The Better Life

chronology
The Better Life
Studio album by 3 Doors Down
Publication ; (s)	February 8, 2000
Label (s)	Universal Records
Format (s)	CD, LP, MC
Genre (s)	Alternative rock , post grunge
Title (number)	11
running time	40:55
occupation	Vocals , drums : Brad Arnold; Vocals , guitar : Matt Roberts; Guitar : Chris Henderson; Electric bass : Todd Harrell;
production	Paul Ebersold
Studio (s)	1999 in New York City (USA)
October 16, 2000	Kryptonite
December 11, 2000	Loser
June 6, 2001	Duck and Run
September 11, 2001	Be like that

The Better Life (Engl. For " A better life ") is the first studio album by the US rock band 3 Doors Down . In the US it was released on February 8, 2000 by Atlantic Records , in Europe it was released on September 11 by Universal. With this album and the first single Kryptonite , the band achieved their international breakthrough. It was able to place itself in the charts in several countries. To date, it is the group's best-selling album.

background

After the group recorded their first demo album in 1997 and performed some live performances, the group's first official album was finally recorded in 1999. Since the band only consisted of four members at the time the album was recorded, singer Brad Arnold, who appears exclusively as a singer on the following albums, played the drums. For the subsequent tour, the band hired Richard Liles, a drummer, so that the singer could concentrate fully on his "instrument". While 3 Doors Down focused on collaborative songwriting on their following works, all lyrics on The Better Life were written by Brad Arnold, including Kryptonite and Loser , two songs written entirely by Arnold. In 2003 the group founded an aid organization for disadvantaged children, which they named after this album.

Track list

Kryptonite (Brad Arnold) - 3:56
Loser (Brad Arnold) - 4:21
Duck and Run (Matt Roberts, Brad Arnold, Todd Harrell, Chris Henderson / Brad Arnold) - 3:52
Not Enough (Matt Roberts, Brad Arnold, Todd Harrell, Chris Henderson / Brad Arnold) - 3:16
Be Like That (Chris Henderson, Brad Arnold / Brad Arnold) - 4:25
Life of My Own (Matt Roberts, Brad Arnold, Todd Harrell / Brad Arnold) - 3:59
Better Life (Matt Roberts, Brad Arnold, Todd Harrell, Chris Henderson / Brad Arnold) - 3:05
Down Poison (Matt Roberts, Brad Arnold, Todd Harrell / Brad Arnold) - 4:25
By My Side (Matt Roberts, Brad Arnold, Todd Harrell / Brad Arnold) - 3:20
Smack (Matt Roberts, Brad Arnold, Todd Harrell / Brad Arnold) - 2:31
So I Need You (Matt Roberts, Brad Arnold, Todd Harrell, Chris Henderson / Brad Arnold) - 3:51

Re-releases

The album appeared in several different versions over the years. In addition to the normal album CD, the following editions of The Better Life exist :

Bonus Disc Edition

A first double CD version was released in Australia on June 19, 2001, which contains these songs on the second disc in addition to the videos for Loser and Duck and Run :

Loser (Brad Arnold) - 5:08 (Live)
Duck and Run (Matt Roberts, Brad Arnold, Todd Harrell, Chris Henderson / Brad Arnold) - 3:54 (Live)
Not Enough (Matt Roberts, Brad Arnold, Todd Harrell, Chris Henderson / Brad Arnold) - 3:08 (Live)
By My Side (Matt Roberts, Brad Arnold, Todd Harrell / Brad Arnold) - 3:47 (Live)
Be Like That (Chris Henderson, Brad Arnold / Brad Arnold) - 4:26 (Acoustic Version)

Deluxe Edition

The Deluxe Edition was released on November 20, 2007 and includes a live concert on a second CD. This was recorded in the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in Houston (Texas) and contains the audio material from the Live DVD Away from the Sun - Live from Houston , which was already included on the same DVD as MP3 and WAV files. The bonus CD contains the following songs:

Duck and Run (Matt Roberts, Brad Arnold, Todd Harrell, Chris Henderson / Brad Arnold) - 4:42
The Road I'm On (Brad Arnold, Matt Roberts, Chris Henderson, Daniel Adair, Todd Harrell) - 3:49
Kryptonite (Brad Arnold) - 4:22
Father's Son (Brad Arnold, Matt Roberts, Todd Harrell, Chris Henderson) - 4:32
Better Life (Matt Roberts, Brad Arnold, Todd Harrell, Chris Henderson / Brad Arnold) - 3:22
Away from the Sun (Brad Arnold, Matt Roberts, Chris Henderson, Daniel Adair, Todd Harrell) - 4:16
Be Like That (Chris Henderson, Brad Arnold / Brad Arnold) - 4:38
Runnin 'Out of Days (Brad Arnold, Matt Roberts, Chris Henderson, Daniel Adair, Todd Harrell) - 3:37
Sarah Yellin ' (Brad Arnold, Matt Roberts, Chris Henderson, Daniel Adair, Todd Harrell) - 3:29
It's Not Me (Brad Arnold, Matt Roberts, Todd Harrell, Chris Henderson) - 3:27
When I'm Gone (Brad Arnold, Matt Roberts, Chris Henderson, Daniel Adair, Todd Harrell) - 4:51
Here Without You (Brad Arnold, Matt Roberts, Chris Henderson, Daniel Adair, Todd Harrell) - 5:06
Loser (Brad Arnold) - 5:43

Rarities Edition

On November 2, 2010, the Deluxe Edition bonus disc was also released as a single CD under the name The Better Life - Rarities Edition . This edition does not contain the actual album.

