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A Fever You Can't Sweat Out

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Untitled

A Fever You Can't Sweat Out is the debut studio album by American rock band Panic! at the Disco. Recorded primarily at SOMD! Studios in College Park, Maryland with producer Matt Squire, the album was released September 27, 2005 on Decaydance and Fueled by Ramen.

Written and produced during and shortly after the band's graduation from high school, the album was recorded during a short time frame which left the young band exhausted. With lyrics written by former guitarist Ryan Ross, the record covers social issues that the band points on through various songs, and topics such as sanctity of marriage, adultery, alcoholism and prostitution are woven throughout the album.

Bolstered to fame and success by the single "I Write Sins, Not Tragedies", as well as "The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage", the album peaked at No. 13 on the US Billboard 200, spending 66 weeks on the chart. The album received polarizing critical reviews, with many professional music critics appreciating the fun and catchy atmosphere, while other reviewers differed in their opinions toward the originality and sincerity of the record. The album has been certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for the shipment of two million copies. It is by far Panic! at the Disco's most successful release, having sold over 1.8 million copies in the US as of 2011[1] and over 2.2 million copies worldwide.[2]

Background

The band was formed in 2004 in the suburban area of Summerlin, Las Vegas, by childhood friends Ryan Ross on guitar and Spencer Smith on drums. Both teens attended Bishop Gorman High School, and the two began playing music together in ninth grade. They invited friend Brent Wilson from nearby Palo Verde High School to join on bass, and Wilson invited classmate Brendon Urie to try out on guitar.[3] The quartet soon began rehearsing in Smith's grandmother's living room.[4] Urie grew up in a Mormon family in Las Vegas and early on skipped rehearsals to go to church.[5] Ross initially was the lead vocalist for the group, but upon hearing Urie singing back-up during an early rehearsal, they unanimously decided to move him to lead.[6] The teens initially worked solely as a Blink-182 cover band.[7]

The monotonous nature of local Las Vegas bands influenced the members of the band to be different and creative, and they soon began laying down experimental demos. The band had not even performed a single live show when they were signed. "We never went out and played shows before we got signed because the music scene in Las Vegas is so bad. There's not a lot going on," Smith said. "In our practice space, there were something like 30 bands, and every day we'd walk into that room and hear the exact same death-metal bands. So it kind of influenced us to be different. And to get out of Las Vegas."[8] Urie began working at Tropical Smoothie Cafe in Summerlin to afford rent for the band's new practice space.[9] The four left their education behind to concentrate on music, with Ross falling out with his father for leaving college after his first year.[4] Upon telling his parents of their intentions to quit high school in favor of being in a band, Urie was kicked out, forced to stay at friend's homes and eventually affording a one-bedroom apartment.[10]

Former guitarist, primary composer and lyricist, Ryan Ross performing with Panic! at the Disco in 2007.

Ross and Urie soon began to commit to their laptops the demos they had been developing, and posted three early demos ("Time to Dance," "Nails for Breakfast, Tacks for Snacks" and "Camisado") on PureVolume.[3] On a whim, they sent a link to Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz via a LiveJournal account. Wentz, who was in Los Angeles at the time with the rest of Fall Out Boy working on their major-label debut, From Under the Cork Tree, drove down to Las Vegas to meet with the young, unsigned band.[8] Upon hearing "two to three" songs during band practice, Wentz was impressed and immediately wanted the band to sign to his Fueled by Ramen imprint label Decaydance Records, which made them the first on the new label. Around December 2004, the group signed to the label.[6] As news broke that Wentz had signed Panic! (who had yet to perform a single live show), fans on the Internet began to bash the group. "Almost right away we knew what was going to happen," Ross explained in a 2006 interview. "We had two songs online and people were already making assumptions on what kind of band we were and what we were going to sound like."[11]

Meanwhile, Wentz began to hype the band wherever possible: from wearing "Pete! at the Disco" T-shirts onstage to mentioning them in interviews. Wentz gave a quick shout-out to the band during a press junket on the day before the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards: "I've got a couple of bands coming out soon on Decaydance, one being this band called Panic! at the Disco," Wentz said. "Their record is going to be your next favorite record. It's called A Fever You Can't Sweat Out — get it before your little brother does."[11] At the time of their signing, all of the band members were still in high school (with the exception of Ross, who was forced to quit UNLV).[3]

