Clumsy | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | January 23, 1997 | |||
Recorded | February–September 1996 | |||
Studio | Arnyard Studios (Toronto) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 45:43 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Producer | Arnold Lanni | |||
Our Lady Peace chronology | ||||
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Singles from Clumsy | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
AMZ | [2] |
Music Critic | [3] |
Sputnikmusic | [4] |
Sputnikmusic | [5] |
Clumsy is the second studio album by the Canadian rock band Our Lady Peace, released on January 23, 1997, by Columbia Records. The album is the band's most successful to date, achieving diamond status in Canada (1 million units sold) and strong sales in other countries, including platinum status in the U.S. for another 1 million sales. In 2007, it ranked No. 76 on "The Top 100 Canadian Albums" by Bob Mersereau and No. 33 on The Top 102 New Rock Albums of All Time by 102.1 The Edge (in 2009). The album features five hit singles: "Superman's Dead", "Automatic Flowers", "Clumsy", "4am" and "Carnival". Each single except "Carnival" has a music video.
While on tour in support of Naveed the band attempted to begin writing for their next album. Like most bands, the challenges of writing a successful follow-up album was found to be difficult as each member now approached the writing process from a different set of experiences, personal goals, and influences from their time spent touring. Collaborations between band members and the co-writing producer broke down and writing sessions at the producer's studio resulted in nothing of use. The decision was made by Raine Maida that the way to resolve the situation was to change the line-up. It was either Mike Turner or Chris Eacrett. The concern then turned to what challenges would be faced with the task of replacing either. With Turner threatening legal recourse and Maida's school friend Duncan Coutts a bass player in his own band, the choice was simple. Immediately following the band's opening stint with Van Halen, Coutts was asked to join the band to be its new permanent bass player. "I don't want to call our old bass player Chris a weak link...I think he's a talented musician, just different from us." claimed Maida at the time of the announcement. Turner would be later fired from the group in the first week of writing with producer Bob Rock (Aerosmith, Metallica, Bon Jovi, Mötley Crüe) on a subsequent album.
As touring continued, the band began writing again with Duncan. One of the first songs they wrote was the eventual concert favorite "Trapeze", which they played live along with two other newly written songs "Home" and "Disgusted". [6] "Disgusted" would evolve into "Spider Gun" and eventually became the track "Big Dumb Rocket". In December 1995 the band began intensive writing and demoing sessions in a rented rehearsal space. Despite coming up with several new ideas, the band found that writing while on tour was very difficult because they couldn't give the songs their undivided attention and most of their early ideas were scrapped because the band wasn't satisfied with them. [7] "Trapeze" would make it to recording but the track was eventually cut and has yet to be released. [8]
Pre-production for the album was set to begin in January 1996. Producer Arnold Lanni noticed the band's discontent with the songs they were writing. "I went down to see them and knew it wasn't happening", he recalled. "All their friends and family were calling them up. You sell that many records, you're on everybody's A-list, everybody blows sunshine up your butt and sometimes you believe the hype. We had to pull the plug on that scenario." [9] At Lanni's suggestion, the band and him traveled to Duncan's rural lakeside cottage near Muskoka, Ontario, in order to concentrate on writing and recording demos for the album without distractions from family, friends or the media. [7] While there, the band lived together in the cottage surrounded by instruments. A tape recorder was left on in the house all day to pick up any ideas being played. Lanni and the band members would usually play ice hockey in the afternoon and collaborate on songs in the evening and into the night. By the end of their stay, around 20 songs had been written. [10] When they returned to the Toronto studio in February, according to Mike Turner, "When we came back to record, it just came together". [11]
Recording sessions for the yet untitled album began on February 8, 1996. The band was asked to record the Beatles song "Tomorrow Never Knows" for the soundtrack to the upcoming movie The Craft after several bands they had played with on tour knew them to play it well live. The song was recorded on the very first day of recording with Arnold Lanni and was mixed by Ralph Sall for the soundtrack. They then proceeded to pare down the twenty tracks they had written to the twelve they wanted to record. "The Story of 100 Aisles", originally called "Anacin", was the first song recorded and has a sound closer to Naveed than any other song on the album. "We just wanted to go in and give all these songs ideas their own life and play with them and rearrange them and all that until we're completely happy with it." said Duncan Coutts, "If they sound just like Naveed or if they don't, it wasn't a huge concern. We just wanted to make each song the best it could be." [12]
