''Sam's Town'' is the second studio album by American rock band
the Killers
The Killers are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2001 by Brandon Flowers (lead vocals, keyboards, bass) and Dave Keuning (lead guitar, backing vocals). After the band went through a number of short-term bas ...
. It was released on September 27, 2006, by
Island Records
Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...
. Regarding the album, frontman
Brandon Flowers
Brandon Richard Flowers (born June 21, 1981) is an American musician. He serves as the co-founder, lead vocalist, primary songwriter, keyboardist, and occasional bassist of the Las Vegas-based rock band the Killers, which he formed with Dave Ke ...
noted that he "wanted to create an album that captured, chronologically, everything important that got me to where I am today". ''Sam's Town'' has sold almost five million copies worldwide.
On October 7, 2016, ''Sam's Town'' was reissued as a remastered double vinyl by
Bong Load Records
Bong Load Records is an independent record label originally based in Los Angeles which was founded by producers Tom Rothrock and Rob Schnapf and partner Bradshaw Lambert.
Much of the Bong Load Records catalog is released in small quantities. Seve ...
, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the album. The reissue is limited to 5,016 copies and includes two bonus tracks—the previously unreleased demo "Peace of Mind" and a
Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 100 million records worldwide and were listed as the most successful duo in UK music h ...
remix of "Read My Mind".
Background
The album takes its name from
Sam's Town Hotel and Gambling Hall
Sam's Town Hotel and Gambling Hall, commonly shortened to Sam's Town, is a casino brand owned by Boyd Gaming, named after its founder, Sam Boyd (1910–1993). Five properties have carried the Sam's Town name; three remain owned and operated by Bo ...
, a hotel and casino in Las Vegas, the band's hometown. Sam's Town was also a huge sign that was visible to band member
Mark Stoermer
Mark August Stoermer (born June 28, 1977) is an American musician. He is best known as the bassist for the rock band the Killers, with whom he has recorded six studio albums.
In addition to his work with the Killers, Stoermer has released three ...
through his room window when he was young.
Artwork
According to photographer
Anton Corbijn
Anton Johannes Gerrit Corbijn van Willenswaard (; born 20 May 1955) is a Dutch photographer, film director, and music video director. He is the creative director behind the visual output of Depeche Mode and U2,Pitman, Joanna"The silent partner" ...
, the band initially wanted a "chic, gypsy look" for the album, and that "out of those discussions
or the sleeve
Or or OR may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* "O.R.", a 1974 episode of ''M*A*S*H''
* '' Or (My Treasure)'', a 2004 movie from Israel (''Or'' means "light" in Hebrew)
Music
* ''Or'' (album), a 2002 album by Golde ...
came these elements of faded glory." The album's co-producer,
Flood
A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...
, is dressed as a Native American in the CD booklet. The artwork inside the album booklet is taken from a
Downtown Las Vegas
Downtown Las Vegas (commonly abbreviated as DTLV) is the central business district and historic center of Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. It is the original townsite, and the Downtown gaming Las Vegas, Downtown Gaming Area was the primary gambl ...
mural painted by Suzanne Hackett-Morgan, a local painter. The cover artwork of ''Sam's Town'' features model and singer Felice LaZae. It also features a
Desert bighorn sheep
The desert bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis nelsoni'') is a subspecies of bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis'') that is native to the deserts of the United States' intermountain west and southwestern regions, as well as northwestern Mexico. The ...
, the state mammal and popular symbol of
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...
, where the Killers are from.
Production
The album is said to be influenced by the works of
U2,
Duran Duran
Duran Duran () are an English pop rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. After several early changes, the band's line-up settled ...
,
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...
,
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
,
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were an American rock band formed in Gainesville, Florida, in 1976. The band originally comprised lead singer and rhythm guitarist Tom Petty, lead guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboardist Benmont Tench, drummer ...
,
Electric Light Orchestra
The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood and drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of pop and classical arrangement ...
, and
Dire Straits
Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals, lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums, percussion). Th ...
