The Taking (album)

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The Taking
Studio album by
Loaded
ReleasedApril 19, 2011 (2011-04-19)
RecordedAugust–September 2010 at Studio X, Seattle, Washington
GenreHard rock, punk rock
LabelEagle Rock Entertainment, Armoury
ProducerTerry Date
Loaded chronology
Sick
(2009) 		The Taking
(2011)

The Taking is the third studio album by American rock band Loaded. It was produced by Terry Date in Seattle, Washington, and was released on April 19, 2011, through Eagle Rock Entertainment. Writing for the album began in 2009, while the band was touring in support of Sick. It was the first Loaded release, since Episode 1999: Live, without drummer Geoff Reading, who, after departing the band, was replaced by Isaac Carpenter in September 2009.

A feature-length film about the album, as well as Loaded, by filmmaker and documentarian Jamie Burton Chamberlin has been filmed, with the album serving as the film's soundtrack.

Background and production[edit]

In July 2009, singer and guitarist Duff McKagan announced, during Loaded's tour, that the band was writing new material for their next album.[1] He said that they have some "great ideas and riffs" that the band wrote during their tour.[1] Loaded parted ways with record label Century Media in February 2010[2] with the band continuing the work on new material.[3] Prior to the beginning of recording, producer Terry Date approached the band and offered to produce the new album,[4] with recording beginning, at Studio X,[5] in August 2010,[6][7] and completed by the beginning of September.[4][8] On October 28, it was announced that the band had signed a deal with Eagle Rock Entertainment for the release of their album.[9] In November, Blabbermouth.net announced the album's title, The Soundtrack, with a release date scheduled for March 22, 2011.[10][11] It was later revealed in interviews with guitarist Mike Squires and filmmaker Jamie Burton Chamberlin that the album title was changed to The Taking,[12][13] and the release date was changed from March 22, to April 19, 2011.[14]

Promotion[edit]

A new song by Loaded from the album entitled "We Win" is being used by ESPN and Major League Baseball for their coverage of the American League Championship Series, National League Championship Series, and the World Series[15] while a second song entitled "Fight On" was confirmed for the album.[16] Loaded performed the two new songs at the Seattle Seahawks Veterans Day half time show on November 7.[16]

Film[edit]

Loaded began collaborating with filmmaker and documentarian Jamie Burton Chamberlin on a film based on the album in October 2010.[16] Chamberlin stated that the film would be more "about designing a fictitious story line which will be a part of the larger project, and will be a contemporary version of, say, Hard Days Night meets (Led Zeppelin's) Song Remains the Same, with aspects of documentary, music video, and live performance, all interconnected by an underlying motivation"[16] and that the "album will serve as the soundtrack."[16] The film was planned to feature a number of cameos from various musicians, including John Roderick of The Long Winters,[17] Chris Ballew of The Presidents of the United States of America,[17] Soundgarden members Ben Shepherd and Kim Thayil[17] as well as Lemmy of Motörhead.[18] Shooting locations for the film included Seattle, with the band planning to perform unannounced acoustic shows for filming,[18] and Los Angeles.[17] Chamberlin hoped to premier the film at the 2011 SXSW[12] while a trailer for the film was released in January 2011.[19] The film was eventually released in episodic format by Eagle Rock Entertainment on YouTube in 2012.[20]

Release[edit]

The album was released in a number of versions with different bonus tracks, including Japanese version with three acoustic tracks[21] and digital version with instrumental versions of the album's songs and non-album single "Fight On".[22]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic(65/100)[23]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[24]
Canoe.ca[25]
Fast Forward Weekly(mixed)[26]
Kerrang![23]
PopMatters[27]
Record Collector[28]
Revolver[29]
Sputnikmusic[30]
Ultimate Guitar Archive(8/10)[31]
Winnipeg Free Press(positive)[32]

