Stanley Climbfall is the second studio album by American rock band Lifehouse. It was released on September 17, 2002, through DreamWorks Records. It was produced by Ron Aniello, the producer of the band's first record, No Name Face (2000). Supported by the singles "Spin" and "Take Me Away", the album debuted at number seven on the Billboard 200 but did not perform as well commercially as No Name Face. "Take Me Away" peaked at number 22 on Billboard's Adult Pop Songs chart.[1] Stanley Climbfall has sold over one million copies domestically.

Stanley Climbfall
Three men walking near a truck inside a notebook, with the band's name written in red and the album's title written underneath in blue.
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 17, 2002
RecordedDecember 2001 – June 2002
StudioRoyaltone (North Hollywood, California)
Genre
Length50:16
LabelDreamWorks
ProducerRon Aniello
Lifehouse chronology
No Name Face
(2000)
Stanley Climbfall
(2002)
Lifehouse
(2005)
Singles from Stanley Climbfall
  1. "Spin"
    Released: July 22, 2002
  2. "Take Me Away"
    Released: April 7, 2003

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [2]
Entertainment WeeklyB[3]
Jesus Freak Hideout     [4]
Melodic     [5]
musicOMH(average)[6]
Orlando Sentinel(average)[7]
People(unfavorable)[8]
Stylus MagazineA−[9]
USA Today    [10]

Stanley Climbfall received mixed reviews from critics, who both praised and criticized lead singer Jason Wade's songwriting and the album's repetitive sound. Billboard published a positive review of the album, with writer L. F. describing it as "as close to bullet-proof as one can get...meticulously measured and carefully designed" and Wade as a "top-shelf songwriter" with a "knack for weaving smarter-than-average lyrics into tightly constructed, instantly memorable melodies." [11] Josh Tyrangiel of Entertainment Weekly called the album "Charming harmlessness" with "Wade us[ing] his Vedderesque baritone to dress the usual word salad of sadness, alienation, and overcoming sadness and alienation." He pinpointed "Spin", "Take Me Away", and "Out of Breath" as standout tracks on the album.[3]

In contrast, AllMusic's Dean Carlson felt the album was "exhausting", given that several other bands had a similar sound, and felt that Aniello and Brendan O'Brien's production "transform[ed] possible sincerity into self-importance and drain[ed] the band of any real individuality."[2]

Commercial performance

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Stanley Climbfall debuted at number seven on the Billboard 200 in the United States, with 74,000 copies sold.[12] In its second week on the ranking, it charted at number 30 with a further 26,000 copies sold.[13] According to Nielsen SoundScan, 285,000 cumulative copies of the album were sold in the country by February 2003.[14] Four months later, sales reached the 300,000 mark, "a definite comedown" from the band's debut album No Name Face (2000). The album's domestic commercial performance was attributed in part to a lack of promotion—the band went on tour in Europe first, at the direction of its label, to "make up" for previously only touring for a week in the territory in support of No Name Face—and the absence "of a breakout hit on the scale of 'Hanging By A Moment'". In response, Wade said that the album was "not about sales, but rather furthering his craft and maturing as an artist".[15] In November 2009, Billboard reported that sales of the album had reached 411,000 copies in the US.[16] It eventually surpassed 1 million sales domestically.[17]

Track listing

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Stanley Climbfall track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Spin"
4:51
2."Wash"Wade4:48
3."Sky Is Falling"Wade3:29
4."Anchor"
  • Wade
  • Carl Broemel
5:02
5."Am I Ever Gonna Find Out"
  • Wade
  • Aniello
2:39
6."Stanley Climbfall"
  • Wade
  • Aniello
3:49
7."Out of Breath"
  • Wade
  • Aniello
3:20
8."Just Another Name"Wade3:24
9."Take Me Away"
  • Wade
  • Sergio Andrade
4:47
10."My Precious"Wade4:24
11."Empty Space"Wade5:02
12."The Beginning"Wade4:38
Expanded Edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."How Long"Wade5:09
14."Sky Is Falling" (acoustic version)Wade2:53

Personnel

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Lifehouse

Production

Charts

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Weekly charts

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Weekly chart performance for Stanley Climbfall
Chart (2002) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[18] 39
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[19] 9
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[20] 79
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[21] 24
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[22] 65
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[23] 25
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[24] 47
US Billboard 200[25] 7

Year-end charts

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2002 year-end chart performance for Stanley Climbfall
Chart (2002) Position
Canadian Alternative Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[26] 98

References

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  1. ^ "Adult Pop Songs (The week of May 17, 2003)". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 18, 2018. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Carlson, Dean. "Stanley Climbfall - Lifehouse". AllMusic. Archived from the original on November 15, 2012. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Tyrangiel, Josh (September 20, 2002). "Stanley Climbfall". Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved July 6, 2022. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  4. ^ DiBiase, John (September 15, 2002). "Lifehouse, "Stanley Climbfall" Review". Jesus Freak Hideout. Archived from the original on October 4, 2002. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
  5. ^ Roth, Kaj (2002). "Lifehouse - Stanley Climbfall". Melodic. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
  6. ^ Bansal, Vik (September 16, 2002). "Lifehouse - Stanley Climbfall". musicOMH. Archived from the original on May 12, 2013. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
  7. ^ Gleason, Breigh (February 7, 2003). "Lifehouse: Stanley Climbfall". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on July 21, 2014. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
  8. ^ Novak, Ralph; Peterson, V.R.; Smith, Kyle; Jordan, Julie (September 23, 2002). "Picks and Pans Review: Stanley Climbfall". People. Archived from the original on July 21, 2014. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
  9. ^ Blanford, Roxanne (September 1, 2003). "Lifehouse - Stanley Climbfall - Review". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on May 15, 2006. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
  10. ^ Gardner, Elysa (September 17, 2002). "Lifehouse not up to code; Levert hits 'Spot'". USA Today. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 3, 2013.
  11. ^ F., L. (September 21, 2002). "Stanley Climbfall". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 5, 2014. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
  12. ^ D'Angelo, Joe (November 5, 2002). "Believe It: Disturbed Top Billboard Albums Chart". MTV.com. Archived from the original on January 7, 2023. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
  13. ^ D'Angelo, Joe (October 2, 2002). "The King Crowned #1 On Billboard Albums Chart". MTV.com. Archived from the original on January 5, 2023. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
  14. ^ Jeckell, Barry A. (February 18, 2003). "Billboard Bits: Lifehouse, Ziggy Marley, Camp Freddy". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 5, 2014. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
  15. ^ Mccoy, Brian (June 13, 2003). "Lifehouse comes home". Recordnet.com. Archived from the original on January 5, 2023. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
  16. ^ Trust, Gary (November 6, 2009). "Ask Billboard: Swift's Latest 'Fearless' Feat". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 22, 2014. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
  17. ^ "Sony/ATV Inks Worldwide Publishing Deal With Jason Wade". Music Business Worldwide. July 27, 2016. Archived from the original on July 29, 2016. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  18. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Lifehouse – Stanley Climbfall". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
  19. ^ "Lifehouse Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
  20. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Lifehouse – Stanley Climbfall" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
  21. ^ "Danishcharts.dk – Lifehouse – Stanley Climbfall". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
  22. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Lifehouse – Stanley Climbfall" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
  23. ^ "Charts.nz – Lifehouse – Stanley Climbfall". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
  24. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Lifehouse – Stanley Climbfall". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
  25. ^ "Lifehouse Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
  26. ^ "Canada's Top 200 Alternative albums of 2002". Jam!. Archived from the original on December 4, 2003. Retrieved March 26, 2022.