Camino Palmero

Camino Palmero is the debut studio album recorded by American alternative band The Calling. It was released by RCA Records on July 10, 2001 (see 2001 in music). It contains their hit single "Wherever You Will Go". The title of the album comes from a Los Angeles street where band members Alex Band and Aaron Kamin first met.[2] The record has many grunge influences and also has a lot of guitar solos.

Camino Palmero
Studio album by The Calling
Released	July 10, 2001
Recorded	1999-2001
Studio	Cherokee Studios (Hollywood, California)
Genre	Post-grunge,[1] alternative rock
Length	46:06
Label	RCA Records
Producer	Marc Tanner
The Calling chronology
Camino Palmero (2001) Two (2004)
Singles from Camino Palmero
"Wherever You Will Go" Released: May 21, 2001 "Adrienne" Released: October 22, 2001 "Could It Be Any Harder" Released: January 21, 2002 (U.S.)

Camino Palmero peaked at number 36 on Billboard 200 and was certified Gold by RIAA. The album was also certified Gold in Canada in November 2002 after sold more than 50,000 units.[3] The album also did well on several International charts, among others it made number 12 in UK, number 16 in Italy and topped the charts in Mexico, holding 1× Diamond status plus 3× Platinum. World sales of the album are estimated at approximately 5 million. In Brazil, it has been certified Platinum by ABPD.[4]

The album deals with romantic love, relationships, break up and betrayal.

The coverart of the album represents the platforms 5 and 6 of the Santa Maria Novella railway station in Florence, Italy.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Entertainment Weekly	C[5]
Hot Press	(4/12)[6]
Melodic	[7]

Camino Palmero garnered mostly negative reviews from music critics. Johan Wippsson of Melodic saw potential in the band based on "Wherever You Will Go" and an amount of constant energy throughout the album despite generic lyrics about relationships, concluding with, "Except for that this is a very impressing debut from a group that have all the chances to be the next Lifehouse."[7] Bob Waliszewski of Plugged In commended the album for delivering positive messages of forgiveness and self-realization but found it a little indulgent in its unsavoury delights, concluding that "Camino Palmero acknowledges God, celebrates lifelong love and speaks up for the destitute. But several cuts show bad form in their approach to women by modeling lust, bitterness and sexual immorality."[8]

David Browne, writing for Entertainment Weekly, said that despite checking off all the requirements of arena rock he criticized Alex Band for writing songs that are self-indulgent in their tales of on-and-off again relationships, saying that "The Calling are so stiflingly earnest that their love song playing off the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire catchphrase – "Final Answer" – is dead serious."[5] Hannah Hamilton of Hot Press panned the album for its overly simplistic musicianship and lyrics about unoriginal romances, calling it "a mild, meek, pathetic excuse for a record that goes nowhere, says nothing and charges you twenty euro for the pleasure. Guilty? Oh hell yes."[6]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Alex Band and Aaron Kamin, except "Stigmatized" which was co-written with Eric Bazilian.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Unstoppable"	3:59
2.	"Nothing's Changed"	4:44
3.	"Wherever You Will Go"	3:28
4.	"Could It Be Any Harder"	4:41
5.	"Final Answer"	4:34
6.	"Adrienne"	4:30
7.	"We're Forgiven"	4:31
8.	"Things Don't Always Turn Out That Way"	4:11
9.	"Just That Good"	3:54
10.	"Thank You"	2:58
11.	"Stigmatized"	4:31
Total length:		46:06

Australian and UK Bonus Track

No.	Title	Length
12.	"Wherever You Will Go" (Live)	3:18

Japan Bonus Track

No.	Title	Length
12.	"Lost"	3:49

iTunes Bonus Track

No.	Title	Length
12.	"For You"	3:41

Other Song

No.	Title	Length
12.	"When It All Falls Down"	3:36

Personnel

Credits adapted from the Camino Palmero liner notes.[9]

The Calling

• Alex Band – lead vocals
• Aaron Kamin – lead guitar, backing vocals
• Sean Woolstenhulme – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
• Billy Mohler – bass
• Nate Wood – drums, backing vocals

Additional musicians

• Ron Fair – synthesizer
• Bob Glaub – bass guitar
• Paul Mirkovich – keyboards
• Zac Rae – organ
• Satnam Ramgotra – percussion, tabla

