Thirteenth Step
Thirteenth Step | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
North Hollywood, California) | ||||
Genre | ||||
Length | 50:36 | |||
Label | Virgin | |||
Producer |
| |||
A Perfect Circle chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Thirteenth Step | ||||
|
Thirteenth Step is the second studio album by American
Background
Writing and recording
The band's writing process was very different from the band's first album,
Writing for the album started while Keenan was still touring with his other band,
Once touring for Tool was over with, Keenan returned to the studio to work in person with the rest of the band on the album. The sessions were, as such, marked with far more collaboration, especially between Howerdel and Keenan, now that Howerdel knew who his vocalist was, and what types of ideas he'd support.
Concept and themes
"I don't think the album is specifically for people who are going through recovery, although that metaphor is absolutely present. Many of the songs are sung from the perspectives of recovery: from the perspective of a person who is in denial about a loved one, and from the drug perspective itself — the perspective of a person who is starting to realize that there is an issue, and of a person who is ready to deal with it."[12]
Lyricist Maynard James Keenan on the album's concept.
Thirteenth Step is a concept album about the different aspects and perspectives of
"The songs on Thirteenth Step for the most part are about the various processes of addiction, behavioral addictions, chemical addictions, and each song is kind of sung from a different perspective. I have a lot of friends who've gone through a lot of these situations. Some of the songs are sung from the perspective of the actual drug, from the perspective of someone who has realized that they have an issue or a problem, also from the perspective of a person who realizes that if they don't do something they're going to die, a song from the perspective of a person who is in denial about a loved one, dying right before their eyes. And in the case of "The Outsider", it's sung from the perspective of a person who doesn't understand at all what their friend is going through, what their loved one is going through, and they think that it's more like a sprained ankle; they can just kind of walk it off."[14]
Keenan, not having struggled with addiction first-hand, drew from experiencing it happen to others around him, such as
"The Nurse Who Loved Me" is a cover of the song by
Release and promotion
The album was released on September 16, 2003, and debuted at number 2 on the
The band toured extensively for the rest of 2003 and in early 2004 in support of the album. Just prior to the 2004 Presidential Election, the band released Emotive, a collection of political war cover songs, which contained "Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums", which was a reinterpretation of the track "Pet", and a remix album titled Amotion, which contained remixed versions of the tracks across their three albums, including the three singles from Thirteenth Step.
Critical reception
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Q | 6/10[24] |
Rolling Stone | [25] |
Spin | 4/10[3] |
Media reception to Thirteenth Step was generally favorable; aggregating website Metacritic reported a rating of 74 percent based on 11 critical reviews.[26] AllMusic strongly praised the album for having "the sound of a musical and lyrical maturity that normally doesn't occur until a band's third or fourth albums", and concluded that "Lyrically, musically, sonically, the Thirteenth Step is proof positive that mainstream rock has plenty of life and vision left in it."[27]
Track listing
All tracks are written by
Note
- The Japanese version of Thirteenth Step includes an exclusive extended version of "The Package" (9:23).
Personnel
|
Additional musicians
Production
|
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
- Singles
Year | Single | Chart | Position |
---|---|---|---|
2003 | "Weak and Powerless" | The Billboard Hot 100 | 61 |
Mainstream Rock Tracks
|
1 | ||
Modern Rock Tracks
|
1 | ||
2004 | "The Outsider" | The Billboard Hot 100 | 79 |
Mainstream Rock Tracks
|
3 | ||
Modern Rock Tracks
|
5 | ||
"Blue" | Mainstream Rock Tracks
|
19 | |
Modern Rock Tracks
|
21 |
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA)[50] | Gold | 35,000^ |
Canada (Music Canada)[51] | Gold | 50,000^ |
New Zealand (RMNZ)[52] | Gold | 7,500^ |
United Kingdom (BPI)[53] | Silver | 60,000‡ |
United States (RIAA)[54] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
References
- ^ "Thirteenth Step - A Perfect Circle | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.
- ^ "A Perfect Circle - Thirteenth Step".
