Leave a Whisper

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Leave a Whisper
Shinedown leave a whisper.jpg
Studio album by
Shinedown
ReleasedMay 27, 2003
Recorded2002–2003
StudioHenson Recording Studios and The Blue Room (Los Angeles)
Length47:01
LabelAtlantic
Producer
Shinedown chronology
Leave a Whisper
(2003) 		Us and Them
(2005)
Singles from Leave a Whisper
  1. "Fly from the Inside"
    Released: March 25, 2003
  2. "45"
    Released: July 29, 2003
  3. "Simple Man"
    Released: June 15, 2004
  4. "Burning Bright"
    Released: July 13, 2004

Leave a Whisper is the debut studio album by American rock band Shinedown. The album was released on May 27, 2003, faring well due to the success of the singles "Fly from the Inside" and "45". Recording took place at Henson Recording Studios and The Blue Room, both in Los Angeles. Leave a Whisper paved the way for Shinedown's successful second album, Us and Them, and was re-released on June 15, 2004, to incorporate a cover version of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man". The album's singles also fared well, with "Fly from the Inside" reaching No. 5, "45" reaching No. 3, "Simple Man" reaching No. 5, and "Burning Bright" reaching No. 2 on the US Mainstream Rock list.

Leave a Whisper is Shinedown's second best-selling album. On August 17, 2004, it was certified gold for 500,000 copies sold, and by October 21, 2005, the album had sold one million copies in the US, and was certified platinum by the RIAA.[1]

Background[]

Prior to the album's release, frontman Brent Smith had been working with his prior band, "Dreve", which had signed a record deal with Atlantic Records in 2000.[2] The record label, unhappy with Dreve as a whole, dropped the band prior to releasing an album, but retained Smith, who they felt was worth developing separately as an artist.[3] Atlantic signed Smith to a development deal where record representatives helped him with his song-writing ability, and helped him recruit members for a new band, which would become Shinedown.[3][4] Smith moved to Jacksonville, Florida and began work on the project in 2001.[5] The first member he recruited was bassist Brad Stewart, through local Jacksonville music producer Pete Thornton.[5] Smith and Stewart began recording demos together in a small local studio, whose owner recommended they meet with her fiancé, guitarist Jasin Todd, who Smith brought in as the third member.[5] The original lineup was rounded out by drummer Barry Kerch, who was the seventh drummer the band had auditioned for the spot.[5] The four worked together on creating demos, and submitted their work-in-progress material to Atlantic, who approved of the material and greenlit a full-length album.[5]

Release and promotion[]

The album was released May 27, 2003.[6] While not an immediate success, through the extensive touring and successful singles, eventually went platinum in the United States, indicating sales of over 1 million.[7] Four singles were released from the album "Fly from the Inside", "45", and a cover of the Lynyrd Skynyrd song, "Simple Man", and "Burning Bright". All four singles charted in the top five of the Billboard Mainstream Rock charts, peaking at fifth, third, fifth, and second, respectively.[8][9] The band toured extensively in support of the album, playing over 400 live shows over the course of 2003 and 2004.[10] The band ended up touring for 24 months straight, doing various tours with Van Halen, Seether, and Three Doors Down.[11] The band later released a live DVD titled Live from the Inside that documented the live shows of the touring cycle.[12]

The album was re-released twice. The final three tracks only appear on the enhanced edition, released June 15, 2004. This re-release was prompted due to the popularity of their "Simple Man" cover, which was not present on the original album's release.[13] On July 7, 2009 Shinedown digitally released a deluxe edition of Leave a Whisper, featuring demo material and unused tracks from the recording sessions.[14]

Reception[]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic2/5 stars[15]
Melodic4/5 stars[16]

AllMusic compared Leave a Whisper to that of post-grunge acts like Creed, Puddle of Mudd, and a modern-day Alice in Chains. They go on to state "Coupled with a plodding, two-dimensional sound varying little from song to song, let alone from the sound of its peers, Shinedown's debut offers scant hope that heavy music will right itself from the nasty stumble of its last few years."[15] According to Melodic, the album will satisfy fans of bands like Depswa and Saliva.[16]

Track listing[]

