Thirteenth Step
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Thirteenth Step is the second studio album by the American rock band A Perfect Circle. The album was released as a compact disc on September 16, 2003. The album was a success, reaching the #2 position on the Billboard charts in its premiere week, selling over 231,000 copies. The RIAA certified it as gold on November 4, 2003 and as platinum on March 24, 2006. The first single from the album was "Weak and Powerless", followed by "The Outsider" and "Blue". The tracks have their remixed versions on a 2004 remix album aMotion.
It has been speculated that the title is a reference to the Twelve-step program.[weasel words] According to Keenan on the commentary for the aMotion DVD, the album is a concept album with all of the songs dealing with the problem of addiction from a different perspective. He said that it refers in a way to his 13 years of residence in Los Angeles.[1]
The cover art features a banana slug crawling across a woman's face.
"The Nurse Who Loved Me" is a cover of the song by Failure, originally featured on the 1996 album Fantastic Planet.
"Pet" has its follow-up, "Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums", with the same lyrics, on the band's following 2004 cover versions album eMOTIVe.
Track listing
All tracks are written by Maynard James Keenan and Billy Howerdel except where noted
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Package" | 7:40 |
| 2. | "Weak and Powerless" | 3:15 |
| 3. | "The Noose" | 4:53 |
| 4. | "Blue" | 4:13 |
| 5. | "Vanishing" | 4:51 |
| 6. | "A Stranger" | 3:12 |
| 7. | "The Outsider" | 4:06 |
| 8. | "Crimes" (Howerdel/Keenan/Freese/White) | 2:34 |
| 9. | "The Nurse Who Loved Me" (Edwards/Andrews) | 4:04 |
| 10. | "Pet" | 4:34 |
| 11. | "Lullaby" | 2:01 |
| 12. | "Gravity" (Howerdel/Keenan/Freese/Van Leeuwen/Lenchantin) | 5:08 |
The Japanese version of Thirteenth Step includes an exclusive extended version of "The Package".
Personnel
- Maynard James Keenan − Lead vocals, executive producer, artwork direction
- Billy Howerdel − Guitar, vocals, production, engineering, additional photography
- Josh Freese − Drums, backing vocals
- Jeordie White − Bass, backing vocals
- Troy Van Leeuwen − Guitar (on "The Package", "Vanishing" and "Gravity")
- Paz Lenchantin - Strings
- Danny Lohner – Guitar (on "The Noose"), additional production
- The Section Quartet – Strings (on "The Nurse Who Loved Me" and "A Stranger")
- Jarboe – Vocals (on "The Noose" and "Lullaby")
- Devo H. Keenan – Backing vocals (on "Pet")
- K. Patrick Warren – Instrumentation on "The Nurse Who Loved Me"
- Jon Brion – Instrumentation on "The Nurse Who Loved Me"
- Steve Duda – Digital engineering assistance
- Andy Wallace – Mixing
- Steven R. Gilmore – Sleeve art direction, design and digital photographic manipulation
- Dean Karr – Cover Design & Photography
Charts
- Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | The Billboard 200 | 2 |
| 2003 | Top Canadian Albums | 1 |
| 2003 | Top Internet Albums | 2 |
- Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | "Weak and Powerless" | The Billboard Hot 100 | 61 |
| 2003 | "Weak and Powerless" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 1 |
| 2003 | "Weak and Powerless" | Modern Rock Tracks | 1 |
| 2004 | "The Outsider" | The Billboard Hot 100 | 79 |
| 2004 | "The Outsider" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 3 |
| 2004 | "The Outsider" | Modern Rock Tracks | 5 |
| 2004 | "Blue" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 19 |
| 2004 | "Blue" | Modern Rock Tracks | 21 |
References
- ^ Chris Otts (2003-09-26). "A Perfect Circle keeps spinning, churning out great music". The Crimson White. Retrieved 2008-01-25.
Keenan told MTV that the title refers, on one level, to his now 13 years living in Los Angeles as a musician.
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