Blackbird (Alter Bridge album)
| Blackbird | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Alter Bridge | ||||
| Released | October 5, 2007 | |||
| Recorded | February 2007 - May 2007 | |||
| Genre | Alternative metal, hard rock, post-grunge, heavy metal | |||
| Length | 59:17 | |||
| Label | Universal Republic | |||
| Producer | Michael Baskette | |||
| Alter Bridge chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Myles Kennedy chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Blackbird | ||||
| ||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| 411Mania | 9.0/10[1] |
| Allmusic |    [2] |
| Bullz-Eye | [3] |
| Hard Rock Hideout | [4] |
| The Metal Forge | [5] |
| TubeLab | 9.5/10[6] |
Blackbird is the second studio album by American rock band Alter Bridge, released on October 9, 2007. The first single, "Rise Today", was released on July 30, 2007. The album peaked at number 13 on the Billboard 200, selling 47,000 copies in its first week on the charts.[7] As of December 2008, Blackbird has sold 227,000 copies.[8] Despite receiving poor marketing and generally low mainstream success, initial critical reception towards the album was mostly positive, with music critics praising the songwriting and musicianship.. The album was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry.
Background
The band stated in early 2006 that the song writing process was two thirds complete.[9] On February 8, 2007, the band announced that all of the album's songwriting was finished and that they would be entering the studio to begin the recording process for the new record. It was then announced on May 11, 2007 (by guitarist Mark Tremonti on www.thealterbridgenation.com), that the recording of the album was complete, the mixing has been finished, and only a few small minor things are still to be done.
On July 23, 2007, there was another official press release containing the official release date of the first single from the album, the track listing for the album and that tour dates will be released at a later date. Three days later, Alter Bridge uploaded two new songs on to their official MySpace page for fans to listen to as a taste of the new album. The songs were "Ties That Bind" and the album's single "Rise Today."
A UK version of the album was released on October 8 with a special UK bonus track titled "We Don't Care At All," a track also found on the iTunes version of the album. There is also a version of the album sold exclusively through Best Buy that contains the two bonus tracks "The Damage Done" and "New Way To Live," and a Walmart version with a bonus DVD containing exclusive interviews and an in-depth look at the making of the album.
Also, prior to the album's official release, Universal Republic Records put up a page of e-cards on their main home page on August 24, 2007, which contained the then-unreleased "Before Tomorrow Comes," "Watch Over You," "Buried Alive," and "Come to Life." They were then removed on Saturday, August 25, as their discovery resulted in many fans accessing them in a short period of time. Their accessibility online appears to have been a mistake on Universal's part, but it could also have been a unique marketing strategy.
On March 19, 2009, the band released a tabulature book for the album, containing the tabulature sheet music for every song on the album. In addition, "Come to Life" appeared on Guitar Hero: Van Halen and "Ties That Bind" would later appear on Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock .
While a large majority of the songs on One Day Remains were written before Myles Kennedy came on board, this time around it was a collaborative effort with Tremonti and Kennedy sharing the songwriting duties, while all four band members worked on the arrangements. All four members have songwriting credits on the album.
In "Wayward One", the melody of the verse is based on the theme of the Bourrée in E minor (Suite BWV996) of J. S. Bach.
Label changes
Alter Bridge left Wind-Up Records in 2006 due to Wind-Up pressing for a Creed reunion, which, in fact, actually later happened (all of Alter Bridge's members excluding Kennedy are also members of Creed), and subsequently signed to Universal Republic Records. The band's second label change occurred in 2010; Blackbird's follow-up, AB III, was released on Roadrunner Records worldwide, with the exception of North America where it was self-released via Capitol Records. The band dropped their contract with Universal Republic likely due to the way the label handled the release of Alter Bridge's 2009 live album/DVD Live from Amsterdam.
Singles
"Rise Today" was the first single from the album. It was officially released on July 30, 2007. The music video of "Rise Today" was released on Yahoo! on October 4, 2007. It was also made available for download on iTunes on July 31, 2007.
The single has since received a release date within the UK set for October 15, on both CD and 7" Picturedisc.[10]
At their concert on Oct. 30, 2007 in Dallas, Texas, the group recorded a live music video for a future single, "Ties That Bind." It was later announced by Michael Tremonti that "Ties That Bind" will be released as a single in the UK and Europe and that the video will be used to promote that single. On January 2, 2008, it was announced that "Watch Over You" will be the third single from Blackbird. There is also currently a duet version of "Watch Over You" featuring Cristina Scabbia of Lacuna Coil found on the band's MySpace. "Watch Over You" was featured in promos and during the season finale of Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew. The second version of the music video aired on VH1 containing clips from the show. "Before Tomorrow Comes" was released as the fourth and final single off the album in April 2008, and the third to be released in the United States.
