Showbiz is the debut studio album by English rock band Muse, first released on 7 September 1999 through Taste Media.[3] It was released in various other regions around the world through the band's different regional labels such as; Naïve in France, Motor in Germany, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine, Maverick in the United States, Play It Again Sam (PIAS) in Benelux, and Avex Trax in Japan.[3]
Despite receiving generally mixed reviews from critics, Showbiz was a moderate commercial success, reaching number 29 on the UK Albums Chart.[5] As of 2018, Showbiz has sold more than 1.2 million copies worldwide.
Showbiz was recorded between April 1999 and May 1999. However, the album included some older songs in Muse's repertoire, many of which can date as far back as 1996. Most of the songs on Showbiz had already been written at least by 1997. The songs featured on the album were among the "fifty or so" that Matt Bellamy had written before entering the studio. The band selected the songs which they deemed to be the more conventional and "straight-forward" to make up Showbiz. While the songs contain an eclectic and diverse sound featuring subtle classical, jazz, blues, Latin, and world music influences, they have a distinct and cohesive alternative rock aesthetic. The more experimental material was left out of the album to be included as B-sides in the single releases. A few of those songs were later featured on the compilation album Hullabaloo Soundtrack.
John Leckie, the producer of the album, started attending Muse's concerts in the latter half of 1998. Leckie was based at Sawmills recording studio, where the owner Dennis Smith had given the band free recording time the previous year, from which the Muse EP had resulted in 1998. He built up a relationship with the band during this time, coming to say that he'd "want to work with the band if ever they could afford him". Leckie had not worked with many bands for quite some time prior to doing so with Muse. The recording was finished by 15 May 1999.
Sleeve artworkEdit
The sleeve design was criticised by Muse biographer Ben Myers, who wrote that it was "just plain strange. Ill-advised. Tacky, even" and "recalled the sort of artwork that Eighties prog-rock revivalists like Marillion used or, worse still, the doodlings of a sci-fi obsessed A-Level art student" instead of "the work of an exciting, new, distinctly modern band."[6]
Upon its release, the album received positive to mixed reviews from music critics, who saw the young band's potential, but were also quick to dismiss the album as promising yet derivative of other alternative rock bands of the 1990s. Several critics drew comparisons to Radiohead, due to the style of the songs, and the fact that Showbiz was produced by John Leckie, who also worked on the aforementioned band's album The Bends. Neva Chonin of Rolling Stone gave the album 3 out of 5 stars, saying Showbiz "matches Thom Yorke's penchant for majestic agony – screams and the word self-destruction pepper the title track – but with an edge that's quirkier and decidedly more ragged than their elders".[10] Brent DiCrescenzo of Pitchfork said in his review of the album that "Muse expertly boil down Radiohead into punkish radio nuggets", but went on to question that "despite this promise, where can they go from here?", which resulted in a rating of 6.7 of a possible 10.[9] In a less favourable review, NME said that "Showbiz is not as clever as they think it is ... "Unintended" and the title track are overwrought, prone to excruciatingly bad pseudo poetry", which ended in a 6 out of 10 score from the publication.[8] On the other hand, a more positive review came from Edna Gundersen of USA Today, who gave the album 3 out of 4 stars, saying that the album "offers smart, seductive rock that's sophisticated but not stuffy, fun but not frilly", and that the songs "get a boost from the handsome voice of Matthew Bellamy, who builds tension by vocally snowballing from a hushed intensity to full-throttle wails."[13]
The album has drawn a noticeably greater appreciation and following since its release, however; as of 2009, the album was ranked in the top 20 British albums of the last 20 years by the UK edition of MSN. As well as this, several songs from the album appear to have had lasting appeal among fans, such as the title track, which was one of the band's most requested songs during The Resistance Tour in 2010, when the band staged a fan vote for songs to be played during that tour's stadium leg.[14]
