Life On Display
Encyclopedia
Life on Display is the second major label album by post-grunge
band Puddle of Mudd
. It was produced by John Kurzweg whose previous work includes Creed
, Socialburn
, and No Address
. Despite generally negative reviews, the album reached #20 on the Billboard 200 album chart and spawned one hit single, "Away from Me," which reached #1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks
. Two additional minor hits include "Spin You Around" and "Heel Over Head." All three singles had corresponding music video
s.
To date, Life on Display has sold 706,191 units in the United States compared their previous album, Come Clean
, which has sold over three million copies in the U.S. and has been certified 3x platinum. Contrary to popular belief, album sales did not affect former members Greg and Paul's decisions to depart from the band.
. An unrealeased song called "Galvanic" garnered some attention due to the fact Scantlin cried during playback for it.
. Puddle of Mudd also performed four tracks off the album on the November 25 debut episode of Fuse TV
's 7th Avenue Drop. "Nothing Left to Lose" served as the main theme song for WWE
's Royal Rumble 2004
.
, which assigns a normalized
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average
score of 37, based on seven reviews. Life on Display received largely average to poor reviews from Entertainment Weekly
, E Online
, and AllMusic. Christian Hoard of Rolling Stone
gave the album a mere 1 out of 5 stars, citing "the predominant emotion transmitted by these tired, hook
less tunes is a kind of skull-banging numbness."
Post-grunge
Post-grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged in the mid-1990s as a derivative of grunge, using the sounds and aesthetic of grunge, but with a more commercially acceptable tone...
band Puddle of Mudd
Puddle of Mudd
Puddle Of Mudd is an American rock band from Kansas City, Missouri, USA. To date the band has sold over 7 million albums, and have had a string of #1 mainstream rock singles in the United States. Their major-label debut Come Clean has sold over 5 million copies...
. It was produced by John Kurzweg whose previous work includes Creed
Creed (band)
Creed is an American rock band formed in 1995 in Tallahassee, Florida. Becoming popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the band has released three consecutive multi-platinum albums, one of which has been certified diamond, and has sold over 28 million records in the United States, with an...
, Socialburn
Socialburn
Socialburn was a four-piece post-grunge rock band from Blountstown, Florida.-History:The first major label album from Socialburn, "Where You Are" , was released in February 2003 and spawned two modern-rock radio hits: "Down" and "Everyone", which reached the top 10 and top 20 US charts...
, and No Address
No Address
No Address is an alternative rock/post-grunge band from Tallahassee, Florida. They are best known for their single "When I'm Gone "...
. Despite generally negative reviews, the album reached #20 on the Billboard 200 album chart and spawned one hit single, "Away from Me," which reached #1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks
Mainstream Rock Tracks
Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks is a ranking in Billboard magazine of the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music. Modern rock tracks are counted in the Alternative Songs chart.This chart began with the March 21, 1981, issue...
. Two additional minor hits include "Spin You Around" and "Heel Over Head." All three singles had corresponding music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
s.
To date, Life on Display has sold 706,191 units in the United States compared their previous album, Come Clean
Come Clean (Puddle of Mudd album)
Come Clean is the major label debut of post-grunge band Puddle of Mudd and their third release overall. Released on August 28, 2001, the album was responsible for breaking Puddle of Mudd into the mainstream music scene...
, which has sold over three million copies in the U.S. and has been certified 3x platinum. Contrary to popular belief, album sales did not affect former members Greg and Paul's decisions to depart from the band.
History
Puddle of Mudd began writing material for the second album while on tour for their first in 2002. 18 songs were recorded for the record. The band spent over 8 months in various studios recording the material. Singer Scantlin had to learn new chord progression for the track, "Time Flies." A B-Side song entitled, "Bleed" was loaned for the movie, The PunisherThe Punisher (2004 film)
The Punisher is a 2004 American comic book action film, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, starring Thomas Jane as the antihero Frank Castle / The Punisher and John Travolta as the villain Howard Saint, a money launderer who orders the death of Castle's entire family...
. An unrealeased song called "Galvanic" garnered some attention due to the fact Scantlin cried during playback for it.
Promotion
The "Away from Me" video was featured during the 10th season of Making the VideoMaking the Video
Making the Video is an MTV show, consisting of half-hour episodes, which chronicles the process of filming various music videos. Usually the director outlines the concept of the video and the show often includes light-hearted and humorous moments. It always concludes with a premiere of the...
