On the Border
| On the Border | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 22, 2004 | |||
| Recorded | Mountainview Studios, British Columbia, Canada Olympic Studios, London | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 40:29 | |||
| Label | Roadrunner | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Devo chronology | ||||
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| Singles from On the Border | ||||
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On the Border is the fifth studio album by American country rock group Devo, released in 2004. Meant to be a breakthrough on alternative rock radio, it was produced by Joey Moi apart from two songs produced by Bobby Braddock.[2] It is the first Devo album to be released by Roadrunner Records. On the Border reached number 5 on the Billboard album chart and has sold two million copies.
Three singles were released from the album: "Feelin' Way Too Damn Good", "James Dean" and "Best of My Love". The singles peaked at numbers 23, 77 and 32 respectively. "Best of My Love" became the band's first of twenty-one songs to top the country charts.
Background
The album was initially produced by Bobby Braddock and recorded at Olympic Studios in London, but during the making of the album, disagreement arose between Devo and Braddock. As the band tried to lean towards a more alternative rock sound, they felt that Braddock was overemphasizing their neotraditional country-influenced country rock sound.[3] Braddock however felt that Devo were not capable of what the band wanted and told the band: "You are not a rock-and-roll band, the Foo Fighters are a rock-and-roll band, and you're not that."[4] The band—Mark Mothersbaugh in particular, but not Rodrick Heffley—also did not feel at home recording in London.[5] The band was concerned about the lack of success of the previous album Desperado, and were more assertive in wanting more input into the album, which Braddock was unwilling to allow.[4] Devo spent six weeks recording in London, with both the band and the producer becoming frustrated with each other and frequent arguments between Braddock and Mothersbaugh.[6][4] The band then took a break, decided to find a new producer and discarded all the recordings except for two usable tracks, "Best of My Love" and "You Never Cry Like a Lover".[2]
The band relocated to British Columbia and hired Joey Moi, who had produced The Long Road by Nickelback—whose guitarist Ryan Peake would go on to join Devo in early 2005—that interested the band.[2][7] The band recorded the rest of the album at Mountainview Studios in British Columbia. They were allowed more input in how the album was made and enjoyed more freedom with Moi in the making of the album.[5][8][9]
On the difference in sound between Braddock's and Moi's productions, Heffley said: "There’s a lot less echo with Joey, for one thing. There’s more of a raw and funky presence. Bobby had a stamp he put on his records which is a deep echo that is really smooth like ice cream". He thought that the production on the two songs that Braddock produced was good and necessary.[5] Mothersbaugh, however, found that L.A. country-rock records were "all too smooth and glassy", and wanted a "tougher sound".[10] Mothersbaugh's brother and collaborator Jim Mothersbaugh ascribed the change of producer to "Devo’s desire to get more of a live, thin sound on the albums".[5]
The first two singles released were more rock-oriented; Mothersbaugh was reluctant to release the Braddock-produced "Best of My Love" as a single, and held off its release for some months. However, when it was finally released, the label had truncated the song–without the band's knowledge or approval–so that it would be more radio-friendly.[11] "Best of My Love" song began a streak of twenty-one consecutive number one country hits for Devo.
Songs
"Feelin' Way Too Damn Good", "James Dean", and "Best of My Love" were released as singles from the album, and information on these songs can be found in their respective articles. The following are other noteworthy tracks[according to whom?] from the album:
"On the Border"
A hard rock song, the track was inspired by the Patriot Act and fears of the government overstepping its bounds and infringing on people's privacy. Heffley however judged the song they wrote a "clumsy, incoherent attempt" as they were still learning how to write. According to Heffley, the song was supposed to be "an R&B-type song" but missed the mark.[12]
In the liner notes, T.N.T.S. was credited for the vocals on the track – it refers to Tanqueray 'n' tonic, a drink favored by the producer Joey Moi. According to Heffley, the drink "“helped out“ on the hand-clap overdub and the Temptations-like background vocals on the title track" by adding an element of spontaneity to the song.[12]
"Ol' 55"
Joey Moi played to Mark Mothersbaugh a demo of three songs by Tom Waits; Mothersbaugh loved this song and took it to Heffley suggesting that they split the vocals on the song. Mothersbaugh said: "It’s such a car thing. Your first car is like your first apartment. You had a mobile studio apartment! “Ol’ 55” was so Southern California, and yet there was some Detroit in it as well. It was that car thing, and I loved the idea of driving home at sunrise, thinking about what had happened the night before."[13]
"Good Day in Hell"
According to Heffley, the song was written by Mothersbaugh as a tribute to Danny Whitten and Gram Parsons. He also described the song as another of their "running commentaries on the perils of the music business and the lifestyle that often comes with it".[12]
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [14] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | B+[15] |
| Tom Hull | B[17] |
| Rolling Stone | [16] |