Single releases

Kryptonite

With their debut single, the band promptly made their breakthrough. The song made it to number three in the USA, where it received platinum, in Germany the song was placed at number 85. Her first music video was also released for Kryptonite . The title was also released on the Guitar Hero 5 video game in September 2009 .

Kryptonite (Brad Arnold) - 3:55 (LP Version)
Wasted Me (Brad Arnold, Matt Roberts, Chris Henderson, Daniel Adair, Todd Harrell) - 3:11 (Previously unpublished)
Life of My Own (Matt Roberts, Brad Arnold, Todd Harrell / Brad Arnold) - 4:36 (Live from Atlanta)
Kryptonite (Brad Arnold) - 3:49 (Acoustic Version)

Loser

With their second single, the band set a record in the USA: With 21 weeks at the top of the mainstream rock charts, the song lasted longer than any other title. In the official single charts, the song only made it to place 55, in Germany at number 78. Singer Brad Arnold wrote Loser about a childhood friend who was addicted to cocaine.

Loser (Brad Arnold) - 3:48 (Top 40 Edit)
Loser (Brad Arnold) - 4:21 (Album Version)
Loser (Brad Arnold) - 5:27 (Live Version)
Loser (Brad Arnold) - 3:59 (Acoustic, Radio Fritz, Berlin)
Kryptonite (Brad Arnold) (Acoustic Version)
Kryptonite (Brad Arnold) - 3:53 (Video)

Duck and Run

With Duck and Run , the group achieved another number one in the American mainstream rock charts. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the song ended up on a radio station blacklist.

Duck and Run (Matt Roberts, Brad Arnold, Todd Harrell, Chris Henderson / Brad Arnold) - 3:52 (LP version)
The Better Life (Matt Roberts, Brad Arnold, Todd Harrell, Chris Henderson / Brad Arnold) - 3:02 (Live)
Life of My Own (Matt Roberts, Brad Arnold, Todd Harrell / Brad Arnold) - 4:50 (Live)
So I Need You (Matt Roberts, Brad Arnold, Todd Harrell, Chris Henderson / Brad Arnold) - 3:51 (Live)

Be like that

This song became the final single from the album and was placed at number 24 in the USA. A slightly modified version of the text was released on the single from Be Like That for the comedy American Pie 2 .

Be Like That (Chris Henderson, Brad Arnold / Brad Arnold) - 3:57 (Radio Edit)
Be Like That (Chris Henderson, Brad Arnold / Brad Arnold) - 4:26 (Acoustic Version)
Be Like That (Chris Henderson, Brad Arnold / Brad Arnold) - 3:57 (American Pie Edit)
Not Enough (Matt Roberts, Brad Arnold, Todd Harrell, Chris Henderson / Brad Arnold) - 3:08 (Live)

reception

In 2000, it was the world's eleven best-selling album of the year. In the USA, the debut album placed seventh and was awarded six times platinum. The album reached number 45 in Germany and number 56 in Austria. Michael Edele from laut.de certified the band that they “do not have to hide behind Creed , Pearl Jam or Alice in Chains ”. Matthias Eisen from cdstarts.de described the album as a “down-to-earth, above-average and above all catchy piece of mainstream rock”. Allmusic.com awarded three out of five possible stars. Thomas Kupfer from Rock Hard magazine was less impressed by the debut of the US rockers and wrote: “It's the familiar situation. In their home country, the US of A, which has long been decorated with gold and traded as a hot newcomer tip, hardly anyone in this country can do anything with the name 3 Doors Down. The question of whether that will change in the near future can only be answered with "yes" if the American foursome should manage to land a single hit. Otherwise it would be difficult, because for local listeners 3 Doors Down with their typical US college rock probably sound too unspectacular to land the big hit. Songs like the opener Kryptonite , Loser or Life of My Own rock quite nicely, but always with braked foam, comparable to Matchbox Twenty . All in all, The Better Life is a solid debut. ”For him the album doesn't sound hard enough and should sound less uniform. It awarded 6.5 out of ten possible points, with an average rating of 7.2 from the readers.

Country / Region	Award	Sales
Awards for music sales (country / region, Award, Sales)
Australia (ARIA)	gold	35,000
Canada (MC)	2 × platinum	200,000
New Zealand (RMNZ)	gold	7,500
United States (RIAA)	6 × platinum	6,000,000
All in all	2 × gold 8 × platinum	6.242.500