Conspiracy of One
Conspiracy of One | ||||
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Studio album by The Offspring | ||||
Released | November 14, 2000 | |||
Recorded | June–August 2000 | |||
Studio | ||||
Genre | ||||
Length | 37:44 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Producer | Brendan O'Brien | |||
The Offspring chronology | ||||
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Brazilian limited edition | ||||
![]() from MTV Brazil's contest: "Design The Offspring's album cover"[2] |
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Singles from Conspiracy of One | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Aggregate scores | |
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | (60/100) [3] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Billboard | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Entertainment Weekly | B [5] |
Kerrang! | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Q | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Robert Christgau | ![]() |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Spin | (7/10) [3] |
Wall of Sound | (62/100)[8] |
Yahoo! Music UK | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Conspiracy of One is the sixth studio album by the American punk rock band The Offspring, released on November 14, 2000 through Columbia Records. Following a worldwide tour in support of its previous album, Americana (1998), The Offspring commenced work on a new album. By the time of its release, the band had come out in support of peer-to-peer file sharing, claiming it would not hurt sales. Conspiracy of One was originally planned to be released directly on their website before retail, until their label threatened to sue and the album ended up as a physical release. It would end up becoming The Offspring's final studio album with drummer Ron Welty, as he left the band in early 2003 to pursue his career with Steady Ground.
Conspiracy of One debuted at number nine on the Billboard 200 with around 125,000 copies sold in its first week,[10] and spawned the singles "Original Prankster", "Want You Bad", and "Million Miles Away". The band supported the album with a worldwide tour. Although the album was not as successful as Americana, it was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in the United States.
Background and recording
The Offspring spent much of 1999 on tour promoting the Americana album. They also appeared at the infamous Woodstock 1999, where their performance was broadcast live on pay-per-view television. After some time off, the members reconvened in early 2000 to begin work on new material, nine songs of which were in the demo phase at the time. Frontman Dexter Holland told Rolling Stone in May 2000 that, "we came home last Christmas and we kind of took a month just trying to recoup and we started thinking, 'Well, do we want to get started on another record right away?'. "We're all pretty excited about the way things have gone so I spent a couple of months trying to come up with some new material and then [started] jamming out these demos."[11] The Offspring officially entered the studio to begin recording sessions for Conspiracy of One in June 2000. For the recording of the album, the band tapped Brendan O'Brien as its producer and recorded the album at NRG studios in North Hollywood, California over a two-month period.
Reception
Conspiracy of One was released on November 14, 2000 and peaked at number 9 on the US Billboard 200 album chart.[12] Five weeks after its release, the album was certified gold and platinum.[13] The album was also successful in Canada, selling 25,231 copies in its first week and debuting at #4 on the Canadian Albums Chart.[14] The album was certified 2x Platinum by the CRIA in February 2007.[15]
Liana Jonas of AllMusic described Conspiracy of One as The Offspring's "most musically mature collection to date". Jonas praised the music as "tight arrangements, vocal interplay and refined guitar work" and claims the band injected "elements of hip hop, rap metal, and Nirvana-like grunge into a few songs". The album received a rating of three and a half out of five stars, while producing three singles, "Original Prankster", "Want You Bad" and "Million Miles Away", that earned The Offspring its commercial success.[4] So far, the album holds a score of 60 out of 100 from Metacritic based on "mixed or average reviews".[3] The album was included at number 13 on Rock Sound's "The 51 Most Essential Pop Punk Albums of All Time" list.[16]
Track listing
All tracks written by Dexter Holland [17].
