- The Beautiful Letdown
Infobox Album
Name = The Beautiful Letdown
Type =Album
Artist =Switchfoot 
Released =February 25 ,2003
Recorded = 2002 at Sage and Sound; Mansfield Lodge; Jon's House
Genre =Alternative rock
Length = 44:18
Label = ColumbiaSony BMG
Producer = John Fields, Switchfoot
Reviews = *All Music Guide Rating|4|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:20q6g4aztv2z link]
*Jesus Freak Hideout Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.jesusfreakhideout.com/cdreviews/TheBeautifulLetdown.asp link]
*IGN rating-10|9 [http://music.ign.com/articles/504/504367p1.html link]
Last album = "Learning to Breathe " (2000)
This album = "The Beautiful Letdown" (2003)
Next album = "Nothing Is Sound " (2005)
Misc = Singles
Name = The Beautiful Letdown
Type = studio
single 1 =Meant to Live
single 1 date = 2003
single 2 =Dare You to Move
single 2 date = 2004
single 3 = This Is Your Life
single 3 date = 2004
Misc = Extra album cover 2
Upper caption = Alternative covers
Type = Studio
Lower caption = The original cover from the 2003 release of The Beautiful Letdown
Misc = Singles
Name = The Beautiful Letdown
Type = studio
single 1 =Meant to Live
single 1 date = 2003
single 2 =Dare You to Move
single 2 date = 2004
single 3 = This Is Your Life
single 3 date = 2004"The Beautiful Letdown" is the fourth album by alternative rock band
Switchfoot . Released in early 2003, it launched the band into the mainstream limelight. Two Top-40 singles were released from this disc: "Meant to Live" (top 20) and "Dare You to Move" (top 20). "This Is Your Life" was also released to mainstream radio, while "Gone" received airplay at CCM radio. After selling over 2.6 million copies, [ [http://music.monstersandcritics.com/news/article_1237131.php/Switchfoot_Omarion_and_Matisyahu_return_to_store_shelves_with_new_albums Switchfoot, Omarion, and Matisyahu return to store shelves with new albums] - published December 27, 2006 (retrieved January 8, 2007)] the album was certified double platinum by the RIAA and won for Album of the Year at the 2003San Diego Music Awards . [ [http://www.sdmusicawards.com/contentPages/pastWinners2006Content.shtml San Diago Music Awards] - published September 18, 2006 (retrieved December 4, 2006)]Recording & History
In 2002, the band entered the studio to begin recording of the follow-up to their 2000 gold record,
Learning to Breathe . They were unsigned at the time, their contract with /Sparrow having expired with the completion of Learning to Breathe. They finished recording in two weeks [ [http://www.bandbiographies.com/switchfoot/biography.htm Switchfoot Biography] ] , but shortly afterwards, were signed to the major record labelColumbia Records /Red Ink. This ultimately delayed the release, as the label submitted the album for further mixing and marketing. It was finally released February 25, 2003 as The Beautiful Letdown.Track listing
#"
Meant to Live " – 3:20
#"This Is Your Life" – 4:18
#"More Than Fine" – 4:14
#"Ammunition" – 3:45
#"Dare You to Move " – 4:15
#"Redemption" – 3:06
#"The Beautiful Letdown" – 5:20
#"Gone" – 3:45
#"On Fire" – 4:39
#"Adding to the Noise" – 2:50
#"Twenty-Four" – 4:522004 CD/DVD Release
In 2004, "The Beautiful Letdown" was re-released in two different forms: A standard CD-only reissue featuring a slightly tweaked audio mix, as well as new artwork, and a CD/DVD package.
The CD/DVD edition featured a DVD that included a few bonus-features, including the entire album in 5.1 Surround Sound.
It also featured a Making of “Dare You to Move” video, as well as Version 1 of the music video itself, an acoustic impromptu performance of “On Fire,” and two previously unreleased bonus tracks, “Monday Comes Around” and “Meant to Live (Live).” For some reason, these bonus tracks were inexplicably included only on the DVD, and not on the audio side.
2005 Dual Disc Release
In 2005, the album was released yet again, this time as a
DualDisc . The audio side remained the same as the 2004 re-issue, and the DVD side featured all of the same features, but also included the second version music video of "Dare You to Move."2007 iTunes Deluxe Edition
A deluxe edition of the album was released by
Sony on December 25, 2007 exclusively on iTunes. It contained all the tracks on the previous releases, but included these three bonus tracks, available for purchase for the first time:#"Monday Comes Around"
#"Dare You to Move" (alternate version)
#"Meant to Live" (Acoustic)Charts and certifications
In TV and Film
Many of Switchfoot's songs have been used in various TV shows and movies. The WB's Smallville used
This is Your Life and the 2007 film "The Ultimate Gift " incorporated "On Fire" into one of its scenes.Miscellaneous information
*
Jon Foreman wrote the song "Twenty-Four" on the day before his 25th birthday [ [http://www.freewebs.com/soonerorlater3/quotes.htm#20926948 Twenty-Four Voices] - (retrieved December 4, 2006)] .
* The first few promotional copies of the album were printed with the song "Monday Comes Around" on it. When the wide release version went to print Jon Foreman removed the song as he felt it didn't match the tone of the album. The song can now be found on the 2004 re-release of "The Beautiful Letdown" on the accompanying DVD, on the b-side of the Meant to Live record single released, in copies of "Nothing Is Sound (Japan)", and in the 2007 iTunes Deluxe re-release of "The Beautiful Letdown."
* This album was the first to feature keyboardist/guitaristJerome Fontamillas , who had been touring with the band since 2001.
* The band's bassistTim Foreman designed the album cover.References
External links
* [http://learning2breathe.com/tbl.html The Beautiful Letdown lyrics]
* [http://learning2breathe.com/tblsongs.html Song Stories from Jon Foreman]Music videos
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72FkCoJfhgU Meant to Live]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54WGYWyPU0I Meant to Live (Live)]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHMcG-jto5A Meant to Live (Spider-Man 2 Version)]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONbX3dQTi7w Dare You to Move] (version 1)
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK_E7xS7AtQ Dare You to Move] (version 2)
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
