''North'' is the fourth studio album by American
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
Matchbox Twenty
Matchbox Twenty (also known as Matchbox 20 and MB20) is an American rock band formed in Orlando, Florida, in 1995. The group currently consists of Rob Thomas (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Brian Yale (bass guitar), Paul Doucette (drums, r ...
. It was released on August 28, 2012, in Australia and September 4, 2012, through
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...
worldwide. It is the first album from the band to debut at No. 1 on the
''Billboard'' 200, selling 95,000 copies in its first week.
It is also the first album of all new material that the band has released since ''
More Than You Think You Are'' in 2002, although they recorded six new songs for their 2007 compilation album ''
Exile on Mainstream
''Exile on Mainstream'' is the first compilation album by American rock band Matchbox Twenty. The album was released in two parts: the first was an EP, featuring seven new songs that emerged from a 12-song recording session, produced by Steve ...
''. It is also their first full-length studio album since rhythm guitarist Adam Gaynor's departure from the band in 2005.
Background and recording
In 2004, rhythm guitarist Adam Gaynor left the band. The group then went on hiatus, with the future of the band uncertain. In 2007, the remaining four group members reunited to do
a compilation album, and ended up recording seven new songs over the course of one session. For the first time, every member of the group worked on songwriting. After the compilation album was released, the group parted ways again on another hiatus, the group's future still uncertain. Many of Rob Thomas's confidantes urged him to leave the band and focus on his burgeoning solo career, but Thomas did not want to give up on the band and started writing songs intended for the group's next album. Finally, on September 4, 2010, while on
VH1's
Top 20 Music Video Countdown, Thomas stated that Matchbox Twenty was planning to start working on their next studio album in mid-September of that year.
Due to the band members living in different locations, their first recording sessions took place in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
,
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, and
Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
where Rob Thomas, Paul Doucette, and Kyle Cook were living, respectively. As a result of the different recording environments, the group amassed a large amount of new material of various styles which could have become multiple albums.
The group had about 60 songs to choose from when they all met up in Nashville and shared a house over a three-month period during the summer of 2011. The group worked on creating a short list of songs for the album, but it was a stressful process, as the group members disagreed on which musical direction the new album should take.
For three months, they argued and drank, in what Thomas described as a "$100,000 bender". One of the major factors that encouraged the group to finally move forward was a visit from
record producer
A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
Matt Serletic
Matthew Michael Serletic II (born 1970 or 1971) is an American record producer, songwriter, and music executive.
Career
As a teenager, Serletic joined a band with members of Collective Soul, a group for which he would later produce. Serletic h ...
, who they had not worked with since 2002's ''
More Than You Think You Are''. The group decided to have Serletic produce the album.
Regarding Serletic's return, Paul Doucette stated: "It sort of became evident that bringing someone new to the table was maybe not the best idea. We have such a great shorthand with Matt, it was sort of like, 'What are we waiting for?'" Once they started recording the album at Serletic's Emblem Studios in
Calabasas, California
Calabasas (from Spanish language, Spanish ''calabazas'' "gourds") is a city in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley, between the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains, Santa Monica and Santa Susana Mountains, Santa Susanna mounta ...
, they had narrowed down to about 20 songs. For the first time, the band recorded several songs written solely by Doucette and Brian Yale.
The final album was cut down to 12 songs and was primarily recorded at Emblem Studios with additional recording at
Electric Lady Studios
Electric Lady Studios is a recording studio in Greenwich Village, New York City. It was commissioned by rock musician Jimi Hendrix in 1968 and designed by architect John Storyk and audio engineer Eddie Kramer by 1970. Hendrix spent only ten ...
, Studio Eleven:17, Sweatshop Studios, and Dark Horse Recording Studio. Five bonus tracks were also recorded for the album. Regarding the album's title, Doucette told ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'': "The title refers to us finding our way. We went into this record with a lot of material. Many different songs that could have taken us in many different directions. It sort of overwhelmed us for a bit. But, at a certain point, we figured it out. We figured out where 'North' was."
