''The Fourth World'' is the second studio album and major label debut by the

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band Kara's Flowers, who later achieved greater success under the name

Maroon 5 Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. It currently consists of lead vocalist Adam Levine, keyboardist and rhythm guitarist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine (musician), James Valentine, drummer Matt ...

. The album contains 11 tracks, plus one bonus track on the Japanese edition. The band, which had previously self-released an album called ''We Like Digging?'' (1995), signed with

Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Enya, Michael ...

and released ''The Fourth World'' album on August 19, 1997. However, the band had little success with the album and parted with the record label two years later. The band continued to explore different musical styles until finally coming together again with James Valentine under the name Maroon 5. On January 24, 2020, a

limited edition The terms special edition, limited edition, and variants such as deluxe edition, or collector's edition, are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as books, prints, r ...

of the album was released, with a

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vinyl.

Singles

The only single released from the album was "Soap Disco", released July 22, 1997. A music video was produced for the single, depicting the group walking through a park and performing in an orange and green room. A storm appears at the end of the video. The video was directed by Mark Kohr (who has directed music videos for

Alanis Morissette Alanis Nadine Morissette ( ; born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her emotive mezzo-soprano voice and confessional songwriting, Morissette began her career in Canada in the early 1990s with tw ...

and

Green Day Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, together with bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt. For most of the band's career, they have been a powe ...

). The video made an airplay on '' 120 Minutes''. The band made an appearance from the television series ''

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'', where they performed the song in the episode "Forgive and Forget".

Critical reception

Giving the album a B+, Tom Lanham with ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' said the "optimistic, lyrically awkward kids spend 10 more happy tracks turning the tables on lethargic slacker cynicism, with Green Day producer

Rob Cavallo Robert Siers Cavallo (born March 21, 1963) is an American record producer, musician, and record industry executive. He is among the biggest-selling producers in history, and has produced or had creative involvement in albums that have sold over ...

bridling all that youthful zeal."

Track listing

;Standard edition

Personnel

Kara's Flowers * Adam Levine –

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

Jesse Carmichael Jesse Royal Carmichael (born April 2, 1979) is an American musician, best known as the keyboardist and rhythm guitarist for the pop rock band, Maroon 5. He also has a solo project called 1863 and a side project titled Circuit Jerks. Life and c ...

– rhythm guitar, backing vocals * Michael Madden – bass *Ryan Dusick –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

Additional musician *

Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. Roger Joseph Manning Jr. (born May 27, 1966) is an American keyboardist, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the bands Jellyfish (band), Jellyfish, the Moog Cookbook, and Imperial Drag. He has also spent several years as a member of Beck's ba ...

–

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

Production *Mark Agostino –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

, second engineer *Ken Allardyce – engineer *Billy Bowers – engineer, second engineer * David Campbell –

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

– producer *Adam Day –

guitar technician A guitar technician (or 'guitar tech') is a member of a music ensemble's road crew who maintains and sets up the musical equipment for one or more guitarists. Depending on the type and size of band, the guitar tech may be responsible for stringin ...

Jerry Finn Jermone Gregory Finn (March 31, 1969 – August 21, 2008), sometimes credited as "Huckle" Jerry Finn, was an American record producer and mix engineer. He worked with numerous punk rock and pop-punk artists such as Blink-182, AFI, Sum 41, ...

– engineer, mixing *Tony Flores – engineer, second engineer *Barry Goldberg – engineer, second engineer *Brandon Harris – engineer, second engineer *Steve Holroyd – engineer *Billy Kinsley – engineer, second engineer *

Bob Ludwig Robert C. Ludwig (born c. 1945) is an American mastering engineer. He has mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists including Led Zeppelin, Lou Reed, Qu ...

– mastering *John Srebalus – engineer, second engineer

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fourth World, The 1997 debut albums Reprise Records albums Albums produced by Rob Cavallo Power pop albums by American artists Maroon 5 albums