Baby 81 is the fourth studio album by American rock band Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. It was released on April 27, 2007 in Germany, April 30 in Europe and on May 1 in the U.S.. The album features a harder, more raw sound compared with their previous record Howl. It was also a studio comeback for drummer Nick Jago who was unable to participate during the recordings of Howl (other than the last track recorded during the sessions, 'Promise'). A DualDisc edition of the album was set to be released on May 1 in the U.S.; however, it has since been canceled.
| Baby 81 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 27, 2007 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 60:26 | |||
| Label | RCA, Island | |||
| Producer | Black Rebel Motorcycle Club | |||
| Black Rebel Motorcycle Club chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 71/100[1] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [2] |
| NME | (7/10)[3] |
| Pitchfork Media | (4.5/10)[4] |
| Spin |   [5] |
The album debuted at number 46 on the U.S. Billboard 200, selling about 14,000 copies in its first week.[6]
The album title refers to Baby 81, a survivor of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Took Out a Loan" | 4:16 |
| 2. | "Berlin" | 3:11 |
| 3. | "Weapon of Choice" | 2:50 |
| 4. | "Windows" | 6:06 |
| 5. | "Cold Wind" | 4:18 |
| 6. | "Not What You Wanted" | 3:43 |
| 7. | "666 Conducer" | 4:01 |
| 8. | "All You Do Is Talk" | 5:42 |
| 9. | "Lien on Your Dreams" | 4:36 |
| 10. | "Need Some Air" | 4:04 |
| 11. | "Killing the Light" | 3:55 |
| 12. | "American X" | 9:11 |
| 13. | "Am I Only" | 4:26 |
Singles
edit- Weapon Of Choice (April 16, 2007)
- b/w "666 Conducer" / "The Show's About To Begin" / "666 Conducer" (Acoustic)
- Berlin (July 30, 2007)
- b/w "Vision" / "20 Hours" / "Weapon Of Choice" (Alternate Video)
- See also: American X: Baby 81 Sessions EP
In popular culture
edit"Weapon of Choice" was featured in the bonus setlist in Guitar Hero: World Tour, Driver: San Francisco, and as downloadable content for Rock Band. It is also featured in the racing game Ferrari Challenge: Trofeo Pirelli. "Need Some Air" was featured in NASCAR 08 and Major League Baseball 2K8 . "Berlin" and "Weapon of Choice" were featured in Shaun White Snowboarding. A short film was created for the American X track and can be found on the American X EP and the Live DVD released from the Baby 81 Tour.[7]
Chart performance
edit| Chart (2007) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[8] | 36 |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[9] | 71 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[10] | 59 |
| French Albums (SNEP)[11] | 98 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[12] | 58 |
| Irish Albums (IRMA)[13] | 27 |
| Italian Albums (FIMI)[14] | 99 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[15] | 13 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[16] | 53 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[17] | 50 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[18] | 15 |
| US Billboard 200[6] | 46 |
References
edit- ^ "Baby 81 by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club". Retrieved 3 October 2016.
- ^ Sendra, Tim. "Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: Baby 81 > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved August 31, 2011.
- ^ Miller, Alex (April 30, 2007). "Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: Baby 81". NME.
- ^ Harvey, Eric (May 3, 2007). "Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: Baby 81". Pitchfork Media.
- ^ Gross, Jason. "Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: 'Baby 81'". Spin. Retrieved August 31, 2011.
- ^ a b Hasty, Katie. ""Ne-Yo Scores Second No. 1 In Debut-Heavy Week"". Billboard. Retrieved May 9, 2007.
- ^ See track notes for both releases
- ^ "Australiancharts.com – Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Baby 81". Hung Medien. Retrieved access-date=November 21, 2021.
- ^ "Austriancharts.at – Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Baby 81" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved access-date=November 21, 2021.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Baby 81" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
- ^ "Lescharts.com – Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Baby 81". Hung Medien. Retrieved access-date=November 21, 2021.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Baby 81" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
- ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Black Rebel Motorcycle Club". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
- ^ "Italiancharts.com – Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Baby 81". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
- ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Baby 81". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Baby 81". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 21, 2021.