Wolfmother (album)

Wolfmother
Studio album by Wolfmother
Released 31 October 2005
Recorded June–September 2005 at Sound City Studios, Los Angeles, California, USA
Genre Hard rock, stoner rock, heavy metal, neo-psychedelia
Length 51:17
Label Modular
Producer Dave Sardy
Wolfmother chronology

Wolfmother EP
(2004)		 Wolfmother
(2005)		 Dimensions EP
(2006)
Singles from Wolfmother
  1. "Mind's Eye"
    Released: 16 October 2005 (Australia only)
  2. "White Unicorn"
    Released: 26 February 2006
  3. "Dimension"
    Released: 17 April 2006 (United Kingdom only)
  4. "Woman"
    Released: 17 June 2006
  5. "Love Train"
    Released: 18 September 2006 (United Kingdom only)
  6. "Joker & the Thief"
    Released: 28 October 2006

Wolfmother is the debut studio album by Australian rock band Wolfmother, originally released on 31 October 2005 in Australia. The album was later released internationally at various dates in 2006, with the addition of "Love Train" and a rearranged track listing. Wolfmother peaked at number three on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart[1] and was certified five times platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association.[2] Six singles were released from Wolfmother's debut album: "Mind's Eye"/"Woman", "White Unicorn", "Dimension", "Woman", "Love Train" and "Joker & the Thief", the latter of which charted the highest at number eight on the ARIA Singles Chart.[1] The album cover, which is taken from The Sea Witch by Frank Frazetta, shows a nymph standing against a blue/orange sky, on a rock, though because it displays nudity the album is sold in Wal-Mart stores with an alternate cover featuring simply the band's white logo against a black background. It is the only album to feature co-founding members Chris Ross and Myles Heskett, who left the band in August 2008.

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 76/100[3]
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic link
Blender link
NME link
Pitchfork Media (7.5/10) link
Rolling Stone (favorable) link

Wolfmother was first issued in Australia on 30 October 2005 through Modular Recordings.[4] Prior to its release it was played on high rotation on radio station Triple J, and as a result was the featured album of the week starting 28 October,[5] won both the inaugural J Award[6] and the listener's choice Album of the Year.[4] It also contributed a record total of six songs to the Hottest 100 chart, of which the highest was "Mind's Eye" at #6.[7] By 2007, the album had been certified five times platinum[2] and had peaked at #3.[1]

For the international release of the album, the track listing was tweaked slightly and "Love Train", previously released as the B-side to "White Unicorn", was added. It was not as well received in the UK and the US as in Australia, though Wolfmother still managed to reach #25[8] and #22[9] respectively. By 2007 it had also been certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry,[10] the Recording Industry Association of America[11] and the Canadian Recording Industry Association.[12]

Upon its release, Wolfmother received mainly positive reviews from critics. It was named 15th greatest album of 2006 by Rolling stone Magazine. The album's sound was compared to such 1960s and 1970s hard rock and heavy metal bands as Led Zeppelin[13][14][15][16][17] and Black Sabbath,[13][14][17][18] as well as more modern bands including Queens of the Stone Age[13][14] and The White Stripes,[13][14][18] though this led some reviewers to go as far as accusing the trio of "ripping off" such bands.[17] Q were somewhat less critical, describing the music as "Far from rocket science, but immense fun nonetheless".[18] Total Guitar gave the album 9/10, describing it as "ruddy marvellous", adding that it "can't fail to bowl you over".[19] The Record Review also praised the band and its debut, remarking that if they "continue to produce such epic songs and memorable riffs, there’s no doubt they will be at the forefront of rock and roll for years to come."[20]

Following the release of the debut, Yahoo! critic Rob O'Connor noted them as number 15 on his list of 'The Greatest Australian Acts' on his 'List of the Day' blog.[21] Furthermore, he compared their sound to be more reminiscent of psychedelic rock bands like Blue Cheer, Toe Fat Revival, Bloodrock and Frijid Pink, rather than comparing them to straight forward hard rock bands like Black Sabbath.[21] Lars Ulrich of Metallica fame has gone on record as a huge fan of the debut, noting their debut to be "awesome", and that following its release, he would listen to it "every day".[22] In 2009, the song "Vagabond" was used in the movie 500 Days of Summer. The song "Apple Tree" was used in the trailer for The Hangover Part III. The song "Dimension" was used in season 3, episode 16 of House.

