Sam's Town

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This article is about the album by The Killers. For the casinos, see Sam's Town Hotel and Gambling Hall.
Sam's Town
Studio album by The Killers
Released October 2, 2006 United Kingdom
October 3, 2006 United States
Recorded 2005–2006
Genre Heartland rock
Length 44:14
Label Island, Vertigo
Producer Flood, Alan Moulder
Professional reviews
The Killers chronology
Hot Fuss
(2004)		 Sam's Town
(2006)		 Sawdust
(2007)
Singles from Sam's Town
  1. "When You Were Young"
    Released: September 18, 2006
  2. "Bones"
    Released: November 27, 2006
  3. "Read My Mind"
    Released: February 13, 2007
  4. "For Reasons Unknown"
    Released: June 25, 2007

Sam's Town is the second studio album by Las Vegas rock band The Killers, released on October 2, 2006 in the United Kingdom and the following day in the United States. Regarding the album, vocalist Brandon Flowers noted that he "wanted to create an album that captured, chronologically, everything important that got me to where I am today".[1]Sam's Town has sold 4 million copies worldwide to date.[2]

Contents

[edit] Production

The album is said to be influenced by the works of U2, Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, among others.[3][4] Sam's Town received mixed reviews, with some praising The Killers' new direction and others criticising it.[5][6]

In the October 2006 issue of Giant magazine, Flowers was quoted as saying that Sam's Town would be "one of the best albums in the past twenty years" and in Entertainment Weekly he remarked that it would be "the album that keeps rock & roll afloat." In an interview with Chicago radio station Q101, Brandon Flowers called "Read My Mind" the best song that the band had ever written.

The album takes its name from Sam's Town Hotel and Gambling Hall, a hotel-casino in Las Vegas, the hometown of the band. Sam's Town was also a huge sign that was visible by band member Mark Stoermer though his room window when he was young.

[edit] Artwork

According to photographer Anton Corbijn, the band initially wanted a "chic, gypsy look," for the album, and that "out of those discussions [for the sleeve] came these elements of faded glory."[7] The album's co-producer, Flood, is dressed as a Native American in the CD booklet. The artwork inside the album booklet is taken from a downtown-Las Vegas mural painted by Suzanne Hackett-Morgan, a local painter. The cover artwork of 'Sam's Town' features model and singer Felice LaZae.

[edit] Track listing

Sam's Town
# Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Sam's Town"   Flowers 4:06
2. "Enterlude"   Flowers 0:49
3. "When You Were Young"   Flowers, Keuning, Stoermer, Vannucci 3:40
4. "Bling (Confession of a King)"   Flowers, Stoermer 4:08
5. "For Reasons Unknown"   Flowers 3:32
6. "Read My Mind"   Flowers, Keuning, Stoermer 4:06
7. "Uncle Jonny"   Flowers, Keuning, Stoermer 4:25
8. "Bones"   Flowers, Stoermer, Vannucci 3:47
9. "My List"   Flowers 4:08
10. "This River Is Wild"   Flowers, Stoermer 4:38
11. "Why Do I Keep Counting?"   Flowers 4:24
12. "Exitlude"   Flowers 2:29
Bonus Tracks
# Title Length
13. "Where the White Boys Dance" (UK/Australian/Japanese editions) 3:26
14. "All the Pretty Faces" (Japanese/US Best Buy editions) 4:45
15. "Daddy's Eyes" (US Best Buy edition) 4:13
16. "When You Were Young" (Jacques Lu Cont's Thin White Duke radio edit) (French edition) 4:19
Bonus DVD
# Title Length
17. "When You Were Young" (Video (Jump Version))  
18. "When You Were Young" (Video (No Jump Version))  
19. "Making Of "When You Were Young""    

[edit] Personnel

[edit] Band

[edit] Additional musicians

  • Adrina Hanson — strings
  • Maryam Haddad — strings
  • Tristan Moyer — strings
  • Tommy Marth — saxophone
  • Neeraj Khajanchi — trombone
  • Corlene Byrd — background vocals
  • Louis XIV — background vocals
  • Ted Sablay — additional musician on tour playing keyboards and guitar

[edit] Production

  • Max Dingel — engineer
  • Flood — producer, engineer, mixing
  • Mark Gray — engineer
  • Alan Moulder — Producer, engineer, mixing
  • Paul Resta — marketing
  • Robert Reynolds — management
  • Andy Savours — mixing
  • Howie Weinberg — mastering

[edit] Design

  • Andy West — art direction, design
  • Suzanne Hackett Morgan — painting
  • Anton Corbijn — photography
  • Doug Joswick — package production

[edit] Charts

In the US, the album opened at #2, selling 315,000 in its first week.[8] The album went straight to #1 in the UK selling over 260,000 in a week.[9] The album has been certified 2x Platinum in Canada.[10] As of July 11, 2007, it has sold 1,205,621 copies in the US.