The album was recorded in two parts. Five or six tracks were recorded and finished by April 1996 so the band could review them. These included the base tracks for "Clumsy", "Hello Oskar", "Carnival", "Shaking", "Let You Down" and "Sleeping In", which didn't make the album. [13] The band's feedback directed the next set of songs recorded around June, which included "Superman's Dead" and a re-recording of "Hello Oscar". [14] Raine Maida said in an interview, "We took a lot of time experimenting. The album was really done in three months. We took another two months to really go back over stuff and re-record. It's neat to look back and know the extra time we took was important to the record." [15] Around this time (April), the working title of the album was Propeller, as Raine explained, "as in, that which causes forward movement." This was probably as a testament to the band's evolution since their debut album. [16] Another working title was Trapeze, named after the song that didn't make the album. The cover art proves that this title came close to being chosen. The name was changed to Clumsy in early September. Recording wrapped up by the end of that month. [17] The album was mastered at Gateway Studios in Portland, Maine, by Bob Ludwig. [18]
Raine stated that there was a kind of "Carnival atmosphere" to the whole album and that many of the lyrics he wrote were set at the circus or a carnival. [14] Clumsy's songs feature the striking vocals of lead vocalist Raine Maida, who utilizes an often jarring falsetto technique: Maida jumps from lower octaves in his vocal range to higher ones. Raine's vocals provide most of the melody of the songs, with guitars quieted down in this album compared to Naveed , their previous album. This aspect of singing has become the staple sound of the band, continuing with this fashion in their next studio album Happiness... Is Not a Fish That You Can Catch, and since lost on their 2005 album Healthy in Paranoid Times. In a January 1997 interview, the band stated that then new bassist Duncan Coutts, who also plays cello, keyboards and sings background vocals, influenced the sound on Clumsy even though he doesn't have any songwriting credits. [19] He broadened the band's palette of sounds. Given those new parameters, the band couldn't help but change their sound. [8]
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (July 2010) |
In early 1996, Our Lady Peace's American label, Relativity Records, in a decision to switch to an urban format, eliminated ten label positions in their Rock category, including OLP. [20] They moved to another Sony-owned label, Columbia Records for the release of Clumsy's first single in Canada, "Superman's Dead". Columbia would handle all of the band's releases in both Canada and the United States.
Clumsy debuted at #1 in Canada, selling 26,000 copies in Canada during its first week. [21] It would go on to become Our Lady Peace's best-selling album. On February 28, 2001, the album was certified Diamond in Canada. [22] On July 12, 2004, Clumsy was certified Platinum in the United States. [23] Between 1996 and 2016, Clumsy was the best-selling album by a Canadian band in Canada and the eighth best-selling album by a Canadian artist overall in Canada. [24] Radio station Edge 102 (aka CFNY), the most-listened to alternative rock station in Canada, listed Clumsy as the No. 1 album for 1997, based on sales, listener requests for songs and listener votes for the year's top album. [25]
Our Lady Peace toured in support of Clumsy from a month before the album's release in early 1997 and into 1998. The first leg of the tour, focusing on Canadian colleges, kicked off at Loyalist College in Belleville, Ontario, on January 13, 1997, where eight of the album's eleven tracks were premiered including "Superman's Dead", "4 AM" and others. This leg of the tour continued until March 1997, ending with a private music industry show at the Elbow Room in New York City.
The tour's second leg began on May 2, with the band playing two shows in Michigan before going off to Europe to promote the album's recent release there. The band returned and toured across the United States, only dipping into Canada to play at the very first Summersault festival. The North American tour continued until the end of September 1997 when Our Lady Peace joined Everclear as an opening act with whom they would tour until the end of 1997. [26]
In January 1998, the band embarked on a 22-date headlining tour across Canada which included several shows opening for The Rolling Stones . On February 26, Our Lady Peace began their first headlining tour in the United States with Headswim and Black Lab opening. Following this they returned to Europe again for a 14-show tour across Belgium, the Netherlands, France and Germany. Further touring in the U.S. with Third Eye Blind and Eve 6 lasted into September 1998. The year of touring was concluded with the second Summersault festival being held. Our Lady Peace would spend the rest of the year working on their third studio album, Happiness... Is Not a Fish That You Can Catch .
