Lincoln (album)

Lincoln maintains the range of musical styles present on the previous album, They Might Be Giants, and lyrically attempts to merge word play into narrative songs. Lyrical themes are broadened with the inclusion of songs detailing troubled romantic relationships ("Ana Ng", "They'll Need a Crane", "I've Got a Match"), and songs that verge on social or political satire ("Purple Toupee", "Kiss Me, Son of God"), whereas musically, the album explores a number of genres. For example, songs such as "Cowtown" and "Mr. Me" incorporate elements of sea shanties, while "Lie Still, Little Bottle" suggests a jazz influence. Like previous releases, Lincoln does not utilize a full band arrangement. Instead, bass and drum tracks are entirely synthetic or sampled, with the exception of live drums on "Lie Still, Little Bottle". The drum tracks on the album were produced with an Alesis HR-16 drum machine. The album featured The Ordinaires, a nonet which was also signed to the Bar/None label, providing the arrangement for "Kiss Me, Son of God". ==Release==

As of 1999, the album had sold more than 200,000 copies, double the amount of the previous album. == Packaging ==

The cover art depicts a shrine built by Brian Dewan and photographed by Carol Kitman. Two slightly different versions of the cover photograph exist: one that was used for domestic releases, and another that was used for all releases outside the United States with the exception of the Australian releases and Italian CD. The two men pictured behind the lecterns in the shrine are John Linnell's great-grandfather, Lewis T. Linnell (left), and Flansburgh's maternal grandfather, Brigadier General Ralph Hospital (right). The artwork for the album was designed by John Flansburgh. The CD and LP labels feature diagrams of an accordion and accordion case, which were drawn by John Linnell. == Reception ==

Lincoln received generally positive reviews. David Kissinger of Rolling Stone called the album "every bit as eccentric as its predecessor, and even more eclectic", though this was supplemented with the disclaimer that "[a]t times this penchant for the bizarre leads them into pointlessly sophomoric zaniness". Robert Christgau of The Village Voice described the band as "actively annoying even if intelligence is all you ask of your art-pop" and called the album's hooks "cleverness for cleverness's sake", nonetheless conceding that "damned clever they are." The album peaked at number 89 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart in 1989, spending 19 weeks on that chart. Its success led to They Might Be Giants' signing to the major label Elektra Records in 1990. Lincoln also generated the band's first charting single, "Ana Ng", which peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The single, which was only released promotionally in the United States, also received positive attention. Christgau praised it as "a beyond-perfect tour de force about a Vietnamese woman they never got to meet". The other singles from the album, "They'll Need a Crane" and "Purple Toupee", failed to chart, though both songs and the track "Kiss Me, Son of God" received praise from Stewart Mason of Allmusic. In his review of Lincoln, Robert Christgau cited "Purple Toupee" as a potential highlight from the album's A-side, though not as strong as the lead single "Ana Ng". He describes the song as "antiboomer". The track was also designated as an Allmusic "pick". Writing for Allmusic, Stewart Mason lauds the song's "infectious tune" and adds that the chorus is "among the duo's most endearing and memorable". Like Christgau, Mason speculates that it carries a baby-boomer theme from the perspective of a confused child of the 1960s. In an Allmusic review of the full album, Stephen Thomas Erlewine also names "Purple Toupee" one of the album's strong "pop hooks". == Track listing ==

2013 Australian bonus tracks ==Singles==

Purple Toupee "Purple Toupee" is a 1988 song from the album. It was released as a promotional single in 1989. In 1994, a live performance of the song was recorded for the promotional live album, Live!! New York City 10/14/94, which was released by Elektra Records. According to John Linnell, the song's disjointed lyrics recount a warped memory of the 1960s. The song comments on a contemporary "sixties revival", which Linnell perceived as a "one-dimensional caricature" of the decade. In a nod to this inauthenticity, the lyrics are intentionally misleading, and do not accurately represent the events that they reference. Two Prince songs—"Purple Rain" and "Raspberry Beret"—also served as sources of inspiration for "Purple Toupee". Bar/None Records advertised "Purple Toupee" by pasting fake labels on 8-track tapes by other artists. The cartridges, disguised as a release from TMBG, were mailed to radio stations, in addition to CDs that actually contained the song. The song had a music video directed by Helene Silverman, who had previously done graphic design work with the band. The video was filmed at Coney Island and features John Linnell and John Flansburgh playing accordion and guitar, respectively, at Astroland Park. "Purple Toupee" was intended for release as an EP with three B-sides. It was listed as a release for 12" vinyl, CD, and cassette. The following tracks were presented on the band's B-side compilation, Miscellaneous T: • "Hey, Mr. DJ, I Thought You Said We Had A Deal" • "Lady Is a Tramp" • "Birds Fly" The songs were also included on a 2013 reissue of Lincoln in Australian markets by Breakaway Records. ;Notes • "Lady Is a Tramp" is a cover of the Rogers & Hart song. == Personnel ==

Track numbers refer to CD track list. They Might Be Giants • John Flansburgh – lead vocals (2, 3, 5, 7, 10, 12, 13, 15, 17), electric guitar (1, 2, 4–6, 8–12, 14, 16), trumpet (3, 13), backing vocals (4, 5, 7, 8, 13, 14, 18), acoustic guitar (6, 7, 9, 14, 17), melodica (17) • John Linnell – lead vocals (1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11, 14–16, 18), backing vocals (1, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17), accordion (1, 4, 7, 8, 11, 15–17), autoharp (1, 9), clarinet (2), keyboard (2, 6, 9–14, 16–18), baritone saxophone (3, 15), bass saxophone (5, 10, 13), bass harmonica (7), tenor saxophone (15), banjo (16) Additional musicians • Lisa Klapp – bridge monologue (1) • Kenneth Nolan – drums (3) • Unknown – glockenspiel (15) • The Ordinaires – arrangement (18) Production • Brian Dewan – cover art • Al Houghton – engineer • Carol Kitman – cover photography • Bill Krauss – producer ==Charts==