Release
The lead single from the album, "
She's So Mean
"She's So Mean" is a song by American alternative rock band Matchbox Twenty. It was released on June 12, 2012, as the first single from their fourth studio album ''North'' (2012). The song received generally favorable reviews from music critics, ...
", was released on June 12, 2012. A promotional video for the second single, "Overjoyed", was released on August 28, 2012. The third single, "Our Song", was released on April 13, 2013.
Promotion
In 2012, the band embarked on a worldwide tour, the
North Tour, to promote the album. The
2013 Summer Tour co-headlining tour with
Goo Goo Dolls
The Goo Goo Dolls are an American rock band formed in 1986 in Buffalo, New York, by guitarist/vocalist John Rzeznik, bassist/vocalist Robby Takac, and drummer George Tutuska.
After starting off as a cover band and then developing a punk sound, ...
later took the band through the United States and Canada.
Commercial performance
''North'' became the band's first album to debut at number 1 on the US
''Billboard'' 200, selling 95,000 copies in its first week.
It was certified gold by the
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
on June 22, 2016.
The album also reached number one in Australia, making it Matchbox Twenty's fourth album top the chart there,
and was later certified platinum by the
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing th ...
.
Track listing
Personnel
Matchbox Twenty
*
Rob Thomas – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards
*
Kyle Cook
David Kyle Cook (born August 29, 1975) is an American musician best known as a member of the band Matchbox Twenty, serving as the lead guitarist, banjo player, backing and occasional lead vocalist.
Career Matchbox Twenty
Kyle Cook joined Mat ...
– lead guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on "The Way"
*
Paul Doucette
Paul John Doucette (born August 22, 1972) is an American musician best known for being the drummer, rhythm guitarist, and backing vocalist of the band Matchbox Twenty.Erlewine, Stephen ThomasMatchbox Twenty Biography, AllMusic, retrieved 2011-0 ...
– drums, rhythm guitar, backing vocals
*
Brian Yale – bass guitar
Orchestra
*Jeffrey Babko – trombone on "English Town", "Radio"
*Glen Berger –
baritone saxophone
The baritone saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass. It is the lowest-pitched saxophone in common use - the bass, contra ...
on "Radio"
*Brian Dembow –
viola
The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...
on "Parade", "I Will", "English Town"
*Steve Erdody – cello on "Parade", "I Will", "English Town"
*Walter Fowler – trumpet on "English Town", "Radio"
*Julie Gigante – violin on "Parade", "I Will", "English Town"
*Glenn Morisette –
alto saxophone
The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B tenor ...
,
tenor saxophone
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...
on "Radio"
*Lee Thornburg – trumpet on "English Town", "Radio"
*Roger Wilkie – violin on "Parade", "I Will", "English Town"
Production
*Alex Arias – engineering
*James Brown – engineering
*Mark Dobson – engineering
*Ryan Hewitt – engineering
*
Ted Jensen
Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' ''Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''.
Biography
Ted ...
– mastering
*Ryan Kern – assistant engineering
*Derik Lee – engineering
*Mike Leisz – assistant engineering
*
Chris Lord-Alge
Chris Lord-Alge is an American mix engineer. He is the brother of both Tom Lord-Alge and Jeff Lord-Alge, both of whom are also audio engineers. Chris and Tom are known for their abundant use of dynamic compression for molding mixes that play wel ...
– mixing
*Eryk Rich – assistant engineering
*
Matt Serletic
Matthew Michael Serletic II (born 1970 or 1971) is an American record producer, songwriter, and music executive.
Career
As a teenager, Serletic joined a band with members of Collective Soul, a group for which he would later produce. Serletic h ...
– production
*Doug Trantow – engineering
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
References
{{Authority control
2012 albums
Matchbox Twenty albums
Albums produced by Matt Serletic
Atlantic Records albums