Eels

Line-up : E : voice, guitar, piano etc. Butch : drums. Kool G Murder: bass. And many guests.
For all those who know the band, Eels is above all the endearing and extremely creative personality of Mark Oliver Everett, better known as E . Son of a colonel of the American army, grandson of a doctor in quantum physics, he was nevertheless interested in music at the age of 6. Batterie, then piano and guitar quickly become his lot, so that the young man composes and writes songs very diligently when he is not 20 years old. At 24, he left the boring Virginia for Los Angeles. There, he lives small jobs until his compositions gain in quality, we notice. In 1991, he recorded his first solo album, A Man Called E , at Polydor, and even opened for Tori Amos on the singer's first American tour. The second album by E , Broken Toy Shop , was released in 1993.
Tired of the logistical difficulties arising from solitary work and his name as a far too short artist, he chose Eels and was accompanied by musicians to play the songs of Beautiful Freak released at Dreamworks Records in 1996. The single "Novocaine For The Soul" is a great success and remains the most famous title of the general public. Unfortunately, E is at the same time experiencing the success of terrible trials. At 19, he had already lost his father, then in 1996 his sister committed suicide. In 1998, his mother died of terminal cancer. In this tragedy that deprives him of all his family, E finds the strength to compose Electro-Shock Blues, an album poignant with criticism, whose painful themes are transformed into sources of hope by the talent of E's songwriter. There are some famous guests on the album, Mike Simpson of the Dust Brothers (BO of Fight Club), Jon Brion, composer, but also producer (Fiona Apple), or Grant Lee Phillips of Grant Lee Buffalo ... Shortly after the release of this second album, E completes the composition of his successor Daisies Of The Galaxy. It is a new success critical and public notably with the hidden song "Mr E's Beautiful Blues" released as a single. In 2000, the band launched an exceptional tour, The Eels Orchestra Tour, with its 6 multi-instrumental members. E also solos with Fiona Apple during the summer. In December, Oh What A Beautiful Morning is released, a live album that reports on these tours. In 2001, it is a fantastic album that shows the full extent of E's imagination. Souljacker takes his name from a serial killer nicknamed so in California and gathers songs some of which were already in draft in 1998. The album only released in the United States in March 2002 and not in September as elsewhere, E's appearance on the cover, short hair and long beard, too reminiscent of the terrorists responsible for the World Trade Center (sic) attacks. The record again enjoys an excellent critical welcome, amply deserved, thanks to songs full of ideas. His successor Shootenanny , in the bacs in 2003, remains a good but inferior record, of which it is worth noting that he was recorded in ten days during the band's tour in 2002.
Over the years, Eels and E never fail, giving a title or two to films (The End Of Violence, Le Grinch, Shrek, Shrek 2, Levity ) and sometimes even a complete soundtrack ( Levity ). There is also a discography rich in B faces and several live. Finally, we know today that the composition of the band's last effort, released in 2005, Blinking Lights And Other Revelations began before the release of the previous album. The record was released by Vagrant Records, the band wishing to return to an independent label after the acquisition of Dreamworks Records by Universal. This double album of 33 songs is as brilliant as it is modest. No thought here, but the work of a generous artist who receives some friends like Tom Waits or Peter Buck (REM) already present on Daisies Of The Galaxy.