Showbiz (album)

Showbiz
Studio album by Muse
Released	4 October 1999 (release history)
Recorded	April–May 1999 at RAK Studios, London and Sawmills Studio, Cornwall
Genre	Alternative rock, new prog, post-grunge
Length	49:36
Label	Mushroom
Producer	John Leckie, Paul Reeve, Muse
Muse chronology
Muscle Museum (EP) (1999) Showbiz (1999) Random 1-8 (2000)
Singles from Showbiz
"Uno" Released: 14 June 1999 "Cave" Released: 6 September 1999 "Muscle Museum" Released: 22 November 1999 "Sunburn" Released: 21 February 2000 "Unintended" Released: 30 May 2000

Showbiz is the debut studio album by English alternative rock band Muse, released in the United Kingdom on 4 October 1999 through Mushroom Records.^[1] Recorded between April and May at RAK Studios and Sawmills Studio, respectively,^[2] the album was produced by John Leckie and Paul Reeve in conjunction with the band. Showbiz was a minor commercial success, reaching number 29 on the UK Albums Chart.^[3]

Showbiz was released in various regions around the world through the band's different regional labels: Naïve in France; Motor in Germany, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine; Maverick in the United States; Play It Again Sam (PIAS) in Benelux; and Avex Trax in Japan.^[1] The album was also released earlier by some labels; in France it was released on 6 September, the Motor edition was sold from 20 September and the album entered American stores on 28 September.^[1] A bonus CD was released in Benelux, which contained the same content as the Random 1-8 extended play, without the hidden remixes of "Sunburn".

Critical reception and legacy

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Sputnikmusic	[4]
Allmusic	[5]
NME	(6/10) [6]
Pitchfork Media	(6.7/10) [7]
Rolling Stone	[8]

Upon its release, many critics were quick to dismiss the album as promising yet derivative of other alternative rock bands of the 90s, with many critics drawing comparisons to Radiohead, some even pointing out that this album is produced by John Leckie, who also worked on said band's The Bends album. Brent DiCrescenzo of Pitchfork Media said in his review of the album that "Muse expertly boil down Radiohead into punkish radio nuggets.", but went on to question that "despite this promise, where can they go from here?", which resulted in a rating of 6.7 of a possible 10.^[7] In a similar review, NME said that "'Showbiz' is not as clever as they think it is ... 'Unintended' and the title track are overwrought, prone to excruciatingly bad pseudo poetry", which ended in a 6 out of 10 score from the publication.^[6] On the other hand, a more positive view came from Andrew Hartwig of Sputnik Music, who called Showbiz "an excellent record" and awarded it 4 out of 5.^[4]

The album seems to have drawn something of a following since its release however, as in 2009 the album was placed in the top 20 British albums of the last 20 years by the UK edition of MSN. As well as this, several songs from the album appear to have had lasting appeal among fans, such as the title track, which was one of the band's most requested songs during The Resistance Tour in 2010, when the band staged a fan vote for songs to be played during that tour's stadium leg.^[9] The song was not played; however, Unintended and Cave were played several times throughout the tour, with Sunburn being introduced during later performances of the tour.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Matthew Bellamy. 

Original edition
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Sunburn"	3:54
2.	"Muscle Museum"	4:23
3.	"Fillip"	4:01
4.	"Falling Down"	4:33
5.	"Cave"	4:46
6.	"Showbiz"	5:16
7.	"Unintended"	3:57
8.	"Uno"	3:37
9.	"Sober"	4:04
10.	"Escape"	3:31
11.	"Overdue"	2:26
12.	"Hate This and I'll Love You"	5:09

iTunes edition[10] / muse.mu mp3 edition[11]
No.	Title	Length
13.	"Spiral Static"	4:44

Japanese edition
No.	Title	Length
10.	"Spiral Static"	4:44
11.	"Escape"	3:31
12.	"Overdue"	2:26
13.	"Hate This and I'll Love You"	4:57

Benelux edition bonus CD
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Host"	4:17
2.	"Coma"	3:35
3.	"Pink Ego Box"	3:32
4.	"Forced In"	5:10
5.	"Agitated"	2:23
6.	"Yes Please"	3:05
7.	"Fillip" (Live)	3:46
8.	"Do We Need This?" (Live)	4:12

Charts and certifications

Chart (2000)	Peak position	Certification
UK Albums Chart[3]	29	BPI: Gold[12]
Australian Albums Chart[13]	28	ARIA: Gold[14]
Dutch Albums Chart[15]	53
French Albums Chart[16]	59
Irish Albums Chart[17]	46
Norwegian Albums Chart[18]	38

