite with her husband, and The Fates, who sing of the luck that comes from living in Hadestown. Eurydice begins to question her quality of life and considers journeying down. In "Hey, Little Songbird" Hades himself calls to Eurydice and lures her onto a train down to his domain in the underworld.
Eurydice apologises for leaving Orpheus, saying that she allowed her gut feelings to overrule her heart. She tries to excuse her decision by telling him that she was gone as soon as she met Hades and nothing could have stopped her from leaving. The Fates chastise the listeners for judging her from their life of comfort. They then pay a visit to her and ask her what she is going to do when forced to make another tough decision. Orpheus is determined to rescue his love from Hadestown but Hermes warns him that it will be a difficult task to accomplish but gives him advice about how to survive the journey and shows him to the train. Meanwhile, Hades reinforces his power over the underworld by manipulating its residents into believing that, although they must work tirelessly to do Hades' bidding, the outside world is much worse. Therefore, Hades is able to seem as if he is a benevolent ruler who is, in fact, protecting his people rather than enslaving them.
Orpheus travels through Hadestown and comes across a speakeasy run by Persephone. Instead of alcohol, Persephone offers earthly desires to her customers. When he enters, Persephone takes a liking to him. In "Flowers", Eurydice, who has now become Hades' mistress, realises what a terrible mistake she made being tempted by his wealth and power. She regrets leaving Orpheus, the only man who ever loved her, to live with a cruel tyrant and expresses her wish to being reunited with him. The Fates pay Orpheus a visit and try to persuade him to abandon his quest to rescue Eurydice, telling him there is no chance he will succeed and trying will only bring him pain. Their words trouble him and he begins to wonder if he will ever see his true love again.
Hades, having discovered that Orpheus is trying to save Eurydice, sympathises with their plight, for he loves his own wife in the same way that Orpheus loves Eurydice. He is afraid that allowing the couple to reunite and leave the underworld would make him look weak and would cause his power over Hadestown come under threat. Persephone, knowing her husband will never give in to his humanity without encouragement, convinces him to be kind and put the love of Orpheus and Eurydice over his own greed. When Orpheus finally reaches Hades, he appeals to him to let Eurydice go. Doing so in front of his wife and subjects forces Hades to grant the request, as refusing would reveal his true heartless nature. Hades devises a plan to ensure that he maintains control of the underworld without looking weak by making a deal with Orpheus: the lovers are permitted to leave Hadestown together so long as Eurydice follows Orpheus and he does not turn around.
As they journey back to the surface together, doubt begins to plague Orpheus. The arrogance and confidence that filled him when he began his quest are lost and replaced with fear because he is unable to see Eurydice and does not know if she is truly following him. As they walk Eurydice tries to reassure him that she loves him but, after her initial betrayal, Orpheus does not believe her and turns. In the album's closing track, "I Raise My Cup to Him", Eurydice, doomed to remain in Hadestown forever, finds herself in Persephone's bar where they both lament the loss of love and raise a toast to Orpheus, who was forced to return to the surface alone.

Reception

Upon release, Hadestown gained extremely positive reviews overall. Drowned in Sound awarded the album a 10/10, stating that "Mitchell traverses such a sweeping range of emotions, genres and styles over the course of Hadestown, it’s frankly remarkable that the whole thing works at all. That it works so brilliantly well, that in under an hour it creates a world you’ll want to return to time and time again, that it is a glittering model of the form – of collaboration itself – is nothing short of awe-inspiring." The Guardian and NME were similarly effusive in their praise, awarding the album 5/5 and 9/10 respectively. Stereo Subversion's Jonathan Sanders gave the album a perfect score and called it "a lasting example of where folk music can go when the right musicians take hold of history." The album also topped review aggregator website AnyDecentMusic?'s all time chart with an 8.9, the highest rating for any album until Frank Ocean's Channel Orange.
"Why We Build the Wall" was later covered by English country folk musician Billy Bragg on his 2018 album Bridges Not Walls.
In 2017 it was ranked number 63 in Paste's "The 100 Best Indie Folk Albums".

Stage musical

Mitchell continued working on an expanded theatrical version of Hadestown, and in May 2016 the show debuted at New York Theatre Workshop, having been developed with and directed by Rachel Chavkin. In November 2017, the show received its Canadian premiere at Citadel Theatre in Edmonton, Alberta, and in April 2018 it was announced that Hadestown would open later the same year at London's Royal National Theatre before transferring to the Walter Kerr Theatre on Broadway, where it went on to win the Tony Award for Best Musical and Tony Award for Best Original Score in 2019, among six other Tony Awards.

Track listing

  1. "Wedding Song" featuring Justin Vernon – 3:18
  2. "Epic " featuring Justin Vernon – 2:22
  3. "Way Down Hadestown" featuring Justin Vernon, Ani DiFranco and Ben Knox Miller – 3:33
  4. "Songbird Intro" – 0:24
  5. "Hey, Little Songbird" featuring Greg Brown – 3:09
  6. "Gone, I'm Gone" featuring The Haden Triplets – 1:09
  7. "When the Chips are Down" featuring The Haden Triplets – 2:14
  8. "Wait for Me" featuring Ben Knox Miller and Justin Vernon – 3:06
  9. "Why We Build the Wall" featuring Greg Brown – 4:18
  10. "Our Lady of the Underground" featuring Ani DiFranco – 4:40
  11. "Flowers " – 3:33
  12. "Nothing Changes" featuring The Haden Triplets – 0:52
  13. "If It's True" featuring Justin Vernon – 3:03
  14. "Papers " – 1:24
  15. "How Long?" featuring Ani DiFranco and Greg Brown – 3:36
  16. "Epic " featuring Justin Vernon – 2:55
  17. "Lover's Desire" – 2:05
  18. "His Kiss, The Riot" featuring Greg Brown – 4:03
  19. "Doubt Comes In" featuring Justin Vernon – 5:32
  20. "I Raise My Cup to Him" featuring Ani DiFranco – 2:10

    Personnel