From Under the Cork Tree

From Under the Cork Tree
Studio album by Fall Out Boy
Released	May 3, 2005
Recorded	November 2004 - January 2005 in Los Angeles, California
Genre	Pop punk, emo, pop rock, alternative rock[1][2]
Length	43:00
Label	Island
Producer	Neal Avron[2]
Fall Out Boy chronology
Take This to Your Grave (2003) From Under the Cork Tree (2005) Infinity on High (2007)
Alternative cover
Limited "Black Clouds and Underdogs" Edition
Singles from From Under the Cork Tree
"Sugar, We're Goin Down" Released: August 25, 2005 "Dance, Dance" Released: April 17, 2006 "A Little Less Sixteen Candles, a Little More "Touch Me"" Released: June 6, 2006

From Under the Cork Tree is the third studio album by American rock band Fall Out Boy. It was released on May 3, 2005, through Island Records as the band's major label debut. The music was composed by lead vocalist and guitarist Patrick Stump, with all lyrics penned by bassist Pete Wentz, following the group's songwriting approach they took for some songs on their prior 2003 effort Take This to Your Grave. Neal Avron handled production duties. Commenting on the record's lyrical themes, Wentz said the lyrics were about "This is where we're going to be a year from now, and this is what you're going to be saying about us."^[3] In support of their release the group headlined tours worldwide and played at various music festials. For their Black Clouds and Underdogs tour the group re-released the album as From Under the Cork Tree (Limited "Black Clouds and Underdogs" Edition) featuring new songs and remixes.

The album was Fall Out Boy's breakthrough mainstream success. Spearheaded by the lead single "Sugar, We're Goin Down", the album debuted at number nine on the US Billboard 200 with 68,000 first week sales, a position it stayed at for two non-consecutive weeks, earning the band their first top ten album and becoming their longest charting and best-selling album. It logged fourteen weeks in the top twenty out of its seventy-seven chart weeks. The album as well as its singles won several awards and achieved Double Platinum status.^[4] It has sold over 2.5 million albums in the United States,^[5] and over 3 million worldwide. The album produced two hugely popular hit singles, "Sugar, We're Goin Down" and "Dance, Dance" peaking at number eight and number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 respectively and received regular radio play at both Pop and Alternative stations. In 2005 the album was ranked eighteenth on the "Top 100 best-selling albums of the year in the US" with 1,654,320 sales and at number forty-three on IFPI's list of the "Top 50 Best Selling Albums of 2005" worldwide.^[6] Internationally it impacted in the UK and Canada. Despite its commercial success, it received mixed to positive reviews from music critics.

Background

Fall Out Boy formed near Chicago, Illinois in 2001.^[7] The band debuted with a self-released demo in the same year, and in 2002 the group released its first full-length album, Fall Out Boy's Evening Out with Your Girlfriend through Uprising Records.^[8] Both releases helped Fall Out Boy gain notoriety on the internet and attention from record labels. The band signed with indie label Fueled by Ramen and received an advance from major label Island Records, which financed the production of Take This to Your Grave.^[8] Grave became an underground success and helped the band gain a dedicated fanbase.^[9] Fall Out Boy returned to the studio in November 2004 to begin work on a new album.

The title is taken from a line in the book The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf.^[10][11] The album cover features a van with a trailer in a slump of snow. This is a reference to the car accident the band was in while they were driving to New York to film the video for "Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy" from their album Take This to Your Grave.

Recording and production

From Under the Cork Tree was recorded in Burbank, California, and served as the first time the band had stayed in California for an extended period of time.^[12] The group lived in corporate housing during the making of the album.^[12] In contrast to Take This to Your Grave's rushed recording schedule, Fall Out Boy took a much more gradual pace while working on From Under the Cork Tree. Despite this, the band had great difficulty creating its desired sound for the album, constantly scrapping new material.^[13] Two weeks before recording sessions began, the group abandoned ten songs and wrote eight more, including the album's first single, "Sugar, We're Goin Down".^[13] The chorus of "Sugar We're Goin Down" was nearly thrown away by the group's label, but it was ultimately salvaged. Wentz recalled, "Our label told us the chorus was too wordy and the guitars were too heavy and that the radio wasn’t going to play it."^[14] Island Records also intervened when the band wanted to title the album's first track "My Name Is David Ruffin and These Are The Temptations". Wentz stated "Our label said, 'You're going to get sued for doing that,' and our lawyer said, 'You're definitely going to get sued for doing that,' which totally sucked. So we said, 'OK, why don't we immortalize you in a song?'"^[13] The group retitled the song "Our Lawyer Made Us Change the Name of This Song So We Wouldn't Get Sued".^[13]