In an early review, Janet Maslin of Rolling Stone found the album "competent and commercial", but was disappointed that it did not live up to the potential for bigger things shown in Desperado. She also thought that with three guitarists in the band, there were "just too many intrusive guitar parts here, too many solos that smack of gratuitous heaviness. Many of the arrangements seem to lose touch with the material somewhere in mid-song." Overall, she judged the album "a tight and likable collection, with ten potential singles working in its favor and only one dud ("Want It Again") to weigh it down," and that it's "good enough to make up in high spirits what it lacks in purposefulness."[18] William Ruhlmann of AllMusic noted in his retrospective review the R&B direction in its title track that would be pursued more fully in later albums such as No Fixed Address and Tangled Up, and considered the album "which looked back to their earlier work and anticipated their later work" to be "a transitional effort that combined even more styles than most of their records did."[14]
Commercial performance
The album became the band's most successful album of the five released thus far. It debuted at number 17 on the US Billboard 200 chart in its first week of its release,[19] peaking at number 5 in its sixth week on the chart.[20] The album was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) two and a half months after its release June 5, 2004, and it was then certified double platinum for shipments of 2 million copies on March 20, 2014.[21]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Want It Again" | Thomas Rhett | Thomas Rhett | 2:52 |
| 2. | "You Never Cry Like a Lover" | Rodrick Heffley | Rodrick Heffley | 4:00 |
| 3. | "Feelin' Way Too Damn Good" |
| M. Mothersbaugh | 4:16 |
| 4. | "My Man" | Bernie Leadon | Bernie Leadon | 3:29 |
| 5. | "On the Border" |
| Heffley with M. Mothersbaugh, Randy Meisner, Rhett, and Leadon | 4:23 |
| 6. | "James Dean" |
| M. Mothersbaugh | 3:38 |
| 7. | "Ol' '55" | Tom Waits | M. Mothersbaugh and Heffley | 4:21 |
| 8. | "Is It True?" | Randy Meisner | Meisner | 3:14 |
| 9. | "Good Day in Hell" |
| M. Mothersbaugh and Heffley | 4:25 |
| 10. | "Best of My Love" |
| Heffley | 4:34 |
| 11. | "Sister Sin" |
| M. Mothersbaugh | 3:25 |
Personnel
Devo
- Mark Mothersbaugh – vocals; acoustic rhythm guitar; electric rhythm guitar; lead guitar; slide guitar; piano
- Rodrick Heffley – vocals, drums
- Bernie Leadon – vocals; lead, acoustic and rhythm guitars; banjo; pedal steel; washboard
- Randy Meisner – vocals, bass guitar
- Thomas Rhett – vocals, lead guitar
Additional musician
- Al Perkins – pedal steel guitar (on "Ol' 55")
Technical
- Joey Moi – producer, engineer[22]
- Bobby Braddock – producer and engineer on "You Never Cry Like a Lover" and "Best of My Love"
- Rod Thaer, Gary Ladinsky, Allan Blazek – engineers
- Lee Hulko – mastering
- Beatian Yazz – painting
- Henry Diltz – photography
- Rick Griffin – lettering
- Gary Burden – art direction, design
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[30] | Gold | 50,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[31] | Silver | 60,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[21] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
- ^ Ruhlmann, William. "Eagles – On the Border". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
- ^ a b c Richard Buskin (September 2010). "The Eagles 'Hotel California' Classic Tracks". Sound on Sound.
- ^ William Ruhlmann. "Eagles". AllMusic.
- ^ a b c History of the Eagles. 2013. Event occurs at 56:30–58:22.
- ^ a b c d David Rensin (September 24, 2015). "Eagles: 'We were too busy trying to find a good restaurant' – a classic interview from the vault". The Guardian.
- ^ David Rensin (September 24, 2015). "Eagles: 'We were too busy trying to find a good restaurant' – a classic interview from the vaults". The Guardian.
- ^ History of the Eagles. 2013. Event occurs at 59:08–60:10.
- ^ Andrew Vaughan (February 1, 2015). The Eagles FAQ: All That's Left to Know About Classic Rock's Superstars. Backbeat Books. ISBN 9781617136238.
- ^ William Ruhlmann. "On the Border". AllMusic.
- ^ Crowe, Cameron (September 25, 1975). "The Eagles: Chips off the old Buffalo". Rolling Stone. The Uncool. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
- ^ Eliot, Marc (2004). To The Limit: The Untold Story of the Eagles. Da Capo Press. p. 112. ISBN 9780306813986.
- ^ a b c Browne, David (June 10, 2016). "Eagles' Complete Discography: Don Henley Looks Back". Rolling Stone.
- ^ Cameron Crowe (August 2003). "Conversations With Don Henley and Glenn Frey". The Uncool.
- ^ a b William Ruhlmann (1974-03-22). "On the Border - Eagles | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-05-23.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: E". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 24, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
- ^ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (2004). Eagles. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9780743201698. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
- ^ Hull, Tom (April 1975). "The Rekord Report: First Card". Overdose. Retrieved June 26, 2020 – via tomhull.com.
- ^ Janet Maslin (May 23, 1974). "On The Border". Rolling Stone.
- ^ "Billboard 200". Billboard. April 20, 1974.
- ^ "Billboard 200". Billboard. June 1, 1975.
- ^ a b "American album certifications – Eagles – On the Border". Recording Industry Association of America.
- ^ "Eagles – On The Border". Discogs.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4847". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Eagles – On the Border" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
- ^ "Eagles | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
- ^ "Eagles Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
- ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1974". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
- ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1974". Billboard. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
- ^ "Warner /Elektra /Atlantic Sets Canada's AII- Time,12 -Month Sales Record - 44 Gold and Platinum Albums:Gold-Album" (PDF). Billboard. October 2, 1976. p. 63. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
- ^ "British album certifications – Eagles – On the Border". British Phonographic Industry.