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Format	Catalog
France	6 September 1999	Naïve	CD	NV 3211-1
Germany	20 September 1999	Motor	CD	547 979-4
Russia
Turkey
Ukraine
United States	28 September 1999	Maverick	CD	0 9362-47382-2 0
United Kingdom	4 October 1999	Taste/Mushroom	CD	MUSH59CD
			LP	MUSH59LP
			CS	MUSH59MC
			MD	MUSH59MD
Benelux	4 October 1999	PIAS	CD	481.2001.20
Japan	4 October 1999	Avex Trax	CD	AVCM-65057

Personnel

Muse Matthew Bellamy – vocals; guitars; piano; Hammond organ on "Falling Down", "Unintended" and "Escape"; mellotron on "Muscle Museum" and "Unintended", Wurlitzer electric piano on "Fillip" and "Hate This & I'll Love You"; synthesizers on "Cave", guitar synthesizer on "Sober"; harmonium on "Escape"; string arrangements on "Showbiz"; production and mixing on "Muscle Museum", "Unintended", "Uno" and "Sober"; artwork Christopher Wolstenholme – bass; backing vocals; double bass on "Falling Down" and "Unintended"; production and mixing on "Muscle Museum", "Unintended", "Uno" and "Sober" Dominic Howard – drums; percussion on "Showbiz", "Uno" and "Hate This & I'll Love You"; synthesizer on "Muscle Museum"; production and mixing on "Muscle Museum", "Unintended", "Uno" and "Sober"

Additional personnel John Leckie – production and mixing on "Sunburn", "Fillip", "Falling Down", "Cave", "Escape", "Overdue" and "Hate This & I'll Love You" Paul Reeve – production and mixing on "Muscle Museum", "Unintended", "Uno" and "Sober"; backing vocals on "Unintended", "Uno", "Overdue" and "Hate This & I'll Love You" Tanya Andrew – artwork Craig Gentle – design Ralf Strathmann – photography Frederic Gresse – photography

References

• Beaumont, Mark (2008). Out of This World: The Story of Muse. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 9781847723772 

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c} Beaumont 2008, p. 81
2. ^ Beaumont 2008, p. 61
3. ^ ^{a b} "Chart Stats – Muse". Chart Stats. http://www.chartstats.com/artistinfo.php?id=137. Retrieved 2008-10-08. 
4. ^ ^{a b} Andrew H (14 January 2005). "Muse Showbiz". Sputnikmusic. http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/962/Muse-Showbiz/. Retrieved 23 September 2011. 
5. ^ Demalon, Tom. Muse: Showbiz at Allmusic. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
6. ^ ^{a b} "Showbiz". NME (United Kingdom: IPC Media). 1 October 1999. ISSN 0028-6362. http://www.nme.com/reviews/muse/1412. Retrieved 23 September 2011. 
7. ^ ^{a b} DiCrescenzo, Brent (28 September 1999). "Muse: Showbiz". Pitchfork Media. http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/5519-showbiz/. Retrieved 23 September 2011. 
8. ^ Chonin, Neva (14 October 1999). "Muse: Showbiz". Rolling Stone (New York: Straight Arrow). ISSN 0035-791X. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/showbiz-19991014. Retrieved 23 September 2011. 
9. ^ "Choose the Setlists". muse.mu. http://muse.mu/page.aspx?page=poll. Retrieved 23 September 2011. 
10. ^ "Showbiz: Muse". iTunes Store. http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/showbiz/id314455341/. Retrieved 23 September 2011. 
11. ^ "Showbiz". Muse. http://muse.mu/shop/product/74/showbiz/menu/3/albums/. Retrieved September 13, 2009. 
12. ^ "Platinum Awards Content". British Phonographic Industry. http://www.bpi.co.uk/platinum/platinumright.asp?rq=search_plat&r_id=28989. Retrieved 2008-10-08. ^{[dead link]}
13. ^ "Muse - Showbiz". australian-charts.com. http://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?key=9709&cat=a. Retrieved 2008-10-08. 
14. ^ "Accreditations – 2008 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. http://www.aria.com.au/pages/httpwww.aria.com.aupageshttpwww.aria.com.aupagesARIACharts-Accreditations-2008Albums.htm. Retrieved 2008-09-13. 
15. ^ "Muse - Showbiz" (in Dutch). dutchcharts.nl. http://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?key=9709&cat=a. Retrieved 2008-10-08. 
16. ^ "Muse - Showbiz" (in French). lescharts.com. http://lescharts.com/showitem.asp?key=9709&cat=a. Retrieved 2008-10-08. 
17. ^ "Discography Muse". irish-charts.com. http://irish-charts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Muse. Retrieved 2008-10-08. 
18. ^ "Muse - Showbiz". norwegiancharts.com. http://norwegiancharts.com/showitem.asp?key=9709&cat=a. Retrieved 2008-10-08. 

External links

• Showbiz at the Muse official website