Mechanical Bull (album)

Mechanical Bull is the sixth studio album by American rock band Kings of Leon, released in Ireland, Germany, Sweden and Australia on September 20, 2013,[3] in the United Kingdom on September 23, 2013, and in North America on September 24, 2013 by RCA Records. In late 2013 the album received a nomination at the 56th Grammy Awards for Best Rock Album.

Mechanical Bull
A sign reading the words "Mechanical Bull".
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 20, 2013
Recorded2013
StudioThe Neon Leon (Nashville)
Genre
Length42:01
LabelRCA
ProducerAngelo Petraglia
Kings of Leon chronology
Come Around Sundown
(2010)
Mechanical Bull
(2013)
WALLS
(2016)
Alternative cover art
Deluxe edition cover
Singles from Mechanical Bull
  1. "Supersoaker"
    Released: July 17, 2013
  2. "Wait for Me"
    Released: August 6, 2013
  3. "Temple"
    Released: October 14, 2013
  4. "Beautiful War"
    Released: December 9, 2013
  5. "Don't Matter"
    Released: June 16, 2014
  6. "Family Tree"
    Released: June 17, 2014

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?6.4/10[4]
Metacritic70/100[5]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
The A.V. ClubB−[7]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[8]
The Guardian[9]
The Independent[10]
NME6/10[11]
Q[12]
Rolling Stone[13]
Spin8/10[14]
Uncut9/10[15]

Mechanical Bull received generally positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, the album has a weighted averagescore of 70 out of 100 based on 30 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[5]

The album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, based on 110,000 copies sold in its first week.[16] It has sold 347,000 copies in the United States as of August 2016.[17] In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at No. 1 on the Official Albums Chart, selling 71,000 copies in the first week.[18] The album has sold 323,240 copies in the UK as of October 2016.[19] Mechanical Bull is the first Kings of Leon album that sold more copies in the United States than in the UK.

Promotion

The first single to promote the album, "Supersoaker", was released on July 17, 2013. This single was followed by the release of the second single titled "Wait for Me" on August 6, 2013.[20] During the Heineken Open'er Festival 2013, Kings of Leon performed "Don't Matter", another song from this album.[21] The third single "Temple" impacted US active rock and adult album alternative (triple A) radio on October 14, 2013[22][23] and modern rock radio on October 15, 2013.[24] The band released the Official Video for "Beautiful War" on November 22, 2013. The song has been described by the Guardian as "a slow-grower about love and fighting," and a "distant cousin of U2's With or Without You".[25] "Beautiful War" and "Don't Matter" were released as singles exclusively in the United Kingdom on December 9, 2013 and June 16, 2014 respectively.[26][27] "Family Tree" was sent to US modern rock radio as the album's sixth overall single on June 17, 2014.[28] An adult album alternative release followed on July 1, 2014.[29]

To promote the album, on September 24, 2013, the band appeared on Good Morning America and performed "Supersoaker". They have also performed "Temple" on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and Saturday Night Live.

Singles

"Supersoaker" reached to number 2 on the US Adult Alternative Songs chart and number 9 on the US Alternative chart. The song also peaked at number 1 on the Canada Rock chart.

"Wait for Me" reached to number 14 on the US Hot Rock Songs chart and number 10 on the US Adult Alternative Songs chart. Five days after being released in the UK, it debut at number 31 on the UK Singles Chart.

"Temple" peaked at number 1 on the Canada Rock chart.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Caleb Followill, Nathan Followill, Jared Followill and Matthew Followill

No.TitleLength
1."Supersoaker"3:50
2."Rock City"2:56
3."Don't Matter"2:50
4."Beautiful War"5:09
5."Temple"4:10
6."Wait for Me"3:30
7."Family Tree"3:50
8."Comeback Story"3:59
9."Tonight"4:33
10."Coming Back Again"3:28
11."On the Chin"3:46
Total length:42:00
Deluxe edition
No.TitleLength
12."Work On Me"4:04
13."Last Mile Home"4:11
Total length:50:46
Saturn exclusive edition[30]
No.TitleLength
12."Work On Me"4:04
13."Last Mile Home"4:11
14."Molly's Chambers" (Live at the O2 Arena) 
15."Sex on Fire" (Live at the O2 Arena) 
16."On Call" (Live at the O2 Arena) 
17."Use Somebody" (Live at the O2) 

