Dream Days at the Hotel Existence
Dream Days at the Hotel Existence | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 2 June 2007 | |||
Recorded | January–April 2007 | |||
Studio | Sunset Sound, Los Angeles | |||
Genre | Rock | |||
Length | 44:12 | |||
Label | Universal Music | |||
Producer | Rob Schnapf | |||
Powderfinger chronology | ||||
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Singles from Dream Days at the Hotel Existence | ||||
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Dream Days at the Hotel Existence is the sixth
Powderfinger reunited in late 2006, after a three-year hiatus, to write songs for Dream Days at the Hotel Existence, which was recorded in Los Angeles, California, in early 2007 by producer Rob Schnapf. The first single from the album, "Lost and Running" was released on 12 May 2007, and reached number five on the ARIA singles chart. Three further singles were released; "I Don't Remember", "Nobody Sees", and "Who Really Cares (Featuring the Sound of Insanity)", though they failed to equal "Lost and Running"'s chart performance.
The album received critical acclaim, with many reviewers commenting that the album was "consistent" and "distinctly Australian". The album encountered controversy relating to the song "
Background
Bernard Fanning stated in television interviews in 2006 that Powderfinger was working on a new album to be released the following year. On Powderfinger's website, guitarist Ian Haug said the upcoming album was an "exciting new direction" for the band's music.[1] After a month of recording, on 2 March 2007, Fanning made an announcement on Australian radio station Triple J that tracking was complete, mixing the album was to follow, and the approximate release date was June.[2] Fanning also stated that several of the tracks on the album feature session pianist Benmont Tench.[3]
The title of the album was drawn from the book
Recording and production
Following their hiatus, which commenced after the release of
Dream Days at the Hotel Existence was recorded at Sunset Sound Studio, Los Angeles, California, in early 2007 by producer Rob Schnapf, best known for his work with Beck and The Vines.[5] Powderfinger had already written most of the album before departing to the United States.[6] In particular, Powderfinger wrote songs in parts and brought them together; some songs were written in pairs or trios, while others were written in parts by different people, and then combined. According to the band, this brought a "diverse" and "fresh" approach to songwriting.[7] The band used different methods in putting the album together as "it comes back to the sound the five of us can make together".[8] Powderfinger guitarist Darren Middleton commented that as a rule they preferred not to put together an album that was just "plain". As the style of writing differed, the band identified the need for piano performances in many of their songs, enlisting veteran pianist Benmont Tench to play parts throughout.[8]
Artwork
Dream Days at the Hotel Existence's cover art was designed by Aaron Hayward & David Homer of Debaser, a New South Wales-based design organisation. The recipient of the 2007 ARIA Award for "Best Cover Art",[9] the album art features a photograph of a road leading into the Australian outback horizon. In the centre, placed in the sky in relation to the background, there is a window with a crimson curtain. Within this window is a hotel room, as per the name of the album, in which a man with no head in a suit is seated at the end of the bed while watching the television.
Above the window is the album title and at the top of the cover is the band's name in a typeface more crafty than on previous album covers. Though the general design of the cover is that of a 1930s hotel in style, the typeface juxtaposes the general design with being a rather futuristic, science-fiction styled typeset. This is the second futuristic style that the band has used for their name, the first appearing on Vulture Street.[10]
Album and single releases
The album was released in Australia on 2 June 2007,[11] and in the United Kingdom on 19 November of the same year.[12] A "limited edition" version of the album included a DVD featuring a collection of Powderfinger music videos, titled Powderfinger's First XI. The music video for "Lost and Running" was also included, and was dubbed The Twelfth Man.[13] A collector's edition, including a CD and DVD, was released on 18 April 2008.[14][15]
Several songs from the album were launched to
The first single from Dream Days at the Hotel Existence was "Lost and Running" and the video clip, which was directed by Damon Escott and Stephen Lance of Head Pictures, began showing in Australia on 21 April 2007. The single made its Australian radio debut on 16 April 2007, but had been available for several days beforehand on the Powderfinger's MySpace web page. An exclusive early release of the song was played by Triple J on 13 April 2007. "Lost and Running" reached number five on the ARIA singles chart.[17]
The second single from the album was "I Don't Remember". The film clip for the song was created by Fifty Fifty Films, who have created music videos for the group before including "Passenger" and "Like a Dog". The song was aired on radio on 9 July 2007, the music video was released in July, and the CD single was released for sales on 4 August 2007.[18] The video was shot at Samford State School in Powderfinger's home city of Brisbane and features many of the school's students.[19]
On 16 November 2007, it was announced that the third single from Dream Days at the Hotel Existence would be the album's sixth track, "Nobody Sees". A video was released on the same day as the announcement and the single is set to be released as a digital single on 1 December 2007.[20] In February 2008, Powderfinger announced the release of the album's fourth single, "Who Really Cares (Featuring the Sound of Insanity)".[21]
Critical reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [22] |
Brisbane Times | mixed[23] |
Herald Sun | mixed[24] |
Rolling Stone | [25] |
The Sunday Times (WA) | [26] |
The Sydney Morning Herald | mixed[27] |
Cameron Adams of
AllMusic's Clayton Bolger drew comparisons to Internationalist in his review, which gave the album three and a half stars. He said the album contained "all the trademarks of classic Powderfinger", praising Fanning's vocals, Middleton and Haug's "twin-guitar attack", Collins' basslines and Coghill's "powerhouse drum work". While praising "I Don't Remember" as an excellent anthem, and "Surviving" for containing "a sonic blast of rock", he was critical of "Lost and Running", which he said felt "tired and sluggish", while "Ballad of a Dead Man" was described as "tedious".[22]
Track listing
All songs were written and performed by Powderfinger with performances by pianist Benmont Tench.[4]
- "Head Up in the Clouds" – 3:47
- "I Don't Remember" – 3:41
- "Lost and Running" – 3:42
- "Wishing on the Same Moon" – 4:32
- "Who Really Cares (Featuring the Sound of Insanity)" – 5:10
- "Nobody Sees" – 4:14
- "Surviving" – 3:45
- "Long Way to Go" – 3:46
- "Black Tears" – 2:30
- "Ballad of a Dead Man" – 5:29
- "Drifting Further Away" – 3:40
Bonus tracks
Limited edition bonus DVD
Released under the titles Powderfinger's First XI and The Twelfth Man, the bonus DVD features eleven music videos by Powderfinger spanning their entire recording career, and also includes the launch single to Dream Days at the Hotel Existence, "Lost and Running".[4]
Powderfinger's First XI
- "Tail" – 4:24
- "Living Type" – 3:25
- "Pick You Up" – 3:30
- "Passenger" – 4:39
- "Good Day Ray"[C] – 1:50
- "Don't Wanna Be Left Out" – 2:18
- "My Kind of Scene" – 4:31
- "Like a Dog" – 4:41
- "On My Mind"[D] – 3:40
- "Sunsets" (Acoustic version) – 3:57
- "Bless My Soul" – 4:06
- The Twelfth Man: "Lost and Running" – 3:52
Notes:
- ^ A. "Down by the Dam" was included as a bonus track on the version of the album released on the iTunes Store, and was included on the CD of the single "Lost and Running".
- ^ B. "Glory Box" was included as a bonus track on the UK version of the album. The song is a Portishead cover and is taken from the No Man's Woman album.
- ^ C. Generally listed as "Good-Day Ray", however it is listed without a hyphen on the CD insert and DVD.
- ^ C. The video and single for the song "(Baby I've Got You) On My Mind" were released simply as "On My Mind" without the bracketed title, and the song is listed as such on the DVD.
Commercial performance
The album debuted in the
Charts
Weekly charts
Chart (2007–08) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (ARIA)[33] | 1 |
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[34] | 22 |
Year-end charts
Chart (2007) | Position |
---|---|
Australia (ARIA) Albums [35] | 6 |
Australian Artist Albums Chart[36] | 2 |
Chart (2008) | Position |
Australian Artist Albums Chart[37] | 46 |
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA)[38] | 3× Platinum | 210,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
"Black Tears" controversy
On 2 May 2007, "
Touring
Tickets for a nationwide tour of
Powderfinger announced the Across the Great Divide tour on 12 June 2007. The band were accompanied on the nationwide concert tour by Australian rock group Silverchair. The tour is featured not only in the capital cities, but in fourteen Australian and New Zealand regional centres as well. According to Fanning, "the idea is to show both bands are behind the idea of reconciliation [of Indigenous Australians]."[52]
Personnel
Powderfinger
- Bernard Fanning – guitar and vocals
- John Collins – bass guitar
- Ian Haug – guitars
- Darren Middleton – guitars and backing vocals
- Jon Coghill – drums
- Cody Anderson – backup drummer
Additional musicians
- Benmont Tench – piano and keyboards
Production
- Rob Schnapf – producer
- Doug Boehm – engineer[53][54]
See also
References
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- ^ "New Powderfinger Album Details". Music News. Triple J. Retrieved 9 July 2007.
- ^ McCabe, Kathy (13 May 2007). "Powderfinger's blitz". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2 October 2007.
- ^ a b c "Dream Days at the Hotel Existence". Play4Me. Archived from the original on 22 May 2007. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
- ^ "Dream Days at the Hotel Existence". Music Reviews. Triple J. Retrieved 28 May 2007.
- PerthNow. News.com.au. Retrieved 10 November 2007.
- ^ "Powderfinger Biography". Take40. Archived from the original on 4 June 2007. Retrieved 9 July 2007.
- ^ The Courier Mail. News.com.au. Retrieved 10 November 2007.
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- ^ Dream Days at the Hotel Existence cover art
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- ^ "Powderfinger to play the O2 wireless festival! New single on the radio next week!". Powderfinger.com.au. 27 February 2008. Archived from the original on 3 March 2008. Retrieved 27 February 2008.
- ^ a b Bolger, Clayton. "(Dream Days at the Hotel Existence > Overview)". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 January 2008.
- ^ Zuel, Bernard. "Review: Dream Days at the Hotel Existence". Brisbane Times. Archived from the original on 30 September 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
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- ^ "2007 Album Accreditations". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 15 May 2011. Retrieved 1 October 2007.
- ^ Cashmere, Paul (12 June 2007). "40,000 Powderfinger Fans Can't Be Wrong". Undercover Media. Archived from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 11 November 2007.
- ^ "Powderfinger Newsletter - 13 June 2007". Newsletters. Powderfinger. Archived from the original on 22 October 2007. Retrieved 11 November 2007.
- ^ "Australiancharts.com – Powderfinger – Dream Days at the Hotel Existence". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
- ^ "Charts.nz – Powderfinger – Dream Days at the Hotel Existence". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
- ^ "2007 ARIA ALBUMS CHART". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
- ^ "End of Year Charts – ARIA Top 100 Albums 2007". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
- ^ "End of Year Charts – ARIA Top 100 Albums 2008". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
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- The Courier Mail. News.com.au. 2 May 2007. Retrieved 28 May 2007.
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- Sydney Morning Herald. 13 June 2007. Page 3.
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