The Taking received generally positive reviews, scoring a 65 out of 100 ("generally favorable reviews") on Metacritic based on five reviews.[23] Allmusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album three out of five stars stating that McKagan "turns in his hardest record in recent memory" and that the album "does make a brute impression [...] playing with a vitality that almost compensates for how they fetishize the past."[24] Kerrang! magazine stated that with the album, "Loaded sound like a proper band now."[23] Revolver magazine's Kory Grow complimented its "big hooks and driving riffs" while noting punk influences on the album.[29] Joseph Viney, reviewing for Sputnikmusic, gave the album a three-and-a-half out of five stars, noting a darker tone throughout the album, with songs such as “Lords Of Abbadon,” “Executioner’s Song” and “She’s An Anchor” earning comparisons to Down and Alice in Chains.[30] Ultimate Guitar Archive commented that the album's music has "a bit of GN’R influence injected into it all, but [that] there’s just as much a heavy helping of punk and even 70’s glam" while they also complimented the lyrics stating they have "some fantastic moments."[31] David Jón Fuller of the Winnipeg Free Press stated "it's clear McKagan hasn't lost any of his musical swagger" and while "his vocals are little more than shouting [...] the sound is powerful and bottom-heavy."[32]

Tracks[edit]

All tracks are written by Loaded

No.TitleLength
1."Lords of Abbadon"3:25
2."Executioner's Song"3:36
3."Dead Skin"3:20
4."We Win"4:04
5."Easier Lying"4:05
6."She's an Anchor"3:22
7."Indian Summer"4:22
8."Wrecking Ball"3:27
9."King of the World"3:24
10."Cocaine"4:14
11."Your Name"3:18
12."Follow Me to Hell"3:39
iTunes bonus track
No.TitleLength
13."Cocaine" (acoustic)4:08
Japanese Edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
13."Cocaine" (acoustic) 
14."Runaway" (acoustic) 
15."King of the World" (acoustic) 
Digital Edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
13."Cocaine" (acoustic) 
14."Lords of Abbadon" (instrumental) 
15."We Win" (instrumental) 
16."Easier Lying" (instrumental) 
17."She's an Anchor" (instrumental) 
18."Indian Summer" (instrumental) 
19."Wrecking Ball" (instrumental) 
20."King of the World" (instrumental) 
21."Your Name" (instrumental) 
22."Fight On" 
23."Fight On" (instrumental) 

Personnel[edit]

Loaded
Production

Charts[edit]