, among others. In the October 2006 issue of ''
Giant
In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''wiktionary:gigas, gigas'', cognate wiktionary:giga-, giga-) are beings of humanoid appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''gia ...
'' 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
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' he remarked that it would be "the album that keeps rock & roll afloat."
Flowers later said of production techniques used on the record, "We didn't use too many vocal effects. On the first album, we used
auto-tune
Auto-Tune is audio processor software released on September 19, 1997, by the American company Antares Audio Technologies. It uses a proprietary device to measure and Pitch correction, correct pitch in music. It operates on different principles ...
, and I didn't even realize what was going on with these machines and the computer. I was adamant about not using it this time. You really hear what my voice sounds like, for the first time." At one point, Flowers was told that
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George Jean-Baptiste de la Salle Eno (, born 15 May 1948), also mononymously known as Eno, is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, visual artist, and activist. He is best known for his pioneering contributions to ambien ...
had passed over the chance to produce the album, a rejection that affected Flowers greatly. However, when working with Eno for ''
Wonderful Wonderful'', Eno told him that he was never offered the project in the first place.
Tour
Christian Hoard
Christian David Hoard is an American music journalist and music editor for ''Rolling Stone''. A 2000 graduate of the University of Michigan, he began his career as a music journalist writing for the ''Michigan Daily''. He later moved to New York Ci ...
of ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
'' gave the Killers' concert at
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...
three-and-a-half stars, saying, "The Vegas quartet's maligned new album, ''Sam's Town'', might pack more unfortunate big-rock bombast than its new wave debut, ''Hot Fuss'', but it shares a generous hook quotient and a Vegas-y talent for crowd-pleasing. Before a frothy crowd, the Killers proved they've become a tight live band."
Critical reception
Initially, ''Sam's Town'' received generally positive reviews from music critics. At
Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, which assigns a
normalized
Normalization or normalisation refers to a process that makes something more normal or regular. Science
* Normalization process theory, a sociological theory of the implementation of new technologies or innovations
* Normalization model, used in ...
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an
average
In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...
score of 64, based on 32 reviews.
Dan Martin of ''
The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.
In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...
'' awarded the album five out of five stars and noted the album's sonic similarity to ''
Born to Run
''Born to Run'' is the third studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on August 25, 1975, by Columbia Records. Co- produced by Springsteen with his manager Mike Appel and the producer Jon Landau, its recordin ...
'' by
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...
, writing: "Improbably, this proves to be their masterstroke. Selling Springsteen back to his homeland might look like a canny way of ensuring radio play, but there's no disputing the quality of their songs. Indeed, as ''
Hot Fuss
''Hot Fuss'' is the debut studio album by American rock band the Killers, released on June 7, 2004, in the United Kingdom and on June 15, 2004, in the United States by Island Records. The album's music is mostly influenced by new wave and pos ...
'' sporadically intimated, the Killers are among pop's foremost practitioners." Comparing ''Sam's Town'' to the band's debut album ''Hot Fuss'', Martin stated: "Crucially, ''Sam's Town'' sounds like a complete collection, with a far better strike rate than its predecessor."
In a review for ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'', Krissi Murison highlighted both the similarities to ''Hot Fuss'' and the evolution of the band's sound from the debut to ''Sam's Town'', concluding: "All this, however, isn't to say that The Killers have gone all (God forbid) serious on us. The tunes may be huger, the influences cleverer, the lyrics more adventurous and the band more self-assured, but their primary concern is still being the biggest indie-pop stars on the planet. For all their smart new ways, The Killers are still as flashy, unintentionally funny, and flagrantly affected as ever – and this time we wouldn't even pretend to have it any other way."
Conversely, Sia Michel of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' called the album "painful" and ends the review with the statement that "The Killers are a talented band that evolved too fast, for the wrong reasons." Similarly,
Rob Sheffield
Robert James Sheffield (born February 2, 1966) is an American music journalist and author.
