Aliens & Rainbows is the debut album by American pop rock singer-songwriter Ferras. It was released digitally on iTunes on March 11, 2008, and in CD format until April 1, 2008. The album was preceded by lead single "Hollywood's Not America". The album's second single was the track "Liberation Day", which failed to chart.
| Aliens & Rainbows | |
|---|---|
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| Studio album by | |
| Released | March 11, 2008 (Digital) April 1, 2008 (CD) |
| Genre | |
| Length | 45:46 |
| Label | Capitol |
| Producer | |
The album's third and final single was the track "Rush", which Ferras performed live with Katy Perry; it also failed to chart. Aliens & Rainbows charted at number 97 on the Billboard 200 selling 5,245 copies. It has since sold over 27,000 copies.
Critical reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AbsolutePunk | (77%)[1] |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Billboard | (positive)[3] |
| Entertainment Weekly | C−[4] |
| UGO | C+[5] |
Jo-Ann Greene of AllMusic wrote that: "Ferras' performances are fabulous throughout, his lyrics thoughtful and eloquent. The themes are mostly personal and occasionally (as on "Dear God" and "My Beautiful Life") questioning, and even the romantic numbers have something new to say. The arrangements are stunning, the sound full, the atmosphere electric -- but with a debut this good, where will Ferras possibly go from here?"[2] Mikael Wood, writing for Billboard, called it "an action-packed collection of high-gloss piano-pop production numbers in which the scenery counts for just as much as the sentiment."[3] Gregory Robson of AbsolutePunk commended the first three tracks for showcasing Ferras' musicianship but felt the rest of the album comes across as "forced, perfectly planned and predictable" and suffers from The Matrix's "overambitious, contrived and squeaky clean" production.[1] Entertainment Weekly's Simon Vozick-Levinson gave the album a "C−" grade, saying the best songs off of it are ruined with "overly slick production" and Ferras' vocal performance, concluding with: "Don't hold your breath waiting for gold at the end of these Rainbows."[4]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Liberation Day" |
| 3:28 | |
| 2. | "Aliens & Rainbows" |
|
| 3:59 |
| 3. | "Something About You" |
|
| 4:08 |
| 4. | "Hollywood's Not America" |
|
| 3:15 |
| 5. | "Everybody Bleeds the Same" |
|
| 3:35 |
| 6. | "Rush" |
|
| 4:21 |
| 7. | "My Beautiful Life" |
|
| 4:35 |
| 8. | "Soul Rock" |
|
| 4:15 |
| 9. | "Blame, Blame, Blame" |
|
| 3:01 |
| 10. | "Dear God" |
|
| 3:39 |
| 11. | "Don't Give Up" |
|
| 4:10 |
| 12. | "Take My Lips" |
|
| 3:30 |
| Total length: | TBA | |||
Personnel
edit- Mark Adelman – executive producer, management
- Chris Anokute – executive producer, A&R
- Charlie Bisharat – violin
- Ruth Bruegger – violin
- David Campbell – string arrangements
- Carole Castillo – viola
- Lauren Christy – producer
- Larry Corbett – cello
- Brian Dembow – viola
- Graham Edwards – producer
- Jason Flom – executive producer
- Armen Garabedian – violin
- Serban Ghenea – mixing
- Julian Hallmark – violin
- Victor Indrizzo – drums
- Suzie Katayama – cello, contractor
- Roland Kato – viola
- Natalie Leggett – violin
- Darrin McCann – viola
- Alyssa Park – violin
- Cindi Peters – production coordination
- Michelle Richards – violin
- Steve Richards – cello
- Bettie Ross – copyist
- Phil Sarna – management
- Allen Sides – string engineer
- Scott Spock – producer
- Tereza Stanislav – violin
- Josephina Vergara – violin
- John Wittenberg – violin
- David Wolter – A&R
References
edit- ^ a b Robson, Gregory (April 1, 2008). "Ferras - Alien & Rainbows - Album Review". AbsolutePunk. Archived from the original on July 23, 2012. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
- ^ a b Greene, Jo-Ann (April 1, 2008). "Aliens & Rainbows - Ferras". AllMusic. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
- ^ a b Wood, Mikael. "Alien & Rainbows". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 30, 2008. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
- ^ a b Vozick-Levinson, Simon (April 2, 2008). "Aliens and Rainbows". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 23, 2022. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
- ^ French, Marguerite (April 1, 2008). "Ferras - Aliens & Rainbows Review". UGO. Archived from the original on June 7, 2008. Retrieved November 26, 2016.