Oh! Mighty Engine (album)

'''Oh! Mighty Engine''' is Neil Halstead's second solo album, the first after the hiatus of Mojave 3.


 * 1) Oh! Mighty Engine
 * 2) Elevenses
 * 3) Little Twig
 * 4) Witless or Wise
 * 5) Paint A Face
 * 6) Always The Good
 * 7) No Mercy For The Muse
 * 8) Sometimes The Wheels
 * 9) Queen Bee
 * 10) Spinning For Spoonie
 * 11) A Gentle Heart
 * 12) Baby, I Grew You A Beard

Halstead's first album after Mojave 3's hiatus, this album encompasses both silly, lighthearted songs and songs with an overarching theme of depression and suicide. This album seems to be written as a true salute to artists everywhere; this is suggested by the 5 or so songs that reference writing of some kind, or in the case of Paint A Face, photography.

Notable trivia

 * Oh! Mighty Engine is about a writer with writer's block, who doesn't know where to go with a story and ends up drinking to find her muse.
 * Elevenses has an interesting history. Halstead has said in a live video that he was high on cocaine when he wrote the song, but an American anti-drug organization requested to use the song in an "Above The Influence" commercial on T.V. He allowed them to use the song, and the commercial aired, giving the song its fifteen minutes of fame.
 * Little Twig is possibly about children and inheritance. It may also be about musical spinoffs and attempting to control them.
 * Witless or Wise makes several references to suicide, especially with the line "Never did get to the edge, didn't jump, no, my life carried on". This is not his first song to hint at a depressed nature.
 * Paint A Face is about a painter and photographer, who records everyone's faces so they remember them.
 * Always The Good is an incredibly simple song, featuring only a few variations of the same words -- "Find the time to see everyone; you will soon see the good in everything". It is, very simply, reflecting on how easy it is to lose someone and how quick we are to grow depressed over the bad things.
 * No Mercy For The Muse could be a satirical observation of songs written about others, stating that those songwriters are very easily pleased with whatever the muse does, and will record and remember only the good that he or she does.
 * Sometimes the Wheels is, in Neil Halstead's own words, "about someone trying to sell you something. In this case, it was Jesus," as well as "my friend Dave. He likes to come over and break my things." The song is one of two songs -- the other being Loose Change -- in which Neil Halstead curses, this time asking rhetorically "Who the fuck is he?"
 * Spinning for Spoonie is an interesting song, with a strange howl thrown in after every chorus. In addition, the song mentions the beginning-middle of fall several times, saying that when it comes, the listener's lover may call. The strangely human howl is then heard, leaving some to believe it is a werewolf song.