Personnel

Kings of Leon
Technical personnel

Charts and certifications

Release history

Region Date Format Label
Australia[81] September 20, 2013 CD, digital download Sony Music Entertainment
Germany
Ireland
Sweden[82]
United Kingdom September 23, 2013 RCA Records
United States[83] September 24, 2013

References

  1. Flynn, Fiona (2013). "Album Review: Kings of Leon - 'Mechanical Bull'". Entertainment.ie. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
  2. "WALLS review by Kings of Leon". Ultimate Guitar. October 14, 2016. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  3. "Mechanical Bull - Kings of Leon: Amazon.de: Musik". Amazon.de. Retrieved 2022-08-07.
  4. "Mechanical Bull by Kings Of Leon reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  5. "Reviews for Mechanical Bull by Kings of Leon". Metacritic. Retrieved September 24, 2013.
  6. Collar, Matt. "Mechanical Bull – Kings of Leon". AllMusic. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
  7. McFarland, Kevin (September 24, 2013). "Kings Of Leon: Mechanical Bull". The A.V. Club. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
  8. Rahman, Ray (October 9, 2013). "Mechanical Bull". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
  9. Simpson, Dave (September 19, 2013). "Kings of Leon: Mechanical Bull – review". The Guardian. London. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
  10. Harley, Kevin (September 22, 2013). "Album review: Kings of Leon, Mechanical Bull (Columbia)". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on September 26, 2013. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
  11. Cooper, Leonie (September 20, 2013). "Kings Of Leon – 'Mechanical Bull'". NME. Archived from the original on April 22, 2016. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
  12. "Kings of Leon: Mechanical Bull". Q (327): 104. October 2013.
  13. Dolan, Jon (September 24, 2013). "Mechanical Bull". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
  14. Aswad, Jem (September 20, 2013). "Kings of Leon's 'Mechanical Bull' Warmly Settles Into the Conventional, Professional, and Focused". Spin. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
  15. "Kings of Leon: Mechanical Bull". Uncut (198): 70. October 2013.
  16. Kreps, Daniel (October 24, 2016). "On the Charts: Kings of Leon Reign With 'Walls' at Number One". Billboard.
  17. Ringen, Jonathan (August 25, 2016). "Kings of Leon on Renewing Their Family Ties, Survival Tips From Eddie Vedder & New Album 'Walls'". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
  18. Lane, Dan (September 29, 2013). "Kings Of Leon ride Mechanical Bull to top of the Official Albums Chart". The Official Charts Company.
  19. Jones, Alan (October 21, 2016). "Official Charts Analysis: Kings of Leon score fifth No.1 album". Music Week. Intent Media. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  20. "Kings of Leon reveal new track 'Wait For Me' - listen". NME. August 6, 2013. Retrieved September 24, 2013.
  21. Grishkoff, Jason (July 17, 2013). "Kings of Leon - Supersoaker". Indie Shuffle. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
  22. "R&R Going For Adds: Active Rock (Week Of: October 14, 2013)". Radio & Records. Archived from the original on October 5, 2013. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
  23. "R&R Going For Adds: Triple A (Week Of: October 14, 2013)". Radio & Records. Archived from the original on October 5, 2013. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
  24. "Alternative E-Weekly". All Access Music Group. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
  25. "Future Releases on Alternative Radio Stations, Independent Artist Song Releases".
  26. Lane, Daniel (December 9, 2013). "This week's new releases 09-12-2013". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  27. Lane, Daniel (June 16, 2014). "This Week's New Releases 16-06-2014". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  28. "Future Releases on Alternative Radio Stations". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on 2014-07-13.
  29. "Future Releases on Triple A (AAA) Radio Stations". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on 2014-07-27.
  30. "Sony Music Entertainment (GER) Mechanical Bull (4 Live-Bon./Exclusiv MSD)" (in German). Saturn. Archived from the original on October 6, 2013. Retrieved October 5, 2013.
  31. "Australiancharts.com – Kings of Leon – Mechanical Bull". Hung Medien.
  32. "Austriancharts.at – Kings of Leon – Mechanical Bull" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
  33. "Ultratop.be – Kings of Leon – Mechanical Bull" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
  34. "Ultratop.be – Kings of Leon – Mechanical Bull" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
  35. "Kings of Leon Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard.
  36. "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 39.Týden 2013 on the field besides the words "CZ – ALBUMS – TOP 100" to retrieve the correct chart. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