No.TitleMusicLength
1."Fly from the Inside"
3:55
2."Left Out"
3:51
3."Lost in the Crowd"
3:58
4."No More Love"
  • Smith
  • Marlette
  • Todd
  • Tony Battaglia
3:46
5."Better Version"
  • Smith
  • Marlette
  • Stewart
3:45
6."Burning Bright"
  • Smith
  • Battaglia
3:46
7."In Memory"
  • Smith
  • Beato
  • Stewart
4:04
8."All I Ever Wanted"
  • Smith
  • Stewart
  • Todd
4:12
9."Stranger Inside"
  • Smith
  • Beato
4:01
10."Lacerated"
  • Smith
  • Battaglia
  • Stewart
  • Todd
4:00
11."Crying Out"
  • Smith
  • Marlette
  • Todd
3:34
12."45"
  • Smith
  • Battaglia
4:09
Total length:47:01
The Sanford Sessions: enhanced edition bonus tracks
No.TitleMusicLength
13."Simple Man" (Lynyrd Skynyrd cover)
  • Gary Rossington
  • Ronnie Van Zant
5:20
14."Burning Bright" (Sanford mix) 3:44
15."45" (acoustic) 4:34
Total length:60:39
Deluxe edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
16."Simple Man" (rock version)4:25
17."Leave a Whisper" (Leave a Whisper sessions)3:36
18."Start Over" (Leave a Whisper sessions)4:32
19."Soon Forgotten" (demo)3:33
20."No More Love" (demo)3:46
21."Falling Fearless" (demo)4:39
22."Left Out" (demo)3:36
23."Emptiness Man" (demo)2:51
24."Notice Me" (demo)4:03
25."Fly from the Inside" (live acoustic)3:59
Total length:99:39

Personnel[]

Band

  • Brent Smith – lead vocals
  • Jasin Todd – guitars, lap steel, theremin, sitar
  • Brad Stewart – bass
  • Barry Kerch – drums, percussion

Additional personnel

  • Bob Marlette – producer, engineer (tracks 1, 2, 4-6, 10, 11)
  • Tony Battaglia – engineer, mixing, producer (tracks 12-15)
  • Rick Beato – engineer, producer (tracks 3, 7-9)
  • Andy Wallace – mixing (tracks 1, 2, 4-6, 10, 11)
  • Randy Staub – mixing (tracks 3, 7-9)
  • Steven Marshall – additional guitar on "45"

Chart positions[]

Album
Chart positions US sales RIAA
certification
[1] 		International
sales
US
[17]
53 1,255,293 Platinum 1,500,000+
Singles
Year Song US US Alt.
[18] 		US Main.
2003 "Fly from the Inside" — 34 5
"45" — 12 3
2004 "Simple Man" — 40 5
"Burning Bright" 107dagger 22 2

dagger"Burning Bright" reached No. 7 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "RIAA Gold and Platinum search for albums by Shinedown". Retrieved September 13, 2009.
  2. ^ Hester, James (November 23, 2016). Rock Scars. iUniverse. ISBN 9781440127731 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b "Songwriting and Second Chances with Brent Smith of Shinedown - Atlantic Records Official Blog".
  4. ^ "Shinedown Biography and Profile".
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e "Interview with Shinedown". Metal-Rules.com. Retrieved December 7, 2011.
  6. ^ "Leave a Whisper - Shinedown | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  7. ^ "Shinedown front man finds a new way of life during making of 'Amaryllis'".
  8. ^ [1][dead link]
  9. ^ [2][dead link]
  10. ^ "Us and Them - Shinedown - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic".
  11. ^ "Shinedown Have Taken A Shine To Being On The Road". MTV News.
  12. ^ "Shinedown - Biography & History - AllMusic".
  13. ^ "Leave a Whisper ENHANCED". Amazon.com. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
  14. ^ "Leave a Whisper Deluxe". Amazon.com. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
  15. ^ Jump up to: a b Johnny Loftus (May 27, 2003). "Leave a Whisper - Shinedown | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
  16. ^ Jump up to: a b "Shinedown – Leave a Whisper (album review)". Melodic. Retrieved July 16, 2011.
  17. ^ "Leave a Whisper [Bonus Tracks] – Shinedown". Billboard.
  18. ^ "Shinedown Alternative Songs Chart History". Billboard.

External links[]

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