- ^ a b Klosterman, Chuck (September 24, 2013). "A Perfect Circle, 'Thirteenth Step' (Virgin)". Retrieved August 1, 2015.
- ^ "The 30 Best Hard Rock Albums of 2018". Loudwire.
- ^ Billboard.com
- ^ a b c d e f "An Interview with Billy Howerdel of A Perfect Circle - April 14th, 20…". September 10, 2012. Archived from the original on September 10, 2012.
- ^ "Q&A with Billy Howerdel of a Perfect Circle and ASHES dIVIDE". June 30, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f "MTVNews.com: A Perfect Circle: The Pain Of Perfection". archive.is. Archived from the original on June 15, 2013.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Thirteenth Step album liner notes
- ^ a b c "Thirteenth Step - A Perfect Circle - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic.
- ^ a b "A Perfect Circle Agree to Disagree About Single, Art, Everything else". MTV.
- ^ a b "MTVNews.com: Maynard James Keenan: Not Yet A Legend, Not Yet Dead". MTV. June 15, 2013. Archived from the original on June 15, 2013.
- ^ "Album Review: A Perfect Circle – Three Sixty – Renowned for Sound".
- ^ Amotion, A Perfect Circle, DVD commentary
- ^ a b Blabbermouth (November 28, 2007). "A PERFECT CIRCLE Guitarist To Release ASHES DIVIDE Debut In March".
- ^ Blabbermouth (April 18, 2006). "A PERFECT CIRCLE: 'Thirteenth Step' Certified Platinum".
- ^ a b "Thirteenth Step by A Perfect Circle". Metacritic. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
- ^ Jurek, Thom. "Thirteenth Step – A Perfect Circle". AllMusic. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
- Alternative Press, November 2003 issue, p. 110
- ^ Cowen, Nick. "Album review Thirteenth Step". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on August 14, 2011. Retrieved September 4, 2011.
- ^ Thirteenth Step review. Entertainment Weekly, September 19, 2003 issue, p. 86
- ^ Marisa, Bardach. "Album review Thirteenth Step". Kludge. Archived from the original on January 16, 2004. Retrieved September 4, 2011.
- ^ Mojo, November 2003 issue, p. 132
- Q magazine, November 2003, p. 105
- ^ Robert Cherry (October 2, 2003). "Review of Thirteenth Step". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on January 22, 2005. Retrieved January 22, 2005.
- ^ Reviews for Thirteenth Step by A Perfect Circle – Metacritic
- ^ "Jon Brion Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
- ^ "Australiancharts.com – A Perfect Circle – Thirteenth Step". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
- ^ "Austriancharts.at – A Perfect Circle – Thirteenth Step" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – A Perfect Circle – Thirteenth Step" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – A Perfect Circle – Thirteenth Step" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
- ^ "A Perfect Circle Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
- ^ "Danishcharts.dk – A Perfect Circle – {{{album}}}". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – A Perfect Circle – Thirteenth Step" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
- Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
- ^ "Lescharts.com – A Perfect Circle – Thirteenth Step". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
- GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
- ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography artist=A Perfect Circle". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
- ^ "Italiancharts.com – artist=A Perfect Circle – Thirteenth Step". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
- ^ "Charts.nz – A Perfect Circle – Thirteenth Step". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
- ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – A Perfect Circle – Thirteenth Step". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
- ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – A Perfect Circle – Thirteenth Step". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
- ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
- ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – A Perfect Circle – Thirteenth Step". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – A Perfect Circle – Thirteenth Step". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
- ^ "A Perfect Circle Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
- ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2003". Billboard. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
- ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2004 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
- ^ "Canadian album certifications – A Perfect Circle – Thirteenth Step". Music Canada. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
- ^ "New Zealand album certifications – A Perfect Circle – Thirteenth Step". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
- ^ "British album certifications – A Perfect Circle – Thirteenth Step". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
- ^ "American album certifications – A Perfect Circle – Thirteenth Step". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
External links
"Worldwide chart info A Perfect Circle Thirteenth Step". www.ultratop.be. Retrieved September 4, 2011.