Greetings from Imrie House is the debut studio album by American rock band the Click Five. It was released on August 16, 2005 and reached #15 on the U.S. Billboard 200. It contains the band's two biggest domestic chart hits, "Just the Girl" and "Catch Your Wave". Also included are "Angel to You (Devil to Me)", "Pop Princess", and "Say Goodnight", three songs that originally appeared on an EP named after the former song. It is the only album by the band to feature lead vocalist & rhythm guitarist Eric Dill, who left the band in 2007 prior to the production of their second studio album, Modern Minds and Pastimes.
Background
Signing with Lava Records in early 2005, the band began recording their debut album with producer Mike Denneen. Along with the signing, they released "Just the Girl" for streaming via their website and "Pop Princess" for a free download.[4] The album's title refers to the band's Boston house on Imrie Street where they lived while writing the album and attending Berklee School of Music.[5] The album's musical style of "retro new wave and power pop" was inspired by Cheap Trick, the Beach Boys, and the Knack.[5]Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne and Paul Stanley of KISS worked the band and helped co-write some tracks on the album.[6] The album also features a cover of "Lies" by UK pop band Thompson Twins. According to lead guitarist Joe Guese, the cover was recorded after the album was completed and was intended for the Sky High soundtrack. However, the song was added at the last minute as the record label "thought it came out so cool."[7] The song "Angel to You (Devil to Me)" features a guitar solo from Elliot Easton of the Cars.[8] On June 7, 2005, the group announced the release date for the album, announcing it for release on August 16, 2005.[9]
Commercial performance
The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at number 15 on September 3, 2005, marking the highest-ranking debut for any pop or rock band that year, selling 51,541 copies.[5] It was also the best debut in Lava Records' history.[10]Billboard's Melinda Newman opined that the grassroots following the band had developed online responsible for the high debut.[11] In its second week, the album dropped to number 28.[11]
In an era of declining album sales, the band moved 268,000 copies of the album by January 2006, considered disappointing in comparison to the sales of lead single "Just the Girl". "Part of me likes the idea of being a singles band," said Joe Guese to Rolling Stone at the time.[12] As of March 2009, the album has sold 350,000 copies in the United States.[13]
Greetings from Imrie House received mixed reviews. Rolling Stone's Barry Walters deemed the album and group "Simultaneously retro, current, mainstream-minded and knowing."[8] Gary Susman of Entertainment Weekly called it "insanely catchy blend," combining "guitar crunch, pop hooks, and Queen-worthy vocal harmonies."[17] John D. Luerssen of AllMusic predicted the band would be considered "disposable," while also attracting "instant acclaim" from other quarters.[15] Kaj Roth of Melodic said of the album, "Pop like the one on Greetings from Imrie house will always be timeless."[19]
Spin's Jessica Grose found the album "unbelievably derivative and banal," commenting, "The thought of the Click Five catering to legions of swooning tweens may be inevitable considering their tour partners, but you don't have to be part of the Click Five problem. You can be part of the solution."[20] A reviewer for IGN was explicitly negative, describing the record at times "an aborted fetus" and "nauseatingly acrimonious," while also suggesting readers should instead download music from Leonard Cohen (misattributed as Joel Cohen), A Tribe Called Quest, and Can.[18]
^Anderman, Joan (March 7, 2009). "Catch the fallen stars". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on March 11, 2009. Retrieved December 21, 2009.
^Greetings From Imrie House (Japanese CD album liner notes). The Click Five. Lava Records. 2005.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Greetings from Imrie House (album liner notes). Atlantic Records. 2005.
