Sam's Town

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This article is about the album by The Killers. For the casinos, see Sam's Town Hotel and Gambling Hall (disambiguation).
Sam's Town
File:The Killers - Sam's Town.png
Studio album by The Killers
Released October 2, 2006 (2006-10-02)
Recorded February–June 2006
Studio <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Genre
Length 44:14
Label Island
Producer
The Killers chronology
Hot Fuss
(2004)Hot Fuss2004		 Sam's Town
(2006)		 Sawdust
(2007)Sawdust2007
Singles from Sam's Town
  1. "When You Were Young"
    Released: September 18, 2006
  2. "Bones"
    Released: November 27, 2006
  3. "Read My Mind"
    Released: February 13, 2007
  4. "For Reasons Unknown"
    Released: June 25, 2007
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 64/100[2]
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 3/5 stars[3]
Blender 4/5 stars[4]
Entertainment Weekly C[5]
The Guardian 4/5 stars[6]
NME 8/10[7]
Pitchfork Media 5.9/10[8]
Q 4/5 stars[9]
Rolling Stone 2/5 stars[10]
Slant Magazine 3/5 stars[11]
Spin 3/5 stars[12]

Sam's Town is the second studio album by American rock band The Killers, released on October 2, 2006 in the United Kingdom and the following day in the United States. Regarding the album, vocalist and primary lyricist Brandon Flowers noted that he "wanted to create an album that captured, chronologically, everything important that got me to where I am today".[13] As of April 2011, Sam's Town had sold over 4.5 million copies worldwide.[14]

Background

The album takes its name from Sam's Town Hotel and Gambling Hall, a hotel and casino in Las Vegas, the band's hometown. It is also a local nickname for Las Vegas. Sam's Town was also a huge sign that was visible by band member Mark Stoermer through his room window when he was young.

Artwork

According to photographer Anton Corbijn, the band initially wanted a "chic, gypsy look," for the album, and that "out of those discussions [for the sleeve] came these elements of faded glory."[15] The album's co-producer, Flood, is dressed as a Native American in the CD booklet. The artwork inside the album booklet is taken from a Downtown Las Vegas mural painted by Suzanne Hackett-Morgan, a local painter. The cover artwork of 'Sam's Town' features model and singer Felice LaZae. Sam's Town, and each of the singles from Sam's Town, use a script typeface for the titles, Archive Roundhand Script from Archive Type, or Gigofonts' Gf Script No 2.

Production

The album is said to be influenced by the works of U2, Duran Duran, Bruce Springsteen, The Beatles, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Electric Light Orchestra & Dire Straits among others.[16][17] Sam's Town strongly divided opinion, with some praising the album and others mocking it.[18][19]

In the October 2006 issue of Giant magazine, Flowers was quoted as saying that Sam's Town would be "one of the best albums in the past twenty years" and in Entertainment Weekly he remarked that it would be "the album that keeps rock & roll afloat."

Flowers later said of production techniques used on the record, "We didn't use too many vocal effects. On the first album, we used auto-tune, and I didn't even realize what was going on with these machines and the computer. I was adamant about not using it this time. You really hear what my voice sounds like, for the first time."[20]

The Killers dropped a controversial song about murdered schoolgirl Jodi Jones from the album. Flowers wrote "Where Is She?" after watching a TV news report about the 14-year old's murder when on tour in Scotland."[21]

Reception

The album debuted at number 2 on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling about 315,000 copies in its first week. It became the band's second number 1 album on the UK Albums Chart, selling about 260,000 copies in its first week. It has been certified Platinum or multi-Platinum in the US, UK, Australia, Canada, Argentina, and Ireland. Sam's Town also produced multiple charting singles including the Platinum chart topping single "When You Were Young". It was the second album by The Killers to receive Grammy nominations.

