Villains (The Verve Pipe album)

Villains
Studio album by the Verve Pipe
Released	March 26, 1996
Studio	Studio D and The Plant, Sausalito, Ocean Way Recording, Hollywood
Genre	Alternative rock, post-grunge
Length	53:40, 54:23 (Original)
Label	RCA
Producer	Jerry Harrison
The Verve Pipe chronology
Pop Smear (1993) Villains (1996) The Verve Pipe (1999)
Singles from Villains
"Photograph" Released: February 1996 "Cup Of Tea" Released: July 16, 1996 [1] "The Freshmen" Released: January 21, 1997 [1] "Villains" Released: 1997

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]
Robert Christgau	(C) [3]

Villains is the third album and first major label release by American rock band the Verve Pipe, released in March 1996. The album contained the band's first hit single, "Photograph", which peaked in the top 10 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks. A year after the release of the album, a reformatted version of "The Freshmen" peaked at number 1 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. The single was also the band's sole appearance on the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at number 5. The success of the song helped this album go Platinum. Villains is the Verve Pipe's best-selling album. The album originally included a slower recording of "The Freshmen," before it was replaced in subsequent pressings with a faster rerecorded version.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Brian Vander Ark, except where noted.

Tracks

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Barely (If at All)"	3:45
2.	"Drive You Mild"	3:02
3.	"Villains"	4:42
4.	"Reverend Girl"	4:27
5.	"Cup of Tea"	4:26
6.	"Myself"	4:47
7.	"The Freshmen (Original pressings included the slower version which is 5:08)"	4:29
8.	"Photograph"	4:55
9.	"Ominous Man"	4:20
10.	"Real"	1:51
11.	"Penny Is Poison" (A.J. Dunning, Brian Vander Ark)	3:30
12.	"Cattle"	3:42
13.	"Veneer"	5:32
Total length:		53:40

Personnel

Adapted from the Villains booklet and liner notes. ^[4]

The Verve Pipe Brian Vander Ark – Lead vocals, rhythm guitar Brad Vander Ark – Bass guitar, backing vocals Donny Brown – Drums, backing vocals A.J. Dunning – Lead guitar, backing vocals Doug Corella – Keyboards, percussion Artwork Sean Mosher-Smith – Art direction, design Aldo Mauro – Band photography Slow HEARTH – Bird photography Management Doug Buttleman – Management for The Fitzgerald Hartley Company Fred Bohlander – Booking for Monterey Peninsula Artists Howard B. Abrams – Legal

Production Jerry Harrison – Producer Brian Malouf – A&R Jason Rio, Philip "Mac" Ward – Coordinators Douglas Biro and Ria Lewerke – Creative directors Karl Derfler – Engineer Doug McKean – Additional editing Larry "Hot" Brewer – Additional engineering Chris Buttleman – Guitar technician Ted Jensen – Mastering at Sterling Sound, New York, NY Tom Lord-Alge – Mixing Alvaro Alencar & Mauricio Iragorri – Assistant mixing

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1996–1997) Peak position US Billboard 200 [5] 24 US Heatseekers Albums ( Billboard ) [6] 1 Year-end charts Chart (1997) Position US Billboard 200 [7] 69

Singles Year Single Chart Position 1996 Photograph US Mainstream Rock Tracks 15 US Modern Rock Tracks 6 Cup Of Tea US Mainstream Rock Tracks 35 1997 "The Freshmen" US Mainstream Rock Tracks 9 US Modern Rock Tracks 1 US Billboard Hot 100 5 US Adult Top 40 7 US Top 40 Mainstream 7 "Villains" US Mainstream Rock Tracks 24 US Modern Rock Tracks 22

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA) [8]	Platinum	1,000,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. RCA's Verve Pipe Earns Freshman Standing – Billboard Magazine Google Books
2. https://www.allmusic.com/album/r233041
3. "Robert Christgau: CG: Verve pipe".
4. Villains (booklet; inlay cover). The Verve Pipe. RCA. 1996. 07863 66809-2.
5. "The Verve Pipe, TLP" . Billboard . Retrieved June 16, 2021.
6. "The Verve Pipe, TLN" . Billboard . Retrieved June 16, 2021.
7. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1997". Billboard. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
8. "American album certifications – The Verve Pipe – Villains". Recording Industry Association of America.