Ocean Avenue (album)

Ocean Avenue
Studio album by Yellowcard
Released	July 22, 2003
Recorded	February – March 2003, at Sunset Sound, Hollywood, California
Genre	Pop punk, alternative rock
Length	47:16
Label	Capitol CDP 7243 5 39844 0 3
Producer	Neal Avron
Yellowcard chronology
The Underdog EP (2002) Ocean Avenue (2003) Lights and Sounds (2006)
Singles from Ocean Avenue
"Way Away" Released: May 30, 2004 "Ocean Avenue" Released: September 5, 2004 "Only One" Released: January 25, 2005

Ocean Avenue is the fourth studio album by the American pop punk band Yellowcard. It was produced by Neal Avron, and was released on July 22, 2003 through Capitol Records. The album is the major-label debut for the band. Shortly after releasing The Underdog EP, Yellowcard signed with Capitol Records, which was looking to sign pop punk groups at the time.^[1]

The album was a commercial success in the United States, led by hit single "Ocean Avenue". The album received generally positive reviews from music critics and has been certified platinum in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and gold by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA).

Commercial performance and promotion

Ocean Avenue sold 11,000 copies in its first week in the U.S., debuting at #61. It is Yellowcard's most successful album and has been certified Platinum for sales in excess of 1,000,000. It was released as an enhanced CD in some countries. The enhanced CD includes a video entitled "The Making of Ocean Avenue" and a previously unreleased video of the song "Powder" (from The Underdog EP). In 2005, this album was released as a Special Edition import, with live videos and music videos.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Yellowcard & Peter Mosely. 

Ocean Avenue
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Way Away"	3:22
2.	"Breathing"	3:38
3.	"Ocean Avenue"	3:18
4.	"Empty Apartment"	3:36
5.	"Life of a Salesman"	3:18
6.	"Only One"	4:17
7.	"Miles Apart"	3:32
8.	"Twentythree"	3:27
9.	"View from Heaven"	3:22
10.	"Inside Out"	3:40
11.	"Believe"	4:31
12.	"One Year, Six Months"	3:28
13.	"Back Home"	3:55
Total length:		47:16

Japanese bonus tracks
No.	Title	Length
14.	"Firewater"	3:18
15.	"Hey Mike"	4:00
16.	"Way Away (Acoustic version)"	3:52
17.	"Avondale (Acoustic version)"	3:35

Personnel

Yellowcard Ryan Key – Lead vocals, rhythm guitar Sean Mackin – Violin, backing vocals Ben Harper – Lead guitar Peter Mosely – Bass, backing vocals Longineu W. Parsons III – Drums, percussion Artwork Brittany Nash – Cover model Tait Hawes – Album design Sasha Eisenman – Photography Corrie Christpher – Booking Additional musicians Alieka Wijnvelat – Additional vocals on "View From Heaven" Rodney Wirtz – Viola Christine Choi – Cello

Production Neal Avron – Producer, engineer, string arrangements Travis Huff – Engineer Ryan Castle – Assistant Engineer Sean Mackin – String arrangements Tom Lord-Alge – Mixing Ron Laffitte & Louie Bandak – A&R Ted Jensen – Mastering Femio Hernández – Assistant Baron Bodnar – Management

Charts

Album Year Chart Position 2004 New Zealand Albums Chart 8 U.S. Billboard 200 23 UK Albums Chart 149 Singles Year Single Chart Position 2004 "Way Away" U.S. Modern Rock Tracks 15 UK Singles Chart 63 "Ocean Avenue" U.S. Billboard Hot 100 37 U.S. Modern Rock Tracks 21 U.S. Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks 22 U.S. Mainstream Top 40 (Pop Songs) 13 UK Singles Chart 65 2005 "Only One" U.S. Modern Rock Tracks 15 U.S. Mainstream Top 40 (Pop Songs) 28

Certifications Country Certification Recording Industry Association Sales Canada Gold[2] CRIA 50,000+ United States Platinum[3] RIAA 1,000,000+

Trivia

• "Breathing" is featured in the video games FlatOut 2 and Burnout 3.
• "Way Away" is featured in the video games SSX 3 and Madden NFL 2004 and is featured on the episode "The Outsider" of the tv series The O.C. and the episode "Extinction" of the tv series Smallville.
• "Miles Apart" is featured in the video game Madden NFL 2007 and MTV's Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Inferno.
• "Ocean Avenue" is the name of the street of the Amityville murders.
• The song "Empty Apartment" was also featured on an episode of the TV Show One Tree Hill.
• The verses of "Twentythree" are sung by Sean, singing from a third person perspective, and Ryan singing the choruses from the first person.
• The title "Life of a Salesman" references the Arthur Miller play Death of a Salesman.
• "Believe" is a tribute to September 11, especially to the rescue members who saved many, but did not come out alive.
• On March 23, 2004 Ocean Avenue was certified Gold by the RIAA.
• On July 14, 2004 Ocean Avenue was certified Platinum by the RIAA.

References

1. ^ "Yellowcard Signs to Capitol". Aversion.com. April 3, 2002. http://www.aversion.com/news/news_article.cfm?news_id=725. Retrieved September 22, 2010. 
2. ^ "Gold & Platinum Certification – August 2004". Canadian Recording Industry Association. http://www.cria.ca/gold/0804_g.php. Retrieved 2011-02-22. 
3. ^ "RIAA - Gold & Platinum - August 19, 2010: Yellowcard certified albums". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH_RESULTS&artist=Yellowcard&format=ALBUM&go=Search&perPage=50. Retrieved August 19, 2010.