He is a long time contributing editor at ''Rolling Stone'', writing about music, TV, and pop culture. Previously, he was a contributing editor at '' Blen ...
of ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
'' noted a significant departure from ''Hot Fuss'', writing that on ''Sam's Town'', the band "ditch
stheir cheerfully fake
Bowie moves and try to get heavy by copying Bruce Springsteen. Yes, that means glockenspiel solos. Yes, it means anthems about the road and looking for America and girls named Mary. No, it's not a good move."
In later years, the album gained a cult following and has been critically lauded as a classic and one of the best rock albums of the 2000s.
Despite its two-star rating by ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
'', ''Sam's Town'' was voted by the magazine's readers in December 2009 as the most underrated album of the decade.
''
Q'' magazine ranked it as the 11th best album of the 21st century.
In a retrospective for
Uproxx
Uproxx Studios (stylized as ''UPROXX'') is an American music, entertainment and popular culture website and content studio. It was founded in 2008 by Jarret Myer and Brian Brater. The website was acquired in 2014 by Woven Digital (which later ...
, Steven Hyden broaches the issue of pannings by notable media outlets such as ''Rolling Stone'', arguing that these pannings have ultimately cemented the album's status as a classic: "Ten years removed from its original moment, ''Sam's Town'' has aged as all misunderstood sorta-classics do, where its deficiencies are now strengths.
..A record that was risible to some because its attendant hype was so overbearing now has the appeal of a mistreated underdog. Against all odds, the narrative came around on ''Sam's Town''."
Writing for
MTV News
MTV News was the news production division of MTV. The service was available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network and an online news team. In 2016, MTV refreshed the MTV News brand to compete with the likes of BuzzFeed and ...
, James Montgomery would theorize that the initial backlash to the album caused the band to change direction with their follow up album, ''
Day & Age
''Day & Age'' is the third studio album by American Rock music, rock band the Killers. It was released on November 18, 2008, by Island Records. Frontman and lead vocalist Brandon Flowers described it as the band's "most playful record". , ''Da ...
'', calling the latter "the most un-''Sam's Town'' album imaginable."
Accolades
:
Commercial performance
''Sam's Town'' debuted at number two on the US
''Billboard'' 200, selling 315,000 copies in its first week. , the album had sold 1.3 million copies in the United States.
It became the band's second number-one album on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
, selling 268,946 copies in its first week. It had sold 1.57 million copies in the United Kingdom by July 2017.
The album has been certified Platinum or multi-Platinum in the US, UK, Australia, Canada, and Ireland. ''Sam's Town'' also produced multiple charting singles including the platinum chart-topping single "
When You Were Young
"When You Were Young" is a song by American rock band the Killers. It was released on September 18, 2006, as the lead single from their second studio album, '' Sam's Town'' (2006). The song was written and produced by The Killers and co-produced ...
". , ''Sam's Town'' had sold almost five million copies worldwide.
Popular culture
Six months after the death of American
YouTuber
A YouTuber is a content creator and social media influencer who uploads or creates videos on the online video-sharing website YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006 ...
Technoblade
Alexander (June 1, 1999 – June 2022), known online as Technoblade ( ), was an American YouTuber known for his ''Minecraft'' videos, Livestreaming, livestreams, and involvement in the Dream SMP. Technoblade registered his main channel on YouT ...
, his father revealed on the r/technoblade
subreddit
Reddit ( ) is an American Proprietary software, proprietary social news news aggregator, aggregation and Internet forum, forum Social media, social media platform. Registered users (commonly referred to as "redditors") submit content to the ...
that, in his son's instructions for the video that would announce his death, he included a link to a joint YouTube video of the songs ''Enterlude'' and ''Exitlude''. Technoblade's father was unsure of how his son wanted the song to be inserted into the video and did not include it due to problems it could cause with
copyright
A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...
.
Popular
Twitch
Twitch may refer to:
Biology
* Muscle contraction
** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation
** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction
** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle c ...
streamer
xQc
Félix Lengyel (; born November 12, 1995), better known as xQc (formerly xQcOW), is a Canadian online streamer, influencer, and former professional ''Overwatch (video game), Overwatch'' player.
