Major Lodge Victory is the fourth studio album by the power pop band Gin Blossoms. It was the first album released by the band since their 1997–2002 breakup. It was released on August 8, 2006, on Hybrid Recordings, making it the Gin Blossoms' first new album in over 10 years.

Major Lodge Victory
Studio album by
ReleasedAugust 8, 2006
RecordedArdent Studios, Memphis, Tennessee
GenreAlternative rock, power pop
Length48:59
LabelHybrid
ProducerJohn Hampton, Jesse Valenzuela, Danny Wilde
Gin Blossoms chronology
The Millennium Collection: The Best of Gin Blossoms
(2003)
Major Lodge Victory
(2006)
Live in Concert
(2009)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Daily VaultB+[2]
Entertainment WeeklyB[3]
Melodic[4]
The Music Box[5]
Paste(average)[6]
Rolling Stone[8]
USA Today[7]

Hybrid promoted the album's first single, "Learning the Hard Way", for months prior to the album's release. The song received heavy AAA airplay and peaked at 8 on the FMQB AAA Chart. The second single, "Long Time Gone", was also released to radio later that year.

Major Lodge Victory entered the Billboard 200 album chart at number 159 after selling 5,000 copies in just one week. According to a Reuters news article[9] this was the first time that the Gin Blossoms had appeared on the Billboard 200 chart in 10 years, one month and two weeks. The Gin Blossoms had last appeared on the chart during the week of July 13, 1996, with their previous album, Congratulations… I'm Sorry.

The album's title, according to the lead singer Robin Wilson, refers to an in–band joke by a former band member, Doug Hopkins. While touring by van in the early 1990s, the band was discussing whether to continue driving, or to stop at a hotel. Hopkins wanted to stop and rest. After this discussion, the band's van lost control and spun wildly. "Major," Hopkins said, referring to the near accident after the vehicle came to rest. A large hotel sign was visible nearby. "Lodge," he then stated, referring to the hotel. "Victory," he then stated, as the band then decided the near accident was a sign to stop driving for the night.

Major Lodge Victory has sold over 35,000 copies to date according to Nielsen Soundscan.[10]

Track listing

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  1. "Learning the Hard Way" (Jesse Valenzuela) – 4:09
  2. "Come On Hard" (Robin Wilson) – 4:10
  3. "Someday Soon" (Valenzuela) – 4:41
  4. "Heart Shaped Locket" (Valenzuela, Danny Wilde, Sue Sandberg) – 3:49
  5. "The End Of The World" (Wilson, Valenzuela) – 4:05
  6. "Long Time Gone" (Valenzuela, Wilson, Wilde, Sandberg) – 3:49
  7. "Super Girl" (Valenzuela) – 4:57
  8. "Let's Play Two" (Valenzuela, Sandberg) – 3:03
  9. "Curious Thing" (Valenzuela, Oliver Jones) – 4:12
  10. "Jet Black Sunrise" (Bill Leen) – 4:13
  11. "Fool For The Taking" (Valenzuela, Wilde, Sandberg) – 3:46
  12. "California Sun" (Valenzuela, Wilde, Sandberg) – 4:05

Charts

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Album - Billboard (North America)

Year Chart Position
2006 The Billboard 200 159
2006 Top Independent Albums 10

References

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  1. ^ AllMusic review
  2. ^ The Daily Vault review
  3. ^ Dombal, Ryan (2006-08-11). "Major Lodge Victory Review". Entertainment Weekly. No. 890. p. 87. Archived from the original on January 21, 2007. Retrieved 2013-07-27.
  4. ^ Melodic.net review
  5. ^ The Music Box review
  6. ^ Paste review
  7. ^ "USA Today review". Archived from the original on August 14, 2006. Retrieved 2013-07-27.
  8. ^ "Rolling Stone review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 24, 2007. Retrieved 2013-07-27.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  9. ^ Fred Bronson, "Gin Blossoms Back in Chart Bloom"
  10. ^ http://www.azcentral.com/thingstodo/music/articles/2010/09/24/20100924gin-blossoms-best-buy-tempe-acoustic-cd.html [dead link]
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