First Impressions of Earth
First Impressions of Earth is the third album by the American indie rock band The Strokes. It was released in January 2006 (see 2006 in music), having been preceded by lead single "Juicebox" some weeks earlier. It is also the first album by The Strokes to have a Parental Advisory Label.
Recording
The album was recorded over a ten-month period. The Strokes initially set out to record it with Gordon Raphael, the producer of their first two albums. Later on, guitarist Albert Hammond, Jr. introduced them to Grammy Award-winning producer David Kahne (Paul McCartney, Tony Bennett, Sublime), who stepped in to collaborate with Raphael. However, the collaboration was not working out and so Raphael stepped down. As a result, the majority of the album was produced by Kahne.
Reception
Critical
First Impressions of Earth is widely seen as an expansion beyond The Strokes' first two albums, Is This It and Room on Fire. The album received mixed reviews from critics for not being quite the same standard as their previous material, which was universally acclaimed. "Heart in a Cage" was the album's second single, followed by "You Only Live Once". NME rated First Impressions of Earth at #8 in its Albums of the Year 2006 list.[11]
Commercial
First Impressions of Earth entered the UK album chart at #1, The Strokes' first one at the top spot. The album peaked at #4 in the US, with an entry sales week of 88,000 units, somewhat below the performance of its predecessors. In Canada, the album debuted at #3, selling just under 10,000 copies.[12] As of October 2006, the album had sold 271,000 units in the US, falling short of gold certification. Although the album was the band's first release to reach #1 on any chart worldwide, it is the only one not to reach UK platinum status, and spent much less time on the charts than the previous albums.
Chart Performance
Track listing
| Writer(s) |
| 1. |
"You Only Live Once" |
Julian Casablancas |
3:09 |
| 2. |
"Juicebox" |
Julian Casablancas |
3:17 |
| 3. |
"Heart in a Cage" |
Julian Casablancas |
3:27 |
| 4. |
"Razorblade" |
Julian Casablancas |
3:29 |
| 5. |
"On the Other Side" |
Julian Casablancas |
4:38 |
| 6. |
"Vision of Division" |
Julian Casablancas |
4:20 |
| 7. |
"Ask Me Anything" |
Julian Casablancas, Nick Valensi |
3:12 |
| 8. |
"Electricityscape" |
Julian Casablancas |
3:33 |
| 9. |
"Killing Lies" |
Julian Casablancas, Nikolai Fraiture |
3:50 |
| 10. |
"Fear of Sleep" |
Julian Casablancas |
4:00 |
| 11. |
"15 Minutes" |
Julian Casablancas |
4:34 |
| 12. |
"Ize of the World" |
Julian Casablancas |
4:29 |
| 13. |
"Evening Sun" |
Julian Casablancas, Fabrizio Moretti |
3:06 |
| 14. |
"Red Light" |
Julian Casablancas |
3:11 |
Singles
Personnel
References
- ^ http://www.allmusic.com/album/r812605
- ^ "Phases & Stages - Music". The Austin Chronicle. 2006-01-13. http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/review?oid=oid%3A323610. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
- ^ Murray, Noel (2006-01-04). "The Strokes: First Impressions Of Earth | Music | Music Review". The A.V. Club. http://www.avclub.com/content/node/44141. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
- ^ http://www.metacritic.com/music/first-impressions-of-earth/critic-reviews
- ^ Reviewed by Will Hermes (2006-01-09). "First Impressions of Earth | Music". EW.com. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1146045,00.html. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
- ^ Alexis Petridis. "CD: The Strokes, First Impressions of Earth | Music". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/critic/review/0,,1668082,00.html. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
- ^ "The Strokes - The Strokes: First Impressions Of Earth - Album Reviews". Nme.Com. 2006-01-10. http://www.nme.com/reviews/the-strokes/7836. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
- ^ http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/7539-first-impressions-of-earth/
- ^ http://www.metacritic.com/music/first-impressions-of-earth/critic-reviews
- ^ Dolan, Jon (2009-11-29). "The Strokes, 'First Impressions of Earth' (RCA)". SPIN.com. http://www.spin.com/reviews/strokes-first-impressions-earth-rca. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
- ^ "Albums of the Year 2006". NME. http://www.nme.com/reviews/albums/oftheyear. Retrieved 2011-02-20.
- ^ "The Strokes make top 10 debut". Jam!. http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/S/Strokes/2006/01/11/1389172-ca.html. Retrieved 2011-04-06.
- ^ http://acharts.us/album/25547 The Strokes - First Impressions of Earth - Music Charts
External links