| The Evolution of Man | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 19 November 2012 | |||
| Recorded | 2012 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 54:21 | |||
| Label | Ministry of Sound | |||
| Producer |
| |||
| Example chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from The Evolution of Man | ||||
| ||||
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 |
Speed Ballads is the second album by the band Republica. Released in 1998, the album was the follow-up to Republica's self-titled debut album.
Who Needs Actions When You Got Words is the debut studio album released by British rapper and songwriter Plan B on 26 June 2006. The album was recorded with producers such as Fraser T Smith, Paul Epworth, The Earlies and The Nextmen. The title of the album derives from a line in the Meat Puppets song "Plateau".
Elliot John Gleave, better known by his stage name Example, is an English musician, singer, songwriter, rapper and record producer. He released his debut studio album, What We Made, in 2007, followed by the mixtape What We Almost Made in 2008. Example first found success in 2010 with the release of his second studio album, Won't Go Quietly, which peaked at number four on the UK Albums Chart and number one on the UK Dance Chart. The album had two top 10 singles, "Won't Go Quietly" and "Kickstarts".
Oliver Dene Jones, known professionally as Skream, is an English electronic music producer based in Croydon. Skream has released records on several British record labels, such as Tempa, Tectonic, and Big Apple Records, and has performed throughout Europe, the US, Canada, Australia, and Japan, as well as the UK. Skream is known as an early and influential architect of the dubstep genre.
Won't Go Quietly is the second studio album from British recording artist Example. It was released as a digital download on 20 June 2010, with the physical release the following day. Noted producers that helped with the album include Calvin Harris, Sub Focus and Chase & Status. As of December 2012, the album has sold 265,000 copies in the UK.
"Katy on a Mission" is a song performed by British recording artist Katy B. It was released by Rinse accompanied by a B-side titled "Louder" as her debut single and lead single from her debut album, On a Mission, on 22 August 2010. The song was co-written by Benga, Katy B and Geeneus, and produced by Benga. Musically, the song is constructed around beats, synths and a bassline found most prominent in the dubstep music genre. It achieved charting success in the United Kingdom where it topped the UK Dance Chart and UK Indie Chart while peaking at number five on the UK Singles Chart. The single was accompanied by a music video which was directed by Johny Mourgue.
"Wherever Would I Be" is a song by American rock band Cheap Trick, released in 1990 as the second single from their eleventh studio album, Busted (1990). It was written by American songwriter Diane Warren and produced by Richie Zito. "Wherever Would I Be" peaked at number 50 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
"Say Nothing" is a song by British singer Example, released on 16 September 2012 in the United Kingdom as the lead single from his fourth studio album The Evolution of Man (2012). The song was written by Example, Johnny McDaid, and Dirty South, and was produced by the latter alongside Moám. The song features guitar work by Graham Coxon.
DNA is the debut studio album by British girl group Little Mix, released on 19 November 2012 through Syco Music and Columbia Records. The recording stages for the album took place between December 2011 and concluded in September 2012. Throughout the recording process, the group worked with several producers, with the album being largely co-written by them and other girl group members, Nicola Roberts of Girls Aloud, Shaznay Lewis of All Saints and T-Boz of TLC. The group stated that they were involved in the development of the album as much as possible.
"Close Enemies" is a song by British recording artist Example. It was released on 11 November 2012 as the second single from his fourth studio album, The Evolution of Man. The song was written by Elliot Gleave and Alex Smith, the latter who also produced the song. It entered the UK Singles Chart on 18 November 2012 at number 37. Gleave and his band performed a live version of the song for BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge, which features on the Live Lounge 2013 compilation album.
"Perfect Replacement" is a song by British recording artist Example. It was released as the third single from his fourth studio album, The Evolution of Man, on 24 February 2013 following his UK arena tour. The song was written by Elliot Gleave and Feed Me, the latter who also produced the song.
Chapter II is the third studio album by British record producer Benga. The album was released on 6 May 2013 through Sony Music. It entered the UK Albums Chart at number 93.
Brand New Machine is the third studio album by English drum and bass production duo Chase & Status. It was released on 7 October 2013 by MTA Records under exclusive license to Mercury Records. The album features vocal contributions from a new wave of British talent, including Louis M^ttrs, Moko, Jacob Banks and Elli Ingram, as well as contributions from Major Lazer, Nile Rodgers and rapper Pusha T. The duo toured the album with an arena tour beginning on 31 October 2013. They also headlined 1Xtra Live at the Bournemouth International Centre on the same day as the release of the album.
A Perfect Contradiction is the third studio album by English recording artist Paloma Faith, released by Sony Music Entertainment on 10 March 2014. Musically, the album is a pop album, with elements of R&B, jazz, soul, Motown and disco. The album received mixed reviews; it spawned six singles; "Can't Rely on You", "Only Love Can Hurt Like This", "Trouble with My Baby", "Ready for the Good Life", "Leave While I'm Not Looking" and "Beauty Remains"; the first two of these charted within the top 10 in the United Kingdom and "Only Love Can Hurt Like This" topped the charts in Australia.
Live Life Living is the fifth studio album by English recording artist Example. It was released on 7 July 2014 through Epic Records. It entered the UK Albums Chart at number eight.
Growing Up in Public is the third studio album by British rapper Professor Green. It was released on 19 September 2014 through Virgin Records. The album features appearances from the likes of Tori Kelly, Example, Mr Probz, Rizzle Kicks and James Craise among others. The album continues the themes covered on his second studio album, At Your Inconvenience (2011).
I Remember is the second studio album by English electronic music duo AlunaGeorge, released on 16 September 2016 by Island Records. The album includes collaborations with Popcaan, Zhu, Leikeli47, Dreezy, Flume and Pell. The album's lead single, "I'm in Control", was released in February 2016, featuring vocals from rapper Popcaan, and peaked at number 39 on the UK Singles Chart.
You Are Someone Else is the debut studio album by British indie pop collective Fickle Friends. It was released on 16 March 2018 through Polydor Records. The album and single artwork was designed by visual artist Mat Maitland, who worked with the likes of Michael Jackson and Josef Salvat and is the co-creator of the seafox mascot for Galantis.
Bangers & Ballads is the sixth studio album by English musician Example, released on 17 August 2018 through his own label Staneric Recordings. Originally cited by Gleave as a mixtape, it has been retroactively referred to as his sixth studio album following the release of his subsequent albums.
From a Birds Eye View is the second studio album by American rapper Cordae. It was released through Atlantic Records and Art@War on January 14, 2022. The album features guest appearances from Gunna, Lil Wayne, H.E.R., Lil Durk, Freddie Gibbs, Stevie Wonder, Eminem, and Roddy Ricch.
