Lana Del Ray (album)

Released January 4, 2010 Recorded 2007–2008 Length 47:23 Producers David Kahne Steven Mertens (unreleased) Label Discography (2006) (2010) (2012)

Lana Del Ray (sometimes referred to as Lana Del Ray A.K.A. Lizzy Grant, Nevada or A.K.A., among others) is the debut studio album by Lana Del Rey. The album was released digitally by 5 Points Records on January 4, 2010, under the name Lana Del Ray.

Background

In 2007, 5 Points Records talent scout Van Wilson found Del Rey performing at a songwriting conference in Brooklyn and introduced her to David Nichtern. The two of them agreed that Del Rey had potential to have a major breakthrough and signed her to a multi-record contract. With 5 Points Records backing, Lana Del Rey and a guitarist had recorded a 7 track demo tape known as No Kung Fu that was sent to various producers before being reaching David Kahne. After hearing the tape, Kahne agreed to produce an album with Del Rey. At some point prior to this, Del Rey had recorded the album with her then-boyfriend Steven Mertens but his contributions were ultimately never released. On recording the album, Del Rey said had said: "We were pretty obsessive about it," the two worked on the album for around three months before completing it. When discussing the genre and sound of the record, Del Rey wanted the record be cinematic and reflect her affection for nostalgic imagery, she later said "[Kahne] kind of got my whole vibe straight away."

Despite being known and promoted as Lizzy Grant prior to the album's release, Del Rey became insistent she wanted to go under the stage name Lana Del Ray, leading the first album to be released as such. "A.K.A. Lizzy Grant" was added on the album cover to connect her with her previous name. David Nichtern, who signed her to 5 Points Records, explained "the reason we did that [album title] is because people knew who she was and we were trying to cross her over."

The final masters for the album took place on February 25, 2008, between 6 and 7 PM and were done by Kahne. All the songs were mastered at that time with the exception of "Gramma (Blue Ribbon Sparkler Trailer Heaven) (on February 26, 2008) and "Raise Me Up (Mississippi South) (on February 28, 2008).

Release

Del Rey stated in a 2011 interview that when her and David Kahne had finished the record in 2008, it was shelved for two and a half years by her label at the time (5 Points Records). This caused the official release of the album to be on January 4, 2010, although it had been finished for much time before then, and the original release date was set for February 14, 2009.

The release of the album was digital, available from iTunes and Amazon in the United States for around $9.99 or $0.99 for each track. Due to lack of funding for the album, however, it was eventually pulled from online stores after three months. According to Kahne, Del Rey bought the rights back from her label as she wanted it out of circulation. Nichtern stated "Her and her new manager came in and said 'We want to get this off the market. We’re going for a completely new deal. We’ll buy you out of the deal.' So we made a separation agreement." No singles were released from the album, though Del Rey released an EP titled Kill Kill in October, 2008, that featured three tracks from the album.

Del Rey has previously stated a desire to re-release the album, but in May, 2012 she announced there was nothing planned. If the album were to be re-released, Nichtern explained "we still have serious revenue participation if she does anything with [the album]."

Critical reception

Critical reception for the album at the time was generally positive, Jessica Collier of Adirondack Daily Enterprise called the album "eerie" and pointed out how it is "heavy on Americana themes", but praised the modern elements on the album, mentioning "Gramma (Blue Ribbon Sparkler Trailer Heaven)" as one of the catchier songs. The album was hailed as "hypnotic" by writers at the DN Journal, praising it as unique, appealing and a record that would "stop people in their tracks" and complimenting the "inescapable hooks".

Track listing

Final tracklist

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer	Length
1.	"Kill Kill"	Elizabeth Grant	David Kahne	3:57
2.	"Queen of the Gas Station"	Grant	Kahne	3:04
3.	"Oh Say Can You See"	Grant	Kahne	3:40
4.	"Gramma (Blue Ribbon Sparkler Trailer Heaven)"	Grant, Kahne	Kahne	3:55
5.	"For K, Pt. 2"	Grant	Kahne	3:24
6.	"Jump"	Grant	Kahne	2:51
7.	"Mermaid Motel"	Grant	Kahne	4:02
8.	"Raise Me Up (Mississippi South)"	Grant	Kahne	4:22
9.	"Pawn Shop Blues"	Grant, Kahne	Kahne	3:26
10.	"Brite Lites"	Grant	Kahne	2:58
11.	"Put Me in a Movie"	Grant	Kahne	3:13
12.	"Smarty"	Grant, Kahne	Kahne	2:49
13.	"Yayo"	Grant	Kahne	5:45
Total length:				47:23

• The tracklist order was different in 2008, starting with "For K, Pt. 2" and finishing with "Mermaid Motel". The original tracklist was leaked on February 18, 2019.

Original tracklist

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer	Length
1.	"For K, Pt. 2"	Elizabeth Grant	David Kahne
2.	"Gramma (Blue Ribbon Sparkler Trailer Heaven)"	Grant, Kahne	Kahne
3.	"Jump"	Grant	Kahne
4.	"Yayo"	Grant	Kahne
5.	"Put Me in a Movie"	Grant	Kahne
6.	"Oh Say Can You See"	Grant	Kahne
7.	"Pawn Shop Blues"	Grant, Kahne	Kahne
8.	"Queen of the Gas Station"	Grant	Kahne
9.	"Kill Kill"	Grant	Kahne
10.	"Raise Me Up (Mississippi South)"	Grant	Kahne
11.	"Smarty"	Grant, Kahne	Kahne
12.	"Brite Lites"	Grant	Kahne
13.	"Mermaid Motel"	Grant	Kahne