Famous Last Words (Hedley album)

Famous Last Words
Studio album by
Hedley
ReleasedOctober 30, 2007 (CAN)
May 12, 2009 (USA)
StudioRock Beach Recording (White Rock)
Hipposonic Studios (Vancouver)
The Warehouse Studio (Vancouver)
Genre
Length43:35
48:33 (USA Release)
Label
Producer
Hedley chronology
Hedley
(2005) 		Famous Last Words
(2007) 		The Show Must Go
(2009)
Singles from Famous Last Words
  1. "She's So Sorry"
    Released: August 21, 2007
  2. "For the Nights I Can’t Remember"
    Released: November 2007
  3. "Never Too Late"
    Released: April 2008
  4. "Old School"
    Released: August 2008
  5. "Dying to Live Again"
    Released: November 2008
Alternative cover
US edition cover

Famous Last Words is the second full-length studio album by Canadian pop-rock band Hedley. It was released on October 30, 2007. It debuted at number three on the Canadian Albums Chart upon release. In the United States, the album is known as Never Too Late and was released on May 12, 2009. The album only includes 8 tracks from the Canadian release and contains 5 tracks from Hedley, which replaced the missing tracks from Famous Last Words.[2] Unlike Famous Last Words, Never Too Late has a blue background on its album cover, whereas the Canadian release has a red background on its cover.

Background and recording

[edit]

The group began working on their second studio album in May 2007 with producers Dave Genn and Greig Nori.[3] The album was recorded at Hipposonic Studios and The Warehouse Studio in Vancouver, British Columbia and in Rock Beach Recording in White Rock, British Columbia.[4] According to Hoggard; the album completion process was lengthy.[5]

Singles

[edit]

The first single from the album, "She's So Sorry", was released to radio on August 21, 2007. The video was shot in Toronto, Ontario on August 30 and premiered on MuchMusic on September 20, 2007. The album's second single, "For the Nights I Can't Remember", was released in November 2007. The song peaked at number six on the Canadian Hot 100.[6] The third single, "Never Too Late", was released in April 2008, and peaked at number four on the Canadian Hot 100.[6] The fourth single from the album, "Old School" was released in August 2008, and peaked at number 10 on the Canadian Hot 100.[6]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
Melodic[8]
Starpulse[9]
TuneLab Music[10]

Famous Last Words was received with mixed to low reviews. Andrew Leahey of AllMusic gave the album a 2.5/5 star rating. He said, "Famous Last Words delivers the same kick of Hedley's innumerable pop-punk colleagues, relying on a blend of snot-nosed vocals and guitar muscle that evokes the likes of SR-71 and Hot Topic in the same breath. He ends off stating, "Famous Last Words does sound destined for airplay as a result, proving that Jacob Hoggard knows how to stay in the spotlight better than he knows how to craft original music.[7] Nick of Tunelab.com gave the album a 5/10 star rating. He stated, "If you are familiar with Hedley’s sound, then their often times hard to take seriously and borderline sugarcoated approach shouldn’t come as a shock."[10] Kaj Roth of Melodic called the tracks "For the Nights I Can't Remember" and "Dying to Live Again" as "modern rock version of Hanson."[8] Adrian Mack of The Georgia Straight stated that the group, "abandoned any effort to distinguish itself from the network of tatty Canadiana it finds itself caught up in, settling for an almost mathematically perfect melding of Treble Charger and Sum 41."[11]

Track listing

[edit]
Famous Last Words
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."She's So Sorry"
  • Jacob Hoggard
  • Dave Rosin
  • Tom MacDonald
  • Chris Crippin
  • Brian Howes
3:36
2."Hand Grenade"
  • Hoggard
  • Rosin
  • MacDonald
  • Crippin
  • Greig Nori
3:04
3."Dying to Live Again"
  • Hoggard
  • Rosin
  • MacDonald
  • Crippin
  • Howes
4:18
4."Narcissist"
  • Hoggard
  • Rosin
  • MacDonald
  • Crippin
  • Dave Genn
3:10
5."Bones Shatter (Never Say Never)"
  • Hoggard
  • Rosin
  • MacDonald
  • Crippin
3:19
6."Old School"
  • Hoggard
  • Rosin
  • MacDonald
  • Crippin
  • Genn
3:41
7."Been There Done That"
  • Hoggard
  • Rosin
  • MacDonald
  • Crippin
  • Nori
  • Genn
  • Davor Valuma
  • Johnny Hetherington (Art of Dying)
3:16
8."For the Nights I Can't Remember"
  • Hoggard
  • Rosin
  • MacDonald
  • Crippin
  • Genn
  • Nori
4:02
9."Brave New World"
  • Hoggard
  • Rosin
  • MacDonald
  • Crippin
  • Sean Hosein
  • Dane Deviller
3:58
10."Dear Blank"
  • Hoggard
  • Rosin
  • MacDonald
  • Crippin
  • Hosein
  • Deviller
3:26
11."Can't Go Back"
  • Hoggard
  • Rosin
  • MacDonald
  • Crippin
  • Genn
  • Nori
  • Ben Cook
4:01
12."Never Too Late"
  • Hoggard
  • Rosin
  • MacDonald
  • Crippin
  • Nori
4:00
Total length:43:35
Bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
13."Lose My Number" (iTunes preorder bonus track)3:14
14."Alison Wonderland (Afraid)" (Rogers Music Store bonus track)3:14

