Hopes and Fears
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| Hopes and Fears | ||
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| Studio album by Keane | ||
| Released |  May 10, 2004 |
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| Genre | Piano rock | |
| Length | 50:30 | |
| Label | Island (UK) ILPS8145 (LP) CID8145 (CD) Interscope (US) B0002507-02 (CD) B0003785-82 (DualDisc) |
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| Producer(s) | Andy Green Keane |
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| Professional reviews | ||
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| Keane chronology | ||
 Hopes and Fears (2004) |
 EP Live Recordings 2004 (2005) |
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Hopes and Fears is the debut album by English piano rock band Keane, released on May 10, 2004. It topped the UK album charts upon release, was the best selling British album of 2004, and has since gone eight times platinum. It returned to the top of the charts after winning a Brit Award for Best Album in February 2005. With five and a half million copies sold, it has been ranked the 16th biggest-selling album of the millennium so far in the UK.[1]
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[edit] Album information
Sixth track "She Has No Time" was composed circa 1999, making it the oldest song appearing on the album. Other early tracks were composed just after Scott's departure in July 2001. Most of the album tracks were recorded during the Sanger sessions, from August to November of the same year. Tracks "On a Day Like Today" and "We Might as Well Be Strangers" became the last to be composed, circa 2003.
The album takes its name from the song "Snowed Under", a b-side on single release "Somewhere Only We Know".
Hal Leonard music published two versions of the official score book for Hopes and Fears, designed for differing skill levels. The Music Sales Group also published a book, including two demo CDs with accompanying bass and drum tracks, along with scores for the b-sides "Snowed Under", "Walnut Tree" and "Fly To Me".
The objects on the cover of Hopes and Fears are piano hammers, and the typeface used is called "Cochin", created in 1912. In addition, the many different versions of the album can be distinguished by the colour of the artwork. The original UK version has a green cover, the European version a black one, the US version is white, the international version has a red-brown scheme and the Japanese version is blue.
The typeface selected for this, and for all Keane releases until 2006 was the font "Cochin", designed originally in 1912. The modern italic design of the letters was also followed with similar fonts by some fansites, like Keaneshaped. The first Keane release without using this font was the single "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore", because it was released by the War Child website, not by Island.
[edit] Singles
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For accurate chart positions for each single, visit Keane discography.
[edit] Track listingAll tracks written by Tim Rice-Oxley, Tom Chaplin, and Richard Hughes, excepting tracks #6, #8, #9 and #12 (UK), Rice-Oxley, Chaplin, Hughes, James Sanger [edit] UK EditionAccompanied by a green cover. This is considered by the band and fans to be the definitive version of the album.[2]
[edit] International/US editionsAccompanied by a red cover, or a white cover in the US.
[edit] Bonus DVD
A CD+DVD version was released internationally over the course of 2005. This version included two bonus tracks, "Snowed Under" and a remix dance version of "We Might as Well Be Strangers" by DJ Shadow. The DVD contained the four international videos for "Somewhere Only We Know", "Everybody’s Changing", "Bedshaped" and "This Is the Last Time", and the US video for "Somewhere Only We Know". This version of Hopes and Fears featured also a different box cover design; white and with Keane's Everybody's Changing promotional image. The inner 2CD box had the same cover as the international version. [edit] Track listing
[edit] Japanese version
[edit] Song informationMusic samples:
The first major-label release from Hopes and Fears; reached #3 in the UK Singles Chart in February 2004.
"Bend and Break" was released as a single in certain European territories in early 2005. It did not receive a UK release, and as such is considered a "bonus" single.
"We Might as Well Be Strangers" has often been considered a highlight of live gigs, a fan favourite and one of Keane's most memorable and best songs, but was never released as a single. The song's title has been "borrowed" for the new users board on the official Keane forum, and is referred to in the title of Strangers.
The second single to be released in support of the album, charting at #4 on the UK Singles Chart on May 9, 2004.
"Your Eyes Open" was composed sometime in 2003 by Tim Rice-Oxley. On Strangers, a demo version appears being played with electronic sounds, according to Rice-Oxley, inspired on Radiohead's Kid A.
"She Has No Time" appeared for the first time on the rare single "Wolf at the Door", played on an acoustic guitar by Chaplin. It was composed by Tim Rice-Oxley in early 2001. After Scott's departure, Rice-Oxley recomposed the song using synthesisers and the piano - it is this new version which appears on Hopes and Fears. The first version of the song was recorded at Sync City and the album version at Helioscentric Studios, East Sussex. The song is notorious amongst Keane fans for its origins: Rice-Oxley wrote the song for Chaplin as consolation, after Chaplin was dumped by the girl he considered (at the time) to be the love of his life. This is a fact elaborated on in Chaplin's introduction to the song at most gigs where it is played. {{cquote|Tim wrote this song about a girl who gave me the best weekend of my life... and never
Music samples:
"Can’t Stop Now" was composed sometime in 2002 by Rice-Oxley. It was the opening track on the band's setlist for live performances during 2004 and 2005.
"Sunshine" was composed at Les Essarts, France by Rice-Oxley. In the live version, Rice-Oxley usually plays the song on a synthesiser or electric piano. The lead vocal on this track is subject to much debate, as it is Rice-Oxley, not Chaplin, who sings lead vocal on the verses, with Chaplin taking over in the chorus. However at live gigs, Chaplin sings lead throughout. James Sanger's first demo of this song however, featured Rice-Oxley as the lead trough the whole song, with voices calling "bye bye" and "see you later" on the final chorus.
The fourth single to be released from the album, this reached #18 in the UK Singles Chart in November 2004.
This song was omitted from the international releases of the album, so that Universal Records could market the UK edition as a "Special Edition". Despite this, the band have made clear the fact that they consider "On a Day Like Today" to be a crucial part of Hopes and Fears, and at one point in 2004 were actively encouraging American fans to illegally download the song during gigs. [2] It has been often commented as one of Keane's best songs, being largely a fan-favourite. The song is composed under a group of four chords (F major, C major, D minor and B major seventh) that repeat until the fade. Strings and synthesizer are added trough the song as the piano keeps on playing. Intro only includes drumming, a synthesizer and vocals. The song was rarely played on foreign gigs. A photo gallery contained on Strangers feature the song as the backing track. The gallery contains photos of Keane since 2003. Sheet music for this song is available in the Hal Leonard score book, as well as in the Music Sales Group one. Lyrics may form a single line by reading this way as they're cropped through verses and sung twice:
No information about this song has been given by Tim Rice-Oxley. Hughes indicated to a fan in a post-gig discussion that Rice-Oxley takes lead vocal duties on a verse of this song; Hughes is also rumoured to have sung on the track, but denies this. [5]
The third single to be released from Hopes and Fears, "Bedshaped" reached #10 in the UK Singles Chart in August 2004. [edit] Technical information on songs
[edit] Sales and chart performancesThe album stayed at the Top 75 for 72 weeks, peaking 1 several times.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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