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.
"My List" redirects here. For the song "My List" by Toby Keith, see My List (song).
Untitled

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 stated that he "wanted to create an album that captured chronologically everything important that got me to where I am today."[1]

Production

The album is said to be influenced by the works of U2, Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, among others.[2][3] Sam's Town received mixed reviews, with some praising The Killers' new direction and others criticising it.[4][5]

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.

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."[6] The bikini-clad woman on the cover of Sam's Town is model and singer Felice LaZae, while 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.

Songs

"Bling (Confession of a King)" is said to be about "Flowers' dad forswearing - overnight - alcoholism and Catholicism to become a Mormon when Brandon [Flowers] was five."[7]

"Uncle Johnny" focuses upon Flowers' uncle and his cocain habit. Flowers notes that: "There's a real inspirational feeling by the end of the song, I think. You're pulling for Jonny. That's a good thing, having faith in people."[8]

"Why Do I Keep Counting?" is about "Flowers' flying phobia, and his fears of mortality."Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).

Track listing

All tracks written by Brandon Flowers, except where noted.

  1. "Sam's Town" – 4:06
  2. "enterlude" – 0:49
  3. "When You Were Young" (Flowers, Dave Keuning, Mark Stoermer, Ronnie Vannucci Jr.) – 3:40
  4. "Bling (Confession of a King)" (Flowers, Stoermer) – 4:08
  5. "For Reasons Unknown" – 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" – 4:08
  10. "This River Is Wild" (Flowers, Stoermer) – 4:38
  11. "Why Do I Keep Counting?" – 4:24
  12. "exitlude" – 2:29

Bonus tracks

  • "Where the White Boys Dance" (Flowers, Keuning, Stoermer, Vannucci) (Australia, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and United States iTunes pre-order bonus track/Latin American bonus track) – 3:26
  • "All the Pretty Faces" (Flowers, Keuning, Stoermer, Vannucci) (Japan, Best Buy exclusive bonus disc, Latin American bonus track, and UK iTunes bonus track) – 4:45
  • "Daddy's Eyes" (Flowers, Keuning, Stoermer, Vannucci) (Best Buy exclusive bonus disc) – 4:13
  • "When You Were Young (Jacques Lu Cont's Thin White Duke Mix)" (Flowers, Keuning, Stoermer, Vannucci) (American iTunes bonus track) – 6:23

Bonus DVD

  1. "When You Were Young" Video (Jump Version)
  2. "When You Were Young" Video (No Jump Version)
  3. Making of "When You Were Young"

Personnel

Charts

In the US, the album opened at #2, selling 315,000 in its first week.[9] The album went straight to #1 in the UK selling over 260,000 in a week.[10] As of March 2007, the album has sold about 2,750,000 copies worldwide.[11] The album has been certified 2x Platinum in Canada.[12] As of July 11, 2007, it has sold 1,205,621 copies in the US. A late surge in sales in the United Kingdom and a continued flow of international sales means that Sam's Town is fast approaching Hot Fuss with almost 4 million sales worldwide to date.[13] The album has sold over 1,200,000 copies in the UK.[14]

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.

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

Notes

  1. ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2006/oct/20/popandrock.killers
  2. ^ Playlouder - Latest
  3. ^ The Killers - When You Were Young [Universal] — Reviews — AngryApe
  4. ^ Rob Sheffield (21 September 2006). "Rolling Stone : Sam's Town : Review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2006-10-08. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ Josh Eells (October 2006). "The Killers on Blender.com". Retrieved 2006-10-08.
  6. ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2006/sep/24/popandrock.killers
  7. ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2006/sep/24/popandrock.killers
  8. ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2006/sep/24/popandrock.killers
  9. ^ "Evanescence tops Killers in US". mp3.com. 2006-10-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ "Killers, Razorlight rule in UK". mp3.com. 2006-10-10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ United World Chart Year-End Numbers
  12. ^ CRIA Gold & Platinum certifications for November 2006. Retrieved July 25, 2007.
  13. ^ Billboard Top 200
  14. ^ Award Type: 4 x Platinum

External links

Preceded by UK number one album
October 8 2006 – October 28 2006 		Succeeded by
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