Dreaming Out Loud by OneRepublic
Dreaming Out Loud is the debut album by American rock band OneRepublic. The album was released on November 20, 2007 by Interscope Records. The album was recorded between 2004 and 2006 and it was produced by Greg Wells, with two songs produced by singer Ryan Tedder, and was engineered and mixed by Joe Zook. The album follows two years of massive success on MySpace where the band has appeared in MySpace Music's Top Artists since early 2006, with over 28 million total song plays counted. The album was released after the success of a remix version of the lead single "Apologize", which was produced by Timbaland. The song reached number one in many countries, while it peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The following single "Stop and Stare" was also a success, while "Say (All I Need)", "Mercy" and "Come Home" were also released as singles. The album received generally mixed reviews from music critics. Many critics cited U2, Coldplay, The Fray, Muse and Snow Patrol as the band's influences on the album. Some commended the band for having a "tremendous confidence apparent in the craft of creating pleasing music", but others felt it was an unoriginal album and thought that Tedder continued to fare better whenever he was writing for groups other than his own. Many critics noted that it was difficult to distinguish the differences between some tracks. The album reached top ten in many countries, including the Australian Albums Chart, Canadian Albums Chart, German Albums Chart, UK Albums Chart and others. It debuted at number 14 on the Billboard 200 chart. Dreaming Out Loud has been certified Platinum by the RIAA.
OneRepublic may just be the quintessential 21st-century pop group. The L.A.-via-Colorado band was one of the first artists to prove the power of social media—and also one of the first to launch a career off of a hit remix. Fronted by singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Tedder, the quintet was ready to unveil its debut album, <i>Dreaming Out Loud</i>, in 2006, when Columbia Records unexpectedly dropped the band. But thanks to a major boost on Myspace, where it had been occupying the platform’s Top Artists list for nearly two years, OneRepublic gained another life. And the band would soon strike gold thanks to a key connection from the past—producer Timbaland, who discovered the young Tedder on an MTV talent show in 2000. By the time <i>Dreaming Out Loud</i> finally dropped in 2007 (on Timbaland’s Interscope imprint, Mosley Music), OneRepublic had already flown up the charts with the producer’s beat-powered remix of “Apologize”, first featured on his album <i>Shock Value</i>. Timbaland’s version is more stripped-down than the original, which boasts luxurious strings and a sleeker climactic climb—key components of OneRepublic’s sound. Tedder, who was already a seasoned pop songwriter and producer for artists like Hilary Duff and Leona Lewis, is a natural melody weaver, letting his boyish croons soothe and soar through the band’s lush mix of piano, guitar, and strings. The group goes heaviest on sturdy rock anthems such as “Mercy” and “Stop and Stare”, but it pulls just as hard at the heartstrings when slowing down on poignant ballads like “Goodbye, Apathy” and “Come Home”. Jam-packed with skyscraping hooks and rousing romantic pleas, <i>Dreaming Out Loud</i> is the sound of OneRepublic mastering pace, tone, and texture for maximum dramatic effect. Unsurprisingly, several tracks here made their way onto TV and film soundtracks as well as the charts. But the band had many more tricks up its sleeve—as was soon to be revealed.
