Dirty Vegas (album)

Dirty Vegas
Studio album by Dirty Vegas
Released 4 June 2002
Recorded October 2001
Genre House music, trance
Length 60:33
Label Capitol
Producer Dirty Vegas
Dirty Vegas chronology
Dirty Vegas
(2002)		 One
(2004)
Singles from Singles from Since Then''
  1. "Days Go By"
    Released: 2002
  2. "Ghosts"
    Released: 2002
  3. "Simple Things, Pt. 2"
    Released: 2002
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [1]
Pitchfork Media(4.4/10) [2]
Guardian [3]
Robert ChristgauC[4]
Rolling Stone [5]

Dirty Vegas is the self-titled debut album by British house music trio Dirty Vegas, released in the United States on 4 June 2002 (see 2002 in music).

The album achieved considerable success in the United States. It debuted in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 album sales chart, at number 7.[6] It would spend 19 weeks on the chart[7] and go Gold.[8] This is a rare achievement for a dance/house album in the United States. The album also spent 16 non consecutive weeks at number-one on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums chart.

The album features the radio hit "Days Go By" which was also used in a commercial for the Mitsubishi Eclipse and in the video game, DDRMAX2: Dance Dance Revolution. The album artwork is done by American artist Richard Phillips.[9]

Background

Frontman Paul Harris had worked as a club DJ in Europe prior to forming Dirty Vegas, while Ben Harris worked at a Camden recording studio and Steve Smith was performing as part of a band called Higher Ground.[10] After Higher Ground disbanded, Paul met Smith at a party in Switzerland; the two began performing together. Ben Harris later joined and the trio began to record songs together, the first of which was "Days Go By."[10][11]

Recording

The group released "Days Go By," and the song's striking video was seen by an executive who worked for Mitsubishi Motors.[10] He tracked the group down and got permission to feature the song in an ad for the company. Following the song's licensing, the group returned to the studio to record more songs for a full-length album. Ben Harris commented to MTV that, when recording the album, they were "trying to not really fit anywhere," opting to attempt to create "something unique" instead.[11] The group informed Billboard that they didn't have one specific songwriting strategy for the album: "Ben and I might get a chord sequence going, and then Steve may add the lyrics - or vice versa. We handle it from many different angles."[10] The album's recording was completed in October of 2001, shortly before the Mitsubishi ad began running.[10]

Critical Reception

The album garnered generally mixed reviews from music critics. John Bush, writing for AllMusic, gave the album 2 and a half out of 5 stars, praising the album's production but criticizing the lyrics and Smith's vocals.[1]

Release & Commercial Performance

The album was released in the US on June 4, 2002.[10] The album debuted at number 7 on the US Billboard 200, spending more than three months on the chart[6] and eventually going Gold.[8] The album also entered the Top 40 of the UK album chart.[12]

Track listing

All tracks written by Paul Harris, Ben Harris, and Steve Smith, except where noted.

  1. "I Should Know" – 6:09
  2. "Ghosts" – 5:18
  3. "Lost Not Found" – 4:05
  4. "Days Go By" (Victoria Horn, Smith) – 7:07
  5. "Throwing Shapes" – 6:52
  6. "Candles" – 3:12
  7. "All or Nothing" – 4:55
  8. "Alive" – 3:21
  9. "7am" – 6:13
  10. "The Brazilian" – 3:53
  11. "Simple Things, Pt. 2" (Harris, Harris, Smith, Roger Waters) – 6:44
  12. "Days Go By (Acoustic)" – 2:43

Release details

The album was released in various countries in 2002.

Country Date Label Format Catalog
United States 4 June 2002 Capitol Records CD 39986
Japan 4 September 2002 Toshiba-EMI CD TOCP-66102
Australia 16 September 2002 Capitol Records CD 539 9852
United Kingdom 30 September 2002 Credence CD 542 9992

Charts

Weekly Charts

Chart (2002) Peak
position
UK Albums (OCC)[12] 40
US Billboard 200[6] 7
US Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard) 1
US Internet Albums (Billboard)[13] 12

Year-End Charts

Chart (2003) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[14] 161

References

  1. 1 2 Bush, John. Dirty Vegas at AllMusic
  2. ↑ Pitchfork Media review, 07/09/02
  3. ↑ Guardian review, 08/02/02
  4. ↑ Christgau, Robert (22 April 2003). "Not Hop, Stomp". The Village Voice. New York. Archived from the original on 9 February 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  5. ↑ Rolling Stone review, 07/02/02
  6. 1 2 3 "Hot 100 from the week of JUNE 22, 2002". Billboard. Billboard. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  7. ↑ "Dirty Vegas Hot 200 chart history". Billboard. Billboard. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  8. 1 2 Walker, Rob. "Dirty Vegas The band that Mitsubishi made.". Slate. The Slate Group. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  9. ↑
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Paoletta, Michael. "Billboard June 1, 2002 (page 44)". Google Books. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  11. 1 2 Moss, Corey. "DAYS GO BY, AND STILL YOU CAN'T GET DIRTY VEGAS OUT OF YOUR HEAD". MTV. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  12. 1 2 "OFFICIAL ALBUMS CHART RESULTS MATCHING: DIRTY VEGAS". Official Charts. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  13. ↑ "Billboard Jun 22, 2002 (Pg. 70)". Google Books. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  14. ↑ "Billboard 200 Albums (Year end) chart search results". Billboard. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
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