Life Is People is the fourth studio album by English singer, pianist and songwriter Bill Fay, released by Dead Oceans in August 2012.
Fay and Henry assembled a group of musicians that included guitarist Ray Russell and drummer Alan Rushton, who had both played on Time of the Last Persecution.
After Wilco began covering "Be Not So Fearful" during their live sets, Jeff Tweedy persuaded Fay to join the band onstage to sing a duet on the song at a concert at Shepherd's Bush Empire in 2007.
[5] A band of musicians including guitarist Ray Russell and drummer Alan Rushton, who had both played on Time of the Last Persecution,[6] was assembled and recording eventually took place across ten days at Snap Studios in North London with engineer Guy Massey.
is a cover version of a Wilco song originally written by Jay Bennett and Jeff Tweedy, which first appeared on their 2002 album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.
"This World", which was described by Grayson Currin of Pitchfork Media as one of the album's key songs,[8] features additional vocals from Tweedy that were recorded at the Loft studio in Chicago.
[4] The album's title is derived from the song "Cosmic Concerto (Life Is People)", which refers to a comment made to Fay by his father while they were observing passers-by during a childhood visit to the seaside.
[13] Life Is People was made available for streaming in its entirety by Paste magazine on 20 August,[14] and was released by Dead Oceans the following day on compact disc, double vinyl LP and digital download.
[19] Fay donated the proceeds of the record to the humanitarian aid organisation Médecins Sans Frontières, known for its work in war-torn regions and developing countries.
"[22] The Daily Telegraph's Neil McCormick called the album a "belated triumph" which "unfolds with the assurance of an old master still burning with the desire to tell his tales", saying that it was "so much stronger than the latter-day works of many of Fay's contemporaries.
"[23] Critic Tom Hughes of The Guardian was less complimentary, noting that the album was "not without a few syrupy moments, and it would be a push to recommend it over the old records" but concluded that "there are some fine songs here.
"[24] Andy Gill, writing for The Independent, said that "Fay has finally created the masterpiece that will secure his reputation" and added that Life is People was "truly, the album of a lifetime.
"[9] Prefix magazine's Matthew Fiander stated that while it "does have its missteps...Life is People may not be the best Bill Fay, but hearing this there is no doubt about one thing: it's great to have him back.