Leave a Whisper
| Leave a Whisper | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Shinedown | ||||||||||
| Released | May 27, 2003 | |||||||||
| Recorded |
Henson Recording Studios (Los Angeles, California) The Blue Room (Los Angeles, California) | |||||||||
| Genre | Alternative metal, hard rock, post-grunge | |||||||||
| Length |
47:01 60:39 (enhanced edition) | |||||||||
| Label | Atlantic | |||||||||
| Producer | Bob Marlette | |||||||||
| Shinedown chronology | ||||||||||
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Leave a Whisper is the first album by Shinedown, a hard rock band from Jacksonville, Florida, USA. The album was released on May 27, 2003, faring well due to the success of the singles "Fly from the Inside" and "45". Recording took place at Henson Recording Studios and The Blue Room, both in Los Angeles, California. Leave a Whisper paved the way for Shinedown's successful second album, Us and Them, and was re-released on June 15, 2004, to incorporate a cover version of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man", as well as "Burning Bright (Sanford Mix)" and "45 (Acoustic)". The album's singles also fared well, "Fly from the Inside" reaching number 5, "45" reaching number 3, "Simple Man" reaching number 5, and "Burning Bright" reaching number 2 on the US Mainstream Rock list. Leave a Whisper is Shinedown's second best-selling album. On August 17, 2004, the album was certified gold for 500,000 copies sold, and by October 21, 2005, the album had sold 1 million copies in the US, and was certified platinum by the RIAA.[1]
Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Melodic | [3] |
AllMusic compared Leave a Whisper to that of post-grunge acts like Creed, Puddle of Mudd, and a modern-day Alice in Chains. They go on to state "Coupled with a plodding, two-dimensional sound varying little from song to song, let alone from the sound of its peers, Shinedown's debut offers scant hope that heavy music will right itself from the nasty stumble of its last few years."[2] According to Melodic, the album will satisfy fans of bands like Depswa and Saliva.[3]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Fly from the Inside" | Brent Smith, Bob Marlette | 3:55 |
| 2. | "Left Out" | Smith, Brad Stewart, Jasin Todd | 3:51 |
| 3. | "Lost in the Crowd" | Smith, Rick Beato | 3:58 |
| 4. | "No More Love" | Smith, Marlette, Todd, Tony Battaglia | 3:46 |
| 5. | "Better Version" | Smith, Marlette, Stewart | 3:45 |
| 6. | "Burning Bright" | Smith, Battaglia | 3:46 |
| 7. | "In Memory" | Smith, Beato, Stewart | 4:04 |
| 8. | "All I Ever Wanted" | Smith, Stewart, Todd | 4:12 |
| 9. | "Stranger Inside" | Smith, Beato | 4:01 |
| 10. | "Lacerated" | Smith, Battaglia, Stewart, Todd | 4:00 |
| 11. | "Crying Out" | Smith, Marlette, Todd | 3:34 |
| 12. | "45" | Smith, Battaglia | 4:09 |
Total length: |
47:01 | ||
| The Sanford Sessions: enhanced edition bonus tracks1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 13. | "Simple Man" (Lynyrd Skynyrd cover) | 5:20 |
| 14. | "Burning Bright" (Sanford Mix) | 3:44 |
| 15. | "45" (Acoustic) | 4:34 |
Total length: |
60:39 | |
| Deluxe edition bonus tracks2 | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 16. | "Simple Man" (Rock version) | 4:25 |
| 17. | "Leave a Whisper" (Leave a Whisper sessions) | 3:36 |
| 18. | "Start Over" (Leave a Whisper sessions) | 4:32 |
| 19. | "Soon Forgotten" (Demo) | 3:33 |
| 20. | "No More Love" (Demo) | 3:46 |
| 21. | "Falling Fearless" (Demo) | 4:39 |
| 22. | "Left Out" (Demo) | 3:36 |
| 23. | "Emptiness Man" (Demo) | 2:51 |
| 24. | "Notice Me" (Demo) | 4:03 |
| 25. | "Fly from the Inside" (Live acoustic) | 3:59 |
Total length: |
99:39 | |
1The final three tracks only appear on the enhanced edition,[4] released June 15, 2004. This re-release was prompted due to the popularity of their Simple Man cover.
2Available as a download only, on July 7, 2009 Shinedown released a deluxe edition of Leave a Whisper, featuring demo material and unused tracks from the recording sessions.[5]
Leave a Whisper was produced by Atlantic Recording Company. All of the songs on the album were partially written by Brent Smith, with the exception of "Simple Man", which was written by Ronnie Van Zant and Gary Rossington. Others who helped write the album include, but are not limited to, Bob Marlette, Jasin Todd, Brad Stewart, Rick Beato, and Tony Battaglia.
Personnel
- Brent Smith – vocals
- Jasin Todd – guitars, lap steel, theremin, sitar
- Brad Stewart – bass guitar
- Barry Kerch – drums and percussion
Technical personnel
- Bob Marlette – producer
- Tony Battaglia – engineering, mixing, producer
Additional musician
- Steven Marshall – additional guitar on "45"
Chart positions
- Album
| Chart positions | US sales | RIAA certification [1] |
International sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| US [6] | |||
| 53 | 1,255,293 | Platinum | 1,500,000+ |
- Singles
| Year | Song | US | US Alt. [7] |
US Main. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | "Fly from the Inside" | — | 34 | 5 |
| "45" | — | 12 | 3 | |
| 2004 | "Simple Man" | — | 40 | 5 |
| "Burning Bright" | 107* | 22 | 2 |
- Burning Bright reached #7 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.
References
- 1 2 "RIAA Gold and Platinum search for albums by Shinedown". Retrieved 2009-09-13.
- 1 2 Johnny Loftus (2003-05-27). "Leave a Whisper - Shinedown | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-11-19.
- 1 2 "Shinedown – Leave a Whisper (album review)". Melodic. Retrieved July 16, 2011.
- ↑ Leave a Whisper ENHANCED
- ↑ Leave a Whisper Deluxe
- ↑ "Leave a Whisper [Bonus Tracks] – Shinedown". Billboard.
- ↑ "Shinedown Alternative Songs Chart History". Billboard.
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