Reception

Commercial response

Upon the release of Fall Out Boy's 2007 follow-up album Infinity on High, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, From Under the Cork Tree re-entered the Billboard 200 at No. 168 with 5,300 sales.^[15]

Singles

Three singles were released from this album: "Sugar, We're Goin Down", "Dance, Dance" and "A Little Less Sixteen Candles, a Little More "Touch Me"". The first two singles enjoyed mainstream and commercial success and exposed Fall Out Boy to a new audience. From Under the Cork Tree's lead single, "Sugar, We're Goin Down", peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in September 2005 in the US and spent five weeks in the top 10 and 20 weeks (five months) in the top 20, logging a total of 42 weeks on the chart before it was retired. The track received heavy airplay spins at Pop and Alternative stations, and its MTV2-award winning video enjoyed regular rotation on TV music programs. This exposed the band to the mainstream audience and helped them reach great popularity. In the UK, "Sugar" also reached No. 8, and spent 21 weeks in the top 75. "Sugar, We're Goin Down" has sold over two million copies in the US^[16] and was certified Double Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting the shipment of two million copies.^[17] It stands as the band's best-selling single to date.

The second single from the album, "Dance, Dance" was also released to commercial success, charting at No. 9 in the US in January 2006 and No. 8 in the UK, a second top 10 hit single for the band in both regions. In the US it spent 14 weeks in the top 20 out of a total of 30 weeks before it was retired, being certified Platinum by the RIAA for the shipment of one million units. "A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More "Touch Me"", the album's third and last single, was much less popular than Cork Tree's first two singles but managed to reach No. 65 on the Hot 100. The band considered between "A Little Less Sixteen Candles..." and "Sophomore Slump or Comeback of the Year" as the third and last single, deciding on the former.^[18]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]
IGN	3.6/10 [19]
Robert Christgau	C+ [20]
Rolling Stone	[1]
Punknews	[21]

Critical reaction to From Under the Cork Tree has been mixed to positive. In an extremely positive review of the album, Johnny Loftus of Allmusic said: "Musically, Cork Tree's first five tracks are relentless, with razor-sharp melodies that seem familiar but sound totally unique at the same time. The "Oh! Oh!"s and punchy chords of "Of All the Gin Joints in All the World" are a thrill greater than any Jimmy Eat World album ever; "Sugar, We're Going Down"'s half-time shifts are triumphs of tumbling words; and the opening track meditates wryly on all-ages shows' fame. Further, when Fall Out Boy rip into "Sophomore Slump or Comeback of the Year", summer 2005 will not be able to ignore them. "We're the therapists pumping through your speakers/Delivering just what you need," they sing. It's obviously time to embrace our inner mall kid."^[2] Music critic Robert Christgau, in a C+ review of the album, said that "these Warped Tour cover boys aren't terrible, but are they ever ordinary. Only their record company would claim that emotional vocals, dramatic dynamics, poppy-punky tempos, and not actually all that catchy tunes add up to their own sound."^[20] Punknews.org gave the album a positive review 3 stars out of 5, saying: "With all the Internet s***-talking you’d think they were the anti-Christ (or the return of Christ, depending on your particular belief), but they’re not. They’re a pop-punk band from Chicago. And for those expecting anything else out of the boys, you’re looking too closely at their music."^[21]

However, mixed critisim was received from reviewers from being apart of a satuated scene of pop-punk bands. In Rolling Stone's review, they gave it 3 stars out of 5 saying "...FOB's knack for crafting ginormous, soaring anthems is in full-force: even with it's demented, inscrutable lyrics, "Sugar, We're Going Down" will likely still be blasting from radios ten years on."^[1] IGN was very negative towards the album, giving it a 3.6 out of 10 saying: Pop-punk had to begin somewhere, and when it rains, it apparently pours; Fall Out Boy is merely another addition to a stable bursting at the seams.^[19]

Track listing

All lyrics written by Pete Wentz, all music composed by Patrick Stump and Fall Out Boy^[22].

