Free All Angels
Free All Angels is the third studio album by Ash, which was initially released on 16 April 2001, through Infectious Records. The name of the album is taken from a T-shirt worn by Jon, their personal security guard, a Hells Angel from London England
Free All Angels | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 16 April 2001 (UK) 7 August 2001 (US) | |||
Recorded | 2000 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 48:29 | |||
Label | Infectious Records | |||
Producer | Owen Morris, Ash | |||
Ash chronology | ||||
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Singles from Free All Angels | ||||
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Speaking to Kerrang! in 2008, Tim Wheeler remembered:
I wasn't going to make any old commercial shit, I wanted to write brilliant songs that would actually speak to people. So I went back to Northern Ireland, to my parents' house away from everything, back to where we were before we had any success. Being in that mindset felt like starting again. We'd met Joe Strummer in Japan and he said, "I'm going to be in Belfast in a few months, come and do I Fought the Law with me onstage." And I didn't do it because I was staying home and writing. It's one of my big regrets, but during that time I wrote "Shining Light". We went off to record it in Van Morrison's studio in Bath and then some more in Spain. It was amazing. I was one of the best tunes of our lives. It's ensured our survival ever since. We were still so young we didn't want to give in. We were determined that wouldn't be the end.[2]
On 7 August 2001 Free All Angels was released in the United States.
The album entered the charts at No. 1 in the UK, and has won numerous awards, including awards for the singles "Shining Light" and "Burn Baby Burn". It is also certified platinum by the BPI. The UK version has a (CD-ROM Enhanced CD), the ashvideomixer that allows fans to make and share online their own music video.
The American edition was released on the Kinetic Records label. It includes the bonus track "So the Story Goes" and a remixed version of "Pacific Palisades". The single "Burn Baby Burn" was remixed for US radio and appears on the singles and b-sides collection Intergalactic Sonic 7"s.
A German Special Tour Edition of the album featured different artwork and a second CD of B-sides, acoustic tracks and the French version of "Candy".
The Japanese release includes the tracks "Warmer Than Fire" and "Gabriel".
The song "Shark" appears on the soundtrack to the game Gran Turismo 3.
The cover art is of Tim Wheeler playing his Gibson Flying V, and the format is repeated inside the booklet for all the band members at this time (on their 'signature instruments')
Reception
Aggregate scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 76/100[3] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
Alternative Press | 8/10[5] |
Blender | |
Entertainment Weekly | B+[7] |
The Guardian | |
NME | 8/10[9] |
Pitchfork | 7.3/10[10] |
Rolling Stone |
Initial critical response to Free All Angels was positive. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 76, based on 11 reviews.[3]
The album has sold 3 million records worldwide.
Q listed Free All Angels as one of the best 50 albums of 2001.[12]
Track listing
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Walking Barefoot" | Tim Wheeler | Wheeler | 4:13 |
2. | "Shining Light" | Wheeler | Wheeler | 5:09 |
3. | "Burn Baby Burn" | Wheeler | Wheeler | 3:29 |
4. | "Candy" | Wheeler | Wheeler | 4:52 |
5. | "Cherry Bomb" | Wheeler | Wheeler | 3:17 |
6. | "Submission" | Rick McMurray, Wheeler | McMurray | 3:33 |
7. | "Someday" | Wheeler | Wheeler | 4:29 |
8. | "Pacific Palisades" | Wheeler | Wheeler | 1:57 |
9. | "Shark" | Wheeler | Charlotte Hatherley, Mark Hamilton, Wheeler | 3:18 |
10. | "Sometimes" | Wheeler | Wheeler | 4:07 |
11. | "Nicole" | Hamilton, Wheeler | Hamilton, Wheeler | 3:25 |
12. | "There's a Star" | Wheeler | Wheeler | 4:20 |
13. | "World Domination" | Wheeler | Wheeler | 2:17 |
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
14. | "So the Story Goes" | Wheeler | Wheeler | 2:55 |
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "World Domination Documentary" | |
2. | "13th Floor" | |
3. | "Coasting" | |
4. | "So the Story Goes" | |
5. | "Burn Baby Burn" (Video) | |
6. | "Sometimes" (Video) | |
7. | "Candy" (Video) | |
8. | "There's a Star" (Video) | |
9. | "Burn Baby Burn" (Live from Tokyo Blitz film) | |
10. | "Kung Fu" (Live from Tokyo Blitz film) |
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
14. | "Warmer Than Fire" | Steve Ludwin | Ludwin | 3:07 |
15. | "Gabriel" | Hamilton | Hamilton | 5:28 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Skulfull of Sulphur" | 3:10 |
2. | "So the Story Goes" | 2:57 |
3. | "The Sweetness of Death by the Obsidian Knife" | 3:29 |
4. | "Melon Farmer" (live) | 2:07 |
5. | "Nocturne" | 3:31 |
6. | "Stay in Love Forever" | 3:41 |
7. | "Thinking About You" | 3:50 |
8. | "Candy" (French version radio edit) | 3:45 |
9. | "Shining Light" (acoustic version) | 4:06 |
10. | "Burn Baby Burn" (acoustic version) | 3:29 |
Enhanced content
All CD versions of Free All Angels apart from the Japanese release include Version 1.0 of the Ash video mixer software. The German and Australian bonus disc include enhanced videos of "Candy" and "Sometimes".
Personnel
Ash
Additional musicians
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Technical
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References
- "Ash - Free All Angels - Review - Stylus Magazine".
- Johnston, Emma. Kerrang! Issue #1235, November 2008. Treasure Chest. The Intimate Portrait Of a Life in Rock. Tim Wheeler. P.54
- "Reviews for Free All Angels by Ash". Metacritic. Retrieved 2 April 2009.
- Rabid, Jack. "Free All Angels – Ash". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 April 2009.
- "Ash: Free All Angels". Alternative Press (169): 69. August 2002.
- Aizlewood, John (June–July 2002). "Ash: Free All Angels". Blender (7): 102. Archived from the original on 20 August 2004. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
- Malkin, Nina (2 August 2002). "Ash: Free All Angels". Entertainment Weekly: 74.
- Clarke, Betty (20 April 2001). "Young, gifted – and back". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
- Beaumont, Mark (11 April 2001). "Ash: Free All Angels". NME. Archived from the original on 13 May 2008. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
- Tangari, Joe (12 June 2002). "Ash: Free All Angels". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2 April 2009.
- Fricke, David (4 July 2002). "Ash: Free All Angels". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 16 August 2009. Retrieved 2 April 2009.
- "The Best 50 Albums of 2001". Q. December 2001. pp. 60–65.