Unpeeled | ||||
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Live album by | ||||
Released | July 28, 2017 | |||
Genre | Rock | |||
Length | 79:15 | |||
Label | RCA | |||
Producer | Ben Baptie, Cage the Elephant | |||
Cage the Elephant chronology | ||||
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Singles from Unpeeled | ||||
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Aggregate scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 72/100 [1] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
Rolling Stone | [3] |
The Skinny | [4] |
Under The Radar | 8/10 [5] |
Unpeeled is the second live album by American rock band Cage the Elephant. The album was released on July 28, 2017, and features the single "Whole Wide World". [6] The album was recorded on tour during their "Live and Unpeeled" shows in cities such as Los Angeles, Washington DC, Nashville, and Knoxville where the band performed stripped-down renditions of some of the rock band's most beloved songs. The album has 21 tracks: 18 curated songs from past albums and three cover versions, including the lead single.
Guitarist Brad Shultz explained: "We connected with the songs in a way we hadn't before. It was really all about the balance of the intimacy and the delicacy of how we approach playing these songs live acoustically and with strings as we hadn't done before." [7]
"Whole Wide World", the cover of a song by Wreckless Eric, was the first single of the album and was released on June 21, 2017. A music video for the song was released the following day on June 22, and features the band playing live. [8] A music video on July 7, 2017, for "Sweetie Little Jean" was released. [9]
Unpeeled produced by RCA Records, doesn't sound like a traditional live album. The reworkings are polished and sound as if it was recorded in a studio. The three covers on the album, include The Stranglers' "Golden Brown", Daft Punk's "Instant Crush" and "Whole Wide World" by Wreckless Eric. It was recorded to show how versatile their music can be. The band describes the acoustic covers accompanied with string, and a choir as "refreshing" and a fun "change in pace". [10]
Unpeeled received high reviews from music critics. According to review aggregator Metacritic, the album has an average critic review score of 72/100, based on 4 reviews. [11] Writing for Under the Radar, Matt Raven describes the album as "daring" and states that "These new versions demonstrate the band's uncanny ability to construct alluring compositions that all start from a strong melodic framework." [12]
All tracks are written by Cage the Elephant unless otherwise noted
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Cry Baby" | 4:20 |
2. | "Whole Wide World" (Eric Goulden) | 3:25 |
3. | "Sweetie Little Jean" | 3:26 |
4. | "Spiderhead" | 3:34 |
5. | "Take It or Leave It" | 3:24 |
6. | "Too Late to Say Goodbye" | 3:52 |
7. | "Punchin' Bag" | 3:25 |
8. | "Shake Me Down" | 3:26 |
9. | "Telescope" | 3:51 |
10. | "Instant Crush" (Thomas Bangalter, Julian Casablancas, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo) | 5:09 |
11. | "Trouble" | 4:02 |
12. | "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" | 2:59 |
13. | "Rubber Ball" | 3:55 |
14. | "Aberdeen" | 2:53 |
15. | "Golden Brown" (Hugh Cornwell, Jean-Jacques Burnel, Dave Greenfield, Jet Black) | 3:57 |
16. | "Cold Cold Cold" | 3:27 |
17. | "How Are You True" | 4:39 |
18. | "Come a Little Closer" | 3:45 |
19. | "Back Against the Wall" | 3:45 |
20. | "Cigarette Daydreams" | 3:26 |
21. | "Right Before My Eyes" | 4:40 |
Total length: | 79:21 |
Chart (2017) | Peak position |
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Canadian Albums (Billboard) [14] | 50 |
New Zealand Heatseekers Albums (RMNZ) [15] | 10 |
US Billboard 200 [16] | 61 |
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard) [17] | 9 |
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) [18] | 11 |
Eric Goulden, known as Wreckless Eric, is an English rock and new wave singer-songwriter, best known for his 1977 single "Whole Wide World" on Stiff Records. More than two decades after its release, the song was included in Mojo magazine's list of the best punk rock singles of all time. It was also acclaimed as one of the "top 40 singles of the alternative era 1975–2000".
Casting Crowns is a contemporary Christian and Christian rock band started in 1999 by youth pastor Mark Hall, who serves as the band's lead vocalist, as part of a youth group at First Baptist Church in Downtown Daytona Beach, Florida. They later moved to Stockbridge, Georgia, and more members joined. Some members of the band currently work as ministers for Eagle's Landing First Baptist Church in McDonough, Georgia. The band has won a Grammy and a Dove Award.
"Whole Wide World" is a song written by English rock singer-songwriter Wreckless Eric, who wrote the song in May 1974, and recorded it in 1977, whilst an original member of the Stiff Records label. Additional musicians on the record were Nick Lowe on guitar and bass, and Steve Goulding on drums.
Cage the Elephant is an American rock band formed in 2006 in Bowling Green, Kentucky. They moved to England and settled in London in 2008, shortly before their self-titled first album was released. The band currently consists of Matt Shultz (vocals), his older brother Brad Shultz, Nick Bockrath, Matthan Minster, Daniel Tichenor (bass), and Jared Champion (drums). The band's first album was released to much success, spawning several successful radio singles and gaining the band a large following in both the United States and the United Kingdom. It was influenced by classic rock, '90s alternative, blues, punk rock and funk music. Lincoln Parish served as the band's lead guitarist from their formation in 2006 until 2013, when he left on good terms to pursue a career in producing.
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"Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" is the third single by the American rock band Cage the Elephant. It was released as a CD single on June 16, 2008 by Relentless Records and became the first Top 40 hit for the band in the UK. A music video was filmed for this song which was directed by D.A.R.Y.L of Pulse Films. A later re-release in North America the following year reached number 92 on the Billboard Hot 100, reached number 3 on the Alternative Songs chart and number 8 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
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