Recording and production

The band relocated to College Park, Maryland, to record their debut album beginning in June 2005. The label (Fueled by Ramen) wanted the band to head to the studio in March 2005, but Ross was attending college at UNLV and the rest of the band was still in high school. Urie graduated in May 2005 and the band pushed recording back to June; Smith and Wilson completed school online during production.[3] The band had "half of the songs" completed by the time they entered SOMD! Studios at the beginning of summer, the rest were already written and came together in the sessions.[6] The band was heavily inspired by music groups Third Eye Blind, Counting Crows, Arcade Fire, and The Decemberists during rehearsals, but were also influenced by Danny Elfman and Jon Brion film scores.[11]

Recording was stressful for all of the young band members, all fresh out of high school. "We were in the studio for 14 hours a day for five weeks; we might have started losing our minds a little bit," Ross recalled humorously in a 2006 interview.[12] The band lived in a one-bedroom apartment during the production, with all four band members sleeping in bunk beds. "Everyone got on everybody's nerves," said Ross. "Someone would write a new part for a song and someone else would say they didn't like it just because you ate their cereal that morning."[12]

By the end of production, the band had not yet had a day off and were exhausted. After its completion, "we had two weeks to come home and learn how to be a band," Ross said.[3]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Ryan Ross

No.TitleLength
1."Introduction" (instrumental)0:37
2."The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage"2:57
3."London Beckoned Songs About Money Written by Machines"3:23
4."Nails for Breakfast, Tacks for Snacks"3:25
5."Camisado"3:11
6."Time to Dance"3:22
7."Lying Is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off"3:20
8."Intermission" (instrumental)2:35
9."But It's Better If You Do"3:25
10."I Write Sins Not Tragedies"3:06
11."I Constantly Thank God for Esteban"3:30
12."There's a Good Reason These Tables Are Numbered Honey, You Just Haven't Thought of It Yet"3:16
13."Build God, Then We'll Talk"3:40
Total length:40:16
Japanese Edition
No.TitleLength
14."I Write Sins Not Tragedies" (Live in Denver)3:11
Total length:43:27

Structure

The album is split in two stylistically, with tracks 1 through 7 featuring electronic instruments such as synthesizers and drum machines and tracks 9 through 13 using traditional instruments such as the accordion and organ. Track 8 (Intermission) serves as a link between the two halves, beginning with techno-style dance beats before switching to the piano interlude. On the vinyl record version of the album, side A holds songs 1–8 while side B holds songs 9–13, further highlighting the stylistic split in the album.

Pop culture references

  • The first track, "Introduction", contains a sample of what appears to be a radio broadcast in Polish. The speaker is saying "...spotkało się z szerokim rozgłosem", which means "...gained significant popularity".
  • The title of "London Beckoned Songs About Money Written by Machines" is part of a line from Shampoo Planet by Douglas Coupland: "extremely torrid tunage from London beckoned songs about money written by machines".[13]
  • "Intermission" includes a sample from Orson Welles' famous radio adaptation of the classic novel The War of the Worlds: "Due to circumstances beyond our control..."[13]
  • The titles of the songs "Lying Is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off" and "But It's Better If You Do" come from a line said by Alice Ayres (portrayed by Natalie Portman) in the movie Closer: "Lying is the most fun a girl can have without taking her clothes off... but it's better if you do."[13]
  • The title of "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" was inspired by a line from Shampoo Planet by Douglas Coupland: "What I write are not sins, I write tragedies."[13]
  • The song "I Constantly Thank God for Esteban" is a direct reference to the 2004 Wes Anderson film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, which starred Bill Murray.[13]
  • The bridge melody of "Build God, Then We'll Talk" is derivative from the chorus of "My Favorite Things".[14]
  • "Nails for Breakfast, Tacks for Snacks" is a quote from Ryan Ross' father.[citation needed]

