Underclass Hero (album)

Infobox Album
Name = Underclass Hero
Type = Album
Artist = Sum 41


Released = July 18, 2007 (Japan)
July 23, 2007 (Canada)
July 23, 2007 (U.K.)
July 24, 2007 (USA)
July 27, 2007 (Germany)
July 28, 2007 (Australia)
Recorded = November 6, 2006 - March 14, 2007 at Los Angeles Ocean Way in Los Angeles, California
Genre = Punk rock, pop punk, alternative rock
Length = 49:09
Label = Canada: Aquarius
US: Island
Producer = Deryck Whibley
Reviews = * AbsolutePunk.net (74%) [http://absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=254161 link]
* Allmusic Rating|2|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:gbfyxze5ldhe link]
* BBC [http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/release/6vxm/ link]
* Robert Christgau rating-Christgau|cut [http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=4492&name=Sum+41 link]
* Entertainment Wise Rating|3.5|5 [http://www.entertainmentwise.com/review?id=35095 link]
* Famoso Magazine Rating|3|5 [http://www.famosomagazine.com/?page_id=200 link]
* IGN Rating-10|7 [http://music.ign.com/articles/807/807733p1.html link]
* IndieLondon Rating|4|5 [http://www.indielondon.co.uk/Music-Review/sum-41-underclass-hero link]
* "NME" Rating-10|4 [http://www.nme.com/reviews/sum-41/8771 link]
*"Rolling Stone" Rating|2|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/sum41/albums/album/15502568/review/15807523/underclass_hero link]
* Stereology rating-10|5 [http://stereology.de/?site=album&albid=37 link]
Last album = "Go Chuck Yourself"
(2006)
This album = "Underclass Hero"
(2007)
Next album =
Misc = Singles
Name = Underclass Hero
Type = studio
single 1 = Underclass Hero
single 1 date = May 15, 2007
single 2 = Walking Disaster
single 2 date = July 23, 2007
single 3 = With Me
single 3 date = February 2008

"Underclass Hero" is Sum 41's fourth studio album and the first to be released without former guitarist Dave Baksh. The album was first released July 18, 2007 in Japan. It was released under the Island Records label and distributed worldwide by Universal Records, and in Canada by Aquarius Records. The album was released in Australia under Mercury Records. The title's similarity to John Lennon's hit "Working Class Hero" is not a coincidence, according to the band's front man Deryck Whibley, who in an interview with Sun Media claimed Lennon as his favorite songwriter. [ [http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/S/Sum_41/2007/08/01/4385468-ca.html Jam! - Sum 41's "Hero" debuts at No. 1] ] "Underclass Hero" is over ten minutes longer than any previous Sum 41 album. This is a result of there being a total of fourteen tracks (plus one hidden track) compared to the set of twelve or thirteen the band has used before. Mostly however, the length is due to a majority of the songs being much longer than the usual three minutes existing on preceding full-lengths.

The album has spawned three singles, "Underclass Hero", "Walking Disaster", and "With Me". Another song called "March of the Dogs" has also been released as an album preview. "Speak of the Devil" and "Count Your Last Blessings" were leaked onto the internet on July 13 2007. The entire CD was leaked onto file-sharing networks on July 14 2007. [ [http://www6.islandrecords.com/site/artist_newsinfo.php?artist_id=259&item_id=1-103313&system_id=1&page=1 Sum 41- News & Info - "Underclass Hero"] ]

In an unofficial online poll, [ [http://theresnosolution.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=5047 TheresNoSolution.com - Boards • View topic - [Game Underclass Hero Survival Game ] ] the song King of Contradiction was voted favorite, with the bonus track "No Apologies" coming in second and the song "Underclass Hero" ranking third.

Track listing

All songs written by Deryck Whibley, except where noted.
# "Underclass Hero" (Deryck Whibley/Steve Jocz) - 3:14
# "Walking Disaster" - 4:46
# "Speak of the Devil" - 3:58
# "Dear Father" - 3:52
# "Count Your Last Blessings" - 3:03
# "Ma Poubelle" (Deryck Whibley/Steve Jocz) - 0:55
# "March of the Dogs" - 3:09
# "The Jester" - 2:48
# "With Me" - 4:51
# "Pull the Curtain" - 4:18
# "King of Contradiction" - 1:40
# "Best of Me" - 4:25
# "Confusion and Frustration in Modern Times" - 3:46
# "So Long Goodbye" - 3:01
# "Look at Me" (hidden track) - 4:03 (Starts at 2:00)

Bonus tracks

* "Take a Look at Yourself" - 3:24 (iTunes only)
* "No Apologies" - 2:58 (Australia, UK, and Japan)
* "This Is Goodbye" - 2:28 (Japan only)
* "Walking Disaster (Live)" (Japan only)
* "Count Your Last Blessings (Live)" (Japan only)

Release Dates

*July 18, 2007 Japan)
*July 23, 2007 (Canada), (U.K.)
*July 24, 2007 (USA)
*July 27, 2007 (Germany)
*July 28, 2007 (Australia)

Charts

pecial Edition

* All of the Best Buy stores released a special edition on July 24, 2007, the day the album was released in the US. It contains an exclusive bonus DVD, with all of the following:

* "Underclass Hero" video.
* "Pieces" video
* "We're All to Blame" (Live)
* "Nothing on My Back" (Live)
* Road to Ruin Episode 1
* Road to Ruin Episode 2
* Road to Ruin Episode 3
* Road to Ruin Episode 10

Personnel

Sum 41

* Deryck Whibley - Guitar, Vocals, Keyboards, Piano, Producer
* Cone McCaslin - Bass
* Steve Jocz - Drums, Percussion

Other

* David Campbell - string arrangement
* Jamie Muhoberac - additional keyboard
* Dan Chase - additional percussion
* Michael Railton - additional piano
* Doug McKean - engineering
* Chris Lord-Alge - mixing
* Ted Jensen - mastering
* Robb Dipple - graphics, photography, direction, and edition on Bonus DVD

Refernences

External links

*MySpace|sum41|Sum 41
* [http://www.mtv.com/#/news/articles/1546766/20061129/story.jhtml MTV News Interview]
* [http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Lowdown/2007/03/08/3715067-ca.html Jam interview]
* [http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?type=category&id=pcmcat126100050004 Best Buy DVD offer]
* [http://www.theresnosolution.com Sum 41 Fan Community]