Lost and Safe

Lost and Safe
Studio album by The Books
Released	5 April 2005
Genre	Electronic, folk
Length	42:04
Label	Tomlab
The Books chronology
The Lemon of Pink (2003) Lost and Safe (2005) Music for a French Elevator (2006)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Pitchfork Media	(7.8/10)[2]
Play Louder	[3]
Prefix Magazine	(9.0/10) [4]
Robert Christgau	(A-) [5]
Stylus Magazine	(B) [6]
Tiny Mix Tapes	[7]
The Village Voice	(A) [8]

Lost and Safe is the third album by The Books. It is in the same style of their previous albums, continuing their rich use of samples as diverse as Raymond Baxter ("That's the picture. You s-you see it for yourself."), W. H. Auden ("This great society is going smash / A culture is no better than its woods", from his poem "Bucolics: II, Woods"), and a reading of Lewis Carroll's poem "Jabberwocky". On "If Not Now, Whenever" Mal Sharpe asks a passerby "How're you doin' today?" Some of the sampled passages are either accompanied or performed elsewhere by guitarist/bassist Nick Zammuto in Sprechstimme. Some of the eclecticism of the samples is owed to their origins in Salvation Army shops.^[9]

Samples

The Books use samples extensively in this work, as in most of their works. "It Never Changes to Stop" features the sound of admonitions and commands as delivered by an anonymous American disciplinarian.^[10] "Venice" samples the bonus track of a 1966 opera record, in which an American reporter describes a Salvador Dalí "happening" in Venice.^[11]

Critical reception

Lost and Safe has received very positive reviews from numerous critics and music publications. Allmusic awarded the album 4½ stars out of 5, saying "From the songwriting to the production to the performance, the whole package that the Books present with Lost and Safe works wonderfully and makes for a very rewarding listen."^[1] Lost and Safe currently holds a rating of 84 out of a possible 100 (indicating universal acclaim) on Metacritic.com.^[12] Wire magazine voted Lost and Safe as the best album of the year in 2005.^[13]

Track listing

1. "A Little Longing Goes Away" – 3:30
2. "Be Good to Them Always" – 4:51
3. "Vogt Dig for Kloppervok" – 3:54
4. "Smells Like Content" – 3:41
5. "It Never Changes to Stop" – 4:01
6. "An Animated Description of Mr. Maps." – 4:38
7. "Venice" – 1:42
8. "None But Shining Hours" – 2:42
9. "If Not Now, Whenever" – 3:35
10. "An Owl With Knees" – 4:41
11. "Twelve Fold Chain" – 4:44

References

1. Lost and Safe at AllMusic
3. "Playlouder MSP Music Service". Playlouder.com. Retrieved 2011-09-14.
4. "The Books: Lost and Safe". Prefixmag. 2008-04-23. Retrieved 2011-09-14.
5. "CG: The Books". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 2011-09-14.
6. The Books - Lost and Safe - Review - Stylus Magazine
7. "Tiny Mix Tapes: The Books: Lost and Safe". Tiny Mix Tapes. Archived from the original on 11 June 2008. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
8. Robert Christgau (2005-07-12). "Laptop for Desktoppers - Page 1 - Music - New York". Village Voice. Retrieved 2011-09-14.
9. Darryl Smyers (6 April 2006). "Safe and Sound". Dallas Observer. Archived from the original on 28 June 2006.
10. ""It Never Changes to Stop" discussion at SongMeanings". gyroscope. 2006-02-12. Retrieved 2012-02-11.
11. "The Books: Don't take us literally". The Independent. 2006-12-15. Retrieved 2012-02-11.
12. "Lost And Safe Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 2011-09-14.
13. "2005 Rewind". The Wire.

External links

• The Books official web site which contains full-length streaming versions of all songs on this album.
• Lost and Safe at Metacritic