Birds of My Neighborhood

Birds of My Neighborhood
Studio album by The Innocence Mission
Released	August 10, 1999
Recorded	1997-1999
Genre	Alternative, folk
Length	37:17
Label	Kneeling Elephant / RCA Badman Recording Co.
Producer	The Innocence Mission
The Innocence Mission chronology
Glow (1995) Birds Of My Neighborhood (1999) Christ Is My Hope (2000)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Pitchfork Media	(7.7/10)[2]

Birds of My Neighborhood is The Innocence Mission's fourth full-length studio album.

Originally released on the RCA sub-label Kneeling Elephant in 1999, the album was long-out of print until their current record label - Badman Recording Co. - acquired license to remaster and reissue the material in 2006.

This was the group's first release as a trio following the departure of founding member Steve Brown in 1997. With the exception of his sole contribution to the album - drums and brushes on "Snow" - the album is largely bereft of drums. Don Peris took up percussional duties on "Birdless" and the closing moments of his self-penned "Green Grass, Red Tree," but otherwise the group adapted to its new trio status by replacing Mike Bitt's electric bass with an upright bass and taking on a more acoustic, folk-based sound than their previous guitar-heavy work.

Their cover of "Follow Me" was recorded in late 1997 for inclusion on the John Denver tribute album Take Me Home, which had an estimated release date of 1998. With that record's release being continually delayed, however, Don Peris approached that record's curator, the Red House Painters's Mark Kozelek, for permission to include the cover on The Innocence Mission's own record. Mark Kozelek agreed, on condition that the song still be included on the tribute record when a general release was finally given in April 2000.^[3]

In 2007, "The Lakes of Canada" garnered significant attention when it was covered by Sufjan Stevens.^[4][5]

Track listing

All tracks written by Karen Peris, except where noted.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Where Does the Time Go?"	3:32
2.	"Snow"	3:47
3.	"Follow Me" (John Denver)	3:19
4.	"The Lakes of Canada"	4:35
5.	"You Are the Light"	2:56
6.	"Birdless"	3:34
7.	"I Haven't Seen This Day Before"	2:09
8.	"She May Turn Around"	2:17
9.	"I Was in the Air" (Don Peris)	2:38
10.	"July"	3:22
11.	"Going Away" (Karen Peris, Don Peris)	3:06
12.	"Green Grass, Red Tree" (Don Peris)	2:20
Total length:		37:17

Personnel

• Karen Peris — acoustic, electric and nylon string guitar, piano, organ, vocals
• Don Peris — acoustic, electric and nylon string guitar, drums, tambourine, organ, lead and background vocals
• Mike Bitts — upright and electric bass guitar, background vocals
• Steve Brown — drums and brushes on "Snow"

Album credits

• Recorded and Mixed by Don Peris
• Tracks 3, 4, 5, 7, 10 mixed by Todd Vos and Don Peris
• Greg Calbi: Mastering [Original]
• Shawn Hatfield: Mastering [Re-Release]

References

1. Allmusic review
2. Pitchfork Media review
3. Brown, Todd. "The Innocence Mission True Tunes Interview". True Tunes. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
4. "Sufjan Stevens - The Lakes of Canada - A Take Away Show". Youtube. May 31, 2007. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
5. "Sufjan Stevens - NPR All Songs Considered". March 8, 2009. Retrieved September 1, 2013.