Because of the Times

Because of the Times
Studio album by Kings of Leon
Released March 30, 2007 (Australia, Ireland)
April 2, 2007 (UK)
April 3, 2007 (U.S.)
Recorded 2006 at Blackbird in Nashville; Sunset Sound in Hollywood
Genre Alternative rock, garage rock, Southern rock
Length 51:33
Label HandMeDown, RCA
Producer Ethan Johns, Angelo Petraglia
Kings of Leon chronology

Day Old Belgian Blues
(2006)		 Because of the Times
(2007)		 Only by the Night
(2008)
Singles from Because of the Times
  1. "On Call"
    Released: March 26, 2007
  2. "Fans"
    Released: July 9, 2007
  3. "Charmer"
    Released: October 29, 2007
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [1]
Entertainment Weekly A−[2]
NME (8/10)[3]
The Observer [4]
Pitchfork Media (5.4/10)[5]
PopMatters (7/10)[6]
Q
Rolling Stone
The Times
Uncut [7]

Because of the Times is the third album by Kings of Leon. Because of the Times was released on March 30, 2007 in Ireland/Australia, April 2, 2007 in the UK and April 3, 2007 in the US (see 2007 in music). The album has received generally positive reviews and has appeared in numerous Top-10 lists for "Album of the Year.[8] In 2009, Clash named the album number 3 on the "Clash Essential 50", a list of the most important albums released since the magazine's inception in 2004.[9]

Reception

The album was #6 in NME albums of the year, as well as #31 on Rolling Stone's Top 50 Albums of 2007. NME said that the album "cements Kings Of Leon as one of the great American bands of our times"[10] and Entertainment Weekly called Because of the Times "an epic wide-screen movie of a CD and the band's best to date."[11] Another reviewer described Because of the Times as, "an accomplished album of unbelievable beauty and familiar, loveable grit. Kings of Leon is maturing wonderfully and with patience, not forcing anything musically or lyrically that doesn’t sound natural."[12] However, some critics found the album inferior to their previous efforts.[13] Dave Hood of Artrocker gave the album one star out of five, finding that "Kings of Leon are experimenting, learning, and getting a bit lost."[14] Pitchfork Media contended that "Because of the Times sound[s] suspiciously like a counterattack on womankind, launched from somewhere in the mid-1990s, deep inside a bruised, stadium-sized ego."[15]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Kings of Leon. 

No. Title Length
1. "Knocked Up"   7:10
2. "Charmer"   2:56
3. "On Call"   3:21
4. "McFearless"   3:09
5. "Black Thumbnail"   4:00
6. "My Party"   4:10
7. "True Love Way"   4:02
8. "Ragoo"   3:00
9. "Fans"   3:35
10. "The Runner"   4:16
11. "Trunk"   3:57
12. "Camaro"   3:09
13. "Arizona"   4:50
US iTunes, Japanese and deluxe edition bonus track
No. Title Length
14. "My Third House"   4:03
UK iTunes bonus track
No. Title Length
14. "On Call (AOL Music Sessions)"   3:21

Charts and certifications

Charts

Year Chart Peak
position
2007 Australia 4
Belgium 20
Europe 7
Ireland 1
New Zealand 1
United States 25
United Kingdom 1
2008 Australia 15
2009 Australia 22

Certifications

Region Provider Certification
Australia ARIA 2× Platinum[16]
Belgium IFPI Gold[17]
Germany BVMI Gold[18]
Ireland IFPI 3× Platinum[19]
New Zealand RIANZ Platinum[20]
United Kingdom BPI 2× Platinum[21]
Preceded by
Beautiful World by Take That		 UK number one album
April 8, 2007 – April 21, 2007 		Succeeded by
The Best Damn Thing by Avril Lavigne

References

  1. ↑ "Because of the Times - Kings of Leon". Allmusic.
  2. ↑ "Because of the Times Review". Entertainment Weekly. March 30, 2007.
  3. ↑ "Kings Of Leon: Because Of The Times". NME. Retrieved 2012-06-13.
  4. ↑ Thompson, Ben (March 18, 2007). "CD: Kings of Leon: Because of the Times". London: The Observer.
  5. ↑ "Kings of Leon: Because of the Times". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2012-06-13.
  6. ↑ "Kings of Leon: Because of the Times". PopMatters.
  7. ↑ "Kings Of Leon - Because Of The Times - Review". Uncut.
  8. ↑ "Because Of The Times Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
  9. ↑ "Clash Essential 50 - Number 3 | Clash Music Exclusive Best of Clash". Clashmusic.com. 2009-04-22. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
  10. ↑ "NME Album Reviews - Kings Of Leon: Because Of The Times". Nme.Com. 2007-04-04. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
  11. ↑ Collis, Clark. "Because of the Times". Entertainment Weekly, March 30, 2007. Retrieved on February 05, 2008.
  12. ↑ Harper, Alana. "Because of the Times" at the Wayback Machine (archived May 5, 2008). Okayplayer.com, 2007. Retrieved on February 05, 2008.
  13. ↑ "Kings of Leon - Because of the Times - Review". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
  14. ↑ "Reviews | Slash The Seats". Artrocker.com. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
  15. ↑ "Because of the Times | Pitchfork". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 2009-03-03. Retrieved 2012-06-13.
  16. ↑ "ARIA Charts Accreditations 2009 Albums". Aria.com.au. 2009-12-31. Archived from the original on 2009-12-01. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
  17. ↑ "Ultratop Belgian Charts". ultratop.be. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
  18. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank". musikindustrie. Retrieved 2013-07-05.
  19. ↑ Jaclyn Ward (1962-10-01). "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
  20. ↑ "The Official New Zealand Music Chart - #1634, 15 September 2008" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-06-13.
  21. ↑ "Certified Awards". Bpi.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-06-13.