Several tracks on the album reference novels by Chuck Palahniuk:

  • The title of "The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage" is a line from Survivor.[13]
  • "London Beckoned Songs About Money Written by Machines"'s bridge, "Just for the record, the weather today is..." is a recurring phrase in Diary.[13]
  • "Time to Dance" is entirely based on Invisible Monsters.[13]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[15]
Drowned in Sound[16]
Pitchfork Media[17]
Rolling Stone[18]
The Skinny[19]
Sputnikmusic[20]
Stylus MagazineD[21]

A Fever You Can't Sweat Out received extremely mixed reviews upon its release. Pitchfork Media gave the album a negative review, awarding the record a poor 1.5/10.0 rating, stating "there's no sincerity, creativity, or originality."[17] Allmusic shared some of Pitchfork's views, and gave it a modest two out of five stars.[15] However, Kerrang! was positive, awarding the record four out five stars.[22] Rolling Stone also gave a positive review, with a three and a half stars out of five.[18] Webzines like Gigwise and Sputnikmusic also gave positive reviews.[20][23]

The hit single "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" received massive airplay, and Panic! at the Disco's success came to a high-point when they won "Video of the Year" on the annual MTV Video Music Awards in 2006, beating fellow nominees Madonna, Christina Aguilera, Shakira and Red Hot Chili Peppers. In September 2011, "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" won MTV's Best Music Video for the 2000s as well as Best Music Video Of All Time based on online voting.

Personnel

Credits for A Fever You Can't Sweat Out adapted from Allmusic.[24]

Musicians

References

  1. ^ Panic! At The Disco Sets Mar. 29 Release for 'Vices & Virtues' Retrieved July 8, 2011
  2. ^ Panic! At The Disco – Over The Years Retrieved July 8, 2011
  3. ^ a b c d e Mike Kalil (October 28, 2005). "Panic! Attacks". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved March 23, 2011.
  4. ^ a b "Who are Panic! at the Disco?". BBC News. September 1, 2006. Retrieved March 23, 2011.
  5. ^ Dave Simpson (June 20, 2008). "Growing up is hard to do". The Guardian. Retrieved March 23, 2011.
  6. ^ a b c Brandon Herbel (November 11, 2005). "Panic! At the Disco – Interview". AbsolutePunk. Retrieved March 23, 2011.
  7. ^ a b James Montgomery (February 2, 2006). "Panic! At The Disco Fight For Cred, Swear They Have No Beef With The Killers". MTV News. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
  8. ^ Valerie Nome (March 22, 2011). "Panic! At The Disco Frontman Moves Forward". OK!. Retrieved March 23, 2011.
  9. ^ "Panic! Attack". Dose.ca. July 11, 2006. Retrieved March 23, 2011.
  10. ^ a b c James Montgomery (July 31, 2006). "Panic! At The Disco Carry Emo-Punk Banner Into VMAs With Five Noms". MTV News. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
  11. ^ a b Cathy McCabe (October 5, 2006). "Time to hit panic button". Herald Sun. Australia. Retrieved March 23, 2011.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h "PATD Online [dot] COM". {{cite web}}: Text "Panic At The Disco Online" ignored (help)[dead link‍]
  13. ^ "Panic At The Disco Lyrics". Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  14. ^ a b "A Fever You Can't Sweat Out TOLLIE Review". Allmusic.com. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  15. ^ "A Fever You Can't Sweat Out Review". drownedinsound.com. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  16. ^ a b "A Fever You Can't Sweat Out Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  17. ^ a b "Rolling Stone review".[dead link‍]
  18. ^ "A Fever You Can't Sweat Out Review". theskinny.co.uk. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  19. ^ a b "A Fever You Can't Sweat Out Review". sputnikmusic.com. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  20. ^ "A Fever You Can't Sweat Out Review". stylusmagazine.com. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  21. ^ "Kerrang! top albums 2006". Archived from the original on May 26, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  22. ^ "A Fever You Can't Sweat Out TOLLIE Review". gigwise.com. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  23. ^ "A Fever You Can't Sweat Out – Panic at the Disco". AllMusic. September 27, 2005. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
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