Riot!
Riot! is the second studio album by the American rock band Paramore. It was released in the United States on June 12, 2007 through Fueled by Ramen as a follow-up to their debut album, All We Know Is Falling (2005). The album was produced by David Bendeth and written by band members Hayley Williams and Josh Farro, with Bendeth, and fellow band member Zac Farro co-writing on select tracks. The album explores a "diverse range of styles," while not straying far from the "signature sound" of their debut album,[1] with several critics comparing it to the music of Kelly Clarkson and Avril Lavigne. The cover of the album also resembles the cover artwork of No Doubt's 2001 album Rock Steady.
For other uses, see Riot (disambiguation).Riot!
June 12, 2007
January–April 2007
- House of Loud (Elmwood Park, New Jersey)
- Bennett Studios (Englewood, New Jersey)
38:58
Riot! received generally positive reviews from music critics, who praised its sound, and noted its "crossover potential". The album was successful in the United States, reaching number fifteen on the Billboard 200 and achieving triple-platinum status on April 20, 2021, by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It was also certified platinum in both the United Kingdom by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and the Australia by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), and gold in both New Zealand and Canada. Its lead single, "Misery Business", reached top-thirty and forty positions in the US and is considered the band's "breakthrough" hit, credited with introducing the band to a mainstream audience.[2][3][4] Its third and fourth singles, "Crushcrushcrush", and "That's What You Get", were also successful with both achieving a platinum certification by the RIAA.
Background and recording[edit]
Before work began on Paramore's next album, bassist Jeremy Davis was expelled from the band due to "his lack of work ethic and participation in things that [the rest of the band] didn't agree with," according to guitarist Josh Farro. Following his departure, Farro and his brother, drummer Zac Farro, convinced lead vocalist Hayley Williams to bring Taylor York as guitarist, although Williams insisted on Davis' reinstatement in the band.[5] After an agreement involving the remaining three members, Davis was reinstated as bassist, and York became the band's touring guitarist only.[5][6] York had been in a band with the Farro brothers before the two met Williams.[7]
Williams explained the album was titled Riot! because during the writing process their "thoughts and emotions were coming out so fast that we couldn't control them," comparing it to a riot.[8] Williams also commented on the band's evolution with the album stating, "I think our intention for [All We Know Is Falling] would have been for it to be everything that Riot! is, but there wasn't any time to make that record back then."[9] After being courted by producers Neal Avron and Howard Benson,[10] Paramore opted to record the album with producer David Bendeth in New Jersey, who had previously worked with Your Vegas and Breaking Benjamin.[11]
The album was recorded from January to April 2007 at the House of Loud and Bennett Studios, the former was also the mixing location, while the latter was the recording place for the piano arrangements; it was produced and mixed by David Bendeth, and mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound Studios.[12] During production, Paramore held an online contest, titled "The Last Song You'll Ever Sing", where fans submitted videos on YouTube for the opportunity to sing back-up vocals on the track "Born for This". The winner was Mary Bonney of McLean, Virginia.[13]
Music and style[edit]
Williams classified Riot! as "raw energy," which she considered development of their debut album.[8] The first track "For a Pessimist I'm Pretty Optimistic" comes from what lead guitarist Josh Farro reflects as "putting your faith in someone and they blow it." Farro composed the music for the song and gave the demo to Williams to write the lyrics.[8] The origins of "Misery Business" came from a message Williams posted on the band's LiveJournal, asking fans to post about what they were ashamed of. She found out that most of them "were reaching out to someone to spill their guts to," which she recalled being an inspiration for the honest songwriting of the song.[8]
Williams recounted that "Hallelujah" is one of the band's oldest songs, but they felt it fit better in Riot!. She described the song as "a claim of victory for both ourselves and our fans."[8] The eleventh track "Born for This" contains the line "we want the airwaves back", from the song "Liberation Frequency" in the album The Shape of Punk to Come by the influential Swedish hardcore band Refused. Williams has explained that this song was written "about the fans" and "that the whole pre-chorus is actually inspired by that one line of the song."[14]
Ian Cohen of MTV Hive described the album as "classic alt-rock with a distinctly Fueled By Ramen edge."[15] Cam Lindsay at Exclaim! characterized it as "high-energy/high-emotion pop punk,"[16] while AllMusic's Jason Lymangrover states "[Williams] fills the majority of her punk-pop tales with emo angst and declarations of boy woes."[17] It is also declared as one of 2007's most popular emo pop albums by Andrew Leahey of AllMusic.[18] Jonathan Bradley at Stylus Magazine labeled it as "irrepressible power pop".[19] Alternative Press wrote "Paramore...have created 11 more-than-competent pop-rock numbers."[20]
Commercial performance[edit]
Riot! entered the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart at 20 in late 2007. Riot! sold 42,000 albums in the U.S. in its first week and three months later the album hit its peak at 15 on the Billboard 200. The album was certified triple-Platinum on April 20, 2021.[50] The album achieved some success in the UK reaching #24 on the albums chart sales and selling 250,094 copies to date. In New Zealand, the album peaked at number 15, and was certified Gold on February 1, 2009, shipping over 15,000 copies.[51][52] "Misery Business" became a hit, spending 22 weeks at #3 on Alternative Songs chart.[53] The song has been certified quadruple-Platinum by the RIAA.[54]