Meltdown (Ash album)
| Meltdown | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Ash | ||||
| Released |
17 May 2004 (International) 8 March 2005 (USA) | |||
| Recorded | December 2003–January 2004 | |||
| Genre | Rock[1][2] | |||
| Length | 42:24 | |||
| Label | Infectious Records | |||
| Producer | Nick Raskulinecz, Ash | |||
| Ash chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Meltdown | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [3] |
| Drowned in Sound | (8/10)[4] |
| Entertainment.ie | [1] |
| The Guardian | [2] |
| Pitchfork Media | (6.8/10)[5] |
| Playlouder | link |
| Stylus Magazine | (C+)[6] |
Meltdown is the fourth studio album by Ash, which was initially released on 17 May 2004 through Infectious Records. On 8 March 2005 the album was released in the United States. It is a darker and heavier sounding record than Free All Angels.
Release
Meltdown was released through Infectious Records on 17 May 2004. "Meltdown" was released to American radio on 24 May 2005.[7]
In the UK, a limited edition of the album was also made, comprising two Compact Discs, one with the 11 studio recordings and one featuring live versions of the 11 new songs and live versions of three other songs ("A Life Less Ordinary", "Darkside Lightside", and "Burn Baby Burn"). The Japanese limited edition release added live versions of "Girl From Mars", "Walking Barefoot" and "Projects" to the live disc.
The US release includes bonus tracks "Shockwave", "Solace", and "Cool It Down". While many fans of the band enjoyed Meltdown, the album failed to make a splash in the US and was not able to build on the mild success of Free All Angels. The Japanese release includes "Tinseltown" and "Everybody's Happy Nowadays" as bonus tracks. Other b-sides from this era include "We Don't Care" and a cover of Wizzard's "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday", which was recorded for War Child.[8]
Trivia
Tim Wheeler wrote an (almost) day by day diary during the recording of Meltdown. Tim's Studio Diary. The forum topic where Wheeler originally posted the diary (under the alias Kerouac) can be found here.[9]
The introduction in the album's sleeve is written by American writer JT LeRoy.
The track "Evil Eye" begins with the backward message: "She's giving me the Evil Eye. Suck Satan's cock." [10][11]
In January 2007 the track "Meltdown" was remixed and covered by UK electro rock band KIK. Ash loved the punky-electro revamp of their track and gave full support for KIK to distribute and make the mix available for free download. The song was downloadable via KIK's myspace and received radio play from several UK radio stations, including BBC Sheffield and Kerrang FM!
Critical Reception
The album was certified Gold by the BPI on 18 March 2005.
Track listing
All tracks written by Tim Wheeler except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Meltdown" | Charlotte Hatherley, Tim Wheeler | 3:24 |
| 2. | "Orpheus" | 4:16 | |
| 3. | "Evil Eye" | 3:26 | |
| 4. | "Clones" | 4:00 | |
| 5. | "Starcrossed" | 4:50 | |
| 6. | "Out of the Blue" | Mark Hamilton, Wheeler | 3:24 |
| 7. | "Renegade Cavalcade" | 3:26 | |
| 8. | "Detonator" | 3:38 | |
| 9. | "On a Wave" | 4:27 | |
| 10. | "Won't Be Saved" | 3:41 | |
| 11. | "Vampire Love" | 3:45 |
| Japanese release bonus tracks | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 12. | "Tinsel Town" | 9:11 | |
| 13. | "Everybody's Happy Nowadays" (feat. Chris Martin) | Pete Shelley | 3:19 |
| American release bonus tracks | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 12. | "Shockwave" | 3:20 | |
| 13. | "Solace" | 4:51 | |
| 14. | "Cool It Down" | 2:56 | |
| American release bonus DVD | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 1. | "Girl From Mars (video)" | |
| 2. | "Clones (video)" | |
| 3. | "Orpheus (video)" | |
| 4. | "Starcrossed (video)" | |
| 5. | "Renegade Cavalcade (video)" | |
| 6. | "Mini documentary" | |
| 7. | "Making of Orpheus video" | |
| Special edition bonus disc (Meltdown live) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 1. | "Meltdown" | Hatherley, Wheeler | 3:34 |
| 2. | "Orpheus" | 4:40 | |
| 3. | "A Life Less Ordinary" | 4:13 | |
| 4. | "Evil Eye" | 3:36 | |
| 5. | "Clones" | 4:18 | |
| 6. | "Starcrossed" | 4:43 | |
| 7. | "Out of the Blue" | Hamilton, Wheeler | 3:47 |
| 8. | "Renegade Cavalcade" | 3:51 | |
| 9. | "Detonator" | 3:55 | |
| 10. | "On a Wave" | 5:02 | |
| 11. | "Won't be Saved" | 3:51 | |
| 12. | "Vampire Love" | 4:24 | |
| 13. | "Darkside Lightside" | 3:57 | |
| 14. | "Burn Baby Burn" | 3:58 | |
| Japanese special edition bonus disc bonus track (Meltdown live) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 15. | "Projects" | Hamilton, Hatherley, Wheeler | 4:01 |
Personnel
|
Ash
Additional musicians
|
Technical
|
References
- 1 2 "Ash - Meltdown - Review by Andrew Lynch - entertainment ireland, Music, CD Reviews". Web.archive.org. 2007-09-27. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
- 1 2 Steve Pill. "CD: Ash, Meltdown | Music". The Guardian. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
- ↑ Damas, Jason. "Meltdown - Ash". Allmusic. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
- ↑ Adams, Sean (2008-07-26). "Drowned in Sound - Reviews - Albums - Ash - Meltdown". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 26 July 2008. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
- ↑ Crock, Jason (2005-03-28). "Ash: Meltdown | Album Reviews | Pitchfork". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 20 November 2011. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
- ↑ "Ash - Meltdown - Review". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
- ↑ "FMQB Airplay Archive: Modern Rock". Friday Morning Quarterback Album Report, Incorporated. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
- ↑ Archived 27 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ "Random ASH Facts". Ashtabs.tripod.com. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
- ↑ "Liverpool". BBC News. Retrieved 2016-01-14.