Sam's Town

Infobox Album
Name = Sam's Town
Type = studio
Artist = The Killers


Released = October 3, 2006
Recorded = 2005–2006
Genre = Alternative rock, post-punk revival
Length = 44:14
Label = Island, Vertigo
Producer = Flood, Alan Moulder
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|3|5 [http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:ep1uakokdm3z link]
*"Billboard" (Positive) [http://billboard.com/bbcom/reviews/album_review_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003188512 link]
*Entertainment.ie Rating|2|5 [http://www.entertainment.ie/reviews/review.asp?ID=4744&subcat=CD link]
*"Entertainment Weekly" (C) [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/review/music/0,6115,1540559_4_0_,00.html link]
*Guardian Unlimited Rating|4|5 [http://arts.guardian.co.uk/filmandmusic/story/0,,1883073,00.html link]
*"NME" (8/10) [http://www.nme.com/reviews/the-killers/8036 link]
*The Observer Rating|5|5 [http://observer.guardian.co.uk/omm/reviews/story/0,,1871658,00.html link]
*Pitchfork Media (5.9/10) [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/38914-sams-town link]
*PopMatters (3/10) [http://www.popmatters.com/pm/music/reviews/5967/the-killers-sams-town/ link]
*"Rolling Stone" Rating|2|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/11738772/sams_town link]
Last album = "Hot Fuss" (2004)
This album = "Sam's Town" (2006)
Next album = "Sawdust" (2007)
Misc = Singles
Name = Sam's Town
Type = studio
single 1 = When You Were Young
single 1 date = September 18, 2006
single 2 = Bones
single 2 date = November 27, 2006
single 3 = Read My Mind
single 3 date = February 13, 2007
single 4 = For Reasons Unknown
single 4 date = June 25, 2007

"Sam's Town" is the second studio album by Las Vegas rock band The Killers, released on October 2 2006 in the United Kingdom and the following day in the United States.

Production

The album is said to be influenced by the works of U2, Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, among others. [ [http://playlouder.com/review/+sams-town-0/ Playlouder - Latest] ] [ [http://angryape.com/reviews/2006/09/the-killers-when-you-were-young The Killers - When You Were Young [Universal — Reviews — AngryApe ] ] "Sam's Town" received mixed reviews, with some praising The Killers' new direction and others criticising it.cite web|title=Rolling Stone : Sam's Town : Review|date=21 September 2006|publisher=Rolling Stone|author=Rob Sheffield|accessdate=2006-10-08
url=http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/11738772/review/11755516/sams_town] cite web|title=The Killers on Blender.com|date=October 2006|author=Josh Eells|accessdate=2006-10-08|url=http://www.blender.com/guide/articles.aspx?id=2059]

In the October 2006 issue of "Giant" magazine, Flowers was quoted as saying that "Sam's Town" would be "one of the best albums in the past twenty years" and in "Entertainment Weekly" he remarked that it would be "the album that keeps rock & roll afloat." In an interview with Chicago radio station Q101, Brandon Flowers called "Read My Mind" the best song that the band had ever written.

The album takes its name from Sam's Town Hotel and Gambling Hall, a hotel-casino in Las Vegas, the hometown of the band. The bikini-clad woman on the cover of Sam's Town is model and singer [http://www.felicelazae.com/ Felice LaZae] . The album's co-producer Flood is dressed as a Native American in the CD booklet. The artwork inside the album booklet is taken from a downtown-Las Vegas mural painted by Suzanne Hackett-Morgan, a local painter.

Release details

Track listing

All tracks written by Brandon Flowers, except where noted.

#"Sam's Town" – 4:06
#"Enterlude" – 0:49
#"When You Were Young" (Flowers, Dave Keuning, Mark Stoermer, Ronnie Vannucci Jr.) – 3:40
#"Bling (Confession of a King)" (Flowers, Stoermer) – 4:08
#"For Reasons Unknown" – 3:32
#"Read My Mind" (Flowers, Keuning, Stoermer) – 4:06
#"Uncle Jonny" (Flowers, Keuning, Stoermer) – 4:25
#"Bones" (Flowers, Stoermer, Vannucci) – 3:47
#"My List" – 4:08
#"This River Is Wild" (Flowers, Stoermer) – 4:38
#"Why Do I Keep Counting?" – 4:24
#"Exitlude" – 2:29

Bonus tracks

*"Where the White Boys Dance" (Flowers, Keuning, Stoermer, Vannucci) (Australia, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and United States iTunes pre-order bonus track/Latin American bonus track) – 3:26
*"All the Pretty Faces" (Flowers, Keuning, Stoermer, Vannucci) (Japan, Best Buy exclusive bonus disc, Latin American bonus track, and UK iTunes bonus track) – 4:45
*"Daddy's Eyes" (Flowers, Keuning, Stoermer, Vannucci) (Best Buy exclusive bonus disc) – 4:13
*"When You Were Young (Jacques Lu Cont's Thin White Duke Mix)" (Flowers, Keuning, Stoermer, Vannucci) (American iTunes bonus track) – 6:23

Bonus DVD

#"When You Were Young" Video (Jump Version)
#"When You Were Young" Video (No Jump Version)
#Making of "When You Were Young"

Personnel

*Brandon Flowers — vocals, keyboards, bass guitar
*Dave Keuning — electric guitar, vocals
*Mark Stoermer — bass guitar, vocals, electric guitar
*Ronnie Vannucci — drums, percussion
*Adrina Hanson — strings
*Maryam Haddad — strings
*Tristan Moyer — strings
*Tommy Marth — saxophone
*Neeraj Khajanchi — trombone
*Corlene Byrd — background vocals
*Louis XIV — background vocals

Charts

In the US, the album opened at #2, selling 315,000 in its first week.cite web|title=Evanescence tops Killers in US|publisher=mp3.com|date=2006-10-11|url=http://www.mp3.com/news/stories/6689.html&ref_id=509990&ref_type_id=1] The album went straight to #1 in the UK selling over 260,000 in a week.cite web|title=Killers, Razorlight rule in UK|publisher=mp3.com|date=2006-10-10|url=http://www.mp3.com/news/stories/6664.html&ref_id=509990&ref_type_id=1] As of March 2007, the album has sold about 2,750,000 copies worldwide. [ [http://www.mediatraffic.de/year-end-albums.htm United World Chart Year-End Numbers] ] The album has been certified 2x Platinum in Canada. [ [http://www.cria.ca/gold/1106_g.php CRIA Gold & Platinum certifications for November 2006] . Retrieved July 25, 2007.] As of July 11, 2007, it has sold 1,205,621 copies in the US. A late surge in sales in the United Kingdom and a continued flow of international sales means that "Sam's Town" is fast approaching "Hot Fuss" with almost 4 million sales worldwide to date. [ [http://www.ukmix.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=46325 Billboard Top 200] ] The album has sold over 1,200,000 copies in the UK. [Award Type: 4 x Platinum]

In popular culture

In the 2007 Chris Rock movie "I Think I Love My Wife", Richard Cooper supposedly picks up "Sam's Town" while in a music store. Also, when Cooper begins to speak with Nelson, a poster of an NME magazine cover can be seen in the background with all four members of the band on it.

Notes

External links

* [http://www.islandrecords.com/thekillers/ "Sam's Town"] at Island Records
* [http://www.veinrust.org/town/ Fanlisting]

succession box
before = "Ta-Dah" by The Scissor Sisters
title = UK number one album
years = October 8 2006 – October 28 2006
after = "Rudebox" by Robbie Williams