The Futurist (Robert Downey Jr. album)

The Futurist
Studio album by Robert Downey, Jr.
Released November 23, 2004
Recorded 2004
Elias Arts
Santa Monica, CA
The Village Recorder
Los Angeles, CA
Genre Jazz, Folk
Label Sony Classical
Producer Jonathan Elias, Mark Hudson
Singles from The Futurist
  1. "Man Like Me"
    Released: 2005
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
USA Today [2]

The Futurist is the debut studio album by actor Robert Downey, Jr., released on November 23, 2004 by Sony Classical debuting at number 121 on Billboard's albums chart and selling 16,000 copies in its first week.[3][4] Jonathan Elias and Mark Hudson produced the album with Downey playing the piano in some of the tracks. The CD Cover was designed by Robert himself. Also, he designed the track listing label on the CD with his son Indio. The album received mixed reviews, but Downey stated in 2006 that he probably will not do another album, as he felt that the energy he put into doing the album was not compensated. The Futurist consists of eight pop ballads written by Downey as well as two cover songs; "Smile," a Charlie Chaplin composition, and "Your Move" the first half of the song by Yes "I've Seen All Good People".[5] The song "Hannah" is an allusion to Downey's 2000 film Wonder Boys.[6] "Broken" plays during the end credits to Downey's 2005 film, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.

Contents

Track listing

No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Man Like Me"   Robert Downey, Jr., Jenny Harding-Morris 2:56
2. "Broken"   Downey, Mark Hudson 5:12
3. "Kimberly Glide"   Downey 4:53
4. "Futurist"   Downey, Hudson 5:00
5. "Little Clownz"   Downey 3:47
6. "5:30"   Downey 4:11
7. "Your Move"   Jon Anderson/Chris Squire 4:11
8. "Details"   Downey 3:59
9. "Hannah"   Downey 4:50
10. "Smile"   Charlie Chaplin, Geoffrey Claremont Parsons, James Phillips 3:48

Personnel

Chart performance

Album

Chart (2004) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[7] 121
US Billboard Top Heatseekers[7] 1

Singles

Year Single Chart Peak
position
2005 "Man Like Me" Adult Contemporary[8] 39

References

  1. ^ Allmusic review
  2. ^ USA Today review
  3. ^ D'Angelo, Joe (2004-12-01). "U2's Atomic Bomb Explodes Onto Albums Chart, Taking #1 Spot". MTV.com. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1494336/20041201/u2.jhtml?headlines=true. 
  4. ^ "U2's 'Bomb' lights fire at top of charts.(soundtracks)". Daily Variety. 2004-12-02. http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-18274954_ITM. 
  5. ^ De Vries, Hillary (2004-11-21). "Robert Downey Jr.: The Album". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/21/arts/music/21devr.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1210518255-AHT6ACtNjm%20MebN5u6Ef8g. 
  6. ^ Bottomley, C. (2005-01-11). "Robert Downey Jr.: One Future at a Time". VH1.com. http://www.vh1.com/artists/interview/1495730/011105/downey_jr_robert.jhtml. 
  7. ^ a b "The Futurist - Robert Downey, Jr. - AllMusic". Allmusic. November 23, 2004. http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-futurist-r719160/charts-awards/billboard-album. Retrieved August 21, 2011. 
  8. ^ "The Futurist - Robert Downey, Jr. - AllMusic". Allmusic. November 23, 2004. http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-futurist-r719160/charts-awards/billboard-single. Retrieved August 21, 2011.