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Intro" | 0:06 |
2. | "Come Out Swinging" | 2:47 |
3. | "Original Prankster" | 3:42 |
4. | "Want You Bad" | 3:23 |
5. | "Million Miles Away" | 3:40 |
6. | "Dammit, I Changed Again" | 2:49 |
7. | "Living in Chaos" | 3:28 |
8. | "Special Delivery" | 3:00 |
9. | "One Fine Day" | 2:45 |
10. | "All Along" | 1:39 |
11. | "Denial, Revisited" | 4:33 |
12. | "Vultures" | 3:35 |
13. | "Conspiracy of One" | 2:17 |
Total length: |
37:44 |
Bonus tracks
Australian and European bonus track | ||
---|---|---|
No. | Title | Length |
14. | "Huck It" | 2:38 |
Total length: |
40:22 |
Japanese bonus tracks | ||
---|---|---|
No. | Title | Length |
14. | "Huck It" | 2:38 |
15. | "The Kids Aren't Alright" (Live) | 3:03 |
Total length: |
43:25 |
Vinyl bonus track | ||
---|---|---|
No. | Title | Length |
14. | "80 Times" (T.S.O.L. cover) | 2:07 |
Total length: |
39:51 |
Best Buy bonus tracks | ||
---|---|---|
No. | Title | Length |
14. | "Staring At The Sun" (Live) | 2:28 |
15. | "All I Want" (Live) | 2:08 |
Total length: |
42:20 |
Trivia
- First pressings in Australia and UK had the track "Huck It" listed as track 14, later reprints have it unlisted as well as the original Mature audiences rating reduced to a PG rating in Australia.
- The "Intro" track samples a speech made in concert by Mike Love from The Beach Boys.
- "Special Delivery" contains a sample from Blue Swede's version of the song "Hooked on a Feeling".
- This album is also an Enhanced CD and contains the karaoke videos of "Original Prankster" and "One Fine Day", and the previous MTV music videos from Americana.
- This is the only Offspring CD where the word "fuck" is never used, not including the bonus track 'Huck It'.
- First appearance of the Fire Skull logo, which has been the mascot for The Offspring until their 2008 release Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace, in which the skull is completely absent, although it was used again on the single cover for Cruising California (Bumpin' in My Trunk).
- "Dammit, I Changed Again" can be heard in the background in the movie "The New Guy".
- "Want You Bad" is played during the introduction credits in the movie Tomcats and during a sequence in American Pie 2.
- "Original Prankster" is played in the movie "The Animal" as well as at the end of the first episodes of the Estonian TV series "Wremja".
- "One Fine Day" was covered in 2001 by Estonian cover band Meie Mees as "Kõvamees" (hard man)
Chart performance
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/Sales |
---|---|---|
Australian[25] | 2× Platinum | 140,000+ |
Austrian[26] | Gold | 8,000+ |
Belgium (BEA)[27] | Gold | 25,000* |
Brazil (ABPD)[28] | Gold | 100,000* |
Canada (Music Canada)[29] | 2× Platinum | 200,000^ |
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[30] | Gold | 29,330+[30] |
France (SNEP)[31] | 2× Gold | 200,000* |
Germany (BVMI)[32] | Gold | 150,000^ |
Italy (FIMI)[33] | Gold | 50,000* |
Japan (RIAJ)[34] | 2× Platinum | 400,000^ |
Netherlands (NVPI)[35] | Gold | 40,000^ |
New Zealand (RMNZ)[36] | Platinum | 15,000^ |
Norway (IFPI Norway)[37] | Gold | 25,000* |
Poland (ZPAV)[38] | Gold | 50,000* |
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[39] | Gold | 50,000^ |
Sweden (GLF)[40] | Platinum | 80,000^ |
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[41] | Platinum | 50,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI)[42] | Gold | 100,000^ |
United States (RIAA)[43] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
Summaries | ||
Europe (IFPI)[44] | Platinum | 1,000,000* |
Worldwide | 5,500,000+ | |
*sales figures based on certification alone |
Personnel
The Offspring
- Dexter Holland – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
- Noodles – lead guitar, backing vocals
- Greg K. – bass, backing vocals
- Ron Welty – drums
Additional personnel
- Redman – vocals on "Original Prankster"
- Chris "X-13" Higgins – backing vocals
Production
- Justin Beope – design
- Billy Bowers – engineer
- Nick DiDia – engineer
- David Dominguez – assistant engineer
- Karl Egsieker – mixing
- Ryan Williams – mixing
- Sean Evans – art direction
- Alan Forbes – illustrations
- Ross Garfield – drum technician
- Sarkis Kaloustian – design
- Steve Masi – guitar technician
- Eddy Schreyer – mastering
References
- General references
- Conspiracy of One (CD liner). The Offspring. Columbia Records. 2000.
- Notes
- ↑ "Offspring, The – Conspiracy Of One". Discogs. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
- ↑ "Offspring, The – Conspiracy Of One". Discogs. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Critic reviews for Conspiracy Of One". Metacritic. Retrieved 2012-10-23.
