Because of the Times

Because of the Times is the third studio album by American rock band Kings of Leon. It was released April 2, 2007 in the UK and April 3, 2007 in the United States.[1] The album has received generally positive reviews and has appeared in numerous Top-10 lists for "Album of the Year.[2] In 2009, Clash named the album number 3 on the "Clash Essential 50", a list of the most important albums released since the magazine's inception in 2004.[3]

Because of the Times
Studio album by Kings of Leon
Released	April 2, 2007
Recorded	2006 at Blackbird in Nashville; Sunset Sound in Hollywood
Genre	Alternative rock garage rock Southern rock
Length	51:33
Label	HandMeDown, RCA
Producer	Ethan Johns, Angelo Petraglia
Kings of Leon chronology
Day Old Belgian Blues (2006) Because of the Times (2007) Only by the Night (2008)
Singles from Because of the Times
"On Call" Released: March 26, 2007 "Fans" Released: July 9, 2007 "Charmer" Released: October 29, 2007

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	79/100[4]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
The A.V. Club	A−[6]
Entertainment Weekly	A−[7]
The Guardian	[8]
The Independent	[9]
NME	8/10[10]
Pitchfork	5.4/10[11]
Q	[12]
Rolling Stone	[13]
Spin	[14]

The album was #6 in NME albums of the year, as well as #31 on Rolling Stone's Top 50 Albums of 2007. NME said that the album "cements Kings Of Leon as one of the great American bands of our times"[10] and Entertainment Weekly called Because of the Times "an epic wide-screen movie of a CD and the band's best to date."[15] Another reviewer described Because of the Times as, "an accomplished album of unbelievable beauty and familiar, loveable grit. Kings of Leon is maturing wonderfully and with patience, not forcing anything musically or lyrically that doesn’t sound natural."[16] However, some critics found the album inferior to the band's previous efforts.[17] Dave Hood of Artrocker gave the album one star out of five, finding that "Kings of Leon are experimenting, learning, and getting a bit lost."[18] Pitchfork contended that "Because of the Times sound[s] suspiciously like a counterattack on womankind, launched from somewhere in the mid-1990s, deep inside a bruised, stadium-sized ego."[11]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Kings of Leon.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Knocked Up"	7:10
2.	"Charmer"	2:56
3.	"On Call"	3:21
4.	"McFearless"	3:09
5.	"Black Thumbnail"	4:00
6.	"My Party"	4:10
7.	"True Love Way"	4:02
8.	"Ragoo"	3:00
9.	"Fans"	3:35
10.	"The Runner"	4:16
11.	"Trunk"	3:57
12.	"Camaro"	3:09
13.	"Arizona"	4:50

US iTunes, Japanese and deluxe edition bonus track

No.	Title	Length
14.	"My Third House"	4:03

UK iTunes bonus track

No.	Title	Length
14.	"On Call (AOL Music Sessions)"	3:21

Personnel

• Caleb Followill – guitar, vocals
• Matthew Followill – guitar, background vocals
• Jared Followill – bass guitar, background vocals
• Nathan Followill – drums, background vocals

Charts and certifications

Charts

Year	Chart	Peak position
2007	Australia	4
	Belgium	20
	Europe	7
	Ireland	1
	New Zealand	1
	United States	25
	United Kingdom	1
2008	Australia	15
2009	Australia	22

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)	2× Platinum[19]	140,000
Belgium (IFPI)	Gold[20]	15,000
Germany (BVMI)	Gold[21]	200,000
Ireland (IRMA)	3× Platinum[22]	45,000
New Zealand (RIANZ)	Platinum[23]	15,000
United Kingdom (BPI)	3× Platinum[24]	900,000
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

1. Wormwood, Vladmir (April 2, 2017). "Kings of Leon: Because of the Times". PopMatters. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
2. "Because Of The Times Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
3. "Clash Essential 50 - Number 3 | Clash Music Exclusive Best of Clash". Clashmusic.com. 2009-04-22. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
4. "Reviews for Because Of The Times by Kings of Leon". Metacritic. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
5. Collar, Matt. "Because of the Times – Kings of Leon". AllMusic. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
6. Murray, Noel (April 3, 2007). "Kings Of Leon: Because Of The Times". The A.V. Club. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
7. Collis, Clark (March 30, 2007). "Because of the Times". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 17, 2016. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
8. Cooper, Leonie (March 30, 2007). "Kings of Leon, Because of the Times". The Guardian. London. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
9. Gill, Andy (March 23, 2007). "Kings of Leon: Because of the Times (RCA)". The Independent. London.
10. Nicolson, Barry (April 4, 2007). "Kings Of Leon: Because Of The Times". NME. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 15, 2012.
11. Strew, Roque (April 5, 2007). "Kings of Leon: Because of the Times". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
12. "Kings of Leon: Because of the Times". Q (250): 119. May 2007.
13. Sheffield, Rob (March 21, 2007). "Because Of The Times". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
14. Beaujon, Andrew (April 2007). "Dharma Bums". Spin. 23 (4): 95. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
15. Collis, Clark. "Because of the Times". Entertainment Weekly, March 30, 2007. Retrieved on February 05, 2008.
16. Harper, Alana.""Because of the Times"". Archived from the original on 2008-05-05. Retrieved 2009-02-08.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link) . Okayplayer.com, 2007. Retrieved on February 05, 2008.
17. "Kings of Leon - Because of the Times - Review". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on 2010-02-02. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
18. "Reviews | Slash The Seats". Artrocker.com. Archived from the original on 2011-08-07. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
19. "ARIA Charts Accreditations 2009 Albums". Aria.com.au. 2009-12-31. Archived from the original on 2009-12-01. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
20. "Ultratop Belgian Charts". ultratop.be. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
21. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank". musikindustrie. Archived from the original on 2013-12-02. Retrieved 2013-07-05.
22. Jaclyn Ward (1962-10-01). "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
23. "The Official New Zealand Music Chart - #1634, 15 September 2008" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-19. Retrieved 2012-06-13.
24. "Certified Awards". BPI. Archived from the original on 2015-10-27. Retrieved 2012-06-13.