Echo Park Studios (Bloomington, Indiana); Sony Music Studios (New York City, New York); Coupe Studios (Boulder, Colorado); FTM Studios (Lakewood, Colorado).
Critical responses to How to Save a Life were mixed, with some critics complimenting its similarities in style to British piano-driven bands like Keane and Coldplay, but in turn disparaging its unoriginality, as well as its schmaltzy and self-pitying lyrics. The album received double platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and was also certified platinum in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK; it became the best-selling digital album of all time until Eminem's Recovery (2010), breaking the record held previously by Coldplay's X&Y (2005).[2][3][4]Billboard listed the album on their Best Digital Albums of the Decade list – at number 21.[5]
Background
After independently releasing two EPs, The Fray were looking for a record company to release a full-length album. The band released their song "Cable Car" to Denver radio station KTCL, and the song saw significant airplay.[6] Denver alternative newsweekly Westword named the band "Best New Band" in 2004, and this prompted Epic RecordsA&R man Mike Flynn to sign the band to a recording contract on December 17, 2004.[7] The album was recorded over six weeks in Echo Park Studios in Bloomington, Indiana, and was produced by Aaron Johnson and Mike Flynn.[8] Former bass guitar player Dan Battenhouse left the band a year before entering the studio; Jake Smith, former lead singer and guitarist of the band The Mysteries of Life, took over bass guitar duties.
Overall, critical reception for the album was mixed. The piano-oriented sound of the album drew comparisons with British piano-rock band Keane, and Coldplay (whose music – although classified as alternative – is driven by the piano).[14][16]
AllMusic, whilst giving the album a modestly positive review, stated that the band "lacked originality" and the album itself lacked any "inspiration and excitement".[9]Stylus Magazine gave the album a negative review, stating "The Fray, as a rule, are moribund, emotionally strained, uninvolving, and have a tendency to sound like The Cranberries fronted by a man."[15]Rolling Stone and Blender echoed many of these statements, both giving the album three stars out of five.[10][14]
The album was released on September 13, 2005 by Epic Records. While the album did not make a splash commercially or critically initially, the success of "Over My Head (Cable Car)" propelled the album from the Top Heatseekers chart to the top 20 of The Billboard 200 chart. The release of the second single, "How to Save a Life", a world-wide smash, helped the album enter the top 5 in several charts across the world, and brought The Fray mainstream popularity.[17] The song remains the band's best known and most successful song to date.
Singles
"Over My Head (Cable Car)" was released as the first single from the album and from the soundtrack to the science fiction action film Stealth (which was released 2 months before their debut album), and it became a top 40 hit on the Modern Rock Tracks chart in late 2005. It lasted three weeks on the chart and peaked at position #37.[18] The song peaked at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[19] On the BillboardAdult Top 40 chart, the single reached the #2 position.[20] Internationally, the song was a Top 25 hit in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand and the UK. The song was the fifth-most downloaded single of 2006.[21]
"How to Save a Life" was released as the second single from the album. The song reached the top three of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, surpassing the peak position of "Over My Head (Cable Car)". It became the joint sixth longest charting single of all time on the Billboard Hot 100, tying with Santana's "Smooth", at 58 consecutive weeks. The song also topped the Adult Top 40 chart for 15 consecutive weeks. "How to Save a Life" became a major hit internationally, topping the singles chart in Ireland, Spain and Canada.[22] The song also charted in the top five in Australia, Italy, Sweden and in the UK Singles Chart.[23]
The album won all three awards in the digital category at the 2006 Billboard Music Awards: Digital Album of the Year, Digital Album Artist of the Year and Digital Songs Artist of the Year while the band was nominated for New Artist of the Year.[24]
^ ab"Fray Awards & Features". Metrolyrics.com. Archived from the original on July 23, 2013. Retrieved February 22, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