- 1 2 3 "Conspiracy of One". AllMusic. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
- ↑ Browne, David (2000-11-17). "Conspiracy of One Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
- ↑ Robert Christgau: CG: the offspring
- ↑ Kemp, Rob (2000-11-23). "The Offspring: Conspiracy of One : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2007-10-01. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
- ↑ Remstein, Bob. "Wall of Sound Review: Conspiracy of One". Wall of Sound. Archived from the original on 2000-12-14. Retrieved 2012-10-23.
- ↑ Dien-Johns, Rebecca (2000-11-13). "The Offspring - 'Conspiracy Of One'". Yahoo! Music UK. Archived from the original on 2004-11-08. Retrieved 2012-10-23.
- ↑ Joe D'Angelo (2003-12-17). "Ruben Debuts At #1 But Can't Match Clay's First-Week Sales - Music, Celebrity, Artist News". MTV. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
- ↑ Stephen Thomas Erlewine (May 1, 2000). "Offspring Prep for Next Album". Euro.Real.com. Retrieved 2010-08-19.
- ↑ "Conspiracy of One's entry at Billboard.com". Billboard.com. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
- ↑ "RIAA Certification (type in "Offspring" in the artist box)". RIAA. Archived from the original on 2007-06-26. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
- ↑ "'Beatles 1' debuts at #1 in Canada". Jam!. Retrieved 2011-04-03.
- ↑ "Gold & Platinum Certification - February 2007". Canadian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 2011-04-03.
- ↑ Bird, ed. 2014, p. 73
- ↑ "BMI Entry". Repertoire.bmi.com. Retrieved 2012-06-04.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Conspiracy of One - Chart Positions" HitParade.ch.
- ↑ "The Offspring - Charts & Awards - Billboard Albums" AllMusic.
- ↑ "Media Control Charts - The Offspring" Media Control Charts.
- ↑ "Oricon Album Charts Search for The Offspring" Oricon.
- ↑ "Polish Charts Database - Search for The Offspring - Conspiracy of One" Polish Albums Chart.
- ↑ http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/29597/OFFSPRING/
- ↑ "Chart Log UK (1994–2006) The O – Ozric Tentacles" Zobbel.
- ↑ UNSUPPORTED OR EMPTY REGION: Australian.
- ↑ UNSUPPORTED OR EMPTY REGION: Austrian.
- ↑ NO certyear WAS PROVIDED for BELGIAN CERTIFICATION.
- ↑ "Brazilian album certifications – The Offspring – Conspiracy Of One" (in Portuguese). Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos.
- ↑ "Canadian album certifications – The Offspring – Conspiracy Of One". Music Canada.
- 1 2 "The Offspring" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
- ↑ "French album certifications – The Offspring – Conspiracy Of One" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
- ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (The Offspring; 'Conspiracy Of One')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
- ↑ "Italian album certifications – The Offspring – Conspiracy Of One" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Select Album e Compilation in the field Sezione. Enter The Offspring in the field Filtra. The certification will load automatically
- ↑ "Japanese album certifications – The Offspring – Conspiracy Of One" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan.
- ↑ "Dutch album certifications – The Offspring – Conspiracy Of One" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers.
- ↑ THE FIELD id (chart number) MUST BE PROVIDED for NEW ZEALAND CERTIFICATION.
- ↑ "Norwegian album certifications – The Offspring – Conspiracy Of One" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway.
- ↑ "Polish album certifications – The Offspring – Conspiracy Of One" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry.
- ↑ "Spanish album certifications – The Offspring – Conspiracy Of One" (PDF) (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Select the "Chart", enter ' in the field "Year". Select ' in the field "Semana". Click on "Search Charts"
- ↑ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2003" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden.
- ↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (The Offspring; 'Conspiracy Of One')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
- ↑ "British album certifications – The Offspring – Conspiracy Of One". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Conspiracy Of One in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
- ↑ "American album certifications – The Offspring – Conspiracy Of One". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
- ↑ NO certyear WAS PROVIDED for EUROPEAN CERTIFICATION.
- Bibliography
External links
- Conspiracy of One at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)
- Official page for the album
- Conspiracy of One at Metacritic