Let's Just Be is the sixth studio album by Joseph Arthur

Joseph Arthur

Joseph Arthur is an American singer-songwriter and artist from Akron, Ohio. Combining poetic lyrics with a layered sonic palette, Arthur has built his reputation over the years through critically acclaimed releases and constant touring; his unique solo live performances incorporate the use of a...

, and his first with his backing band The Lonely Astronauts

The Lonely Astronauts

The Lonely Astronauts is the band originally started as Joseph Arthur's touring band. Joseph and the band have recorded and released two studio albums together thus far, titled Let's Just Be , and Temporary People...

. The album was released on April 17, 2007 in the US, and on September 3, 2007 in the UK. According to Arthur: "the philosophy of the whole record was sort of a letting go, that's why I called it Let's Just Be, because it was like everything about that record [came from] a Zen

Zen

Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...

-like approach. Just letting things be how they are."

Let's Just Be was released seven months after his previous album, Nuclear Daydream

Nuclear Daydream

Nuclear Daydream is the fifth full-length album by Joseph Arthur, released on September 19, 2006. It was the first release through Joseph's own record label, Lonely Astronaut Records. The album version of "Enough to Get Away" was the first single in the UK to coincide with the album's release there...

. The band recorded the album in a quick stint while touring in Southern California in 2006 at Mathias Schneeberger's studio. Arthur notes that: "the idea for us was to record all of these new songs straight to tape using only 16 tracks with no reverb, sort of a back to basics like how the Stones

The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...

 or Neil Young

Neil Young

Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...

 used to record. These albums are really a band effort, there was a lot of collaboration in the studio and quite a few songs on the album were co-writes."

There is a standard edition and a special edition (featuring different artwork) of the album available (in the US only, released on May 15, 2007).

The album version of "Diamond Ring" is featured as the B-side to the UK single of "Enough to Get Away

Enough to Get Away

"Enough to Get Away" is the first single from Joseph Arthur's 2006 album Nuclear Daydream. In the US, the album was released on September 19, 2006. In the UK, both Nuclear Daydream and the follow-up album Let's Just Be were released on September 3, 2007. The AA-side "Diamond Ring" is the album...

," released August 27, 2007. The album version of "Take Me Home" is featured as the B-side to the single of "Honey and the Moon

Honey and the Moon

"Honey and the Moon" is a single from Joseph Arthur. The song originally appeared on Joseph's third studio album, Redemption's Son, and was released as a radio-only promo single in 2003, but was remixed for a 2007 commercial single release...

," released March 26, 2007.

Track listing

Album credits

• The Lonely Astronauts are:
  • Joseph Arthur - vocals, guitar, electric sitar on "Star Song"
  • Kraig Jarret Johnson - guitar, keyboards, vocals, lead vocals on "I Will Carry You"
  • Jennifer Turner - guitar, vocals, lead vocals on "Gimmie Some Company"
  • Sybil Buck - bass, backing vocals
  • Greg "G. Wiz" Wieczorek - drums, backing vocals
• Produced by Joseph Arthur with The Lonely Astronauts.
• Mixed by Joseph Arthur.
• Recorded and engineered by Mathias Schneeberger at Donner & Blitzen Studios, Arcadia, California
  Arcadia, California
  Arcadia is an affluent city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, and located approximately northeast of downtown Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley and at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains....
  
  .
• All songs mastered by Fred Kevorkian at Kevorkian Mastering, Inc.
• Original artwork (ink and charcoal on arches watercolor paper) by Davies.
• Photos by Cerise Leang, Joseph Arthur and Lauren Pattenaude.
• Copy help by Karen Karibian.
• Art direction and design by Judith Salavetz and Spencer Drate.

Demos

In December 2006, 14 new songs (recorded with the Lonely Astronauts) were placed on Joseph's website, available for free download or with a donation. The 14 tracks comprised the original tracklisting for Let's Just Be in this order:

1. "Baby's Got a New Friend" – 5:59
2. "Cockteezzze" – 1:44
3. "Famous Friends Along the Coast" – 5:28
4. "Love" – 6:34
5. "Skull Kiss" – 3:53
6. "Cocaine Feet" – 4:14
7. "Bust Me" – 3:05
8. "Breadhead" – 4:29
9. "Precious One" – 4:27
10. "Take Me Home" – 4:41
11. "Here Come the Spacemen" – 3:49
12. "Let's Just Be" – 2:36
13. "Diamond Ring" – 3:42
14. "The Good Life" – 4:28

• The song "Breadhead" was conceived at the House of Blues
  House of Blues
  House of Blues is a chain of 13 live music concert halls and restaurants in major markets throughout the United States. House of Blues first location was in Cambridge's Harvard Square. It was opened in 1992 by Isaac Tigrett, co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, star of The Blues Brothers...
  
   side stage in San Diego, California
  San Diego, California
  San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
  
   during Arthur's tour for Nuclear Daydream
  Nuclear Daydream
  Nuclear Daydream is the fifth full-length album by Joseph Arthur, released on September 19, 2006. It was the first release through Joseph's own record label, Lonely Astronaut Records. The album version of "Enough to Get Away" was the first single in the UK to coincide with the album's release there...
  
  . Near the end of the concert, he began strumming a song, and told the band to play along. A few minutes later, "Breadhead" had been written and played for the first time, and Arthur said it would appear on the next album.