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Showbiz is the debut studio album by English rock band Muse first released on 7 September 1999 through Taste Media 3 It was released in various other regions around the world through the band s different regional labels such as Naive in France Motor in Germany Russia Turkey and Ukraine Maverick in the United States Play It Again Sam PIAS in Benelux and Avex Trax in Japan 3 ShowbizStudio album by MuseReleased7 September 1999 1999 09 07 RecordedApril and May 1999StudioRAK London Sawmills Fowey England GenreAlternative rock 1 indie rock 1 hard rock 2 Length49 36LabelTaste a ProducerJohn Leckie Muse Paul ReeveMuse chronologyMuscle Museum 1999 Showbiz 1999 Random 1 8 2000 Muse studio album chronologyShowbiz 1999 Origin of Symmetry 2001 Singles from Showbiz Uno Released 14 June 1999 Cave Released 6 September 1999 Muscle Museum Released 22 November 1999 Sunburn Released 21 February 2000 Unintended Released 5 June 2000Recorded between April and May 1999 at RAK Studios and Sawmills Studio respectively 4 the album was produced by John Leckie and Paul Reeve in conjunction with the band Five singles were released from the album Uno Cave Muscle Museum Sunburn and Unintended Despite receiving generally mixed reviews from critics Showbiz was a moderate commercial success reaching number 29 on the UK Albums Chart 5 As of 2018 Showbiz has sold more than 1 2 million copies worldwide Contents 1 Background and recording 2 Sleeve artwork 3 Critical reception and legacy 4 Track listing 5 Personnel 6 Charts and certifications 6 1 Weekly charts 6 2 Year end charts 6 3 Certifications 7 Release history 8 References 8 1 Notes 8 2 Additional readingBackground and recording EditShowbiz was recorded between April 1999 and May 1999 However the album included some older songs in Muse s repertoire many of which can date as far back as 1996 Most of the songs on Showbiz had already been written at least by 1997 The songs featured on the album were among the fifty or so that Matt Bellamy had written before entering the studio The band selected the songs which they deemed to be the more conventional and straight forward to make up Showbiz While the songs contain an eclectic and diverse sound featuring subtle classical jazz blues Latin and world music influences they have a distinct and cohesive alternative rock aesthetic The more experimental material was left out of the album to be included as B sides in the single releases A few of those songs were later featured on the compilation album Hullabaloo Soundtrack John Leckie the producer of the album started attending Muse s concerts in the latter half of 1998 Leckie was based at Sawmills recording studio where the owner Dennis Smith had given the band free recording time the previous year from which the Muse EP had resulted in 1998 He built up a relationship with the band during this time coming to say that he d want to work with the band if ever they could afford him Leckie had not worked with many bands for quite some time prior to doing so with Muse The recording was finished by 15 May 1999 Sleeve artwork EditThe sleeve design was criticised by Muse biographer Ben Myers who wrote that it was just plain strange Ill advised Tacky even and recalled the sort of artwork that Eighties prog rock revivalists like Marillion used or worse still the doodlings of a sci fi obsessed A Level art student instead of the work of an exciting new distinctly modern band 6 Critical reception and legacy EditProfessional ratingsReview scoresSourceRatingAllMusic nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 7 NME6 10 8 Pitchfork6 7 10 9 Rolling Stone nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 10 Sputnikmusic nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 11 USA Today nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 12 Upon its release the album received positive to mixed reviews from music critics who saw the young band s potential but were also quick to dismiss the album as promising yet derivative of other alternative rock bands of the 1990s Several critics drew comparisons to Radiohead due to the style of the songs and the fact that Showbiz was produced by John Leckie who also worked on the aforementioned band s album The Bends Neva Chonin of Rolling Stone gave the album 3 out of 5 stars saying Showbiz matches Thom Yorke s penchant for majestic agony screams and the word self destruction pepper the title track but with an edge that s quirkier and decidedly more ragged than their elders 10 Brent DiCrescenzo of Pitchfork said in his review of the album that Muse expertly boil down Radiohead into punkish radio nuggets but went on to question that despite this promise where can they go from here which resulted in a rating of 6 7 of a possible 10 9 In a less favourable review NME said that Showbiz is not as clever as they think it is Unintended and the title track are overwrought prone to excruciatingly bad pseudo poetry which ended in a 6 out of 10 score from the publication 8 On the other hand a more positive review came from Edna Gundersen of USA Today who gave the album 3 out of 4 stars saying that the album offers smart seductive rock that s sophisticated but not stuffy fun but not frilly and that the songs get a boost from the handsome voice of Matthew Bellamy who builds tension by vocally snowballing from a hushed intensity to full throttle wails 13 The album has drawn a noticeably greater appreciation and following since its release however as of 2009 the album was ranked in the top 20 British albums of the last 20 years by the UK edition of MSN As well as this several songs from the album appear to have had lasting appeal among fans such as the title track which was one of the band s most requested songs during The Resistance Tour in 2010 when the band staged a fan vote for songs to be played during that tour s stadium leg 14 Track listing EditAll tracks are written by Matt Bellamy 15 Showbiz Standard editionNo TitleLength1 Sunburn 3 542 Muscle Museum 4 233 