[edit] Chart history

Chart Provider(s) Peak
position		 Certification Sales
Argentina Albums Chart CAPIF 1 Platinum[11] 40,000+
Australian Albums Chart ARIA 2 2× Platinum[12] 140,000+
Austrian Albums Chart IFPI Austria 5
Belgium Walloon Albums Chart[13] IFPI 1 Gold[14] 15,000+
Belgium Flanders Albums Chart[15] 1 Gold
Canadian Albums Chart CRIA 1[16] 2× Platinum[17] 160,000+
Danish Albums Chart IFPI 17[18]
Dutch Albums Chart IFPI 14[19]
Finnish Albums Chart IFPI Finland 15
French Albums Chart SNEP 8
German Albums Chart IFPI 5 Gold[20] 100,000+
Irish Albums Chart IRMA 1 4× Platinum[21] 60,000+
New Zealand Albums Chart RIANZ 1 Gold[22] 7,500+
Norwegian Albums Chart IFPI 10
Portuguese Albums Chart IFPI 27[23]
Russian Albums Chart IFPI Gold[24] 10,000+
Spanish Albums Chart IFPI 14[25]
Swedish Albums Chart PROMUSICAE 45[26]
Swiss Albums Chart IFPI 9
UK Albums Chart BPI 1 4× Platinum[27] 1,234,800
US Billboard 200 RIAA 2 Platinum [28] 1.2 million+

[edit] Awards

Year Ceremony Award Result
2007 BRIT Awards Best International Album Won
2007 MTV Australia Awards Album of the Year Nominated
2007 Shockwaves NME Awards Best Album Nominated

[edit] In popular culture

In the 2007 Chris Rock movie I Think I Love My Wife, Richard Cooper supposedly picks up Sam's Town while in a music store. Also, when Cooper begins to speak with Nelson, a poster of an NME magazine cover can be seen in the background with all four members of the band on it.

"For Reasons Unknown" appears in the 2008 film How to Lose Friends and Alienate People and is included on the film's soundtrack.

"When You Were Young" is a playable track in the video games Rock Band and Guitar Hero III. "All The Pretty Faces" is a playable track on Guitar Hero 5.

[edit] Release details

Country Date Label Format Catalog
Japan September 27. 2006 Universal CD UICL-9037
Australia September 30, 2006 Universal Music Australia CD 1706722
United Kingdom October 2, 2006 Lizard King Records CD
United States October 3, 2006 Island Records picture disc LP B0007221-01
CD B0007221-02

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2006/oct/20/popandrock.killers
  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ Playlouder - Latest
  4. ^ The Killers - When You Were Young [Universal] — Reviews — AngryApe
  5. ^ Rob Sheffield (21 September 2006). "Rolling Stone : Sam's Town : Review". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/11738772/review/11755516/sams_town. Retrieved 2006-10-08. 
  6. ^ Josh Eells (October 2006). "The Killers on Blender.com". http://www.blender.com/guide/articles.aspx?id=2059. Retrieved 2006-10-08. 
  7. ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2006/sep/24/popandrock.killers
  8. ^ "Evanescence tops Killers in US". mp3.com. 2006-10-11. http://www.mp3.com/news/stories/6689.html&ref_id=509990&ref_type_id=1. 
  9. ^ "Killers, Razorlight rule in UK". mp3.com. 2006-10-10. http://www.mp3.com/news/stories/6664.html&ref_id=509990&ref_type_id=1. 
  10. ^ CRIA Gold & Platinum certifications for November 2006. Retrieved July 25, 2007.
  11. ^ [2]
  12. ^ [3]
  13. ^ http://www.ultratop.be/fr/weekchart.asp?cat=a
  14. ^ [4]
  15. ^ http://www.ultratop.be/nl/weekchart.asp?cat=a
  16. ^ [5]
  17. ^ [6]
  18. ^ [7]
  19. ^ [8]
  20. ^ [9]
  21. ^ [10]
  22. ^ [11]
  23. ^ [12]
  24. ^ [13]
  25. ^ [14]
  26. ^ [15]
  27. ^ [16]
  28. ^ [17]

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Ta-Dah by The Scissor Sisters		 UK number one album
October 8, 2006 – October 28, 2006		 Succeeded by
Rudebox by Robbie Williams
v • d • e
The Killers
Brandon Flowers • Dave Keuning • Mark Stoermer • Ronnie Vannucci Jr.
Studio albums
Hot Fuss • Sam's Town • Day & Age
Compilation
Live albums/DVDs
Singles
World Tours
Hot Fuss Tour • Sam's Town Tour • Day & Age Tour
Related
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam%27s_Town"