The Evolution of Man
| The Evolution of Man | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Example | ||||
| Released | 19 November 2012 | |||
| Recorded | 2012 | |||
| Genre |
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| Length | 54:21 | |||
| Label | Ministry of Sound | |||
| Producer |
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| Example chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Evolution of Man | ||||
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The Evolution of Man is the fourth studio album by English recording artist Example. The album was released on 19 November 2012 through Ministry of Sound.
Background and development
Example tweeted that on the plane to Sydney, he planned on writing some songs for a new album and he would be listening to Kasabian's album Velociraptor! for lyrical inspiration. Whilst in Australia for 2 months, the singer planned to write the entire album in the time he spent there.
On 25 July 2012 Example announced via Twitter that the name of the lead single from his fourth album was "Say Nothing" – produced by Dirty South, also revealing it would premiere Monday 30 July 2012 on Capital FM. The track, alongside "Perfect Replacement" (produced by Feed Me), received its live debut on 18–19 August 2012 at the V Festival.
After fans' complaints about the lack of dubstep influence in "Say Nothing", Example responded to a comment on Facebook, saying "wait for the album, I'm not gonna fill the album with the same sounding song, and I'm not gonna keep releasing the same 'dubstep' or 'electro' record".[4]
The promotional video for "Come Taste the Rainbow" premiered on 19 October 2012 on Hunger TV. This was also uploaded later to Example's official YouTube channel.[5]
"Close Enemies", produced by Alex Smith, was released as the second single from the album on 11 November 2012, entering the UK Singles Chart at No. 37.
On 15 November, Greg James at BBC Radio 1 had the exclusive first play of "Perfect Replacement", with Example claiming that he "wanted it to be a single" but that there were "five or six" tracks that could be chosen as the third single. On 24 November, Example confirmed "Perfect Replacement" as the third single. Previous tweets had hinted towards "Queen of Your Dreams" becoming a future single. During a live hangout on Google+, he revealed that he struggles to reach the high notes and so he doesn't perform "Queen of Your Dreams" live.
From 11 February to 1 March 2013, Example and his live band completed their second UK arena tour. He performed six tracks from The Evolution of Man along with songs from his previous two albums Playing in the Shadows and Won't Go Quietly. The band consists of Gleave, Sheldrake, Johnny "Drummachine" and Kaikai (who replaced David Stewart as guitarist). He was supported by Benga on all dates and Micky Slim, Sway, Baller B and P Money on selected dates.
Singles
- "Say Nothing" is the album's lead single. It is produced by Dirty South, and was released on 16 September 2012. The single debuted at number 2 on the UK Singles Chart.[6]
- "Close Enemies" is the second single from the album. It is produced by Alex Smith, and was released on 11 November 2012. The single debuted at number 37 on the UK Singles Chart but debuted at number 7 on the UK Indie and dance.[6]
- "Perfect Replacement" is the third and final single from the album. It is produced by Feed Me and was released on 24 February 2013. The single peaked at number 46 on the UK Singles Chart but it peaked at number 7 on the UK Indie chart and number 9 on the UK Dance chart[6]
Reception
The album received mostly mixed to positive reviews from music critics.
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 65/100 |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [1] |
| BBC Music | (favourable)[7] |
| Digital Spy | [8] |
| The Guardian | [9] |
| The Independent | [10] |
| NME | [2] |
| SB.TV | (favourable)[3] |
| Time Out London | [11] |
| Virgin Media | [12] |
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Come Taste the Rainbow" | Benga | 4:11 | |
| 2. | "Close Enemies" |
| Alex Smith | 4:22 |
| 3. | "Perfect Replacement" |
| Feed Me | 3:28 |
| 4. | "Crying Out for Help" |
| Tommy Trash | 4:13 |
| 5. | "Queen of Your Dreams" |
| Alesso | 3:12 |
| 6. | "Say Nothing" |
| 3:41 | |
| 7. | "All My Lows" |
| Dirty South | 5:50 |
| 8. | "The Evolution of Man" |
| Alex Smith | 3:56 |
| 9. | "One Way Mirror" |
| Dirty South | 4:39 |
| 10. | "Snakeskin" |
| 4:22 | |
| 11. | "Blood From a Stone" |
| Zane Lowe | 4:49 |
| 12. | "Are You Sitting Comfortably?" |
| Skream | 3:38 |
| 13. | "We'll Be Coming Back" (Calvin Harris and Example) |
| Calvin Harris | 3:57 |
| Deluxe edition bonus tracks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
| 1. | "Let's Be Fucking Stupid" |
| Dada Life | 4:03 |
| 2. | "Someone to Die For" (with Dillon Francis) |
| Dillon Francis | 4:35 |
| 3. | "Whisper" (Example vs. AN21 & Max Vangeli) |
| AN21 & Max Vangeli | 4:01 |
| 4. | "Eutopia (Fade Away)" (with Laidback Luke) |
| Laidback Luke | 4:30 |
| 5. | "Daydreamer" (Flux Pavilion featuring Example) |
| Flux Pavilion | 3:51 |
| 6. | "Say Nothing" (Hardwell & Dannic remix) |
| 6:12 | |
| 7. | "Close Enemies" (Joker remix) |
|
|
4:07 |
| 8. | "Close Enemies" (Dyro remix) |
|
|
4:19 |
- Notes
- Track listing and credits from album booklet.
