A Present for Everyone

A Present for Everyone
Studio album by Busted
Released	17 November 2003 (2003-11-17)
Recorded	2003
Genre	Pop punk pop rock power pop
Length	45:57
Label	Universal Island
Producer	Steve Power The Matrix Graeme Stewart
Busted chronology
Busted (2002) A Present for Everyone (2003) Busted (2004)
Singles from A Present for Everyone
"Crashed the Wedding" Released: 10 November 2003 "Who's David?" Released: 16 February 2004 "Air Hostess" Released: 26 April 2004 "Thunderbirds / 3AM" Released: 26 July 2004 "She Wants to Be Me" Released: 29 November 2004

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

A Present for Everyone is the second studio album by British pop punk band Busted. It was released on 17 November 2003 by Universal Island Records and features a sound mixing pop punk and power pop material with traditional pop rock. Five singles were released from the album, including the number-one hits "Crashed the Wedding", "Who's David?" and "Thunderbirds / 3AM".

The album received generally positive reviews from music critics. It debuted and peaked at number 2 on the UK Albums Chart and has been certified 3× Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry for sales of over 900,000.^[2] A Present for Everyone was the band's final album until they reformed in 2015 and announced a new studio album.

Background

The album was originally intended to be titled Drum Roll, and was referred to as such in press releases and interviews up until October of that year. The album showed a more mature sound compared to their debut album. Eight of the thirteen standard edition tracks were co-written with Tom Fletcher from McFly, a band which Bourne helped form following Fletcher's departure from Busted in the early days of the band. "She Wants to Be Me" and "3am" were co-written with production team The Matrix, which showed a slight departure in sound for the band, venturing more into pop punk.

"Fake" and "Better Than This" were collaborations between Willis, Guy Chambers and Steve Power, and both were hailed as stand-out tracks on the album in critical reviews. Bourne and Neve guitarist Michael Raphael wrote "Can't Break Thru", while Simpson co-wrote "Why" with his brother Will. "Why" shows a much heavier rock sound, similar to that of Simpson's future project Fightstar, for which he later left Busted to commit to full-time. Simpson later hailed "Why" as his favourite Busted song of all time. "Better Than This", "Why" and "Can't Break Thru" have solo vocal performances from those who wrote them.

Singles

Five songs from the album were released as singles.

"Crashed the Wedding" was released in November 2003,

"Who's David?" was released in February 2004,

"Air Hostess" was released in April 2004,

"3AM" was released in July 2004, and

"She Wants to Be Me", which was released in November 2004.

"3AM" was issued as a double A-side with "Thunderbirds Are Go" (simply titled "Thunderbirds" upon single release), which was included on the 2004 reissue of the album and the soundtrack to the film of the same name. The 2004 re-issue of the album also includes various other popular Busted singles, and only includes three non-single tracks from the original album.^[3] The Japanese deluxe edition of the album includes a bonus DVD containing five music videos and an additional EPK for Japan.

Critical reception

Critical reaction to the album was generally positive. On bbc.co.uk, Nikki Smith writes: "They far outshine their boy band competitors, not just because of their ability to play instruments but also for the sheer energy and enthusiasm that comes through in their music".^[4] AllMusic states: "Though it's way too long at fifteen tracks, the album at least sticks to its template of earnest, slightly bawdy tales of boys and girls wrapped around peppy, ultra-slick, and sickeningly in-the-moment guitar pop."^[5] The album was the 19th best selling of 2003 in the UK, and has been certified 3× Platinum.

B-sides

The band covered a variety of popular tracks as B-sides for the singles from the album. The band recorded covers of "Build Me Up Buttercup", "That's Entertainment", "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing", "O Holy Night", "Teenage Kicks", "Where is the Love?", "Fall at Your Feet" "Peaches" and "Runaway Train", as well as new tracks "Let it Go" and "Mummy Trade", which appeared as B-sides to "Air Hostess". The band's cover of "Teenage Kicks" was later included on their debut US release, as well as the re-issue of A Present in 2004. "Build Me Up Buttercup" is the second of the band's ongoing collaborations with McFly, following the release of "Lola" in 2004.

Track listing

Charts and certifications

References