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Our Lawyer Made Us Change the Name of This Song So We Wouldn't Get Sued"	3:09
2.	"Of All the Gin Joints in All The World"	3:11
3.	"Dance, Dance"	3:00
4.	"Sugar, We're Goin Down"	3:49
5.	"Nobody Puts Baby in the Corner"	3:21
6.	"I've Got a Dark Alley and a Bad Idea That Says You Should Shut Your Mouth (Summer Song)"	3:11
7.	"7 Minutes in Heaven (Atavan Halen)"	3:02
8.	"Sophomore Slump or Comeback of The Year"	3:23
9.	"Champagne For My Real Friends, Real Pain For My Sham Friends"	3:23
10.	"I Slept With Someone in Fall Out Boy and All I Got Was This Stupid Song Written About Me"	3:31
11.	"A Little Less Sixteen Candles, a Little More "Touch Me""	2:49
12.	"Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying (Do Your Part to Save the Scene and Stop Going to Shows)"	3:27
13.	"XO"	3:40
Total length:		43:00

iTunes later released a limited edition version of From Under the Cork Tree. It included the "Patrick Stump Secret Agent Remix" of "Dance, Dance". This was also released as the B-side of "Sugar, We're Goin Down".

Limited "Black Clouds and Underdogs" Edition

On March 14, 2006, a separate version of the album was released entitled From Under the Cork Tree (Limited "Black Clouds and Underdogs" Edition). This consisted of a total 18 tracks, the first 13 being the first release of From Under the Cork Tree. The album rose to No. 9 on the Billboard 200 upon its re-release, it's second week at its peak position. The three new songs and two dance remixes are as follows and in this order:

14. "Snitches and Talkers Get Stitches and Walkers" - 2:50
15. "The Music or the Misery" - 3:28
16. "My Heart Is the Worst Kind of Weapon [Demo]" - 3:22
17. "Sugar, We're Goin Down [Patrick Stump Remix]" - 4:00
18. "Dance, Dance [Lindbergh Palace Remix]" - 3:28

The iTunes Store released a similar From Under the Cork Tree (Limited "Black Clouds and Underdogs" Edition) - EP consisting of 8 tracks: the above 5 as well as the music videos for "Sugar We're Goin Down" and "Dance, Dance". It also contains a live performance of "Sugar, We're Goin Down".

The limited edition is sometimes sold along with the regular edition under the same name.

Song notes

• "Our Lawyer Made Us Change the Name of This Song So We Wouldn't Get Sued" - It has been reported that the song was originally called "My Name is David Ruffin... and These are The Temptations" before Fall Out Boy's lawyers intervened and made them change the title.^[23]

• "Of All the Gin Joints in All the World" - The title is a reference to a quote by Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca. The line is also quoted in Ocean's Eleven (2001) by Andy Garcia (Terry Benedict).

• "Nobody Puts Baby in the Corner" - The title is taken from a Dirty Dancing quote spoken by Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze).

• "Champagne for My Real Friends, Real Pain for My Sham Friends" - This title is taken from a quote by Edward Norton in the film 25th Hour; however, the saying was also attributed to Francis Bacon, the line is spoken by actor Derek Jacobi in John Maybury's Love is the Devil (1998). It is also attributed to artist Tom Waits.

• "7 Minutes in Heaven (Atavan Halen)" - The title, and parts of the song, refers to bassist Pete Wentz's suicide attempt in 2005, by way of an Ativan overdose.^[24] The reference to guitarist Van Halen stems from the similarity of the song's intro riff to a popular chord progression used by Eddie Van Halen in songs such as "Panama" and "Dance the Night Away".

• "A Little Less Sixteen Candles, a Little More "Touch Me"" - Originally titled "A Little Less Molly Ringwald, a Little More Samantha Fox".

• "Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying (Do Your Part to Save the Scene and Stop Going to Shows)" - This refers to a quote from The Shawshank Redemption. The title was referred to as "You're A Concrete Boy Now (Do Your Part to Save the Scene and Stop Going to Shows)" in an issue of Alternative Press magazine prior to the album's release.

• "XO" - Titled in reference to American singer-songwriter Elliott Smith's fourth album of the same name.

• "The Music or the Misery" - The title is from a quote by Rob Fleming in the 1995 novel High Fidelity by Nick Hornby.

Singles

Single information
"Sugar, We're Goin Down" Released: September 5, 2005 Chart positions: #8 (UK Singles Chart) #8 (U.S. Billboard Hot 100) #6 (U.S. Billboard Pop 100) #3 (U.S. Billboard Alternative Songs) #36 (U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks)
"Dance, Dance" Released: April 17, 2006 Chart positions: #8 (UK Singles Chart) #9 (U.S. Billboard Hot 100) #6 (U.S. Billboard Pop 100) #2 (U.S. Billboard Alternative Songs)
"A Little Less Sixteen Candles, a Little More "Touch Me"" Released: July 6, 2006 Chart positions: #38 (UK Singles Chart) #65 (U.S. Billboard Hot 100) #45 (U.S. Billboard Pop 100) #38 (U.S. Billboard Alternative Songs)

Personnel

Band members

• Patrick Stump - lead vocals, guitar
• Joe Trohman - guitar, backing vocals
• Pete Wentz - bass guitar, backing vocals
• Andy Hurley - drums

Guest artists

• William Beckett (of The Academy Is...) - Vocals on "Sophomore Slump or Comeback of the Year"
• Brendon Urie (of Panic! At the Disco) - Vocals on "7 Minutes in Heaven (Atavan Halen)"
• Chad Gilbert (of New Found Glory) - Vocals on "I Slept With Someone in Fall Out Boy and All I Got Was This Stupid Song Written about Me"

Charts

Chart	Peak position
Australian Albums Chart	87
Canadian Albums Chart	7
French Albums Chart	131
Irish Albums Chart	32
Japanese Albums Chart	86
New Zealand Albums Chart	29
UK Albums Chart	12
US Billboard 200	9
Billboard Rock Albums	2

