Description
Bright Eyes – I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning (A Companion) – Gold Vinyl Record
Bright Eyes – I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning (A Companion) is part of the Companion series Bright Eyes released in 2022 to celebrate the reissue of their entire catalog. This particular EP, issued on May 27, 2022, pairs with the band’s landmark 2005 album I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning—a record that cemented Conor Oberst and company’s place in the indie folk canon.
The concept of the Companion series is to revisit each of Bright Eyes’ albums with an accompanying six-track EP. These Companion releases feature new renditions of original songs from the album, often reimagined with different arrangements or instrumentation, plus a handful of carefully chosen covers that connect to the spirit of the original record. It’s both a celebration of the band’s legacy and a chance to reflect on how the songs resonate differently nearly two decades later.
For I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning (A Companion), the EP revisits some of the most beloved songs from the original album—tracks like “First Day of My Life” and “Lua.” In their Companion versions, these songs are reinterpreted with a sparer, more intimate approach, sometimes featuring Oberst’s weathered voice against gentler backdrops, or with subtle flourishes that contrast the raw immediacy of the 2005 recordings. The effect is poignant: songs that once captured Oberst’s youthful urgency now carry the weight of experience, underscoring the themes of love, loss, and existential searching that made the original so powerful.
The covers included on the Companion also broaden the emotional palette. Bright Eyes pays homage to artists who influenced the era of Wide Awake, such as Elliott Smith (covering his tender and haunting “St. Ides Heaven”). This choice feels especially significant given Smith’s own place in the indie-folk lineage and his impact on Oberst as a songwriter. Another standout cover is “Gold Mine Gutted” (a self-cover reinterpreted from the digital-saturated Digital Ash in a Digital Urn era, which was released the same day as Wide Awake in 2005), highlighting the interplay between Bright Eyes’ two contrasting 2005 albums.
Musically, the Companion versions tend to strip back the bustling Americana textures that defined Wide Awake—banjos, trumpets, and country flourishes—in favor of a slower, moodier, and often more atmospheric sound. This shift doesn’t erase the original’s vitality but instead reframes it, like looking back at an old photograph with new perspective. Where Wide Awake felt urgent and bursting with youthful idealism, the Companion EP has a reflective, almost elegiac tone, as if Oberst is conversing with his younger self.
As part of the broader Companion project, I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning (A Companion) highlights the enduring power of these songs. Nearly two decades later, they still feel immediate, though their meanings have deepened with time. For longtime fans, the EP offers both nostalgia and renewal—a chance to hear familiar favorites through the lens of Oberst’s current artistry. For newer listeners, it serves as a bridge, connecting Bright Eyes’ past work to their present sensibilities.
Brand new, never played and still sealed in the factory plastic
Track Listing
Old Soul Song (For The New World Order)
First Day Of My Life
Fare Thee Well, Miss Carousel
We Are Nowhere And It’s Now
Road To Joy
Land Locked Blues
