Oh! Gravity.

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Oh! Gravity.
Oh! Gravity. cover
Studio album by Switchfoot
Released Flag of the United States December 26, 2006
Recorded 2006
Genre Alternative rock
Post-Grunge
Length 44:44
Label Columbia/Sony BMG
Producer Tim Palmer
Steve Lillywhite
Switchfoot
Professional reviews
Switchfoot chronology
Nothing Is Sound
(2005)		 Oh! Gravity.
(2006)
Singles from Oh! Gravity.
  1. "Oh! Gravity."
    Released: 2006
  2. "Awakening"
    Released: 2007

Oh! Gravity. is the sixth album by the San Diego based alternative rock band Switchfoot. It was released on December 26, 2006.[1]

The album's first radio single, the title song "Oh! Gravity.", was released on October 31,[2] and received moderate airplay on alternative stations across America.[3] To allow fans a preview of the new material, Switchfoot released the downloadable single "Dirty Second Hands" to major online music stores on September 26.[4] In addition, the band provided free streaming audio of both the aforementioned tracks on their MySpace page. The album artwork for Oh! Gravity. was designed by Josh Levy.[5]

The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at #18, as the second-highest debut of the week, selling 63,000 copies in its first week. It also reached #1 in the iTunes Music Store. As of November 2007 the album had sold 200,000+ [6] copies. In 2007, MTV chose the title track, Oh! Gravity, as its theme song for the hit reality show, Life of Ryan.

Contents

[edit] Track listing

  1. "Oh! Gravity." – 2:30
  2. "American Dream" – 3:09
  3. "Dirty Second Hands" – 3:16
  4. "Awakening" – 4:08
  5. "Circles" – 4:06
  6. "Amateur Lovers" – 4:36
  7. "Faust, Midas, and Myself" – 3:51
  8. "Head Over Heels (In This Life)" – 3:41
  9. "Yesterdays" – 4:04
  10. "Burn Out Bright" – 3:24
  11. "4:12" – 4:12
  12. "Let Your Love Be Strong" – 3:47

[edit] Bonus tracks

In addition to the Oh! EP. that was available with the pre-release orders of Oh! Gravity., many retail chains offered bonus downloads or bonus tracks as incentives to purchase the album from them.

  • "American Dream (acoustic)" - 3:04 (available at iTunes, Rhapsody & all major retailers)
  • "Awakening (Rhapsody Original version)" - 4:09 (available on Rhapsody)
  • "Burn Out Bright (acoustic)" - 3:32 (available at Best Buy)
  • "C'mon C'mon (acoustic)" - 2:25 (available at Circuit City)
  • "C'mon C'mon (remix)" - 3:23 (available at Best Buy)
  • "Dirty Second Hands (Live Bootleg From Tulsa, OK)" - 4:50 (available on iTunes)
  • "Revenge" - 4:09 (available from EMI)
  • "The Shadow Proves The Sunshine (alternate version)" - 4:35 (available at Wal-Mart)

[edit] Charts

Year Chart Position
2007 Billboard 200 #18
2007 Top Internet albums #1
2007 Top Christian albums #1

[edit] Recording the album

The concept of Oh! Gravity. originally began as a short EP recording. Jon said "We weren't trying to achieve anything; we just set out to make music for ourselves."[7] Switchfoot, which tours heavily throughout the year, took a break in spring of 2006 to record three or four songs for the EP. During the time in studio the band found that they had more than enough time to record additional songs, and decided to put together a full-length LP, which they have called their most "sincere" effort yet. They eventually ended up offering an EP and a handful of bonus tracks in addition the album, including previously-unreleased songs "Sound In My Mouth", "C'mon C'mon" and "Revenge".

[edit] Pre-release album promotion

On June 2 Switchfoot e-mailed a newsletter containing a free download of "Daylight to Break", and a statement from Tim Foreman implying that the band wanted to have a new album out by the end of the year, as well as thanking their fans for helping keep the band together for ten years. The recording of this album was rather public,[8] as Switchfoot had set up a webcam in their recording studio, and also continued to keep fans updated via their podcasts. A contest was also conducted to give fans a chance to win an opportunity to be in the studio with the band in order to play cowbell on one of the tracks.[9]

In early August, Switchfoot announced, "the album is done." By late September, the band had released the song "Dirty Second Hands" as a downloadable single to further promote the album.[10] By early October, the band had made both "Dirty Second Hands" and "Oh! Gravity" available in a streaming audio format on their MySpace page. The entire album also leaked MTV2.com in the week leading up to the album's official release.[11] The band also launched the website ohgravity.com. The site mixes Switchfoot's song "Oh! Gravity." to YouTube clips that highlight gravity in the form of people wiping out.



[edit] "Oh! EP."

Oh! EP.
Oh! EP. cover
EP by Switchfoot
Released Flag of the United States October 17, 2006
Recorded 2006
Genre Alternative rock
Hard Rock
Post-Grunge
Length 9:28
Label Independent
Professional reviews

3.5/5 stars Jesus Freak Hideout link

Pre-orders of the album from switchfoot.com came bundled with a three-song EP[12] that Switchfoot had recorded in the same studio sessions as Oh! Gravity. The EP was first made available on October 17, 2006 at Switchfoot's live shows. The EP is also available online as an "added bonus" if you also purchase the Switchfoot CD, Oh! Gravity.

[edit] EP track listing

  1. "The Sound in my Mouth" - 3:56
  2. "C'mon C'mon" - 2:55
  3. "Oh! Gravity (Acoustic)" - 2:37

[edit] References

  1. ^ New Album Update - published August 21, 2006 (retrieved August 21, 2006)
  2. ^ Quick Hits: ... Switchfoot ... - published September 29, 2006 (retrieved October 2, 2006)
  3. ^ Mediabase 24/7 - 7 Day Charts - Mediabase published October 12, 2006 (retrieved October 12, 2006)
  4. ^ Switchfoot Defy Gravity For Upcoming Tour - MTV published September 5, 2006 (retrieved September 5, 2006)
  5. ^ Land of broken hearts - published October 10, 2006 (retrieved October 30, 2006)
  6. ^ [1])
  7. ^ Foreman brothers talk Switchfoot - North County Times published December 20, 2006 (retrieved December 27, 2006)
  8. ^ Switchfoot seeks fans' help - Reuters published October 30, 2006 (retrieved October 30, 2006)
  9. ^ Switchfoot Needs A Cowbell Player - published July 13, 2006 (retrieved September 17, 2006)
  10. ^ Switchfoot Slipping On Tour Boots Again As Gravity Approaches - VH1 published August 5, 2006 (retrieved October 23, 2006)
  11. ^ Switchfoot Defies 'Gravity' - MTV2 (retrieved December 27, 2006)
  12. ^ 'Hands'-On Experience: New Switchfoot Song Now Online - published September 30, 2006 (retrieved October 28, 2006)

[edit] External links

[edit] Music Videos

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