It was the band's most successful album commercially, selling over 63,000 copies.[citation needed]
Recording
Mark Linkous recorded his first two albums, Good Morning Spider and Vivadixesubmarinetransmissionplot, in a small room inside his Virginia farm. There he worked by himself, providing all of the instrumentation and vocals for those albums. After the release of those albums, however, "the guy who hired me left [Capitol]," Linkous told Free Williamsburg Online Magazine in 2002, and his record label discouraged the solo-production process. As a result, It’s a Wonderful Life was the first Sparklehorse outing in which Linkous did not perform alone in his private studio. “I didn't want to play every instrument on every song,” said the songwriter. “I didn't want to be behind the control console the whole time. I wanted to have other people's brains and input involved.” Linkous played with a full band while recording It’s a Wonderful Life. He also worked with a wide array of guest musicians, which included PJ Harvey and Tom Waits.[3]
Linkous was reportedly incredibly nervous about contacting Waits. In an interview with The Guardian, Linkous admitted he had to take five shots of whiskey before gaining the courage to call the famous singer-songwriter. During the phone call, the two men planned a meeting in California. The meeting was quite unusual and took place inside an SUV as the two men rode down a California highway. Within the car they discussed possible album ideas, their least-favorite animals, and their mutual disgust for turkey vultures.[4] Waits went on to record the song “Dog Door” with Linkous on the album.
It’s a Wonderful Life was recorded years after Linkous’s near-fatal drug overdose in a London hotel room. The incident received a large amount of media coverage and was documented within several music magazines, including Rolling Stone and Spin. Linkous frequently had to answer questions about his overdose during interviews. He was also chastised by some critics for the exceedingly somber themes in his work, which had influenced the writing of the album's eponymous track.
Composition
"I got fed up with people in America thinking that my music is morose and depressing and all that. That song is like a 'fuck you' to journalists, or people who are not smart enough to see what it is. But in the end, it was more about how everyday, you should pick up something, no matter how minuscule or microscopic it is, and when you go to bed, you can say I was glad that I was alive to see that. That's really what it's about."
—Linkous discussing the meaning behind the title track.[5]
It’s a Wonderful Life is generally considered to be indie rock, slowcore, and art rock, but also includes many significant elements of chamber pop ("Gold Day", "More Yellow Birds"), shoegaze and dream pop ("Piano Fire", "King of Nails", "Comfort Me"), chamber music ("It's a Wonderful Life", "Devil's New", "Babies on the Sun") and even industrial ("Dog Door").
AllMusic called it Sparklehorse's "most open and direct work yet" and "a noticeably more focused effort. Though it lacks Good Morning Spider's sprawling brilliance, it's possibly Linkous' most effective, and affecting, collection of songs."[9]
Legacy
The song "Piano Fire" was featured in the 2015 video game Life Is Strange.[19]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Mark Linkous, except where stated
CD release
No.
Title
Writer(s)
Length
1.
"It's a Wonderful Life"
2:59
2.
"Gold Day"
4:14
3.
"Piano Fire"
2:43
4.
"Sea of Teeth"
4:29
5.
"Apple Bed"
4:54
6.
"King of Nails"
4:18
7.
"Eyepennies"
5:27
8.
"Dog Door"
Mark Linkous, Kathleen Brennan, Tom Waits
2:46
9.
"More Yellow Birds"
4:53
10.
"Little Fat Baby"
Mark Linkous, Vic Chesnutt
3:40
11.
"Devil's New" (excluded from European release)
3:32
12.
"Comfort Me"
5:01
13.
"Babies on the Sun" (The song "Babies on the Sun" ends at 4:37. After 3 minutes of silence, at 7:37 begins the hidden song "Morning Hollow".)
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