Ursa Major (album)
Encyclopedia
Ursa Major is the fourth studio album from American
alternative rock
band Third Eye Blind
. Released on August 18, 2009 on the group's own Mega Collider label, Ursa Major was the group's first studio album in over six years. The first single from the album was "Don't Believe a Word", which debuted on the radio June 5, 2009.
in 2003. Frontman Stephan Jenkins
had intended for the album to be released in 2007, but didn't feel that it was complete and writer's block
slowed down the album's progress. The working title of the album was The Hideous Strength, after a similarly named
C.S. Lewis book. According to Jenkins, the album's name was subsequently changed to Ursa Major because "...We’ve been hibernating and now we’ve awakened and we are hungry for spring and we want to feed and we want to thrive." Another album, Ursa Minor, is scheduled to follow Ursa Major and may include songs that were recorded during the Ursa Major sessions.
, selling 49,000 copies in its first week of release. The top 10 debut made Ursa Major the highest charting album of the group's career, though its first week sales were less than that of its predecessor's
first week sales of 63,000.
The high charting debut would prove to be short lived, as Ursa Major fell to #45 in its second week on the Billboard 200 with a 77% sales drop.
Ursa Majors cover is derived from Uranographia, a 17th century drawing by Johannes Hevelius
. The view is mirrored following the tradition of celestial globes, showing the celestial sphere in a view from "outside", with the drawing mirrored to match the view through a telescope.
, except where noted.
"Monotov's Private Opera" is not listed on the back of the LP version, and is the final song on the LP.
Additional Personnel
Production
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band Third Eye Blind
Third Eye Blind
Third Eye Blind is an American alternative rock band formed in the early 1990s in San Francisco. The songwriting duo of Kevin Cadogan and Stephan Jenkins signed the band's first major label recording contract with Elektra records in 1996 resulting in two multi platinum albums. The band's lineup...
. Released on August 18, 2009 on the group's own Mega Collider label, Ursa Major was the group's first studio album in over six years. The first single from the album was "Don't Believe a Word", which debuted on the radio June 5, 2009.
History
Work on Ursa Major began shortly after the release of Out of the VeinOut of the Vein
Out of the Vein is the third album by American alternative rock band Third Eye Blind. Released on May 13, 2003, it would be the group's first album with guitarist Tony Fredianelli, who replaced long time guitarist Kevin Cadogan in 2000...
in 2003. Frontman Stephan Jenkins
Stephan Jenkins
Stephan Douglas Jenkins , is an American musician best known as the lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist for Third Eye Blind. Under Jenkins's leadership, Third Eye Blind has sold over eight million copies of four albums: Third Eye Blind , Blue , Out of the Vein , and Ursa Major...
had intended for the album to be released in 2007, but didn't feel that it was complete and writer's block
Writer's block
Writer's block is a condition, primarily associated with writing as a profession, in which an author loses the ability to produce new work. The condition varies widely in intensity. It can be trivial, a temporary difficulty in dealing with the task at hand. At the other extreme, some "blocked"...
slowed down the album's progress. The working title of the album was The Hideous Strength, after a similarly named
That Hideous Strength
That Hideous Strength is a 1945 novel by C. S. Lewis, the final book in Lewis's theological science fiction Space Trilogy. The events of this novel follow those of Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra and once again feature the philologist Elwin Ransom...
C.S. Lewis book. According to Jenkins, the album's name was subsequently changed to Ursa Major because "...We’ve been hibernating and now we’ve awakened and we are hungry for spring and we want to feed and we want to thrive." Another album, Ursa Minor, is scheduled to follow Ursa Major and may include songs that were recorded during the Ursa Major sessions.
Reception
Ursa Major debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
, selling 49,000 copies in its first week of release. The top 10 debut made Ursa Major the highest charting album of the group's career, though its first week sales were less than that of its predecessor's
Out of the Vein
Out of the Vein is the third album by American alternative rock band Third Eye Blind. Released on May 13, 2003, it would be the group's first album with guitarist Tony Fredianelli, who replaced long time guitarist Kevin Cadogan in 2000...
first week sales of 63,000.
The high charting debut would prove to be short lived, as Ursa Major fell to #45 in its second week on the Billboard 200 with a 77% sales drop.
Album cover
Johannes Hevelius
Johannes Hevelius Some sources refer to Hevelius as Polish:Some sources refer to Hevelius as German:*Encyplopedia Britannica * of the Royal Society was a councilor and mayor of Danzig , Pomeranian Voivodeship, in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth...
. The view is mirrored following the tradition of celestial globes, showing the celestial sphere in a view from "outside", with the drawing mirrored to match the view through a telescope.
Track listing
All songs written by Stephan JenkinsStephan Jenkins
Stephan Douglas Jenkins , is an American musician best known as the lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist for Third Eye Blind. Under Jenkins's leadership, Third Eye Blind has sold over eight million copies of four albums: Third Eye Blind , Blue , Out of the Vein , and Ursa Major...
, except where noted.
Vinyl version
Notes"Monotov's Private Opera" is not listed on the back of the LP version, and is the final song on the LP.
Personnel
Third Eye Blind- Stephan JenkinsStephan JenkinsStephan Douglas Jenkins , is an American musician best known as the lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist for Third Eye Blind. Under Jenkins's leadership, Third Eye Blind has sold over eight million copies of four albums: Third Eye Blind , Blue , Out of the Vein , and Ursa Major...
- Vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion, drums on "Why Can't You Be" - Tony Fredianelli - Guitar, backing vocals, keyboards
- Brad HargreavesBrad HargreavesBradley William Hargreaves is an American drummer. He is currently the drummer for the alternative bands Third Eye Blind and Year Long Disaster.- Career :...
- Drums, percussion, piano
Additional Personnel
- Jon Evans - Bass guitar except on "Bonfire"
- Arion SalazarArion SalazarArion Salazar is the former bassist for Third Eye Blind. Salazar was considered to be the most connected with the fans through the internet out of all the band members. He was previously in the Fremont, California band, Fungo Mungo.Salazar also played in a sessions band called Bullmark...
- Bass guitar on "Bonfire" - Herve Salters - Keyboards on "Why Can't You Be"
- Robyn Croomer - Backing vocals
- Cynthia Taylor - Backing vocals
- Minna Choi - Backing vocals
- Ben Stokes - Drum programming on "Water Landing," synthesizer on "Can You Take Me"
Production
- Sean Beresford - Engineering
- Tony HofferTony HofferTony Hoffer is an American producer, guitarist, and music mixer who is credited for his work on multiple platinum-selling albums including The Kooks, The Thrills, Beck, Supergrass, Turin Brakes and Air...
- Engineering - Chris Lord-AlgeChris Lord-AlgeChris Lord-Alge is a mixer who has worked on various albums. He is the brother of Tom Lord-Alge, another audio engineer. Chris Lord-Alge is known for his extreme use of dynamic range compression in both hardware and software plug-in versions....
- Engineering - Vlado Meller - Mastering