Never Too Late (USA Release)

[edit]
No.TitleLength
1."She's So Sorry"3:34
2."321"3:45
3."Trip"4:04
4."For the Nights I Can't Remember"4:02
5."Never Too Late"3:59
6."Gunnin'"4:12
7."On My Own"3:29
8."Bones Shatter (Never Say Never)"3:19
9."Old School"3:41
10."Narcissist"3:10
11."Hand Grenade"3:04
12."Dying to Live Again"4:04
13."Villain" (Bonus Track)4:10
Total length:48:33

Personnel

[edit]

Adapted from the Famous Last Words booklet.[12]

Hedley
Additional musicians
  • Brian Howes – Guitar solo (on "She's So Sorry")
  • Greig Nori – Guitar solo (on "Brave New World")
  • Ray Garraway – Drums (on "Never Too Late")
  • Gillian Mott (Violin), Joshua Belvedere (Violin), Bernard Kane (Viola), Alexandra Sia (Cello) – Strings (on "Old School" and "Dying to Live Again")
  • Sal Ferreres – Percussion
  • Dave Genn – Guitars, string arrangements, piano, keyboards, additional production
  • Ben Kaplan – Additional keyboards
  • Elaine Shepherd, April White, Carly "Charly" Campbell – Back-up singers
Production
  • Mike Fraser – Mixing
  • Dean Maher – Engineering
  • Brian Gardner – Mastering (Bernie Grundman Mastering; Los Angeles)
  • Alex Aligizakis – Additional recording
  • Dave Ottoson – Pre-Pro recording, mixing
  • Shawn O'Hara – Assistant engineer (Rock Beach Recording)
  • Brendon Brown, Brock McFarlane, Chris Michael – Assistant engineers (Hipposonic Studios)
  • Eric Mosher – Assistant engineer (Warehouse Studios)
Artwork
  • Garnet Armstrong – Art direction, design
  • Matt Barnes – Photography
  • Simon Paul – Design
  • Steve McArdle – 3D illustration

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for Famous Last Words
Chart (2007) Peak
position
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[13] 3

Certifications

[edit]
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[14] Platinum 100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

[edit]
Release formats for Famous Last Words
Region Date Format(s) Edition Label Ref.
Canada October 30, 2007 Digital download Standard Universal Music Canada [1]
iTunes bonus track [15]
November 6, 2007 CD Standard [16]
United States May 12, 2009 Digital download USA Standard Fontana [2]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Famous Last Words - Album by Hedley". Apple Music. Retrieved August 4, 2023. One part finely produced, highly infectious pop music and one part head-banging, face-melting hard rock, Hedley's second studio album is an onslaught of muscular guitars and emo-style vocals.
  2. ^ a b "Never Too Late (Bonus Track Version) - Album by Hedley". iTunes. Archived from the original on March 9, 2010. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  3. ^ Johan Wippsson (May 6, 2007). "Hedley Working On New Album; Produced By Greig Nori". Melodic. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  4. ^ "Famous Last Words - Hedley Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
  5. ^ Stephanie Joudrey (December 11, 2008). "Hedley Prepare Their Famous Last Words". Chart Attack. Archived from the original on May 30, 2010. Retrieved August 6, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. ^ a b c "Hedley Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 18, 2021. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  7. ^ a b Leahey, Andrew. "Famous Last Words - Hedley". AllMusic. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
  8. ^ a b Kaj Roth (November 8, 2007). "Hedley - Famous Last Words". Melodic. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
  9. ^ "Hedley − Famous Last Words − Starpulse Review". Starpulse. Archived from the original on April 26, 2008. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  10. ^ a b "TuneLab Music review". Archived from the original on August 31, 2011. Retrieved June 22, 2009.
  11. ^ Adrian Mack (November 7, 2007). "Famous Last Words by Hedley". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  12. ^ Famous Last Words (booklet). Hedley. Universal Music Canada. 2007. 0251745232.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  13. ^ "Hedley Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 17, 2021. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  14. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Hedley – Famous Last Words". Music Canada.
  15. ^ "Famous Last Words (Bonus Track Edition) - Album by Hedley". Apple Music. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
  16. ^ "Famous Last Words - Hedley Releases". AllMusic. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
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