Meds (album)

Last updated

Meds
Placebomeds.jpg
Studio album by
Placebo
Released13 March 2006
RecordedDecember 2005 – January 2006
Studio
Genre Alternative rock [1]
Length47:55
Label Virgin
Producer Dimitri Tikovoï
Placebo chronology
Once More with Feeling: Singles 1996–2004
(2004)		Meds
(2006)		 Extended Play '07
(2007)
Singles from Meds
  1. "Because I Want You"
    Released: 6 March 2006 (UK only)
  2. "Song to Say Goodbye"
    Released: 6 March 2006
  3. "Infra-Red"
    Released: 19 June 2006
  4. "Meds"
    Released: 9 October 2006

Meds is the fifth studio album by British alternative rock band Placebo. It was recorded from late 2005 to early 2006 and released on 13 March 2006 by record label Virgin in most countries, although it was released three days earlier in Australia and New Zealand. Illegal copies had previously been available on the Internet since 17 January 2006.

Contents

Meds reached number 7 in the UK Albums Chart, and received a generally favourable reaction from music critics. It also became Placebo's first album to chart on the US Billboard 200, where it reached number 180. Four singles were released from the album: "Because I Want You", "Song to Say Goodbye", "Infra-Red" and "Meds". This is the band's final album to featured the original drummer Steve Hewitt.

Content

Placebo had planned to record a more electronic, keyboard-driven sound for their new album; however, producer Dimitri Tikovoi suggested a back-to-basics approach, which Brian Molko recounted in Zero :

It was our producer's agenda really, which we didn't really know about until we got into the studio. [...] We were in a place that was very much about samplers and computers and vintage synthesizers. This recording session really became about playing again. We were in an old-school studio so there were no real tricks to hide behind. [2]

On the theme of the record, Molko says:

I think there's a lot of songs about the dangers and effects of drinking [alcohol]. [...] "Infra-Red"'s about that, when you get very drunk and you've got a bee in your bonnet about something, and this vengeful quality emerges. You start thinking about people who've done you wrong and [want] to set the record straight. [2]

Release

Meds was released 13 March 2006 worldwide,[ citation needed ] although it was released three days earlier in Australia and New Zealand.[ citation needed ] Illegal copies had previously been available on the Internet since 17 January 2006. [3] It reached number 7 in the UK Albums Chart. [4]

The album was re-released by Virgin in the United States in January 2007 with three extra tracks—"Lazarus", "UNEEDMEMORETHANINEEDU" (both B-sides to the "Meds" single) and "Running Up That Hill"—and "In the Cold Light of Morning" omitted (because it contains "dirty words"). [5] The album was released with the Copy Control protection system in some regions. The Chilean two-disc edition includes a bonus disc of live tracks recorded at the Centro Cultural Estación Mapocho, Santiago on 1 and 2 April 2005, entitled Live in Chile.

The US release version has different arrangements of various tracks; e.g. it omits the glockenspiel during "Pierrot the Clown", giving a much more bare-bones version of the song.

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 65/100 [6]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Alternative Press Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [7]
Robert Christgau mixed [8]
Mojo Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [9]
NME 8/10 [10]
Pitchfork 5.1/10 [11]
PopMatters 4/10 [12]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [13]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [14]
Slant Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [15]

Meds received a generally favourable reception from critics, though several reviewers commented on the album's lack of divergence from the group's established sound.

Pitchfork reviewer Joe Tangari opined "the arrangements and recordings are so airtight you could suffocate in them, with the distortion strictly compressed and neatly controlled". Tangari finished by commenting "Meds isn't a terrible album, but there's very little to get excited about on it either, and Placebo's calculated naughtiness is no more convincing than it's ever been." [16] Jonathan Keefe of Slant wrote "Meds finds a successful band doing just a little to tinker with their proven formula [...] and attempting to pass off a few too many soundalike tracks as thematic coherence". [15] Dan Raper of PopMatters wrote "Meds is cloaked in the sophisticated sheen of a band completely established; pushing in some areas, content to rely on established constructions and melodic elements in others. If you haven't experienced the familiar cycle of infatuation–disappointment–indifference with Placebo, you could find these songs pleasant, at times even exhilarating. But I've just reached the final stage of that cycle, and nothing here forces me to reconsider." [12]

