| The Evolution of Man | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 19 November 2012 | |||
| Recorded | 2012 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 54:21 | |||
| Label | Ministry of Sound | |||
| Producer |
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| Example chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Evolution of Man | ||||
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The Evolution of Man is the fourth studio album by English musician Example, released on 19 November 2012 through Ministry of Sound.
Example tweeted that on the plane to Sydney, he planned on writing some songs for a new album and he would be listening to Kasabian's album Velociraptor! for lyrical inspiration. Whilst in Australia for 2 months, the singer planned to write the entire album in the time he spent there.
On 25 July 2012 Example announced via Twitter that the name of the lead single from his fourth album was "Say Nothing" – produced by Dirty South, also revealing it would premiere Monday 30 July 2012 on Capital FM. The track, alongside "Perfect Replacement" (produced by Feed Me), received its live debut on 18–19 August 2012 at the V Festival.
After fans' complaints about the lack of dubstep influence in "Say Nothing", Example responded to a comment on Facebook, saying "wait for the album, I'm not gonna fill the album with the same sounding song, and I'm not gonna keep releasing the same 'dubstep' or 'electro' record". [4]
The promotional video for "Come Taste the Rainbow" premiered on 19 October 2012 on Hunger TV. This was also uploaded later to Example's official YouTube channel. [5]
"Close Enemies", produced by Alex Smith, was released as the second single from the album on 11 November 2012, entering the UK Singles Chart at No. 37.
On 15 November, Greg James at BBC Radio 1 had the exclusive first play of "Perfect Replacement", with Example claiming that he "wanted it to be a single" but that there were "five or six" tracks that could be chosen as the third single. On 24 November, Example confirmed "Perfect Replacement" as the third single. Previous tweets had hinted towards "Queen of Your Dreams" becoming a future single. During a live hangout on Google+, he revealed that he struggles to reach the high notes and so he doesn't perform "Queen of Your Dreams" live.
From 11 February to 1 March 2013, Example and his live band completed their second UK arena tour. He performed six tracks from The Evolution of Man along with songs from his previous two albums Playing in the Shadows and Won't Go Quietly . The band consists of Gleave, Sheldrake, Johnny "Drummachine" and Kaikai (who replaced David Stewart as guitarist). He was supported by Benga on all dates and Micky Slim, Sway, Baller B and P Money on selected dates.
The album received mostly mixed to positive reviews from music critics.
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 65/100 |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [1] |
| BBC Music | (favourable) [7] |
| Digital Spy | [8] |
| The Guardian | [9] |
| The Independent | [10] |
| NME | [2] |
| SB.TV | (favourable) [3] |
| Time Out London | [11] |
| Virgin Media | [12] |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Come Taste the Rainbow" | Benga | 4:11 | |
| 2. | "Close Enemies" |
| Alex Smith | 4:22 |
| 3. | "Perfect Replacement" |
| Feed Me | 3:28 |
| 4. | "Crying Out for Help" |
| Tommy Trash | 4:13 |
| 5. | "Queen of Your Dreams" |
| Alesso | 3:12 |
| 6. | "Say Nothing" |
| 3:41 | |
| 7. | "All My Lows" |
| Dirty South | 5:50 |
| 8. | "The Evolution of Man" |
| Alex Smith | 3:56 |
| 9. | "One Way Mirror" |
| Dirty South | 4:39 |
| 10. | "Snakeskin" |
| 4:22 | |
| 11. | "Blood from a Stone" |
| Zane Lowe | 4:49 |
| 12. | "Are You Sitting Comfortably?" |
| Skream | 3:38 |
| 13. | "We'll Be Coming Back" (Calvin Harris and Example) |
| Calvin Harris | 3:57 |
| Total length: | 54:21 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Let's Be Fucking Stupid" |
| Dada Life | 4:03 |
| 2. | "Someone to Die For" (with Dillon Francis) |
| Dillon Francis | 4:35 |
| 3. | "Whisper" (Example vs. AN21 & Max Vangeli) |
| AN21 & Max Vangeli | 4:01 |
| 4. | "Eutopia (Fade Away)" (with Laidback Luke) |
| Laidback Luke | 4:30 |
| 5. | "Daydreamer" (Flux Pavilion featuring Example) |
| Flux Pavilion | 3:51 |
| 6. | "Say Nothing" (Hardwell and Dannic remix) |
| 6:12 | |
| 7. | "Close Enemies" (Joker remix) |
|
| 4:07 |
| 8. | "Close Enemies" (Dyro remix) |
|
| 4:19 |
| Total length: | 89:59 | |||
Notes
Production [13]
Additional personnel
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
| Region | Date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK[ citation needed ] | 19 November 2012 | Digital download, CD | Ministry of Sound |
| Various[ citation needed ] | 27 November 2012 |
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