Avalanche (Matthew Good album) explained

Avalanche
Type:	Album
Artist:	Matthew Good
Cover:	Matthewgood avalanche.png
Released:	March 4, 2003
Recorded:	Mushroom Studios, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada except track 2 at Warehouse Studios, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Genre:	Alternative rock
Length:	69:07
Label:	Darktown, Universal Music Canada
Producer:	Warne Livesey
Prev Title:	The Audio of Being
Prev Year:	2001
Next Title:	White Light Rock & Roll Review
Next Year:	2004

Avalanche is the debut solo album by Canadian singer-songwriter Matthew Good. Released in 2003, the album marked a creative departure from his earlier work with the Matthew Good Band, and featured accompaniment by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra on several tracks. The album had three singles: "Weapon", "In a World Called Catastrophe" and "Near Fantastica", although "Near Fantastica" was released only to radio in a substantially shorter edit.

Reception and commercial performance

The album received high praise from both music critics and fans of Good alike. The album debuted at No. 2 on the Canadian Albums Chart,^[1] selling 16,800 copies in its first week.^[2] The album was certified Gold on May 8, 2003.^[3]

Awards & Nominations

Producer Warne Livesey, who previously worked with Good on the massively successful Beautiful Midnight, received a Juno Award nomination for his work on the album. Avalanche was nominated for "Favourite New Album" at the 2003 CASBY Awards.^[4]

Composition

• "Near Fantastica" is perhaps the oldest song from Avalanche. Written in 1996, "Near Fantastica" was originally stated by Good to have been musically similar to "Suburbia" (from Beautiful Midnight) and vocally similar to "Every Name Is My Name" (from Last of the Ghetto Astronauts) On Avalanche the lyrics were altered slightly from those Good posted online in 1999. The music, too, was changed to incorporate aspects of another song "Villain of the Year", which Good had become disenchanted with during the recording of Avalanche. The original version, which is a mere 4:23, was dubbed the 'radio edit' of the song and released as the record's third single. The 8-minute version on the album was altered from the original version during the mixing of Avalanche as he preferred it to the "simple verse, chorus, structure of the original."^[5]
• "A Long Way Down" was one of the last songs written for Avalanche. The song is based around a drum track that was taken from another song, "Comfortable Criminals", which was later cut from the album and released as a b-side.

Personnel

• Matthew Good – vocals, guitar, art direction
• Christian Thor Valdson – guitar
• Pat Steward – drums, percussion
• Rich Priske – bass guitar

Notes and References

1. Web site: Canadian Albums . Billboard . 2010-07-13 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100713044213/http://www.billboard.com/#/charts/summer-songs. July 13, 2010 . live.
2. Web site: Matt Good has solid debut on charts. https://archive.today/20120713185551/http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/G/Good_Matthew/2004/12/09/775362.html. usurped. July 13, 2012. Jam!. 2011-02-06 .
3. Web site: Gold & Platinum Certification – May 2003 . . 2010-07-13 . February 12, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090212002313/http://www.cria.ca/gold/0503_g.php . dead .
4. Web site: 102.1 the Edge Announces the 2003 Casby Awards Nominations and Performers. Edge.ca.
5. http://www.matthewgood.org/discography/