The album's engineers have also been criticized for participating in the loudness war.

The album has sold over 1 million copies worldwide.

Track listings

All songs written and composed by Andrew Stockdale, Chris Ross and Myles Heskett.

Australian version
  1. "Colossal" – 5:02
  2. "Woman" – 2:55
  3. "White Unicorn" – 5:01
  4. "Pyramid" – 4:28
  5. "Mind's Eye" – 4:53
  6. "Joker & the Thief" – 4:39
  7. "Dimension" – 4:25
  8. "Where Eagles Have Been" – 5:32
  9. "Apple Tree" – 3:28
  10. "Tales from the Forest of Gnomes" – 3:35
  11. "Witchcraft" – 3:25
  12. "Vagabond" – 3:47
International version
  1. "Dimension" – 4:21
  2. "White Unicorn" – 5:04
  3. "Woman" – 2:56
  4. "Where Eagles Have Been" – 5:33
  5. "Apple Tree" – 3:30
  6. "Joker & the Thief" – 4:40
  7. "Colossal" – 5:04
  8. "Mind's Eye" – 4:54
  9. "Pyramid" – 4:28
  10. "Witchcraft" – 3:25
  11. "Tales" – 3:39
  12. "Love Train" – 3:03
  13. "Vagabond" – 3:50
United States 14-track edition
  1. "Colossal" (live at the Big Day Out) – 5:52
United States 15-track edition
  1. "Woman" (MSTRKRFT remix) – 3:28
  2. "Love Train" (Chicken Lips remix) – 5:44

Personnel

Wolfmother
Guest musicians
Additional personnel
  • Dave Sardy – production, mixing, percussion on "Colossal", "Where Eagles Have Been", "Vagabond" and "Love Train"
  • Ryan Castle – engineering
  • Stephen Marcussen – mastering
  • Andy Brohard – digital editing, assistant engineering, Pro Tools editing
  • Cameron Barton – assistant engineering
  • Pete Martinez – assistant engineering
  • Frank Frazetta – cover painting

Charts and certifications

Chart (2005–2006) Peak
Australian Albums Chart[1] 3
Austrian Albums Chart[23] 59
Danish Albums Chart[24] 33
Finnish Albums Chart[25] 27
French Albums Chart[26] 149
German Albums Chart[27] 50
Irish Albums Chart[28] 68
Dutch Albums Chart[29] 23
Norwegian Albums Chart[30] 8
Swedish Albums Chart[31] 27
Swiss Albums Chart[32] 64
UK Albums Chart[8] 25
US Billboard 200[9] 22
Country Certification
Australia 5× Platinum[2]
Canada Gold[12]
United Kingdom Gold[10]
United States Gold[11]