While he is best known for his streaming career ...
has regularly used "Exitlude" as outro music for his streams.
Track listing
All tracks are produced by
Flood
A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...
,
Alan Moulder
Alan Moulder (born 11 June 1959) is an English record producer, mixing engineer, and audio engineer.
Early life
Moulder was born on 11 June 1959 in Boston, Lincolnshire. He was educated at Boston Grammar School. He had an interest in music from ...
and the Killers.
Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Sam's Town''.
Studios
*
Studio at the Palms
Palms Casino Resort is a hotel and casino located near the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States. It is owned and operated by the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. It includes 703 rooms and a casino. It was originally owned by th ...
(Las Vegas, Nevada) – recording
* Criterion Studios (London) – additional recording
* Assault & Battery (London) – mixing
*
Masterdisk
Masterdisk is an American multimedia company in New York, located at 8 John Walsh Boulevard in Peekskill. They provide production services such as audio mastering, vinyl cutting and enhanced CD and DVD production.
Their clients include such n ...
(New York City) – mastering
The Killers
*
Dave Keuning
David Brent Keuning (born March 28, 1976) is an American musician, best known for being the lead guitarist of the rock band The Killers, which he founded alongside frontman Brandon Flowers in 2001 and with whom he has recorded six studio albums. ...
*
Mark Stoermer
Mark August Stoermer (born June 28, 1977) is an American musician. He is best known as the bassist for the rock band the Killers, with whom he has recorded six studio albums.
In addition to his work with the Killers, Stoermer has released three ...
*
Brandon Flowers
Brandon Richard Flowers (born June 21, 1981) is an American musician. He serves as the co-founder, lead vocalist, primary songwriter, keyboardist, and occasional bassist of the Las Vegas-based rock band the Killers, which he formed with Dave Ke ...
*
Ronnie Vannucci Jr.
Additional musicians
* Corlene Byrd – backing vocals on "Why Do I Keep Counting?"
*
Louis XIV
LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
– backing vocals on "Sam's Town" and "My List"
*
Tommy Marth
Thomas Christian Marth Jr. (November 23, 1978 – April 23, 2012) was an American saxophone player, best known for his recordings and live performances with The Killers. He toured widely with the band in 2008–2009, and also played on the albums ...
– saxophones
* Neeraj Khajanchi – trombone
* Adrina Hanson – strings
* Maryam Haddad – strings
* Tristan Moyer – strings
Technical
*
Flood
A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...
– production, recording, mixing
*
Alan Moulder
Alan Moulder (born 11 June 1959) is an English record producer, mixing engineer, and audio engineer.
Early life
Moulder was born on 11 June 1959 in Boston, Lincolnshire. He was educated at Boston Grammar School. He had an interest in music from ...
– production, recording, mixing
*
The Killers
The Killers are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2001 by Brandon Flowers (lead vocals, keyboards, bass) and Dave Keuning (lead guitar, backing vocals). After the band went through a number of short-term bas ...
– production
* Mark Gray – additional engineering
* Neeraj Khajanchi – additional engineering
* Max Dingel – additional engineering
* Andy Savours – mix engineering
*
Howie Weinberg
Howie Weinberg is an American audio mastering engineer. Over the course of his career, he has received over 2,257 mastering credits, three TEC Awards, 21 Grammy Awards, two Juno Awards, and one Mercury Prize.
Career
Weinberg mastered Herbie Ha ...
– mastering
Artwork
* Andy West – art direction, design
*
Anton Corbijn
Anton Johannes Gerrit Corbijn van Willenswaard (; born 20 May 1955) is a Dutch photographer, film director, and music video director. He is the creative director behind the visual output of Depeche Mode and U2,Pitman, Joanna"The silent partner" ...
– photography
* Kristen Yiengst – photo, art coordination
* Doug Joswick – package production
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
Certifications and sales
Release history
References
{{Authority control
2006 albums
Albums produced by Alan Moulder
Albums produced by Flood (producer)
Brit Award for International Album
2000s concept albums
Island Records albums
The Killers albums
Vertigo Records albums