Absolution (album)

Absolution
Studio album by Muse
Released	September 21, 2003 (UK) September 28, 2003 (AU) March 23, 2004 (U.S.)
Recorded	2003
Genre	Alternative rock, New Prog
Length	52:19
Label	A&E Records 5046685872 (UK) 5046751112 (AU re-release)
Producer	Rich Costey, John Cornfield, Muse, Paul Reeve
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Drowned In Sound (10/10) link entertainment.ie link NME (9/10) link Q (Oct. 2003, p.109) The Guardian link Rolling Stone link Sputnik Music link Tiny Mix Tapes link
Muse chronology
Hullabaloo Soundtrack (2002) Absolution (2003) Absolution Tour (2005) Singles from Absolution "Stockholm Syndrome" Released: 14 July 2003 "Time Is Running Out" Released: 8 September 2003 "Hysteria" Released: 1 December 2003 "Sing for Absolution" Released: 17 May 2004 "Apocalypse Please" Released: 23 August 2004 "Butterflies and Hurricanes" Released: 20 September 2004

Absolution is the third studio album by English alternative rock band Muse. It was released on September 21, 2003 in the UK and on March 23, 2004 in the U.S. by Taste Music Limited. The album yielded the band's first big American hits - "Time Is Running Out" and "Hysteria", the former becoming their first UK Top 10 single. In 2006 it was voted the 21st best British album ever.^[1] In 2009 it was voted by Kerrang as the 2nd best album of the 21st century.

Contents [hide] 1 Writing and composition 2 Release 3 Reception 3.1 Commercial 3.2 Critical 4 Track listing 4.1 Limited edition UK bonus DVD 4.2 Australian Tour Bonus Disc 5 Personnel 6 Chart positions 6.1 Album 6.2 Singles 7 References 8 External links

Writing and composition

The band spent much of 2002 recording Absolution with producer Rich Costey.^[2] The album was recorded in studios in both Los Angeles and London.^[2] Bellamy said that the band made a "conscious decision" to "get together in a room and make music", setting aside time to record the album, as with previous albums recording sessions were 'hastily arranged' and rushed.^[2]

The album incorporates themes of fear, mistrust, personal achievement and joy.^[2] Bellamy said that the beginning of the Iraq War had an effect on their songwriting.^[2]

The track "Blackout" featured an 18-piece orchestra.^[3]

Release

Absolution was released on 23 September 2003 on CD and double vinyl.^[4] It was their first album released on the A&E Records label.^[4] There were six singles, of which the first, "Stockholm Syndrome", was download only.^[4] Due to contractual obligations the band couldn't allow the song to be downloaded for free, so the fee was set at $0.99 and it was downloaded more than 20,000 times.^[2]

Reception

[edit] Commercial

Absolution was Muse's first album to chart in the US, and is credited with establishing the band a fan base there.^[2] The album reached #1 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart and #107 on the Billboard 200.^[5]

Critical

The album was largely well received by critics. Both Q and The Guardian gave it four out of five stars, with three out of five stars being awarded by Allmusic and Rolling Stone. As with previous albums they were compared to Radiohead, with Tim DiGravina of Allmusic calling Bellamy's vocals a "Thom Yorke vocal impersonation".^[6] However, DiGravina also said that the album still "struck a nerve" with the band's more alternative hard rock fans,^[6] a view that was agreed with by The Guardian's Alexis Petridis.^[7]

Track listing

All lyrics written by Matthew Bellamy, all music written by Muse.

1. "Intro" – 0:22
2. "Apocalypse Please" – 4:12
3. "Time Is Running Out" – 3:56
4. "Sing for Absolution" – 4:54
5. "Stockholm Syndrome" – 4:58
6. "Falling Away With You" – 4:40
7. "Interlude" – 0:37
8. "Hysteria" – 3:47
9. "Blackout" – 4:22
10. "Butterflies and Hurricanes" – 5:01
11. "The Small Print" – 3:28
    • "Fury" (bonus track between "The Small Print" and "Endlessly" on Japanese release) – 4:58
12. "Endlessly" – 3:49
13. "Thoughts of a Dying Atheist" – 3:11
14. "Ruled by Secrecy" – 4:54

Initial copies of the CD featured inlay errors, where the songs "Interlude" and "Hysteria" switched places on the track listing. Cover art by Storm Thorgerson.

Limited edition UK bonus DVD

1. "The Making of Absolution" documentary

(Also Hysteria and Interlude positions are switched on the tracklisting, yet this is not the case on the album)

Australian Tour Bonus Disc

1. "Stockholm Syndrome" – 7:14
2. "New Born" – 6:11
3. "Muscle Museum" – 4:18
4. "Hysteria" – 4:14
5. "Bliss" – 4:01
6. "Time Is Running Out" – 4:06

This bonus CD is entirely composed of live versions, recorded at the Big Day Out in Sydney, January 23, 2004 for Australian radio station Triple J and broadcast in the radio show "Live at the Wireless".

Personnel

• Matthew Bellamy – lead vocals, guitars, piano, synthesizers, mandolin on "Blackout"
• Chris Wolstenholme – backing vocals, bass guitar, synthesizers on "Hysteria" and "Time Is Running Out"
• Dominic Howard – drums, percussion
• Paul Reeve – backing vocals, vocal samples

Chart positions

Album

Year	Chart	Position
2003	UK Top 40	1
2003	Billboard Top Heatseekers	1
2003	The Billboard 200	107
2003	France Albums Top 150	1
2003	Dutch Albums Top 100	2
2003	Ireland Top 75	3
2003	Swiss Albums Top 100	3
2003	Austria Top 75	3
2003	Italy Top 50	4
2003	Norway Top 40	5
2003	Belgium Top 70	7

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
2003	"Stockholm Syndrome"	UK Downloads Chart	31
2003	"Time Is Running Out"	UK Singles Chart	8
2003	"Hysteria"	UK Singles Chart	17
2004	"Sing For Absolution"	UK Singles Chart	16
2004	"Apocalypse Please"	UK Downloads Chart	10
2004	"Butterflies & Hurricanes"	UK Singles Chart	14
2004	"Time Is Running Out"	Modern Rock Tracks	9
2005	"Hysteria"	Modern Rock Tracks	9
2005	"Stockholm Syndrome"	Modern Rock Tracks	31

References

1. ^ "NME 100 Greatest British Albums Ever! - 2006". NME's Best 100 Albums. rocklistmusic.co.uk. April 2008. http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/nmes_100_best_albums.htm#Greatest%20British%20Albums.
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} "'Absolution' plows the ground for Muse's U.S. following". Seattle PI. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/pop/172255_muse07.html. Retrieved 2008-09-04.
3. ^ "Innocence and Absolution". http://www.keyboardmag.com/article/innocence-and-absolution/Jun-05/9880.
4. ^ ^{a b c} "Muse (official fansite)". http://www.muse.mu/index.php.
5. ^ "Billboard chart history". http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.chartFormatGroupName=Albums&model.vnuArtistId=119054&model.vnuAlbumId=601768. Retrieved 2008-06-10.
6. ^ ^{a b} "Absolution". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:4dd8vwrqa9qk.
7. ^ "Muse, Absolution". http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2003/sep/19/popandrock.shopping4. Retrieved 2008-12-05.

External links

• Official Muse website

Preceded by Permission to Land by The Darkness

UK number one album October 4, 2003 – October 10, 2003

Succeeded by Life for Rent by Dido