Thirteenth Step

Studio album by A Perfect Circle

Released

September 16, 2003

Recorded

Perfect Circle Studios, North Hollywood, California
January 2003 - June 2003

Genre

Alternative rock
Alternative metal

Length

50:36

Label

Virgin

Producer

Billy Howerdel
Maynard James Keenan (Executive)
Danny Lohner (Tracks 3, 6, 9, 10)

A Perfect Circle chronology

Singles from Thirteenth Step
Mer de Noms (2000)	Thirteenth Step (2003)	eMOTIVe (2004)
"Weak and Powerless" Released: December 3, 2003 "The Outsider" Released: 2004 "Blue" Released: July 27, 2004

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[1]
Drowned in Sound	(8/10)^[2]
E! Online	(B+)^[3]
Rolling Stone	^[4]

Thirteenth Step is the second studio album by American rock band A Perfect Circle, released under Compact Disc format on September 16, 2003. It was a major success reaching the #2 position on the Billboard 200 in its premiere week, selling over 231,000 copies and staying on the charts for 78 weeks.^[5] The RIAA certified it as gold on November 4, 2003 and as platinum on March 24, 2006. The first single from the album was "Weak and Powerless", followed by "The Outsider" and "Blue". The tracks have their remixed versions on a 2004 remix album aMOTION.

According to Keenan on the commentary for the aMotion DVD, the album is a concept album with all of the songs dealing with the problem of addiction from a different perspective. He said that it refers in a way to his 13 years of residence in Los Angeles.^[6] Intentionally or otherwise, the title also evokes Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12-step programs, where the term "thirteenth-stepping" denotes inappropriate sexual advances toward a person who is early in their recovery, or has little sobriety time.^[7]

The cover art features a banana slug crawling across a woman's face.

"The Nurse Who Loved Me" is a cover of the song by Failure, originally featured on the 1996 album Fantastic Planet.

"Pet" has its follow-up, "Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums", with the same lyrics, on the band's following 2004 cover versions album eMOTIVe.

1 Track listing
2 Personnel
3 Charts
4 References
5 External links

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Maynard James Keenan and Billy Howerdel except where noted.

CD
No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Package"	7:40
2.	"Weak and Powerless"	3:15
3.	"The Noose"	4:53
4.	"Blue"	4:13
5.	"Vanishing"	4:51
6.	"A Stranger"	3:12
7.	"The Outsider"	4:06
8.	"Crimes" (Howerdel/Keenan/Freese/White)	2:34
9.	"The Nurse Who Loved Me" (Edwards/Andrews)	4:04
10.	"Pet"	4:34
11.	"Lullaby"	2:01
12.	"Gravity" (Howerdel/Keenan/Freese/Van Leeuwen/Lenchantin)	5:08

The Japanese version of Thirteenth Step includes an exclusive extended version of "The Package" (9:23).

Personnel

Maynard James Keenan − Lead vocals, executive producer, artwork direction
Billy Howerdel − Guitar, vocals, production, engineering, additional photography
Josh Freese − Drums, backing vocals
Jeordie White − Bass, backing vocals
Troy Van Leeuwen − Guitar (on "The Package", "Vanishing" and "Gravity")
Paz Lenchantin - Strings
Danny Lohner – Guitar (on "The Noose"), additional production
The Section Quartet – Strings (on "The Nurse Who Loved Me" and "A Stranger")
Jarboe – Vocals (on "The Noose" and "Lullaby")
Devo H. Keenan – Backing vocals (on "Pet")
K. Patrick Warren – Instrumentation on "The Nurse Who Loved Me"
Jon Brion – Instrumentation on "The Nurse Who Loved Me"
Steve Duda – Digital engineering assistance
Andy Wallace – Mixing
Steven R. Gilmore – Sleeve art direction, design and digital photographic manipulation
Dean Karr – Cover design & photography

Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Position
2003	The Billboard 200	2
	Top Canadian Albums	1
	Top Internet Albums	2
	UK Albums Chart	37^[8]

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
2003	"Weak and Powerless"	The Billboard Hot 100	61
		Mainstream Rock Tracks	1
		Modern Rock Tracks	1
2004	"The Outsider"	The Billboard Hot 100	79
		Mainstream Rock Tracks	3
		Modern Rock Tracks	5
	"Blue"	Mainstream Rock Tracks	19
	"Blue"	Modern Rock Tracks	21

References

^ Jurek, Thom. Album review Thirteenth Step at Allmusic. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
^ Cowen, Nick. "Album review Thirteenth Step". Drowned in Sound. http://drownedinsound.com/releases/3539/reviews/8668-. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
^ E! Online review
^ Rolling Stone review]
^ Billboard.com
^ Chris Otts (September 26, 2003). "A Perfect Circle keeps spinning, churning out great music". The Crimson White. Archived from the original on April 29, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080429210119/http://media.www.cw.ua.edu/media/storage/paper959/news/2003/09/26/Entertainment/A.Perfect.Circle.Keeps.Spinning.Churning.Out.Great.Music-2859285.shtml. Retrieved January 25, 2008. "Keenan told MTV that the title refers, on one level, to his now 13 years living in Los Angeles as a musician."
^ "AA Glossary". http://www.ipass.net/a1idpirat/AAglossary.html. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
^ "UK chart history A Perfect Circle Thirteenth Step". www.chartstats.com. http://www.chartstats.com/release.php?release=42514. Retrieved 4 September 2011.

External links

"Worldwide chart info A Perfect Circle Thirteenth Step". www.ultratop.be. http://www.ultratop.be/en/showitem.asp?interpret=A+Perfect+Circle&titel=Thirteenth+Step&cat=a. Retrieved 4 September 2011.

A Perfect Circle

Josh Freese · Billy Howerdel · Maynard James Keenan · James Iha · Matt McJunkins Tim Alexander · Troy Van Leeuwen · Paz Lenchantin · Danny Lohner · Jeordie White

Studio albums	Mer de Noms · Thirteenth Step · eMOTIVe

Extended plays	Deep Cuts

Box sets	aMOTION

Singles	"Judith" · "3 Libras" · "The Hollow" · "Weak and Powerless" · "The Outsider" · "Blue" · "Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums" · "Imagine" · "Passive"

Related articles	Discography · Ashes Divide · Puscifer · Tapeworm · Tool · Nine Inch Nails · A Perfect Circle 2011 Tour