From Under the Cork Tree
From Under the Cork Tree is the second studio album by the American rock band Fall Out Boy, released on May 3, 2005 through Island Records as the band's major label debut. The music was composed by lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Patrick Stump, with all lyrics penned by bassist Pete Wentz, expanding the band's songwriting approach they took for some songs on their debut album Take This to Your Grave (2003). Neal Avron served as the album's producer. Commenting on the record's lyrical themes, Wentz said the lyrics were about "the anxiety and depression that goes along with looking at your own life."[2] In support of its release, the group headlined tours worldwide and played at various music festivals. For their Black Clouds and Underdogs tour, the album was re-released as From Under the Cork Tree (Limited "Black Clouds and Underdogs" Edition), featuring new songs and remixes.
From Under the Cork Tree
The album was Fall Out Boy's breakthrough mainstream success. Spearheaded by the lead single "Sugar, We're Goin Down", the album debuted at No. 9 on the US Billboard 200 with 168,000 first week sales, a position it stayed at for two non-consecutive weeks, earning the band their first top 10 album and becoming their longest charting and best-selling album.[3] It logged 14 weeks in the top 20 out of its 78 chart weeks. The album as well as its singles won several awards and the album was certified 2× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[4] It has since sold over 2.5 million units in the United States,[5] and over seven million worldwide.[6] The album produced two hugely popular hit singles, "Sugar, We're Goin Down" and "Dance, Dance", which peaked at No. 8 and No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 respectively, receiving regular radio play on both pop and alternative stations. In 2005, the album was ranked at No. 43 on the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry's (IFPI) list of the "Top 50 Best Selling Albums of 2005" worldwide.[7]
Background[edit]
Fall Out Boy formed near Chicago, Illinois, in 2001.[8] The band debuted with a self-released demo in the same year, and in 2002 released a split EP with Project Rocket through Uprising Records. A first mini-album, Fall Out Boy's Evening Out with Your Girlfriend was recorded in 2002 but released in 2003 by Uprising against the band's wishes.[9] Both releases helped Fall Out Boy gain notoriety on the internet and attention from record labels. The band signed with indie label Fueled by Ramen and received an advance from major label Island Records, which financed the production of Take This to Your Grave.[9] Grave became an underground success and helped the band gain a dedicated fanbase.[10] Fall Out Boy returned to the studio in November 2004 to begin work on a new album.
However, the group suffered a setback in February 2005 after Wentz's anxieties about creating a new record culminated in a suicide attempt.[2] Wentz explained, "It was overwhelming. I was either totally anxious or totally depressed. It is particularly overwhelming when you are on the cusp of doing something very big and thinking that it will be a big flop. I was racked with self-doubt."[2] After undergoing therapy, Wentz rejoined the band and headed to Burbank, California to record the album.
Recording and production[edit]
From Under the Cork Tree was recorded in Burbank, California, and served as the first time the band had stayed in California for an extended period of time.[11] The group lived in corporate housing during the making of the album.[11] In contrast to Take This to Your Grave's rushed recording schedule, Fall Out Boy took a much more gradual pace while working on From Under the Cork Tree. It was the first Fall Out Boy record in which Stump created all the music and Wentz wrote all the lyrics, continuing the approach they took for some songs on Grave. Stump felt that this process was much more "smooth" as every member was able to focus on their individual strengths.[12] He explained: "We haven't had any of those moments when I play the music and he'll say, 'I don't like that,' and he'll read me lyrics and I'll say, 'I don't like those lyrics.' It's very natural and fun."[12] Despite this, the band had great difficulty creating its desired sound for the album, constantly scrapping new material.[13] Two weeks before recording sessions began, the group abandoned ten songs and wrote eight more, including the album's first single, "Sugar, We're Goin Down".[13]
The chorus of "Sugar, We're Goin Down" was nearly thrown away by the group's label, but it was ultimately salvaged. Wentz recalled, "Our label told us the chorus was too wordy and the guitars were too heavy and that the radio wasn't going to play it."[14] Island Records also intervened when the band wanted to title the album's first track "My Name Is David Ruffin And These Are The Temptations". Wentz stated "Our label said, 'You're going to get sued for doing that,' and our lawyer said, 'You're definitely going to get sued for doing that,' which totally sucked. So we said, 'OK, why don't we immortalize you in a song?'"[13] The group subsequently retitled the song "Our Lawyer Made Us Change the Name of This Song So We Wouldn't Get Sued".[13]
Composition[edit]
Music[edit]
Stump served as the primary composer for From Under the Cork Tree. He said of the album's musical style: "We experimented quite a bit with all sorts of stuff. Some metal, some folk, some R&B. But ultimately, your band sounds like your band. You can put those things in it, but it's still going to sound like you."[15] Niyaz Pirani of the Orange County Register referred to "Dance, Dance" as "pop-punk-meets-swing-dance glory".[16] Critics have described the album as being pop-punk[17][18] and emo.[17][19]
Lyrics[edit]
On earlier works, Stump collaborated with Wentz on the lyrics. For From Under the Cork Tree and albums thereafter, Wentz handled all the lyrical duties. He called them "more introspective" than the group's previous album. "Take This To Your Grave was very reactionary," Wentz said. "It was like this person does this to you. But part of growing up is understanding that if you end up in the same situation over and over again you probably have to examine your own self and wonder whether that's one of the reasons that you have ended up in the same situation repeatedly. This time the lyrics were more about the anxiety and depression that goes along with looking at your own life."[2] He also said of his lyrics, "This is where we're going to be a year from now, and this is what you're going to be saying about us."[20] Wentz described "I've Got a Dark Alley and a Bad Idea that Says You Should Shut Your Mouth (Summer Song)" as "looking in the mirror and not feeling safe in your own skin".[2]
The band wanted to create a record that was "a lot more developed," Wentz said. "When we did Take This to Your Grave, we were really young, we had two weeks to do it and it was like, make it or break it, this is your only shot. This time we had more time to sit with the songs and make them work and more of a chance to plan things out. To us, we're throwing the fight, but we didn't write a record that's throwing a fight. We wrote a record that means a lot to us but maybe isn't going to mean a lot to the people who are hyping us as the next big thing. And that's fine. We don't want to be the saviors of anything — we just want to be ourselves. We made a record we really like, and that's all we ever wanted. Fall Out Boy have never been about goals or ambitions. We started out just for fun, and it became this huge thing.[13] In 2007, it emerged that the band had reached an out of court settlement with American Nightmare vocalist Wesley Eisold, over the use of his poetry in some songs from From Under the Cork Tree and Infinity on High. The settlement led to future pressings of both albums listing Eisold in the credits.[21]
Title and artwork[edit]
The title is taken from a line in the 1936 children's book The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf, which Wentz was intrigued by.[22] The story focuses on a bull named Ferdinand who would rather sniff flowers under a cork tree than participate in fights.[22] The album cover features a van with a trailer in a slump of snow. This is a reference to the car accident the band was in while they were driving to New York City to film the video for "Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy" from their album Take This to Your Grave.
On March 14, 2006, a separate version of the album was released entitled From Under the Cork Tree (Limited "Black Clouds and Underdogs" edition). This consisted of a total 18 tracks, the first 13 being the original release. The album rose to No. 9 on the Billboard 200 upon its re-release, its second week at its peak position. The three new songs and two dance remixes are as follows and in this order: