Rize of the Fenix
Rize of the Fenix | ||||
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Singles from Rize of the Fenix | ||||
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Rize of the Fenix is the third studio album by American rock band
Background and recording
In November 2006, Jack Black expressed wishes to take a year-long break from acting, though Kyle Gass hinted a desire for Tenacious D to end at their current highpoint.[1] However, Black confirmed that a third album would be recorded by announcing that a new song has been written for it entitled "Deth Starr". He said that the album would likely be released in 2010,[2] but on other occasions he mentioned the year 2012.[3][4] In early 2008, Black announced that the band was working on a new album, Gass later commented that the new album only has "one to one and a half" songs written for it, and would like to write between twelve and fifteen.[5]
Music magazine Billboard quoted Black as revealing that "We just laid down a hot [...] we're calling it the bomb track. It's a very powerful recording called "Deth Starr" [...] so it has nothing to do with the Star Wars [Death Star]," adding that "It's kind of sci-fi, doomsday rock."[6] Black also stated on the Late Show with David Letterman that he had an idea for a song called "Rise of the Phoenix", which he described as a "rise from the ashes" workout song similar to "Eye of the Tiger". He performed a vocal sample of the song along to keyboards.
At one point, Gass hinted that the band's third album may be called Tenacious D 3-D, reasoning that "It's the third record, so it should probably be 'Tenacious 3-D.' There's going to be a '3' and a 'D,' so you have to connect them."[7] Dave Grohl confirmed that he would appear as the drummer on the album, after performing on both Tenacious D and The Pick of Destiny.[8] In an interview with Spinner.com in December 2010, Black revealed that the band was "about halfway through the writing process" for its new album, telling fans to expect the release of new material "at the end of 2011".[9] In terms of lyrical themes for the new songs, Black noted that "We're gonna be talking about love, there are gonna be some songs about sex and there's gonna be songs about food".[9]
In a May 2011 interview at
Release and promotion
In February 2012, it was revealed that the title of the album would in fact be spelled Rize of the Fenix and was released on May 15, 2012.[12][13] A music video for "To Be the Best" was released on The A.V. Club on March 26, 2012.[14] It guest stars Maria Menounos, Tim Robbins, Val Kilmer, Jimmy Kimmel, Dave Grohl, Yoshiki, and Josh Groban.[15] On April 18, 2012 a video was released on the Tenacious D YouTube channel titled 'Where Have We Been'. The iTunes pre-order bonus track "5 Needs" was originally performed by Tenacious D in their cameo in the 1996 film Bio-Dome. The band released the album without bonus tracks on April 28, 2012 on their SoundCloud account, to counteract the leaking of the music video for "Rize of the Fenix". The video was also released for free on May 1 on iTunes. Prior to the album's release, the duo appeared on the Nerdist Podcast, episode 194;[citation needed] they played "To Be the Best" and "Roadie" from the album, as well as "Double Team" from their first album and the Star Trek theme, a staple of their live shows. The next Tenacious D music video was for "Roadie", released on May 8 via Funny or Die.[16] The video featured Danny McBride as the Roadie. The band exclusively released a track-by-track commentary of the album on Spotify.[17] The fourth music video to be released was for "Low Hangin' Fruit" on May 17, 2012.[18] In early 2020, as a part of virtual comedy festival COVID is No Joke, the band released the music video for the song "5 Needs" for free.[19]
Reception
In December 2012, the album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album.
Aggregate scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Pop Matters | 2/10 link |
Rolling Stone | link |
Spin | 6/10 link |
Commercial performance
On 16 May 2012,
On 18 May 2012, in a mid-week chart update in the US, the
The album is the highest-selling comedy album of 2012 selling 113,000 copies in the US.[30]
Critical response
Upon its release, Rize of the Fenix received generally favorable reviews from music critics with an aggregate score of 64/100 on Metacritic, based on thirteen reviews.[20]
Mark Harris of Upstart Magazine commended the production quality, saying it was "the most tightly composed material the duo has ever created". Harris pointed out that the duo's maturity as performers was showing, noting that although it made their material less crass, it allowed them to stray from being a "one punchline joke".
Maura Johnstone from
Track listing
All tracks are written by Jack Black and Kyle Gass, except where noted
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Rize of the Fenix" | Black, Gass, John Kimbrough | 5:53 |
2. | "Low Hangin' Fruit" | 2:31 | |
3. | "Classical Teacher" (Skit) | Black, Gass, J. D. Ryznar | 3:23 |
4. | "Señorita" | Black, Gass, Kimbrough | 3:08 |
5. | "Deth Starr" | 4:46 | |
6. | "Roadie" | 2:58 | |
7. | "Flutes & Trombones" (Skit) | Black, Gass, Bob Odenkirk | 1:28 |
8. | "The Ballad of Hollywood Jack and the Rage Kage" | 5:05 | |
9. | "Throw Down" | 2:56 | |
10. | "Rock Is Dead" | 1:44 | |
11. | "They Fucked Our Asses" | 1:08 | |
12. | "To Be the Best" | 1:00 | |
13. | "39" | 5:16 | |
Total length: | 41:16 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
14. | "5 Needs" | 1:36 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
14. | "Quantum Leap" | 3:50 |
15. | "Rivers of Brown" | 1:23 |
No. | Title | Director | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Low Hangin' Fruit" | Liam Lynch | 2:32 |
2. | "Where Have We Been" | Lynch | 1:30 |
3. | "Tale of the Fenix" | Lynch | 1:51 |
4. | "Rock Is Dead" | Lynch | 1:42 |
5. | "Roadie" | Jody Hill | 7:06 |
6. | "Rize of the Fenix" (exclusive to EMP version) | Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan | 3:59 |
Total length: | 14:41 |
Personnel
- Jack Black – vocals, acoustic guitar ("Rize of the Fenix", "Deth Starr" and "They Fucked Our Asses")
- Kyle Gass – acoustic guitar, backing vocals ("Rize of the Fenix", "Low Hangin' Fruit", "Deth Starr", "Roadie", "Quantum Leap" and "Rivers of Brown"), percussion ("Señorita"), flute ("Flutes & Trombones"), recorder ("The Ballad of Hollywood Jack and the Rage Kage")
- Dave Grohl – drums (all songs except for "The Ballad of Hollywood Jack and the Rage Kage" and "They Fucked Our Asses")
- John Konesky – electric guitar, classical guitar ("Señorita"), lap steel guitar ("Deth Starr")
- John Spiker – bass, piano ("Rize of the Fenix", "Roadie", "The Ballad of Hollywood Jack and the Rage Kage" and "39"), organ ("Rize of the Fenix" and "39"), percussion ("Señorita"), vocals ("Quantum Leap"), engineering and mixing(all tracks)
- Scott Seiver – percussion ("Low Hangin' Fruit", "Señorita", "The Ballad of Hollywood Jack and the Rage Kage", "39" and "Quantum Leap"), drums ("The Ballad of Hollywood Jack and the Rage Kage" and "They Fucked Our Asses")
- Jon Brion – bass, synthesizers and mellotron ("The Ballad of Hollywood Jack and the Rage Kage")
- Chris Bautista – trumpet ("Señorita")
- Page McConnell – synthesizers ("Deth Starr")
- Andrew Gross – string arrangements ("Roadie")
- Mike Hoy – trombone ("Flutes & Trombones")
- Christopher Wray – lap steel guitar ("39")
- John Kimbrough – production (all tracks except "Deth Starr"), acoustic guitar ("Señorita" and "The Ballad of Hollywood Jack and the Rage Kage"), synthesizers ("Throw Down" and "Rock Is Dead"), mellotron ("Señorita"), programming ("Señorita" and "The Ballad of Hollywood Jack and the Rage Kage"), horn arrangements ("Rize of the Fenix"), string arrangements ("Roadie")
- John King– production ("Deth Starr")
- Josh Wilbur – engineering
- Andrew Clark – engineering assistance
- mastering
- James Krewson – artwork
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United Kingdom (BPI)[77] | Silver | 60,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Release history
- Physical releases
Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalog | Ref. |
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Germany | May 11, 2012 | Sony Music
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Compact Disc | ||
LP record | |||||
United Kingdom | May 14, 2012 | Columbia Records | Compact Disc | 88691952322 | |
United States | May 15, 2012 | Columbia Records | Compact Disc | ||
LP record | |||||
Japan | May 23, 2012 | Sony Music | Compact Disc | SICP3490 |
- Digital releases
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References
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