Release history

Region Date Label Format Catalog Ref.
Australia 31 October 2005 Modular Recordings Compact Disc MODCD036 [33][34]
United States (14-track version) 18 April 2006 Modular Recordings Digital download — [35]
Europe (13-track version) 24 April 2006 Island Records Compact Disc 9877684 [36][37]
United Kingdom (13-track version) 24 April 2006 Island Records Double 12" vinyl 986 500-4 [38][39]
North America (13-track version) 2 May 2006 Modular Recordings Compact Disc MODCD041 [36][40]
Australia (13-track reissue) 3 June 2006 Modular Recordings Compact Disc MODCD043 [36][41]
Japan (13-track version) 11 July 2006 Universal Records Compact Disc 9051 [42]
United States (15-track reissue) 2 January 2007 Modular Recordings Digital download — [43]
Japan (13-track version) 22 January 2007 Universal Records Compact Disc and DVD 9054 [44]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Discography Wolfmother". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2008-10-12.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2007 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. 31 December 2007. Retrieved 2008-10-12.
  3. ↑ "Reviews for Wolfmother by Wolfmother - Metacritic". CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2014-09-17.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Wolfmother Bio" (PDF). William Morris Agency. Retrieved 2008-10-12.
  5. ↑ "Wolfmother". Triple J Music Reviews. Triple J. 28 October 2005. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
  6. ↑ "The J Award 2005". Triple J. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
  7. ↑ "2005". Hottest 100 History. Triple J. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Chart Stats - Wolfmother". Chart Stats. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Artist Chart History - Wolfmother". Billboard. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Platinum Awards Content". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2008-10-12.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Search Results". Recording Industry Association of America. 4 October 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-12.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Gold & Platinum - January 2005". Canadian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 2008-10-12.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Wolfmother > Overview". AllMusic. Retrieved 2008-10-12.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 Donovan, Patrick. "Wolfmother : Wolfmother: (Universal)". Wolfmother (originally published by The Age). Archived from the original on 2008-05-28. Retrieved 2008-10-12.
  15. ↑ Downie, Stephen. "Listen up: album of the week". Wolfmother (originally published by The Daily Telegraph). Archived from the original on 2008-04-27. Retrieved 2008-10-12.
  16. ↑ Byrom, Cory D. (25 April 2006). "Wolfmother". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2008-10-12.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 "Ham of the Gods". Wolfmother (originally published by Rolling Stone). Archived from the original on 2008-05-28. Retrieved 2008-10-12.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 Everley, Dave. "Wolfmother : Wolfmother". Wolfmother (originally published by Q). Retrieved 2008-10-12.
  19. ↑ Ascott, Phil. "WOLFMOTHER". Total Guitar. Retrieved 2008-08-13.
  20. ↑ Rice, Ian (2006-05-18). "Wolfmother: A Rock Revival". Recordreview.wordpress.com. Retrieved 2011-08-13.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 "The 25 Greatest Australian Acts - List Of The Day". New.music.yahoo.com. 2008-10-20. Retrieved 2011-08-13.
  22. ↑ "Metallica Working Extra Hard To Compete, Music And Payola - Youtube". Au.youtube.com. 2007-05-05. Retrieved 2011-08-13.
  23. ↑ "Discographie Wolfmother" (in German). austriancharts.at. Retrieved 2008-09-27.
  24. ↑ "Discography Wolfmother". danishcharts.com. Retrieved 2008-09-27.
  25. ↑ "Discography Wolfmother". finnishcharts.com. Retrieved 2008-09-27.
  26. ↑ "Discographie Wolfmother" (in French). lescharts.com. Retrieved 2008-09-27.
  27. ↑ "Discographie Wolfmother" (in German). germancharts.com. Retrieved 2008-09-27.
  28. ↑ "Discography Wolfmother". irish-charts.com. Retrieved 2008-09-27.
  29. ↑ "Discografie Wolfmother" (in Dutch). dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2008-09-27.
  30. ↑ "Discography Wolfmother". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 2008-09-27.
  31. ↑ "Discography Wolfmother". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 2008-09-27.
  32. ↑ "Discography Wolfmother". swisscharts.com. Retrieved 2008-09-27.
  33. ↑ "Release: Wolfmother". MusicBrainz. Retrieved 29 May 2009.
  34. ↑ "Wolfmother - Wolfmother (CD, Album)". Discogs. Retrieved 29 May 2009.
  35. ↑ "Release: Wolfmother". MusicBrainz. Retrieved 29 May 2009.
  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 36.2 "Release: Wolfmother". MusicBrainz. Retrieved 29 May 2009.
  37. ↑ "Wolfmother - Wolfmother (CD, Album)". Discogs. Retrieved 29 May 2009.
  38. ↑ "Wolfmother - Wolfmother (2xLP, Album, Gat)". Discogs. Retrieved 29 May 2009.
  39. ↑ "Wolfmother [UK] > Overview". allmusic. Retrieved 29 May 2009.
  40. ↑ "Wolfmother - Wolfmother (CD, Album)". Discogs. Retrieved 29 May 2009.
  41. ↑ "Wolfmother - Wolfmother (CD, Album)". Discogs. Retrieved 29 May 2009.
  42. ↑ "Wolfmother [Bonus Track] > Overview". allmusic. Retrieved 29 May 2009.
  43. ↑ "Release: Wolfmother". MusicBrainz. Retrieved 29 May 2009.
  44. ↑ "Wolfmother [Bonus DVD] > Overview". allmusic. Retrieved 29 May 2009.