Billy Talent (album)
| Billy Talent | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 16, 2003 | |||
| Recorded | November 2002 – March 2003 | |||
| Studio | The Factory, Vancouver; Metalworks, Mississauga | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 41:04 | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Producer | Gavin "Golden" Brown | |||
| Billy Talent chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Alternative cover | ||||
Cover of the 10th anniversary edition | ||||
| Singles from Billy Talent | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | [1] |
| The Daily Princetonian | (favorable)[2] |
| Decoy Music | [3] |
| Ottawa XPress | [4] |
| Q Magazine | [5] |
| Rock Hard | 9.5/10[6] |
| Sputnikmusic | [7] |
Billy Talent is the debut album of Canadian rock band Billy Talent, released in 2003. The band's previous album Watoosh! (1999) was released under their old name Pezz.
Commercial performance
Billy Talent debuted at number 6 on the Canadian Albums Chart, selling 7,700 copies in its first week.[8] The album was certified four-time platinum in Canada in January 2021. Between 1996 and 2016, Billy Talent was among the top 15 best-selling albums by Canadian bands in Canada and among the top 40 best-selling albums by Canadian artists overall in Canada.[9]
Reception
In 2005, Billy Talent was ranked number 453 in Rock Hard magazine's book of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.[10]
Tenth anniversary
In August 2013, Billy Talent announced a Canadian tour for fall of that year entitled "A Return to the Roots", in which they played their entire first self-titled album live to celebrate its 10th anniversary.[11] Soon after the tour, the band announced a 10th anniversary reissue of the album. The reissue was released on November 26, 2013 through Warner Bros. Records; it features a bonus disc of rare demos and live recordings of the album's track list.[12]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Billy Talent.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "This Is How It Goes" | 3:27 |
| 2. | "Living in the Shadows" | 3:15 |
| 3. | "Try Honesty" | 4:13 |
| 4. | "Line & Sinker" | 3:37 |
| 5. | "Lies" | 2:58 |
| 6. | "The Ex" | 2:40 |
| 7. | "River Below" | 2:59 |
| 8. | "Standing in the Rain" | 3:20 |
| 9. | "Cut the Curtains" | 3:50 |
| 10. | "Prisoners of Today" | 3:53 |
| 11. | "Nothing to Lose" | 3:38 |
| 12. | "Voices of Violence" | 3:10 |
| Total length: | 41:07 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 13. | "When I Was a Little Girl" | 2:10 |
| 14. | "Beach Balls" | 3:48 |
| Total length: | 47:05 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "This Is How It Goes" (Demo Version) | 3:08 |
| 2. | "Living in the Shadows" (Demo Version) | 3:15 |
| 3. | "Try Honesty" (Demo Version) | 4:05 |
| 4. | "Line & Sinker" (Live at Nova Rock Festival) | 4:51 |
| 5. | "Lies" (Live Acoustic at SBN Studios) | 3:05 |
| 6. | "The Ex" (Demo Version) | 2:36 |
| 7. | "River Below" (Live at the Orange Lounge) | 3:00 |
| 8. | "Standing in the Rain" (Live at Metalworks) | 3:34 |
| 9. | "Cut the Curtains" (Demo Version) | 3:38 |
| 10. | "Prisoners of Today" (Demo Version) | 3:43 |
| 11. | "Nothing to Lose" (Live at Phillipshalle) | 3:59 |
| 12. | "Voices of Violence" (Live at Norwegian Wood Festival) | 3:20 |
| Total length: | 42:20 | |
Personnel
Billy Talent
- Benjamin Kowalewicz – lead vocals
- Ian D'Sa – guitar, vocals, art direction, package design
- Jonathan Gallant – bass guitar, vocals
- Aaron Solowoniuk – drums
Additional personnel
- Gavin Brown – production
- Jacquire King – recording
- Paul Silvera – digital editing
- Sheldon Zaharko – assistant engineer, digital editing
- Chris Lord-Alge – mixing
- Kevin Armstrong – assistant mix engineer
- Tom Baker – mastering
- Lawrence Azerrad – art direction, package design
- Dustin Rabin – photographer
- Peter Van Hattem – additional photography
Chart positions
| Chart | Position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[13] | 38 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard)[14] | 6 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[15] | 97 |
| UK Albums | 124 |
| US Billboard 200[16] | 194 |
| US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[17] | 11 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[18] | 4× Platinum | 400,000‡ |
| Canada (Music Canada)[19] 10th Anniversary Edition |
Gold | 40,000‡ |
| Germany (BVMI)[20] | Platinum | 200,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[21] | Silver | 60,000‡ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
- ^ AllMusic review
- ^ "The Daily Princetonian review". Archived from the original on April 27, 2005. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
- ^ Quote on decoymusic.com Review With Broken Link
- ^ Ottawa XPress review Archived February 27, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Q Magazine December 2003, p. 120
- ^ Himmelstein, Andreas. "Rock Hard". issue 198. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
- ^ Boy, Davey. "Billy Talent Billy Talent". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
- ^ "Billy Talent debuts in Top 10". Archived from the original on November 7, 2004. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
- ^ "NIELSEN MUSIC & BILLBOARD PRESENT CANADA 150 CHARTS" (PDF). bdsradio.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 2, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
- ^ Best of Rock & Metal – Die 500 stärksten Scheiben aller Zeiten (in German). Rock Hard. 2005. p. 27. ISBN 3-89880-517-4.
- ^ "Billy Talent Celebrate 10th Anniversary of Debut Album with Canadian Tour". exclaim.ca. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
- ^ "Billy Talent Give Self-Titled Debut Expanded Reissue for 10th Anniversary". exclaim.ca. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
- ^ "Austriancharts.at – Billy Talent – Billy Talent" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
- ^ "Billy Talent Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Billy Talent – Billy Talent" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
- ^ "Billy Talent Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
- ^ "Billy Talent Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
- ^ "Canadian album certifications – Billy Talent – Billy Talent". Music Canada. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
- ^ "Canadian album certifications – Billy Talent – Billy Talent 10th Anniversary Edition". Music Canada. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
- ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Billy Talent; 'Billy Talent')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
- ^ "British album certifications – Billy Talent – Billy Talent". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved January 6, 2021. Select albums in the Formats field. Type Billy Talent Billy Talent in the "Search:" field.