The Evolution of Man

For the evolutionary process, see Human evolution.

The Evolution of Man
Studio album by Example
Released	19 November 2012 (2012-11-19)
Recorded	2011-12
Genre	Progressive house, drumstep, electro house, electronic dance, grime[citation needed]
Length	54:21
Label	Ministry of Sound, Data
Producer	Benga, Alex Smith, Feed Me, Tommy Trash, Alesso, Dirty South, Friction, Sheldrake, Zane Lowe, Skream, Calvin Harris, AN21 & Max Vangeli, Laidback Luke, Dillon Francis, Dada Life
Example chronology
Playing in the Shadows (2011) The Evolution of Man (2012)
Singles from The Evolution of Man
"Say Nothing" Released: 16 September 2012 (2012-09-16) "Close Enemies" Released: 11 November 2012 (2012-11-11) "Perfect Replacement" Released: 24 February 2013 (2013-02-24)

The Evolution of Man is the fourth studio album by British recording artist Example. The album was released on 19 November 2012 through Ministry of Sound.

Background and development

Example tweeted that on the plane to Sydney, he planned on writing some songs for a new album and he would be listening to Kasabian's album Velociraptor! for lyrical inspiration. Whilst in Australia for 2 months, the singer/rapper planned to write the entire album in the time he spent there.

On 25 July 2012 Example announced via Twitter that the name of the lead single from his fourth album was "Say Nothing" - produced by Dirty South, also revealing it would premiere Monday 30 July 2012 on Capital FM. The track, alongside "Perfect Replacement" (produced by Feed Me), received its live debut on 18–19 August 2012 at the V Festival.

After fans' complaints about the lack of dubstep influence in "Say Nothing", Example responded to a comment on Facebook, saying "wait for the album, I'm not gonna fill the album with the same sounding song, and I'm not gonna keep releasing the same 'dubstep' or 'electro' record".

The promotional video for "Come Taste the Rainbow" premiered on 19 October 2012 on Hunger TV. This was also uploaded later to Example's official YouTube channel.

"Close Enemies", produced by Alex Smith, was released as the second single from the album on 11 November 2012, entering the UK Singles Chart at #37.

On 15 November, Greg James at BBC Radio 1 had the exclusive first play of "Perfect Replacement", with Example claiming that he "wanted it to be a single" but that there were "five or six" tracks that could be chosen as the third single. On 24 November, Example confirmed "Perfect Replacement" as the third single. Previous tweets had hinted towards "Queen Of Your Dreams" becoming a future single. During a live hangout on Google+, he revealed that he struggles to reach the high notes and so he doesn't perform "Queen Of Your Dreams" live.

From 11 February to 1 March 2013, Example and his live band completed their second UK arena tour. He performed six tracks from The Evolution of Man along with songs from his previous two albums Playing in the Shadows and Won't Go Quietly. The band consists of Gleave, Sheldrake, Johnny "Drummachine" and Kaikai (who replaced David Stewart as guitarist). He was supported by Benga on all dates and Micky Slim, Sway, Baller B and P Money on selected dates.

Singles

• "Say Nothing" is the album's lead single. It is produced by Dirty South, and was released on 16 September 2012. The single debuted at number 2 on the UK Singles Chart.

• "Close Enemies" is the second single from the album. It is produced by Alex Smith, and was released on 11 November 2012. The single debuted at number 37 on the UK Singles Chart.

• "Perfect Replacement" is the third and final single from the album. It is produced by Feed Me and was released on 24 February 2013. The single peaked at number 46 on the UK Singles Chart.

Reception

The album received mixed reviews from critics.

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	68/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
BBC Music	(favourable)
Digital Spy
The Guardian
The Independent
NME
SB.TV	(favourable)
Time Out London
Virgin Media

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Come Taste the Rainbow"	Elliot Gleave, Adegbenga Adejumo	Benga	4:11
2.	"Close Enemies"	Gleave, Alex Smith	Alex Smith	4:22
3.	"Perfect Replacement"	Gleave, Jon Gooch	Feed Me	3:28
4.	"Crying Out for Help"	Gleave, Thomas Olsen, Graham Coxon	Tommy Trash	4:13
5.	"Queen of Your Dreams"	Gleave, Alessandro Lindbald	Alesso	3:12
6.	"Say Nothing"	Gleave, Johnny McDaid, Dragan Roganović, Coxon	Dirty South	3:41
7.	"All My Lows"	Gleave, Roganović	Dirty South	5:50
8.	"The Evolution of Man"	Gleave, Smith	Alex Smith	3:56
9.	"One Way Mirror"	Gleave, Roganović	Dirty South	4:39
10.	"Snakeskin"	Gleave, Ed Keeley, Andy Sheldrake, Coxon	Friction, Sheldrake	4:22
11.	"Blood From a Stone"	Gleave, Zane Lowe, Coxon	Zane Lowe	4:49
12.	"Are You Sitting Comfortably?"	Gleave, Oliver Jones	Skream	3:38
13.	"We'll Be Coming Back" (Calvin Harris feat. Example)	Gleave, Calvin Harris	Calvin Harris	3:57

Deluxe edition bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Let's Be Fucking Stupid"	Gleave, Ollie Corneer, Stefan Engblom	Dada Life	4:03
2.	"Someone To Die For" (Example & Dillon Francis)	Gleave, Dillon Francis	Dillon Francis	4:35
3.	"Whisper" (Example vs. AN21 & Max Vangeli)	Gleave, Antoine Josefsson, Max Vangeli	AN21 & Max Vangeli	4:01
4.	"Eutopia (Fade Away)" (Example & Laidback Luke)	Gleave, Luke van Scheppingen	Laidback Luke	4:30
5.	"Daydreamer" (Flux Pavilion feat. Example)	Gleave, Joshua Steele	Flux Pavilion	3:51
6.	"Say Nothing" (Hardwell & Dannic Remix)	Gleave, Johnny McDaid, Dragan Roganović	Dirty South	6:12
7.	"Close Enemies" (Joker Remix)	Gleave, Alex Smith	Alex Smith	4:07
8.	"Close Enemies" (Dyro Remix)	Gleave, Alex Smith	Alex Smith	4:19

Charts

Chart (2012)	Peak position
Irish Albums Chart	34
Scottish Albums Chart	14
UK Dance Albums Chart	1
UK Independent Albums Chart	1
UK Albums Chart	13

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label
UK[citation needed]	19 November 2012	Digital download, CD	Ministry of Sound
Worldwide[citation needed]	27 November 2012