Dirty Vegas (album)

Dirty Vegas is the debut album by British house music trio Dirty Vegas, released in the United States on 4 June 2002.

Dirty Vegas
Studio album by
Dirty Vegas
Released4 June 2002
RecordedOctober 2001
Genre
Length60:33
LabelCapitol
ProducerDirty Vegas
Dirty Vegas chronology
Dirty Vegas
(2002)		 One
(2004)
Singles from Dirty Vegas
  1. "Days Go By"
    Released: 7 May 2001[1]
  2. "Ghosts"
    Released: 22 July 2002[2]
  3. "Days Go By"
    Released: 12 August 2002 (reissue)[3]
  4. "Simple Things, Pt. 2"
    Released: 10 March 2003[4]

The album was successful in the United States, debuting at number 7 on the Billboard 200.[5] It would spend 19 weeks on the chart[6] and eventually going Gold.[7][8] The album also spent 16 non-consecutive weeks at number-one on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums chart.

The album features the radio hit "Days Go By" which was also used in a commercial for the Mitsubishi Eclipse and in the video game, DDRMAX2: Dance Dance Revolution. The album artwork is done by American artist Richard Phillips.[9]

Background

Frontman Paul Harris had worked as a club DJ in Europe prior to forming Dirty Vegas, while Ben Harris worked at a Camden recording studio and Steve Smith was performing as part of a band called Higher Ground.[10] After Higher Ground disbanded, Paul met Smith at a party in Switzerland; the two began performing together. Ben Harris later joined and the trio began to record songs together, the first of which was "Days Go By."[10][11]

Recording

The group released "Days Go By," and the song's striking video was seen by an executive who worked for Mitsubishi Motors.[10] He tracked the group down and got permission to feature the song in an ad for the company. Following the song's licensing, the group returned to the studio to record more songs for a full-length album. Ben Harris commented to MTV that, when recording the album, they were "trying to not really fit anywhere," opting to attempt to create "something unique" instead.[11] The group informed Billboard that they didn't have one specific songwriting strategy for the album: "Ben and I might get a chord sequence going, and then Steve may add the lyrics - or vice versa. We handle it from many different angles."[10] The album's recording was completed in October 2001, shortly before the Mitsubishi ad began running.[10]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic56/100[12]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[13]
Robert ChristgauC[14]
The Guardian[15]
Pitchfork4.4/10[16]
Rolling Stone[17]

The album garnered generally mixed reviews from music critics. John Bush, writing for AllMusic, gave the album 2 and a half out of 5 stars, praising the album's production but criticizing the lyrics and Smith's vocals.[13] John Aizlewood, writing for The Guardian, compared the album to Air and Everything But the Girl and singled out "7AM", "Throwing Shapes", "Candles", and "All or Nothing" as highlights.[15] Music critic Robert Christgau praised the album's catchiness but commented that "Days Go By" didn't stand out on the album the way it did in the Mitsubishi advertisements.[14]

Release and commercial performance

The album was released in the US on 4 June 2002.[10] The album debuted at number 7 on the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 64,000.[18] It spent more than three months on the chart[5] and eventually attained a Gold certification from the RIAA.[7] The album also entered the Top 40 of the UK album chart.[19]

Track listing

All tracks written by Paul Harris, Ben Harris, and Steve Smith, except where noted.

  1. "I Should Know" – 6:09
  2. "Ghosts" – 5:18
  3. "Lost Not Found" – 4:05
  4. "Days Go By" (Victoria Horn, Smith) – 7:07
  5. "Throwing Shapes" – 6:52
  6. "Candles" – 3:12
  7. "All or Nothing" – 4:55
  8. "Alive" – 3:21
  9. "7am" – 6:13
  10. "The Brazilian" – 3:53
  11. "Simple Things, Pt. 2" (Harris, Harris, Smith, Roger Waters) – 6:44
  12. "Days Go By" (Acoustic) – 2:43

Release details

The album was released in various countries in 2002.[20]

Country Date Label Format Catalog
United States 4 June 2002 Capitol Records CD 39986
Japan 4 September 2002 Toshiba-EMI CD TOCP-66102
Australia 16 September 2002 Capitol Records CD 539 9852
United Kingdom 30 September 2002 Credence Records CD 542 9992

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[29] Silver 60,000^
United States (RIAA)[30] Gold 582,000[31]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "New Releases – For Week Starting May 7, 2001: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 5 May 2001. p. 25. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  2. Hubner, Miriam (17 August 2002). "Airborne" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 20, no. 34. p. 21. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  3. "The ARIA Report: ARIA New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 12/08/2002" (PDF). ARIA. 12 August 2002. p. 25. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 October 2002. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  4. "New Releases – For Week Starting 10 March 2003: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 8 March 2003. p. 21. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  5. "Hot 100 from the week of JUNE 22, 2002". Billboard. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  6. "Dirty Vegas Hot 200 chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  7. Walker, Rob (19 September 2002). "Dirty Vegas The band that Mitsubishi made". Slate. The Slate Group. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  8. "Gold & Platinum". Recording Industry Association of America.
  9. "YES — A Multidisciplinary Design Studio".
  10. Paoletta, Michael (June 2002). "Billboard June 1, 2002 (page 44)". Google Books. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  11. Moss, Corey. "DAYS GO BY, AND STILL YOU CAN'T GET DIRTY VEGAS OUT OF YOUR HEAD". MTV. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  12. "Reviews for 'Dirty Vegas'". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  13. Bush, John. Dirty Vegas at AllMusic
  14. Christgau, Robert (22 April 2003). "Not Hop, Stomp". The Village Voice. New York. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  15. Guardian review, 08/02/02
  16. Carr, Eric (8 July 2002). "Dirty Vegas: Dirty Vegas Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  17. Rolling Stone review, 07/02/02
  18. Dansby, Andrew (12 June 2002). "Eminem Makes It Three". Rolling Stone. Penske Media. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  19. "OFFICIAL ALBUMS CHART RESULTS MATCHING: DIRTY VEGAS". Official Charts. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  20. "Releases". Allmusic. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  21. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  22. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  23. "Dirty Vegas, TLP". Billboard. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  24. "Dirty Vegas, ELP". Billboard. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  25. "Canada's Top 200 Alternative albums of 2002". Jam!. Archived from the original on 4 December 2003. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  26. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2002". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  27. "2002 The Year in Music". Billboard. Vol. 114, no. 52. 28 December 2002. p. YE-53. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  28. "2003 The Year in Music". Billboard. Vol. 115, no. 52. 27 December 2003. p. YE-66. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  29. "British album certifications – Dirty Vegas – Dirty Vegas". British Phonographic Industry.
  30. "American album certifications – Dirty Vegas – Dirty Vegas". Recording Industry Association of America.
  31. "Dirty Vegas Rolls Out Second Album". Billboard. 23 August 2004. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
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