Certifications

Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)[25]	2× Platinum	200,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[26]	Platinum	300,000^
United States (RIAA)[4]	2× Platinum	2,000,000^
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Giberti, Jamie (29 September 2011). "Fall Out Boy: Album Guide Rolling Stones". Rock Sins. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/fall-out-boy/albumguide. Retrieved 2 October 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d} Johnny Loftus (May 3, 2005). "From Under the Cork Tree - Fall Out Boy AllMusic". AllMusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/from-under-the-cork-tree-r740237/review. Retrieved October 2, 2011. 
3. ^ Montgomery, James (October 11, 2005). "Fall Out Boy Nearly Done Writing 'Way Different' Next LP". Vh1.com. Vh1. http://www.vh1.com/news/articles/1511313/fall-out-boy-nearly-done-writing-next-lp.jhtml. Retrieved May 14, 2011. 
4. ^ ^{a b} "American album certifications – Fall Out Boy – From Under the Cork Tree". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%22From+Under+the+Cork+Tree%22.  If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
5. ^ Martens, Todd (January 27, 2007). "Scene is Believing: Fall Out Boy". billboard.biz. http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/content_display/magazine/features/e3i29e9420ff0998b4fc0db14cc7ef47d6e. Retrieved April 20, 2011. 
6. ^ http://www.ifpi.org/content/library/top50-2005.pdf
7. ^ Wiederhorn, Jon. "You Hear It First - Fall Out Boy". MTV News. Viacom. http://www.mtv.com/news/yhif/fallout_boy/. Retrieved October 1, 2011. 
8. ^ ^{a b} Loftus, Johnny. "Biography: Fall Out Boy". All Music Guide. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/fall-out-boy-p533936/biography. Retrieved 2009-11-22. 
9. ^ "Bands - Fall Out Boy - Biography". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc.. http://www.altpress.com/bands/profile/fall_out_boy. Retrieved October 2, 2011. 
10. ^ Manley, Brendan (April 28, 2005). "Louder Than Bombs: Fall Out Boy Takes Aim With Bold New Album". Long Island Press. http://www.longislandpress.com/?cp=146&show=article&a_id=2386. Retrieved 2007-05-14. 
11. ^ "Fall Out Boy—From Under The Cork Tree". The Syndicate. 2005. Archived from the original on 2006-11-20. http://web.archive.org/web/20061120191032/http://www.thesyn.com/college/general7/fall_tracks.asp. Retrieved 2007-05-14. "When he was a little boy, Fall Out Boy bassist and lyricist Pete Wentz enjoyed reading "Omnomnom; Curious George," "Babar" and Richard Scarry, but his favorite children's book was "The Story of Ferdinand" by Munro Leaf. The story (...) was so inspirational to Wentz that he titled the band's breakthrough record From Under the Cork Tree." 
12. ^ ^{a b} (2009) Album notes for Believers Never Die – Greatest Hits by Fall Out Boy [CD liner]. Island Records/Fueled By Ramen/Decaydance (0015133-02).
13. ^ ^{a b c d} Wiederhorn, Jon (May 11, 2005). "Fall Out Boy's Sound Has Changed, But The Weirdly Long Song Titles Remain". MTV News. Viacom. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1501643/fall-out-boy-reinvent-their-sound-on-new-lp.jhtml. Retrieved October 1, 2011. 
14. ^ Marchese, David (November 24, 2009). "Q&A: Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz". Spin. Bob Guccione Jr.. http://www.spin.com/articles/qa-fall-out-boys-pete-wentz. Retrieved October 2, 2011. 
15. ^ Harris, Chris (2007-02-14). "Fall Out Boy Take It To The Top, Score First Billboard #1 - Music, Celebrity, Artist News". MTV. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1552400/fall-out-boy-score-first-billboard-1.jhtml. Retrieved 2011-08-08. 
16. ^ "Week Ending July 5, 2009: All Michael, All The Time - Chart Watch". New.music.yahoo.com. 2009-07-08. http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart_watch/35974/week-ending-july-5-2009-all-michael-all-the-time/. Retrieved 2011-05-12. 
17. ^ "American single certifications – Fall Out Boy – Goin Down". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%22Goin+Down%22.  If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
18. ^ Marino, Kelly; Moss, Corey (22 Dec 2005). "Fall Out Boy Working On Their Grammy Acceptance Speech". MTV News. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1519168/fall-out-boy-working-on-their-grammy-speech.jhtml. Retrieved 15 Apr 2011. 
19. ^ ^{a b} "Fall Out Boy - From Under the Cork Tree - Music Reviewat IGN". IGN. July 8, 2005. http://music.ign.com/articles/632/632064p1.html. Retrieved October 2, 2011. 
20. ^ ^{a b} Christgau, Robert (July 8, 2005). "Robert Christgau: CG: fall out boy". http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=fall+out+boy. Retrieved October 2, 2011. 
21. ^ ^{a b} "Punknews.org Fall Out Boy - From Under The Cork Tree (2005)". Punknews. May 17th 2005. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/fall-out-boy/albumguide. Retrieved October 2, 2011. 
22. ^ CD liner notes
23. ^ MTV
24. ^ Pete Wentz: 'I tried to kill myself' | News|NME.COM
25. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Fall Out Boy – From Under the Cork Tree". Music Canada. http://www.musiccanada.com/GPSearchResult.aspx?st=From+Under+the+Cork+Tree&sa=Fall+Out+Boy&smt=0. 
26. ^ "British album certifications – Fall Out Boy – From Under the Cork Tree". British Phonographic Industry. http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx.  Enter From Under the Cork Tree in the field Search. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Click Go

External links

• Absolutepunk.net Interview with Pete Wentz, Part 2
• MTV.com Article on From Under the Cork Tree