Technical

• Ron Fair – Executive Producer
• Tiago Becker – Assistant Engineer
• Marc Greene – Engineer
• Robert Hadley – Mastering
• Frank Harkins – Art Direction, Design
• Chris Lord – Mixing
• Stephen Marcussen – Mastering
• Doug Sax – Mastering
• Matt Silva – Mixing
• Marc Tanner – Producer
• David Thoener – Engineer, Mixing

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (2002) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[10] 23 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[11] 9 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[12] 11 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[13] 46 European Albums Chart[14] 19 French Albums (SNEP)[15] 10 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[16] 8 Irish Albums (IRMA)[17] 21 Italian Albums (FIMI)[18] 16 Mexican Albums (Top 100 Mexico)[19] 1 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[20] 9 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[21] 10 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[22] 11 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[23] 26 UK Albums (OCC)[24] 12 US Billboard 200[25] 36

Year-end charts Chart (2002) Position French Albums (SNEP)[26] 120 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[27] 91 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[28] 97 UK Albums (OCC)[29] 84 US Billboard 200[30] 118 Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[31] Platinum 125,000^* Canada (Music Canada)[32] Gold 50,000^^ Italy (FIMI)[33] Platinum 100,000^* United Kingdom (BPI)[34] Platinum 300,000^^ United States (RIAA)[35] Gold 500,000^^ ^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Love, Bret. "Camino Palmero – The Calling". AllMusic. Retrieved December 9, 2010.
2. Staff reporter (June 28, 2002). "Newsround catch up with The Calling". CBBC Newsround. Retrieved August 19, 2008. About six years ago Alex and I met. I was dating his sister and we met on a Street called Carmino Parmello which is the title of our record.
3. "Gold & Platinum Certification – November 2002". Canadian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 2010-10-19. Retrieved 2010-08-20.
4. "The calling". ABPD (in Portuguese). Retrieved January 23, 2010.
5. Browne, David (March 8, 2002). "Come Clean; Hoobastank; Camino Palmero; The Fallout". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
6. Hamilton, Hannah (August 7, 2002). "Camino Palmero". Hot Press. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
7. Wippsson, Johan. "The Calling – Camino Palmero". Melodic. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
8. Waliszewski, Bob. "Camino Palmero – The Calling". Plugged In. Focus on the Family. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
9. Camino Palmero (liner notes). The Calling. RCA. 2001. 07863 67585-2.CS1 maint: others (link)
10. "Australiancharts.com – The Calling – Camino Palmero". Hung Medien.
11. "Austriancharts.at – The Calling – Camino Palmero" (in German). Hung Medien.
12. "Top 40 Albums - 20 / 2002". Tracklisten.
13. "Dutchcharts.nl – The Calling – Camino Palmero" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
14. "Billboard". 2002-08-10.
15. "Lescharts.com – The Calling – Camino Palmero". Hung Medien.
16. "Offiziellecharts.de – The Calling – Camino Palmero" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts.
17. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 29, 2002". Chart-Track. IRMA.
18. "Italiancharts.com – The Calling – Camino Palmero". Hung Medien.
19. "Mexicancharts.com – The Calling – Camino Palmero". Hung Medien.
20. "Charts.nz – The Calling – Camino Palmero". Hung Medien.
21. "Norwegiancharts.com – The Calling – Camino Palmero". Hung Medien.
22. "Swedishcharts.com – The Calling – Camino Palmero". Hung Medien.
23. "Swisscharts.com – The Calling – Camino Palmero". Hung Medien.
24. "The Calling | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart.
25. "The Calling Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
26. "Top de l'année Top Albums 2002" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
27. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
28. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2002". hitparade.ch. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
29. "UK Albums Year-End 2002" (PDF). ChartsPlus. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
30. "Year-End Charts: Billboard 200 Albums - 2002". Billboard. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
31. "Brazilian album certifications – The Calling – Camino Palmero" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
32. "Canadian album certifications – The Calling – Camino Palmero". Music Canada. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
33. "Italian album certifications – The Calling – Camino Palmero" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved July 25, 2012. Select "Tutti gli anni" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "Camino Palmero" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Album e Compilation" under "Sezione".
34. "British album certifications – The Calling – Camino Palmero". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved July 25, 2012. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Camino Palmero in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
35. "American album certifications – The Calling – Camino Palmero". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 25, 2012. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.