Wonderland (McFly album)

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Wonderland
Wonderland Album Cover.jpg
Studio album by
McFly
Released29 August 2005
RecordedSeptember 2004–July 2005, London, England, United Kingdom
Genre
Length43:29
Label Island
Producer Hugh Padgham, Steve Power
McFly chronology
Room on the 3rd Floor
(2004)		Wonderland
(2005)		 Motion in the Ocean
(2006)
Singles from Wonderland
  1. "All About You"
    Released: 7 March 2005
  2. "I'll Be OK"
    Released: 15 August 2005
  3. "I Wanna Hold You"
    Released: 17 October 2005
  4. "Ultraviolet / The Ballad of Paul K"
    Released: 12 December 2005
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg link
Channel 4 link

Wonderland is the second studio album by English pop rock band McFly. It was released in the United Kingdom on 29 August 2005, and was a success, being certified platinum, selling over 300,000 copies in the UK peaking at number 1 in the UK Albums Chart breaking the world record for the youngest band to top the album chart twice. [1] Despite being less of a success in the UK, the album went on to match the worldwide sales of McFly's debut album Room on the 3rd Floor , selling over one million copies.

Contents

Background

The album contains production from early collaborator Hugh Padgham, who co-produced the majority of the band's debut album, as well as production from former Busted producer Steve Power. The album follows more of a story-like narrative than the band's first album, and adopts a slightly more advanced style of pop. Unlike the band's first album, there is no hidden track on the album. Four singles were released from the album: "All About You", which was released as the official Comic Relief single for 2005, "I'll Be OK", "I Wanna Hold You" and the double A-side of "Ultraviolet and The Ballad of Paul K". A deluxe version of the album was released in special gatefold packagaing, with fold-out photos of the band as well as an extended booklet. [2] The Japanese edition of the album contains two additional tracks plus two music videos.

Critical reception

Sharon Mawer of AllMusic said of the album: "The often difficult second album was made to look easy by McFly, the four lads from London who saw Busted, their main rivals for the affections of pre-teenage hearts, split up in 2005, leaving them the only guitar-based pop band in town, and McFly did not disappoint their army of fans with Wonderland. At the time of release, it already contained two number one singles, "I'll Be OK" and the Comic Relief charity hit "All About You," although the Carly Simon/James Taylor B-side, track two on the CD single, "You've Got a Friend" was not included. The same mixture of good, fun 1960s-influenced pop songs and mid-tempo ballads is here, as on the debut album Room on the 3rd Floor , the opening track, "I'll Be OK," being a good example of a boy band trying to sound as little like a boy band as possible with real instruments, mainly guitars that, if you really stretched your imagination, on the intro could be compared to the Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again," although it only lasted about fifteen seconds. The boys even felt confident enough to include a sitar on the song "Ultraviolet," which became their least successful single release to date. The turning point of the album came about halfway through - on vinyl it would have been side two - with the "All About You" track, which opened with an orchestral piece and then continued throughout the song with a strummed acoustic guitar and even had a woodwind instrumental break. And of course, there was quite a memorable song in there as well. This theme was expanded even further on the two-part track "She Falls Asleep"—part one a dreamy instrumental heavy on the orchestral string section; part two a sophisticated ballad, quite dramatic in its production—and the album concluded as it began, with more guitar-led harmony pop with the songs "Nothing" and "Memory Lane". One might sneer, but Wonderland was a good album from an obviously talented group of young lads." [3]

Track listing

Standard edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."I'll Be OK"
Hugh Padgham3:24
2."I've Got You"
Hugh Padgham, Graham Gouldman3:18
3."Ultraviolet"
  • Fletcher
  • Jones
Steve Power3:56
4."The Ballad of Paul K"
  • Fletcher
  • Jones
  • Poynter
Hugh Padgham3:17
5."I Wanna Hold You"
  • Fletcher
  • Jones
  • Poynter
Hugh Padgham2:59
6."Too Close for Comfort"
  • Fletcher
  • Jones
  • Poynter
Hugh Padgham4:37
7."All About You"
  • Fletcher
Hugh Padgham3:06
8."She Falls Asleep - Part 1"
  • Fletcher
Hugh Padgham1:43
9."She Falls Asleep - Part 2"
  • Fletcher
Hugh Padgham4:11
10."Don't Know Why"
  • Jones
Steve Power4:20
11."Nothing"
  • Fletcher
Steve Power3:50
12."Memory Lane"
Hugh Padgham4:40
Total length:43:29
Japanese edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
13."Easy Way Out"Fletcher, Jones, PoynterHugh Padgham3:15
14."I'll Be OK" (Tom and Danny's Acoustic version)Fletcher, Jones, PoynterFletcher, Jones3:37
15."Ultraviolet" (music video)  3:56
16."I'll Be OK" (music video)  3:24
B-sides and rarities
No.TitleLength
1."You've Got a Friend"4:27
2."Room on the Third Floor" (Orchestral version)3:16
3."All About You" (Orchestral version)3:05
4."No Worries"4:10
5."Nothing" (demo)3:05
6."Pinball Wizard"3:27
7."Mr. Brightside"3:14
8."I Wanna Hold You" (instrumental)2:59
9."The Ballad of Paul K" (orchestral version)3:15
10."Ultraviolet" (live version)4:24
11."I Predict a Riot" (BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge)3:30
12."My Generation" (with Roger Daltrey)3:42

Charts

Chart (2005)Peak
Position
European Top 100 Albums [4]
9
Irish Albums (IRMA)
11
Japanese Albums (Oricon) [5]
61
Scottish Albums (OCC) [6] 1
South Korea Albums (GAON) [7]
70
UK Albums (OCC)
1

Certifications

Certifications for Wonderland
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [8] Platinum300,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Guinness World Records 2007 "Youngest double toppers". Guinness World Records Limited. 29 September 2006. p. 98. ISBN   1-904994-11-3.
  2. ↑ "McFly - Wonderland (CD, Album) at Discogs". Discogs.com. 29 August 2005. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  3. ↑ Sharon Mawer (27 September 2005). "Wonderland - McFly | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic . Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  4. ↑ Billboard - Google Books. 17 September 2005. Retrieved 15 April 2014– via Google Books.
  5. ↑ "マクフライのCDアルバムランキング │オリコン芸能人事典-ORICON STYLE". Oricon.co.jp. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  6. ↑ Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100 | Official Charts Company
  7. ↑ ":: 가온차트와 함께하세요 ::". Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
  8. ↑ "British album certifications – McFly – Wonderland". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 25 July 2012.
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