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Underclass Hero

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Untitled

Underclass Hero is Sum 41's fifth overall studio album and the first to be released without former guitarist Dave Baksh. The album was first released July 18, 2007 in Japan. It was released under the Island Records label and distributed worldwide by Universal Records, and in Canada by Aquarius Records. The title's similarity to John Lennon's hit "Working Class Hero" is not a coincidence, according to the band's front man Deryck Whibley, who in an interview with Sun Media claimed Lennon as his favorite songwriter. Also, Green Day released their cover version of Lennon's song "Working Class Hero" only a month or so before Sum 41's album was released.

Underclass Hero is over ten minutes longer than any previous Sum 41 album. This is a result of there being a total of fourteen tracks (plus one hidden track) compared to the set of twelve or thirteen the band has used before. Mostly however, the length is due to a majority of the songs being much longer than the usual three minutes existing on preceding full-lengths.

"I had to decide what I wanted to say with my music," explains Whibley. "I asked myself all these questions and then just pulled up my own answers and started writing songs based on those themes. I wanted to make an album that meant something important from beginning to end. I wanted it to have relevance and significance. It's not a concept album. It's not about fictional characters in a made-up story but there is a constant idea that runs through the record. It's a deeply personal statement that reflects the confusion and frustration in modern society."

The album has spawned two singles, "Underclass Hero" and "Walking Disaster" with With Me to be released as the third at an unannounced date. Another song called "March of the Dogs" has also been released as an album preview. On June 26, at 5PM eastern time, "Walking Disaster" was played on the Buzz 103. It has since leaked onto the internet and has become the second single from the album. "Speak of the Devil" and "Count Your Last Blessings" were leaked onto the internet on July 13 2007. The entire CD was leaked onto file-sharing networks on July 14 2007. As of early December 2007 the album sales totaled 1.6 million copies worldwide and over 500,000 copies in the U.S. [citation needed]

Track listing

All songs written by Deryck Whibley, except where noted.

  1. "Underclass Hero" (Deryck Whibley/Steve Jocz) - 3:14
  2. "Walking Disaster" - 4:46
  3. "Speak of the Devil" - 3:58
  4. "Dear Father" - 3:52
  5. "Count Your Last Blessings" - 3:03
  6. "Ma Poubelle" (Deryck Whibley/Steve Jocz) - 0:55
  7. "March of the Dogs" - 3:09
  8. "The Jester" - 2:48
  9. "With Me" - 4:51
  10. "Pull the Curtain" - 4:18
  11. "King of Contradiction" - 1:40
  12. "Best of Me" - 4:25
  13. "Confusion and Frustration in Modern Times" - 3:46
  14. "So Long Goodbye" - 3:01
  15. "Look at Me" (Hidden track) - 4:03 (Starts at 2:00)

Bonus Tracks

Charts

Country Certification (Peak Position) Sales/shipments
Billboard 200 7 553,625+
Canada 1 60,000+
Brazil 9 10,000+
Austria 8 15,000+
Switzerland 9 30,000+
German Album Chart 10 30,000+
Italian Album Chart 34 20,000+
Japan International Chart 1 600,000+[citation needed]
Australia 22 10,000+
UK Official Chart 46 10,000+
United World Chart 12 1,600,000+

Special Edition

  • All of the Best Buy stores released a special edition on July 24, 2007, the day the album came out. It contains an exclusive bonus DVD, with all of the following:
  • "Underclass Hero" video.
  • "Pieces" video
  • "We're All To Blame" (Live)
  • "Nothing On My Back" (Live)
  • Road to Ruin Episode 1
  • Road to Ruin Episode 2
  • Road to Ruin Episode 3
  • Road to Ruin Episode 10

Personnel
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