. Puddle of Mudd also performed four tracks off the album on the November 25 debut episode of Fuse TV
Fuse TV
Fuse is an American national television network dedicated exclusively to music. It features original series and specials, exclusive interviews, live concerts and video blocks....
's 7th Avenue Drop. "Nothing Left to Lose" served as the main theme song for WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
's Royal Rumble 2004
Royal Rumble (2004)
Royal Rumble was the seventeenth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on January 25, 2004 at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
.
Critical response
Initial critical response to Life on Display was generally unfavorable. At MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a normalized
Standard score
In statistics, a standard score indicates how many standard deviations an observation or datum is above or below the mean. It is a dimensionless quantity derived by subtracting the population mean from an individual raw score and then dividing the difference by the population standard deviation...
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average
Weighted mean
The weighted mean is similar to an arithmetic mean , where instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others...
score of 37, based on seven reviews. Life on Display received largely average to poor reviews from Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
, E Online
E!
E! Entertainment Television is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by NBCUniversal. It features entertainment-related programming, reality television, feature films and occasionally series and specials unrelated to the entertainment industry.E! has an audience reach of...
, and AllMusic. Christian Hoard of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
gave the album a mere 1 out of 5 stars, citing "the predominant emotion transmitted by these tired, hook
Hook (music)
A hook is a musical idea, often a short riff, passage, or phrase, that is used in popular music to make a song appealing and to "catch the ear of the listener". The term generally applies to popular music, especially rock music, hip hop, dance music, and pop. In these genres, the hook is often...
less tunes is a kind of skull-banging numbness."
Track listing
All songs by Wesley Scantlin, except when noted.- "Away from MeAway from Me"Away from Me" is the lead single from Puddle of Mudd's Life on Display album. Wes Scantlin mentioned in an interview with VH1 that "Away from Me" was written about how he was lied to and deceived in a relationship....
" – 4:00 - "Heel Over Head" – 4:05
- "Nothing Left to Lose" – 4:30
- "Change My Mind" (Scantlin, Ardito) – 4:20
- "Spin You Around" – 4:27
- "Already Gone" – 4:32
- "Think" – 4:10
- "Cloud 9" – 3:34
- "Bottom" – 5:22
- "Freak of the World" – 3:36
- "Sydney" – 4:58
- "Time Flies" – 7:05
Bonus Tracks
- "Life Ain't Fair" - 3:45
- "Daddy" - 4:17
- "Bleed" - (Released on The Punisher Soundtrack)
Credits
- Wesley Scantlin: Vocals, Guitar, Acoustic guitar
- Paul PhillipsPaul Phillips (guitarist)Paul James Phillips has worked as the lead guitarist for many bands, most notable for Puddle of Mudd, but has left it in 2011 through a Facebook post, and is willing to continue his career in another band later. He started with Puddle of Mudd since their 2001 hit album Come Clean...
: Lead guitar - Doug ArditoDoug ArditoDouglas John Ardito is a bassist, guitarist, and keyboard player from Bedford, Massachusetts.- Biography :Doug Ardito is the bassist/guitarist for Puddle of Mudd which he joined in 1999. That same year, Ardito also recorded two songs with the short-lived supergroup The Wondergirls. Ardito co-wrote...
: Bass guitar, Acoustic guitar - Greg UpchurchGreg UpchurchGreg David Upchurch is the current drummer for 3 Doors Down, replacing Daniel Adair who left the band in 2005....
: Drums, Percussion, Vocals - Bill McGathy: Tambourine
- Peter KatsisPeter KatsisPeter Katsis is an American music manager.In 2002, a Vanity Fair article called him "The Best Music Manager In The Business".At the age of 23 he managed his first group, the infamous Chicago alt-rock band Ministry....
: Triangle
-
- Additional credits:
- John KurzwegJohn KurzwegJohn Kurzweg is an American record producer and musician who first became known for his work with successful post-grunge band Creed in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Three of Creed's records, which Kurzweg produced, were certified multi-platinum and helped Creed achieve worldwide popularity...
: Executive Producer, Engineer - Andy WallaceAndy WallaceAndrew or Andy Wallace may refer to:*Andy Wallace , music producer*Andy Wallace , race car driver*Andy Wallace , keyboard player...
: Mixing