- ^a signifies a co-producer
- ^b signifies an additional producer
- ^c signifies a remixer
Personnel
- Elliot Gleave – vocals
- Production[13]
- Adam "Calvin Harris" Wiles – producer, mixing (13)
- Adegbenga "Benga" Adejumo – producer, mixing (1)
- Alessandro "Alesso" Lindbald – producer, mixing (5)
- Alex Smith – producer, mixing, vocal engineer (2, 8)
- Andy Sheldrake – producer, mixing (10)
- Antoine "AN21" Josefsson – producer, mixing (16)
- Dillon Francis – producer, mixing (15)
- Dragan "Dirty South" Roganovic – producer, mixing (6, 7, 9)
- Ed "Friction" Keeley – producer, mixing (10)
- Graham Coxon – guitars (4, 6, 10)
- Johnny McDaid – writer, backing vocals (6)
- Jon "Feed Me" Gooch – producer, mixing, mastering, guitars, keyboards (3)
- Jon Moon – vocal engineer
- Joshua "Flux Pavilion" Steele – producer, mixing (18)
- Luke van Scheppingen – producer, mixing (17)
- Max Vangeli – producer, mixing (16)
- Mike Marsh – mastering
- Morten "Moám" Hampenberg – additional production
- Oliver "Skream" Jones – producer, mixing (12)
- Ollie Corneer – producer, mixing (14)
- Phil Faversham – mixing, programming, additional production, mastering
- Shawn "Neon Stereo" Mohammadi – vocal engineer
- Simon Davey – mastering
- Stefan Engblom – producer, mixing (14)
- Thomas "Tommy Trash" Olsen – producer, mixing (4)
- Tom Goss – guitars
- Wez Clarke – drums, programming, vocal producer, mastering
- Zane Lowe – producer, mixing (11)
- Additional personnel
- Alex Jenkins – artwork
Charts
| Chart (2012) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums Chart | 40 |
| Irish Albums Chart[14] | 34 |
| Scottish Albums Chart[15] | 14 |
| UK Dance Albums Chart[16] | 1 |
| UK Independent Albums Chart[17] | 1 |
| UK Albums Chart[18] | 13 |
Release history
| Region | Date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK | 19 November 2012 | Digital download, CD | Ministry of Sound |
| Worldwide | 27 November 2012 |
References
- 1 2 Jeffries, David. "The Evolution of Man". Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
- 1 2 "NME Album Reviews - Example - 'The Evolution of Man' - NME.COM". NME. 16 November 2012.
- 1 2 "Example – The Evolution of Man [Album Review] – SB.TV – The UK's leading online youth broadcaster.". SB.TV. 14 November 2012.
- ↑ "My next single...". Facebook. 30 July 2012.
- ↑ "HUNGER TV: EXAMPLE 'COME TASTE THE RAINBOW' – YouTube". YouTube. 19 October 2012.
- 1 2 3 "EXAMPLE – Artist – Official Charts". Official Charts. Retrieved 2013-02-24.
- ↑ "BBC – Music – Review of Example – The Evolution of Man". BBC. 12 November 2012.
- ↑ "Example: 'The Evolution of Man' – Album review – Music Album Review – Digital Spy". Digital Spy. 23 November 2012.
- ↑ "Example: The Evolution of Man – review". The Guardian. 15 November 2012.
- ↑ "Album: Example, The Evolution of Man (Ministry of Sound) – Reviews – Music – The Independent". The Independent. 24 November 2012.
- ↑ "Example 'The Evolution of Man' album review – Buy 'The Evolution of Man' album – Time Out Music". Time Out London.
- ↑ "Example: The Evolution of Man Album Review – Reviews – Music – Virgin Media". Virgin Media.
- ↑ "The Evolution of Man – Example". AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-11-01.
- ↑ "GFK Chart-Track". Chart-track.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-11-25.
- ↑ "Archive Chart". Theofficialcharts.com. Retrieved 2012-11-25.
- ↑ "Archive Chart". Theofficialcharts.com. Retrieved 2012-11-25.
- ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/chart/indiealbums
- ↑ "Archive Chart". Theofficialcharts.com. Retrieved 2012-11-25.