''Chemical City'' is the second studio album by Canadian musician
Sam Roberts, released in Canada on April 11, 2006, and in the United States on May 16, 2006. The album debuted at number three on the
Canadian Albums Chart
The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocea ...
, selling 10,000 units in its first week. The album was certified Platinum in Canada on May 17, 2018. The album had three singles: "The Gate", "
Bridge To Nowhere
A bridge to nowhere is a bridge where one or both ends are broken, incomplete, or unconnected to any roads. If it is an overpass or an interchange, the term overpass to nowhere or interchange to nowhere may be used respectively. There are f ...
", and "With a Bullet".
Critical reception
Jo-Ann Greene of
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
praised the album for capturing '70s classic rock in terms of packaging and tracks that are reminiscent of
New Model Army
The New Model Army was a standing army formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians during the First English Civil War, then disbanded after the Stuart Restoration in 1660. It differed from other armies employed in the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Th ...
, the
Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...
and
Small Faces
Small Faces were an English rock band from London, founded in 1965. The group originally consisted of Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones and Jimmy Winston, with Ian McLagan replacing Winston as the band's keyboardist in 1966. The band w ...
, calling it "a sumptuous helping of songs with strong melodies and anthemic choruses vying with more subtle, shaded pieces, all filled with meaty lyrics that are easily the equal of the music."
Cory D. Byron of ''
Pitchfork
A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...
'' also commended Roberts for his stripped down singer-songwriter take on classic rock but was more favorable to the record's upbeat tracks than its slower-paced ones, concluding that, "Ultimately the ballads do more to weigh it down than lift it up, but ''Chemical City'' still has plenty to offer fans of old-fashioned rock."
Track listing
All songs written by
Sam Roberts.
2021 Re-release
Personnel
Adapted from the booklet of ''Chemical City''.
Musicians
*Sam Roberts - Vocals, guitars, keyboards, strings, co-producer
*Dave Nugent - Guitars, backing vocals
*Eric Fares - Keyboards, backing vocals, acoustic guitar
*James Hall - Bass
*Josh Tragger - Drums, percussion on tracks 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, and 9
*Bill Anthopoulos - Drums, percussion on tracks 4 and 7
*
Matt Mays
Matt Mays (born August 10, 1979) is a Canadian indie rock singer-songwriter and was the lead singer of Matt Mays & El Torpedo, a rock music group based in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, and New York City. Previously, Mays was a member of a Canadian Ind ...
- Vocals, guitar on track 5
*Danielle Duval - Vocals on tracks 8 and 9
*George "El Condor" Donoso - Additional drums on track 4
Technical staff
*Joseph Donovan - Producer, co-producer, engineer
*
Mark Howard - Co-producer, engineer
*Don Murnaghan - Studio assistant
*Garnet Armstrong - Art director, design
*Susan Michalek - Design
*Ken Dewar - Illustrations
*David Gillespie - Photography
*Dave Spencer - Manager
*Patrick Sambrook - Co-manager
Certifications
References
External links
Chemical City- Chemical City Official Site
{{Authority control
2006 albums
Sam Roberts albums
Universal Music Canada albums