Chart (2011) Peak
Position
U.S. Billboard Top Heatseekers 12[33]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "DUFF MCKAGAN'S LOADED Working On New Material". Blabbermouth.net. July 20, 2009. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011.
  2. ^ "DUFF MCKAGAN'S LOADED Splits With CENTURY MEDIA RECORDS, Seeks New Label Home". Blabbermouth.net. February 1, 2010. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011.
  3. ^ "DUFF MCKAGAN'S LOADED Continuing Work On New Material". Blabbermouth.net. March 30, 2010. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011.
  4. ^ a b McKagan, Duff (September 2, 2010). "One Loaded Summer". Seattle Weekly. Archived from the original on September 6, 2010.
  5. ^ McKagan, Duff (April 7, 2011). "The Seattle Sound(s)". Seattle Weekly. Archived from the original on April 11, 2011.
  6. ^ McKagan, Duff (August 9, 2010). "Loaded's Headed Into the Studio With Terry Date, the Guy Behind the Records That Inspire the Records I Strive to Make". Seattle Weekly. Archived from the original on August 17, 2010.
  7. ^ "Duff McKagan's Loaded Choose Producer". Classic Rock. August 5, 2010. Archived from the original on September 17, 2010.
  8. ^ "DUFF MCKAGAN'S LOADED Completes Work On New Album". Blabbermouth.net. September 2, 2010. Archived from the original on September 11, 2012.
  9. ^ "DUFF MCKAGAN'S LOADED Signs With EAGLE ROCK ENTERTAINMENT". Blabbermouth.net. October 28, 2010. Archived from the original on November 2, 2010.
  10. ^ "DUFF MCKAGAN'S LOADED: New Album Title, Release Date Revealed". Blabbermouth.net. November 24, 2010. Archived from the original on November 29, 2010.
  11. ^ McKagan, Duff (November 25, 2010). "Traveling Leaves No Cure for the Aching Heart". Seattle Weekly. Archived from the original on November 29, 2010.
  12. ^ a b Mosqueda, Ruben (January 18, 2011). "Northwest director Jamie Chamberlin shares his passion for rock music through film". Oregon Music News. Archived from the original on January 23, 2011.
  13. ^ Mosqueda, Ruben (January 22, 2011). "Mike Squires and Loaded ready new album with producer Terry Date at the helm". Oregon Music News. Archived from the original on January 27, 2011.
  14. ^ "DUFF MCKAGAN'S LOADED: New Album Title Changed; New Release Date Announced". Blabbermouth.net. January 24, 2011. Archived from the original on July 19, 2011.
  15. ^ "DUFF MCKAGAN'S LOADED: New Song Used In ESPN's Coverage Of Major League Baseball Playoffs". Blabbermouth.net. October 18, 2010. Archived from the original on October 25, 2010.
  16. ^ a b c d e Shay, Steve (October 31, 2010). "Seattle rock legend Duff McKagan & West Seattle filmmaker collaborate". West Seattle Herald.
  17. ^ a b c d Levin, Hannah (February 1, 2011). "Lost in the Supermarket: A Loaded Film". City Arts. Archived from the original on February 10, 2011.
  18. ^ a b McKagan, Duff (February 3, 2011). "This Week in Loaded: Three New Songs, One New Movie, and Plenty of Flirting With Lemmy, ZZ Top, and Sean Kinney". Seattle Weekly. Archived from the original on February 6, 2011.
  19. ^ "DUFF MCKAGAN'S LOADED: Trailer For Upcoming Feature-Length Film Released". Blabbermouth.net. January 11, 2011. Archived from the original on September 10, 2012.
  20. ^ The Taking on YouTube
  21. ^ "ザ・テイキング SHM-CD". Amazon.co.jp. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
  22. ^ The Taking Bonus Version on iTunes
  23. ^ a b c d "The Taking - Duff McKagan's Loaded". Metacritic. Retrieved 2011-04-29.
  24. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Taking Review". Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-04-22.
  25. ^ Sterdan, Darryl (April 17, 2011). "This week's CD reviews". Canoe.ca. Archived from the original on January 20, 2013. Retrieved 2011-05-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  26. ^ Carman, Keith (April 28, 2011). "Duff McKagan's Loaded - The Taking". Fast Forward Weekly. Archived from the original on May 25, 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-21.
  27. ^ Haag, Stephen (June 27, 2011). "Duff McKagan's Loaded: The Taking". PopMatters. Retrieved 2011-07-05.
  28. ^ Pinfold, William. "Duff McKagan's Loaded - The Taking". Record Collector. Retrieved 2011-05-21.
  29. ^ a b Grow, Kory (April 20, 2011). "Review: Duff McKagan's Loaded – The Taking". Revolver. Archived from the original on April 26, 2011. Retrieved 2011-04-22.
  30. ^ a b Viney, Joseph (April 12, 2011). "Duff McKagan's Loaded The Taking". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 2011-04-15.
  31. ^ a b "The Taking Review". Ultimate Guitar Archive. April 19, 2011. Retrieved 2011-04-19.
  32. ^ a b Jón Fuller, David (April 23, 2011). "Duff McKagan's Loaded (Armoury/Eagle Rock)". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved 2011-04-26.
  33. ^ "DUFF MCKAGAN'S LOADED: 'The Taking' First-Week Sales Revealed". Blabbermouth.net. April 27, 2011. Archived from the original on September 8, 2012.
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