''The Hogyssey'' is the third album from

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

Spacehog Spacehog is an English-American alternative rock band, formed in 1994 in New York City by four British men who were living in the city (lead vocalist and bassist Royston Langdon, rhythm guitarist Anthony Langdon, drummer Jonny Cragg and lead g ...

. The album was released on

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Artemis Records Artemis Records was a New York–based independent record label, founded in June 1999 by Danny Goldberg with Daniel Glass as president, and closed in April 2006. The label was acquired by E1 Entertainment. As of 2006, Artemis Records was owned b ...

on 10 April 2001. The title track is a rock arrangement of

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...

's ''

Also Sprach Zarathustra , Op. 30 (, ''Thus Spoke Zarathustra'' or ''Thus Spake Zarathustra'') is a tone poem by German composer Richard Strauss, composed in 1896 and inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche's 1883–1885 philosophical work of the same name.Eumir Deodato Eumir Deodato de Almeida (; born 22 June 1943) is a Brazilian pianist, composer, arranger and record producer, primarily in jazz but who has been known for his eclectic melding of genres, such as Pop music, pop, Rock music, rock, disco, rhythm a ...

's "

Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001) "Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001)" is an instrumental by Brazilian musician Eumir Deodato, from his 1973 album '' Prelude''.DESOUTEIRO, Arnaldo40 Years of Eumir Deodato's iconic "Prelude" Publicado em Jazz Station – Arnaldo DeSouteiro’s Blog (j ...

". The album was recorded at

Ardent Studios Ardent Studios is an American recording studio located in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. The studio was founded in the late 1950s by John King, Fred Smith, and John Fry. Over time, it has become a commercially successful recording studio. ...

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

. ''The Hogyssey'' went through several name changes. The original name was ''This Is America'' and later named ''2001: A Space Hogyssey'' after the title track. Then, after a lawsuit threat, the album was renamed again as ''The Hogyssey''.

Critical reception

John Duffy of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

commended the attempt to recapture the ''

Resident Alien In law, an alien is generally any person (including an organization) who is not a citizen or a national of a specific country, although definitions and terminology differ across legal systems. Lexicology The term "alien" is derived from the L ...

'' sound through impactful and inspired riffs but was critical of the band copying themselves and their "Zarathustra" reworking being "downright ill-advised", concluding that: "Crunchy guitars aside, perhaps ''Hogyssey'' is a misstep for Langdon and company." ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

'' contributor

Devon Powers Devon Powers (born 1977 or 1978) is an American communication studies professor, author, and former music journalist. Biography Powers was born in 1977 or 1978. Her father, Lee R. Powers, is an engineer and her mother, Mandy Powers, is a nurse. ...

also noted the band's return to the intergalactic soundscape of their first record but felt it was outdated, calling it competently made but unconvincing, despite the tracks emitting a charm and wit to them from even the weaker cuts, saying "they spend too little time taking alternative rock – which, arguably, they're one of the few purveyors of these days – to a place where it's doing something new." Mac Randall of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' felt the band's penchant for loud and catchy melodies had diminished when songs like "This Is America" and the title track "go beyond camp into the realm of the truly embarrassing", but highlighted "Jupiter's Moon", "Perpetual Drag" and "At Least I Got Laid" for being able to "justify the bombast with irresistible choruses, indicating that given the right material, the 'Hog can still snort with the best of 'em."

Track listing

;Notes * The song "The Horror" ends at 4:47. After 11 minutes of silence (4:47–15:47), begins the hidden track "I Can't Hear You".

Personnel

*Royston Langdon –

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

*Antony Langdon –

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

, vocals *Jonny Cragg –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

*Richard Steel –

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

References

Spacehog albums 2001 albums Albums produced by Paul Q. Kolderie Albums produced by Sean Slade Artemis Records albums {{2001-rock-album-stub