Fillip 4 014 Falling Down 4 335 Cave 4 466 Showbiz 5 167 Unintended 3 578 Uno 3 379 Sober 4 0410 Escape 3 3111 Overdue 2 2612 Hate This and I ll Love You 5 09Total length 49 36Personnel EditPersonnel adapted from Showbiz CD liner notes 15 MuseMatthew Bellamy vocals all tracks guitars 1 8 10 12 piano 1 6 Mellotron 2 7 Wurlitzer electric piano 3 12 Hammond organ 4 7 10 synthesisers 5 guitar synthesiser 9 harmonium 10 string arrangements 6 alien samples 9 production and mixing 2 7 9 artwork Christopher Wolstenholme bass guitar 1 3 5 12 backing vocals 10 double bass 1 4 7 slap nylon bass 6 production and mixing 2 7 9 Dominic Howard drums all tracks percussion 6 8 12 radio noise 2 production and mixing 2 7 9 Additional personnelJohn Leckie production and mixing 1 3 6 10 12 crickets 12 Paul Reeve production and mixing 2 7 9 backing vocals 7 8 11 12 Boris tape abuse 5 Tanya Andrew artwork Craig Gentle design Ralf Strathmann photography Frederic Gresse photographyCharts and certifications EditWeekly charts Edit Chart 1999 2000 PeakpositionAustralian Albums ARIA 16 28Belgian Albums Ultratop Flanders 17 29Belgian Albums Ultratop Wallonia 18 41Dutch Albums Album Top 100 19 53Finnish Albums Suomen virallinen lista 20 45French Albums SNEP 21 59Irish Albums IRMA 22 46Italian Albums FIMI 23 87Japanese Albums Oricon 24 69Norwegian Albums VG lista 25 38Scottish Albums OCC 26 48UK Albums OCC 5 29 Year end charts Edit Chart 2001 PositionUK Albums OCC 27 179Certifications Edit Region Certification Certified units salesAustralia ARIA 28 Gold 35 000 Belgium BEA 29 Gold 25 000 Netherlands NVPI 30 Gold 40 000 United Kingdom BPI 32 Platinum 500 000 31 Sales figures based on certification alone Shipments figures based on certification alone Release history EditRegion Date Label Format CatalogFrance 7 September 1999 Naive CD NV 3211 1Germany 20 September 1999 Motor CD 547 979 4RussiaTurkeyUkraineUnited States 28 September 1999 Maverick CD 0 9362 47382 2 0United Kingdom 4 October 1999 Taste Mushroom CD MUSH59CDLP MUSH59LPCS MUSH59MCMD MUSH59MDBenelux 4 October 1999 PIAS CD 481 2001 20Japan 4 October 1999 Avex Trax CD AVCM 65057References Edit a b Trendell Andrew 20 May 2014 The 50 best second albums of all time Gigwise Retrieved 12 July 2021 Raper Dan 19 July 2006 Muse Black Holes amp Revelations PopMatters Retrieved 12 July 2021 a b Beaumont 2008 p 81 Beaumont 2008 p 61 a b Official Albums Chart Top 100 Official Charts Company Retrieved 8 November 2018 Ben Myers 2007 Muse Inside the Muscle Museum Independent Music Press p 95 ISBN 978 0955282256 Demalon Tom Muse Showbiz at AllMusic Retrieved 23 September 2011 a b Showbiz NME United Kingdom 1 October 1999 ISSN 0028 6362 Retrieved 23 September 2011 a b DiCrescenzo Brent 28 September 1999 Muse Showbiz Pitchfork Retrieved 23 September 2011 a b Chonin Neva 14 October 1999 Muse Showbiz Rolling Stone New York Straight Arrow ISSN 0035 791X Retrieved 23 September 2011 Andrew H 14 January 2005 Muse Showbiz Sputnikmusic Retrieved 23 September 2011 Gundersen Edna 26 October 1999 Muse Showbiz USA Today Retrieved 15 June 2013 Master P judges next generation Parton picks bluegrass USA TODAY 26 October 1999 Choose the Setlists muse mu Archived from the original on 22 July 2011 Retrieved 23 September 2011 a b Muse 1999 Showbiz album liner notes Taste Media Australiancharts com Muse Showbiz Hung Medien Retrieved 1 February 2015 Ultratop be Muse Showbiz in Dutch Hung Medien Retrieved 1 February 2015 Ultratop be Muse Showbiz in French Hung Medien Retrieved 1 February 2015 Dutchcharts nl Muse Showbiz in Dutch Hung Medien Retrieved 1 February 2015 Muse Showbiz in Finnish Musiikkituottajat IFPI Finland Retrieved 1 February 2015 Lescharts com Muse Showbiz Hung Medien Retrieved 1 February 2015 Discography Muse irish charts com Retrieved 8 October 2008 Italiancharts com Muse Showbiz Hung Medien Retrieved 1 February 2015 ミューズのCDアルバムランキング ミューズのプロフィールならオリコン芸能人事典 ORICON STYLE Oricon co jp Retrieved 27 February 2013 Norwegiancharts com Muse Showbiz Hung Medien Retrieved 1 February 2015 Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100 Official Charts Company Retrieved 14 September 2018 The Official UK Albums Chart 2001 PDF UKChartsPlus Retrieved 1 April 2021 ARIA Charts Accreditations 2008 Albums PDF Australian Recording Industry Association Retrieved 19 November 2021 Ultratop Goud en Platina albums 2002 Ultratop Hung Medien Archived from the original on 8 March 2021 Dutch album certifications Muse Showbiz in Dutch Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld en geluidsdragers EnterShowbiz in the Artiest of titel box Select 2002 in the drop down menu saying Alle jaargangen Muse s biggest singles and albums on the Official Chart officialcharts com British album certifications Muse Showbiz British Phonographic Industry Notes Edit Also released through Mushroom Records in the United Kingdom and Oceania Maverick Records in the United States PIAS Recordings in Benelux Motor Music in Germany Naive Records in France and maximum10 in Japan Additional reading Edit Beaumont Mark 2008 Out of This World The Story of Muse London Omnibus Press ISBN 978 1 84772 377 2 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Showbiz Muse album amp oldid 1180848367, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
