Retired Boxer
Retired Boxer is the seventh self-released music cassette album by singer-songwriter Daniel Johnston, recorded in 1984.[1] The album's nine songs are performed in Johnston's usual confessional piano ballad style. This album, like those before it, was recorded with a consumer grade tape player. Evidence of this is found in the warbling tape hiss and distortion.
Retired Boxer | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | January 1, 1985 | |||
Recorded | December 1984 | |||
Genre | Lo-fi | |||
Length | 30:05 | |||
Label | Stress Records | |||
Daniel Johnston chronology | ||||
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"True Love Will Find You in the End" later appeared on 1990. The song has become one of Johnston's most well-known,[2] covered by many other artists, beginning with the Reivers in 1987 (and later included on the 2002 reissue of their album Saturday). Beck recorded a cover which appeared on the Johnston tribute album, The Late Great Daniel Johnston: Discovered Covered. Wilco also recorded a version as a B-side to their 1999 song "A Shot In The Arm". Basia Bulat has performed the song frequently in concert.[3] Matthew Good recorded a version for his 2007 album Hospital Music, as well as Mates of State on their 2010 album Crushes (The Covers Mixtape). Johnston's original "True Love Will Find You in the End" was used in a 2012 commercial for a men's hair care product.[4]
As a benefit for the mental health charity Hi How Are You Project, American singer-bassist Kate Davis scheduled the release of a complete Retired Boxer cover album for January 2021, with her album title Strange Boy taken from Johnston's song. She posted "Oh No" to SoundCloud as the lead single in November 2020.[5]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Daniel Johnston. All tracks produced by Johnston.
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "I'll Do Anything but Break Dance for Ya, Darling" | 6:02 |
2. | "Bye Bye Barbie" | 1:18 |
3. | "Fighting with Myself" | 2:28 |
4. | "Too Young to Die" | 3:47 |
5. | "This Song" | 1:19 |
6. | "Feels Good" | 4:18 |
7. | "Oh No" | 3:58 |
8. | "Strange Boy" | 5:01 |
9. | "True Love Will Find You in the End" | 1:54 |
Total length: | 30:05 |
References
- Robbins, Ira. "CD Review | Daniel Johnston: Retired Boxer". trouserpress. Trouser Press LLC. Retrieved 2009-12-17.
- Joe Fassler, "Jeff Tweedy's Subconscious Songwriting", The Atlantic, September 16, 2014.
- Peter Blackstock, "Basia Bulat's brave new old world", No Depression #76, October 1, 2008.
- Kory Grow, "Daniel Johnston Song Makes Axe Ad A Little Less Stinky", Spin, August 21, 2012.
- "Kate Davis Releases 'Strange Boy' Cover Album". Obsessive-Compulsive. November 20, 2020. Retrieved December 4, 2020.