  37. "Danishcharts.dk – Kings of Leon – Mechanical Bull". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
  38. "Dutchcharts.nl – Kings of Leon – Mechanical Bull" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
  39. "Kings of Leon: Mechanical Bull" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
  40. "Lescharts.com – Kings of Leon – Mechanical Bull". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
  41. "Offiziellecharts.de – Kings of Leon – Mechanical Bull" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  42. "Official IFPI Charts - Top-75 Albums Sales Chart - Εβδομάδα: 41/2013" (in Greek). IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on November 6, 2014. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
  43. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 39, 2013". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
  44. "Italiancharts.com – Kings of Leon – Mechanical Bull". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
  45. "Charts.nz – Kings of Leon – Mechanical Bull". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
  46. "Norwegiancharts.com – Kings of Leon – Mechanical Bull". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
  47. "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
  48. "Portuguesecharts.com – Kings of Leon – Mechanical Bull". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
  49. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  50. "Spanishcharts.com – Kings of Leon – Mechanical Bull". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 2, 2013.
  51. "Swedishcharts.com – Kings of Leon – Mechanical Bull". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
  52. "Swisscharts.com – Kings of Leon – Mechanical Bull". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
  53. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  54. "Kings of Leon Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  55. "Kings of Leon Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard.
  56. "Kings of Leon Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard.
  57. "ARIA End of Year Albums Chart 2013". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  58. "Jahreshitparade Alben 2013". austriancharts.at. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  59. "Jaaroverzichten 2013". Ultratop. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  60. "Rapports Annuels 2013". Ultratop. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  61. "Jaaroverzichten – Album 2013". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  62. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  63. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2013". hitparade.ch. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  64. "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2013". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  65. "Billboard 200 Albums: Year End 2013". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
  66. "Top Rock Albums: Year End 2013". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
  67. "Alternative Albums: 2013 Year-End Charts". Billboard. Retrieved January 16, 2015. (subscription required)
  68. "Jaaroverzichten 2014". Ultratop. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  69. "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2014". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  70. "Top Rock Albums: Year End 2014". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
  71. "Alternative Albums: 2014 Year-End Charts". Billboard. Retrieved 16 January 2015. (subscription required)
  72. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2013 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association.
  73. "Austrian album certifications – Kings of Leon – Mechanical Bull" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
  74. "Canadian album certifications – Kings of Leon – Mechanical Bull". Music Canada. Retrieved November 29, 2013.
  75. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Kings of Leon; 'Mechanical Bull')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
  76. "The Irish Charts - 2013 Certification Awards - Gold". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
  77. "Certificados Musicales Amprofon (in Spanish)". Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  78. "Wyróżnienia – Złote płyty CD - Archiwum - Przyznane w 2013 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
  79. "Portuguese album certifications – Kings of Leon – Mechanical Bull" (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Archived from the original on October 16, 2013. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
  80. "British album certifications – Kings of Leon – Mechanical Bull". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
  81. "Mechanical Bull by Kings of Leon". iTunes (AU). Retrieved September 29, 2013.
  82. "Mechanical Bull av Kings of Leon". iTunes (SE). Retrieved September 29, 2013.
  83. Waddell, Ray (September 23, 2013). "Kings of Leon Talk 'Mechanical Bull' Track-By-Track". Billboard. Retrieved September 29, 2013.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.