The Madding Crowd

The Madding Crowd
Studio album by Nine Days
Released	May 16, 2000
Recorded	Tree Studios
Genre	Alternative rock, Roots rock, rock
Length	53:45
Label	550
Producer	Nick DiDia
Nine Days chronology
Three (1998) The Madding Crowd (2000) So Happily Unsatisfied (2002)
Singles from The Madding Crowd
"Absolutely (Story of a Girl)" Released: March 21, 2000 [1] "If I Am" Released: August 29, 2000 [2]

The Madding Crowd is the debut major-label album by the American rock band Nine Days, released on May 16, 2000, by Epic Records. It spawned the major hit "Absolutely (Story of a Girl)" and another single, "If I Am". It peaked at number 67 on the US Billboard 200.

Reception

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[3]
MTV	Positive [4]
People	Positive [5]

Allmusic rated the album 4.5 out of five stars, with William Ruhlmann calling it "an album's worth of songs about personal relationships that are often rocky, but always involved and involving." ^[3] For MTV, Alexandra Flood praised the album as "clean, frill-less, fruitful rock". ^[4] People named The Madding Crowd "Album of the Week" for August 28, 2000, with Steve Dougherty praising Hampson and Desveaux as "highly talented" and the songs for containing "a literate muse". ^[5]

Commercial performance

"The Madding Crowd" debuted at number 87 on the US Billboard 200, on June 3, 2000. ^[6] It peaked at no. 67 on July 22, 2000. ^[7] The album was certified Gold in the United States with 500,000 album copies sold. ^[8]

Track listing

The Madding Crowd

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"So Far Away"	Hampson Desveaux	3:56
2.	"Absolutely (Story of a Girl)"	Hampson	3:09
3.	"If I Am"	Hampson	4:18
4.	"End Up Alone"	Hampson Desveaux	3:57
5.	"Sometimes"	Desveaux	5:14
6.	"Bob Dylan"	Desveaux Bob Dylan	4:35
7.	"257 Weeks"	Hampson	4:04
8.	"Bitter"	Desveaux	6:21
9.	"Back to Me"	Desveaux	4:00
10.	"Crazy"	Hampson Desveaux	4:14
11.	"Revolve"	Hampson	3:54
12.	"Wanna Be"	Desveaux	6:03
Total length:			53:45

Personnel

• Brian Desveaux – vocals, guitar
• John Hampson – vocals, guitar
• Nick Dimichino – bass guitar
• Jeremy Dean – keyboards
• Vincent Tattanelli – drums

Charts

Chart (2000)	Peak position
US Billboard 200 [7]	67

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA) [9]	Gold	500,000

References

1. "Alternative: Going for Adds". Radio & Records . No. 1342. March 17, 2000. p. 104.
2. "Alternative: Going for Adds". Radio & Records. No. 1365. August 25, 2000. p. 116.
3. Ruhlmann, William. "The Madding Crowd Review". Allmusic. Retrieved August 17, 2025.
4. Flood, Alexandra (February 23, 2001). "The Madding Crowd, Reviews". MTV. Archived from the original on August 3, 2002.
5. Dougherty, Steve (August 28, 2000). "Album of the week: The Madding Crowd". People . Vol. 54, no. 9. Archived from the original on February 10, 2001. Retrieved August 17, 2025.
6. "The Billboard 200" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 112, no. 23. June 3, 2000. p. 116. Retrieved August 17, 2025– via World Radio History.
7. "The Billboard 200" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 112, no. 31. July 29, 2000. p. 110. Retrieved August 17, 2025– via World Radio History.
8. "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
9. "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved February 11, 2021.