Despite being panned by Rolling Stone with a two star rating, in December 2009 Sam's Town was voted by Rolling Stone's readers as the most underrated album of the decade.[22]

Q magazine ranked it as the 11th best album of the decade.[23]

Tour

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Main article: Sam's Town Tour

Christian Hoard, with Rolling Stone magazine, gave The Killers' seminal concert at Madison Square Gardens three-and-a-half stars, saying "The Vegas quartet's maligned new album, Sam's Town, might pack more unfortunate big-rock bombast than its new wave debut, Hot Fuss, but it shares a generous hook quotient and a Vegas-y talent for crowd-pleasing. Before a frothy crowd, the Killers proved they've become a tight live band."[24]

Track listing

All songs produced by Flood, Alan Moulder and The Killers.

No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Sam's Town"   Brandon Flowers 4:05
2. "Enterlude"     0:49
3. "When You Were Young"  
3:39
4. "Bling (Confession of a King)"  
  • Flowers
  • Stoermer
 4:08
5. "For Reasons Unknown"   Flowers 3:32
6. "Read My Mind"  
  • Flowers
  • Keuning
  • Stoermer
 4:06
7. "Uncle Jonny"  
  • Flowers
  • Keuning
  • Stoermer
 4:25
8. "Bones"  
  • Flowers
  • Stoermer
  • Vannucci
 3:46
9. "My List"   Flowers 4:08
10. "This River Is Wild"  
  • Flowers
  • Stoermer
 4:38
11. "Why Do I Keep Counting?"   Flowers 4:23
12. "Exitlude"     2:24

Personnel

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Argentina (CAPIF)[68] Gold 20,000
Australia (ARIA)[69] 2× Platinum 140,000
Belgium (BEA)[70] Gold  
Canada (Music Canada)[71] 2× Platinum 200,000
Germany (BVMI)[72] Gold 100,000
Ireland (IRMA)[73] 4× Platinum 60,000
New Zealand (RMNZ)[74] 2× Platinum 30,000
Russia (NFPF)[75] Gold 10,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[76] 5× Platinum 1,484,313[77]
United States (RIAA)[78] Platinum 1,300,000[79]
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[80] Platinum 1,000,000

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Awards

Year Ceremony Award Result
2007 BRIT Awards Best International Album Won
MTV Australia Awards Album of the Year Nominated
Shockwaves NME Awards Best Album Nominated
Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
Q[81] UK Q Artists and Albums of the 21st Century 2010 11
Rolling Stone[22] US Most Underrated Album of the Decade: Readers' Poll 2010 1

Release history

Region Date Label Format Catalog no.
Japan September 27, 2006 Universal CD UICL-9037
Australia September 30, 2006 Universal Music Australia CD 1706722
United Kingdom October 2, 2006 Lizard King Records CD
United States October 3, 2006 Island Records picture disc LP B0007221-01
CD B0007221-02

References

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  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  16. ↑ Playlouder – Latest
  17. ↑ http://angryape.com/reviews/2006/09/the-killers-when-you-were-young The Killers – When You Were Young [Universal] – Reviews – AngryApe]
  18. ↑ Rolling Stone review at the Wayback Machine (archived October 17, 2006)
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  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 http://www.rollingstone.com/music/blogs/staff-blog/readers-rock-list-most-underrated-album-of-the-decade-20091214
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Hoard, Christian (November 16, 2006), "The Killers".Rolling Stone. (1013):133
  25. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – The Killers – Sam's Town". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  26. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – The Killers – Sam's Town" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  27. ↑ "Ultratop.be – The Killers – Sam's Town" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 26, 2012.
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  29. ↑ "The Killers – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for The Killers. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  30. ↑ "Danishcharts.com – The Killers – Sam's Town". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
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  35. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – The Killers – Sam's Town" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
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  37. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 42, 2006". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved June 26, 2012.
  38. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – The Killers – Sam's Town". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
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  42. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – The Killers – Sam's Town". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  43. ↑ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLIS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
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  48. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – The Killers – Sam's Town". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  49. ↑ "Killers | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  50. ↑ "The Killers – Chart history" Billboard 200 for The Killers. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  51. ↑ "The Killers – Chart history" Billboard Top Rock Albums for The Killers. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
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  76. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Enter Sam's Town in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
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  78. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
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