MacKenzie Wilson of AllMusic called Meds "as bare and honest as Placebo have ever been, thanks to French producer Dimitri Tikovoi's straightforward approach in getting the band to make a bona fide rock record", writing that "There's a fresh vulnerability here and a sense of danger, too". [1] Robert Christgau, while mixed in his reception, called Meds "easily their most effective album-as-album", [8] while Q magazine called it "easily their most focused album to date". [13] musicOMH wrote "Darker than its predecessors, the harrowing Meds is as close Placebo have come to that perfect album." [6]

Speaking to Kerrang! in June 2009, Brian Molko remembered: "This was the beginning of the end of the band [drummer Steve Hewitt left after its release] and the way we dealt with that was by anaesthetizing ourselves to the max. When Stef and I hear tracks from the album we look at each other and go, 'Erm… who played what on this song?' There are moments on there like "[In the] Cold Light of Morning," that are painful to listen to now. I don't know that we've ever been that down before. I think it's a very powerful record, emotionally, and despite the circumstances under which it was made, it's quite perfectly executed. It's just very dark and doesn't offer very much hope." [17]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Placebo (Brian Molko, Stefan Olsdal and Steve Hewitt), except "Running Up That Hill", written by Kate Bush

No.TitleLength
1."Meds" (featuring Alison Mosshart)2:55
2."Infra-Red"3:15
3."Drag"3:21
4."Space Monkey"3:51
5."Follow the Cops Back Home"4:39
6."Post Blue"3:11
7."Because I Want You"3:22
8."Blind"4:01
9."Pierrot the Clown"4:22
10."Broken Promise" (featuring Michael Stipe)4:11
11."One of a Kind"3:21
12."In the Cold Light of Morning"3:52
13."Song to Say Goodbye"3:34
Japan bonus track
No.TitleLength
14."Twenty Years" (Live at Wembley, 5 November 2004)6:07
US version
No.TitleLength
1."Meds" (featuring Alison Mosshart)2:55
2."Infra-Red"3:15
3."Drag"3:21
4."Space Monkey"3:51
5."Follow the Cops Back Home"4:39
6."Post Blue"3:11
7."Because I Want You"3:22
8."Blind"4:01
9."Lazarus"3:23
10."Broken Promise" (featuring Michael Stipe)4:11
11."One of a Kind"3:21
12."Pierrot the Clown"4:22
13."Song to Say Goodbye"3:34
14."UNEEDMEMORETHANINEEDU"3:29
15."Running Up That Hill" (Kate Bush cover)4:53
Live in Chile bonus CD
No.TitleLength
1."This Picture" 
2."Special Needs" 
3."Protect Me from What I Want" 
4."I Do" 
5."Black-Eyed" 
6."Pure Morning" 
7."English Summer Rain" 
8."Twenty Years" 
9."Nancy Boy" 
Special Edition bonus DVD

Personnel

Placebo
Additional personnel
Technical

Charts

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Austria (IFPI Austria) [49] Gold15,000*
Belgium (BEA) [50] Gold25,000*
France (SNEP) [51] Platinum200,000*
Germany (BVMI) [52] Platinum200,000^
Greece (IFPI Greece) [53] Gold7,500^
Russia (NFPF) [54] Gold10,000*
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) [55] Platinum30,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) [56] Gold100,000^
Summaries
Worldwide—1,100,000 [57]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

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References

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  2. 1 2 "[Placebo interview]". Zero . March 2005.
  3. ↑ "Placebo – Meds (New Album Leak) – Music – rllmukforum.com". rllmukforum.com. 19 January 2006. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  4. ↑ "Placebo | Artist | Official Charts". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 3 July 2013.
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  8. 1 2 Christgau, Robert (18 April 2006). "Lost in the Lonely Crowd". The Village Voice . Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  9. ↑ "[Meds review]". Mojo : 106. April 2006.
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  11. ↑ Tangari, Joe (4 May 2006). "Placebo: Meds | Album Reviews". Pitchfork . Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  12. 1 2 Raper, Dan (4 April 2006). "Placebo: Meds | PopMatters". PopMatters . Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  13. 1 2 "[Meds review]". Q : 118. April 2006.
  14. ↑ "[Meds review]". Rolling Stone : 69. 6 April 2006.
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