Reception
Blackbird debuted at #37 on the UK Album Chart, and at #2 on the UK Rock Album Chart. In the US, it debuted at number 13 on the Billboard 200 chart and #4 on the Billboard Rock Album chart, selling about 47,000 copies in its first week[11] and 227,000 copies in total.[8]
Track listing
All tracks written by Alter Bridge.
| Blackbird | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 1. | "Ties That Bind" | 3:19 |
| 2. | "Come to Life" | 3:51 |
| 3. | "Brand New Start" | 4:54 |
| 4. | "Buried Alive" | 4:35 |
| 5. | "Coming Home" | 4:19 |
| 6. | "Before Tomorrow Comes" | 4:06 |
| 7. | "Rise Today" | 4:21 |
| 8. | "Blackbird" | 7:58 |
| 9. | "One by One" | 4:20 |
| 10. | "Watch Over You" | 4:19 |
| 11. | "Break Me Down" | 3:56 |
| 12. | "White Knuckles" | 4:24 |
| 13. | "Wayward One" | 4:43 |
| Total length: | 59:17 | |
| Best Buy Version | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 14. | "The Damage Done" | 3:45 |
| 15. | "New Way to Live" | 5:40 |
| UK/iTunes Version | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 14. | "We Don't Care At All[12]" | 3:42 |
Personnel
Alter Bridge
- Myles Kennedy – vocals, rhythm guitar, co-lead guitar on "Blackbird" and "Rise Today"
- Mark Tremonti – guitars, additional vocals
- Brian Marshall – bass
- Scott Phillips – drums, percussion
Production
- Michael Baskette – producer
- Dave Holdredge – recording engineer
- Jeff Moll – digital engineer
- Brian Sperber – mixing
- Brian Gardner – mastering
- Daniel Tremonti – art
Charts
Album
| Chart (2007) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Albums Chart[13] | 64 |
| Dutch Albums Chart[14] | 55 |
| German Albums Chart[15] | 55 |
| Swiss Albums Chart[16] | 83 |
| Swedish Albums Chart[17] | 56 |
| US Billboard 200[18] | 13 |
| US Top Rock Albums[19] | 4 |
| UK Album Chart[20] | 37 |
| UK Rock Album Chart | 2 |
Singles
| Year | Title | US Main | US Alt [21] | UK Rock | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | "Rise Today" | 3 | 32 | 3 | ||
| 2008 | "Ties That Bind"[a] | — | — | 3 | ||
| "Watch Over You" | 19 | — | — | |||
| "Before Tomorrow Comes" | 29 | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes the single failed to chart, was not released, or was not certified. | ||||||
^ a "Ties That Bind" was only released as a single in the United Kingdom.
Certifications
| Country | Sales | Certification |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 60,000+ | Silver |
| Worldwide | ---- | |
Release history
| Region | Release date | Label |
|---|---|---|
| Ireland | October 5, 2007 | Universal Republic |
| United Kingdom | October 8, 2007 | |
| United States | October 9, 2007 | |
| Australia | October 20, 2007 | |
| Japan | December 4, 2007 |
References
- ↑ 411Mania review Archived October 14, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Allmusic review
- ↑ Bullz-Eye review
- ↑ Hard Rock Hideout review
- ↑ The Metal Forge review
- ↑ TubeLab review Archived July 17, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Cohen, Jonathan. "Kid Rock Rolls To No. 1 Album Chart Debut". billboard.com. October 17, 2007.
- 1 2 Cohen, Jonathan. "Creed Hammering Out Reunion Details". billboard.com. December 1, 2008.
- ↑ Video Interview with Alter Bridge Archived February 20, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Rise Today: UK Release Information
- ↑ Jonathan Cohen, "Kid Rock Rolls To No. 1 Album Chart Debut", Billboard.com, October 17, 2007.
- ↑ Blackbird UK Release Edition
- ↑ "Alter Bridge - Blackbird - austriancharts.at". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
- ↑ "dutchcharts.nl - Alter Bridge - Blackbird". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
- ↑ "Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets, Genres, Genresuche, Genrelexikon, Künstler-Suche, Musik-Suche, Track-Suche, Ticket-Suche - musicline.de". musicline.de. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
- ↑ "Alter Bridge - Blackbird - hitparade.ch". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
- ↑ "swedishcharts.com - Alter Bridge - Blackbird". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
- ↑ "Artist Chart History – Alter Bridge". Billboard charts. Retrieved August 28, 2010.
- ↑ "Artist Chart History – Alter Bridge". Billboard charts. Retrieved August 28, 2010.
- ↑ "British charts portal". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved August 28, 2010.
- ↑ "Artist Chart History – Alter Bridge". Billboard charts. Retrieved August 28, 2010.