In December 2009, the band announced that they would be "recreating" [27] both Clumsy and their 2000 record Spiritual Machines by performing them live in their entireties [27] [28] [29] throughout a new tour that began in March 2010; only nine months before the 10-year anniversary of the release of Spiritual Machines. [27]
All tracks are written by Mike Turner, Raine Maida, Jeremy Taggart and Arnold Lanni. Words by Raine Maida
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Superman's Dead" | 4:16 |
2. | "Automatic Flowers" | 4:05 |
3. | "Carnival" | 4:48 |
4. | "Big Dumb Rocket" | 4:23 |
5. | "4am" | 4:17 |
6. | "Shaking" | 3:37 |
7. | "Clumsy" | 4:29 |
8. | "Hello Oskar" | 3:03 |
9. | "Let You Down" | 3:53 |
10. | "The Story of 100 Aisles" | 3:45 |
11. | "Car Crash" | 5:07 |
Total length: | 45:43 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Clumsy" | 4:12 |
2. | "Naveed" | 5:24 |
3. | "Automatic Flowers" | 3:54 |
As listed in liner notes. [18]
Musicians
Production
| Artwork
|
Chart (1997–1998) | Peak position |
---|---|
Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [30] | 1 |
US Billboard 200 [31] | 76 |
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard) [32] | 1 |
Chart (1998) | Position |
---|---|
Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [33] | 48 |
Chart (2002) | Position |
---|---|
Canadian Alternative Albums (Nielsen SoundScan) [34] | 166 |
Canadian Metal Albums (Nielsen SoundScan) [35] | 84 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada) [36] | Diamond | 1,000,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [37] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
---|---|---|---|---|
Canada | January 23, 1997 | Columbia | CD/CS | CK/T 80242 |
United States | April 8, 1997 | CK/T 67940 | ||
France | April 14, 1997 [38] | Epic | EPC 487408 2/4 | |
Europe | September 29, 1997 | |||
United States | December 20, 2016 | Columbia/SRC Vinyl | LP | 88875122161 |
Canada | 2017 | Columbia | 88985341031 | |
May 4, 2018 | Columbia/Music On Vinyl | MOVLP2070 | ||
Our Lady Peace is a Canadian alternative rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario in 1992. Led by lead vocalist Raine Maida since its formation, the band currently also features Duncan Coutts on bass, Steve Mazur on guitars, and Jason Pierce on drums. The band has sold several million albums worldwide, won four Juno Awards, and won ten MuchMusic Video Awards—the most MMVAs ever awarded to a band. Nineteen of their singles have reached the Top Ten on one of Canada's singles charts. Between 1996 and 2016, Our Lady Peace was the third best-selling Canadian band and the ninth best-selling Canadian artist overall in Canada.
Raine Maida is a Canadian musician best known as being the lead vocalist and primary songwriter of the alternative rock band Our Lady Peace. He has come to be known for his unique countertenor nasal falsetto singing voice, as well as his cryptic and poetry-influenced song lyrics. He occasionally plays certain instruments, such as the acoustic guitar, while performing with Our Lady Peace. Following guitarist Mike Turner's departure from Our Lady Peace in 2001, Maida is the only remaining original member of the band.
Spiritual Machines is the fourth studio album by the Canadian alternative rock band Our Lady Peace, released by Columbia Records in December 2000. Although not initially intended, the project evolved into a conceptual interpretation of futurist and inventor Raymond Kurzweil's 1999 book The Age of Spiritual Machines. Short tracks of spoken dialog from Kurzweil himself are interspersed among the actual songs on the album. The Kurzweil K250 keyboard, one of his inventions, was utilized throughout the recording of the album.
Happiness... Is Not a Fish That You Can Catch is the third studio album by Canadian alternative rock band Our Lady Peace. It was released on September 21, 1999, by Columbia Records. The album was very successful in Canada, debuting at #1 on the Canadian Albums Chart. The album was certified 3× Platinum in July 2001. Hit singles from the album include "One Man Army", "Annie", "Is Anybody Home?", and "Thief". The final track on the CD, "Stealing Babies", features Elvin Jones, a prominent post-bop jazz drummer. The photo shoot for this album took place around Staten Island in New York State.
Gravity is the fifth studio album by the Canadian rock band Our Lady Peace. It was released on June 18, 2002 by Columbia Records in North America. The album became a worldwide success, charting highly both in Canada and the United States with the hit singles "Somewhere Out There" and "Innocent".
Healthy in Paranoid Times is the sixth studio album by Canadian rock band Our Lady Peace, released on August 30, 2005, by Columbia Records. The disc was released on a standard CD as well as a DualDisc, with the reverse side containing a documentary on the making of the album. The album fared well in both Canada and the U.S., but didn't match up to the success of its 2002 predecessor, Gravity. The first single was "Where Are You", released in Canada during June 2005 and released in the United States a month later. The second and third singles were "Angels/Losing/Sleep" and "Will the Future Blame Us", respectively.
Michael A. Turner, also known as Emtee, is an English-born Canadian musician and producer. He is best known as the former lead guitarist and founding member of the band Our Lady Peace and current member of alternative rock supergroup Crash Karma.
"Superman's Dead" is a song by Canadian alternative rock group Our Lady Peace. It was released on January 16, 1997 as the lead single from their second album Clumsy, preceding the album's release by a week. This has become one of Our Lady Peace's most popular songs.
"4am" is a song by Canadian alternative rock band Our Lady Peace. It was released in December 1997 as the fourth single from their second album Clumsy. The band has described the title of the song as having a double meaning. The band wrote the entire song at 4 am. Also, the band's lead vocalist's father's name was Anthony Maida. The song being written at 4am and the initials of Raine's father give meaning to the song's name. Raine has confessed that the song was triggered by a dream about his father. The dream was about their relationship and the fear he had about his father supporting his musical career. The meaning has resonated with many of the band's fans. The song has a steady upbeat tempo throughout, with poetic lyrics.
"One Man Army" is a song by Canadian alternative rock group Our Lady Peace. It was released in July 1999 as the lead single from their third album, Happiness...Is Not a Fish That You Can Catch.
"Annie" is a 1999 single by Canadian rock band Our Lady Peace from the album Happiness...Is Not a Fish That You Can Catch. It was less successful than other singles from that album, such as Thief.
Between 1994 and present, Our Lady Peace discography has amounted to twelve total albums. These include ten studio albums, one live album and two compilation albums.
Naveed is the debut studio album by Canadian rock band Our Lady Peace. It was produced by Arnold Lanni, and was released on March 22, 1994, by Sony Music Canada. Naveed became a success in Canada, being certified 4× Platinum in the country. There were five singles released for the album, including "The Birdman", "Starseed" and "Naveed". This is the only album to feature bass player Chris Eacrett, who was replaced by Duncan Coutts in 1995.
"Starseed" is the second single from Our Lady Peace's first album Naveed, released in 1994. It was remixed and released on the soundtrack to Armageddon. In addition, a live version from the 2003 Live album was released as a single. The song was also planned to be included on the soundtrack for Drew Barrymore's 1995 film Mad Love but was left off. Art model Saul Fox makes a brief appearance in the music video and appears on the cover of the promotional single.
"Innocent" is a song by Canadian alternative rock band Our Lady Peace. Written by lead vocalist Raine Maida, it was released in August 2002 as the second single from the band's fifth studio album, Gravity. It reached the top 40 on two US Billboard rock charts, as well as on the New Zealand Singles Chart.
Burn Burn is the seventh studio album by Canadian alternative rock band Our Lady Peace, released in North America on July 21, 2009. The album's title is based on a quote by Jack Kerouac from his 1957 novel On the Road.
"Automatic Flowers" is a song by Canadian alternative rock group Our Lady Peace. It was released in July 1997 as the third single from their second studio album, Clumsy.
Curve is the eighth studio album by Canadian alternative rock band Our Lady Peace (OLP), released on April 3, 2012. The album was recorded from 2010 through 2012 at vocalist Raine Maida's home recording studio. Curve's first single, "Heavyweight", was released on December 20, 2011. The music from Curve has been touted by lead singer Maida as being "more experimental and ambitious" than the band's 2000 concept album Spiritual Machines. The album's cover features Canadian heavyweight boxer George Chuvalo, whose vocal excerpts are featured in the album's tenth and final track "Mettle".
Somethingness is the ninth studio album by Canadian alternative rock band Our Lady Peace (OLP). Produced under Warner Music Records label by Jason Lader, who also produced their preceding album Curve, this is the band's first studio album in nearly six years and it was promoted using the PledgeMusic platform, a website which facilitates musicians reaching out to their fans to market and distribute music.
Spiritual Machines 2 is the tenth studio album from Canadian alternative rock band Our Lady Peace, a sequel to their 2000 art rock concept album Spiritual Machines. The album was produced by Dave Sitek, and released through BMG's Shelter Music Group in the form of a non-fungible token (NFT) on October 29, 2021. All 500 NFTs were reported sold out in January 2022. A traditional release of the album happened on January 28 and a multi-media tour was scheduled to begin in June 2022.
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