Waking Up (OneRepublic album)

Recording and production[edit]

OneRepublic started recording Waking Up in January 2008, soon after the band moved from Los Angeles and returned to their hometown, Denver.^[8] Unlike Dreaming Out Loud, which was produced by producer Greg Wells, the band did all the work themselves, with lead singer Ryan Tedder serving as the primary songwriter and producer through all the album.^[9] As an ambition to renew itself, Tedder distanced himself from the traditional pop structure of the band's debut album and experimented with stripped-down synthesizers and cello to create an upbeat alternative rock style "that is to be the first genre-less band".^[10][11] He took inspiration from the music of Kanye West, Paul McCartney, and band's like Radiohead and Tears for Fears.^[10][11][12]


To ensure a smooth transition, Tedder sought to create a concept for songs that fit a formula for OneRepublic and would not become the target of comparisons to his work for other artists.^[13] He was fed up with the fact that the hit songs from his previous album had become bigger than the band itself, wanting to get away from "the cookie-cutter way of all the fake bands on the radio now — the disposable pop-rock stuff", and used organic instruments to carry out the conception of Waking Up.^[12] The band shared ideas with composer Danny Elfman, using his orchestra of Batman (1989) and Edward Scissorhands (1990) as the center of the album's "more sweeping and cinematic" structure.^[14][15]


Tedder produced all eleven tracks on the standard edition, of which three he self-produced. The first, "Missing Persons 1 & 2", was recorded at the Nine Zero Hotel in Boston and Park Hill Studios in Denver, and is characterized by the use of dubstep drum loops and Afro-pop marimba melody.^[16][17] "Made for You" was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London, and features a children's choir throughout the song followed by a melodramatic chamber piano, forming part of the album's cinematic concept.^[17][18][19] "All This Time" and "Fear" were also recorded at Abbey Road Studios, with additional recording at Park Hill Studios. "All the Right Moves", "Secrets", "Everybody Loves Me", "Good Life" and "Waking Up" were recorded at Metropolis Studios in London.^[17] Critics noted the theatrical production of "All the Right Moves", containing "electro-charged chamber music", with its pealing organ, trilling strings and vocals inspired by American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake.^[19][20][21]


"Secrets" stemmed from their experimental sampling of cello from "Cello Suite No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007" by Johann Sebastian Bach.^[22] Several critics, including Cross Rhythms' Tony Cummings, noted the funk aesthetic behind "Everybody Loves Me", a track which was additionally recorded at MasterMax Studios in Johannesburg and regarded as a favorite from the album by Tedder.^[11][1] The diversity of styles in the production has been credited to the addition of Brent Kutzle to the band, who was additional producer on the track and four others on the standard edition, and serves as lead bass and cello throughout the album.^[14][15] "Good Life" is an uptempo dance-pop track that incorporates whistling.^[23] Described as the "poppiest song on the album", it was one of the last tracks recorded for Waking Up, being composed and produced in thirty days, while the chorus was written by Tedder in sixty seconds after the band had completed the idea for the track.^[24]


"Marchin On" was self-written and produced by Tedder over the course of three weeks, and was not originally intended to be featured on the album. It is a danceable Britpop and synth-pop track, and was recorded at The Warehouse in Vancouver and was finished with additional recording at Mastermix Studios in Minneapolis.^[25][26] "All This Time" is a sweet piano ballad inspired by Paul McCartney that features a grand string and violin production performed by The London Studio Orchestra.^[16][17] "Fear" and "Waking Up" also feature strings from the London Studio Orchestra. While the first is a ballad-heavy song, the title track has two parts; the first is a ringing guitar with hard rock influence, while the second features the orchestra with slow range.^[1] "Lullaby", the closing track of the standard version, is a heart-bruised alternative rock ballad, echoing similarities to Keane's Tom Chaplin.^[27]

All songs written and produced by Ryan Tedder, except for where noted.


Notes