Natural Selection (Fuel album)

Natural Selection is Fuel's third album, released in 2003 on Epic Records. It features generally the same style as heard on the band's previous two efforts but didn't manage to match their commercial success.

Natural Selection
Studio album by Fuel
Released	September 23, 2003
Recorded	April 2002-July 2003 in Atlanta
Genre	Hard rock, alternative metal, post-grunge
Length	50:39
Label	Epic
Producer	Michael Beinhorn, Carl Bell
Fuel chronology
Something Like Human (2000) Natural Selection (2003) The Best of Fuel (2005)
Singles from Natural Selection
"Falls on Me" Released: July 22, 2003 "Million Miles" Released: December 16, 2003

Preceding the album's release "Won't Back Down" was featured as the lead single of the film soundtrack Daredevil: The Album. "Falls on Me" served as the first single of Natural Selection and received much airplay on MTV throughout the summer. The album also had a third marginally successful single in "Million Miles". The song "Quarter" was featured in the video games Need for Speed: Underground, NFL Street, and NASCAR Thunder 2004.

Background

Following the multi-platinum success of their previous album Something Like Human, Fuel had some setbacks to overcome before they could begin recording the album that became Natural Selection. First off, the band had to resolve some pressing legal matters which prohibited them from recording.[1]

Medical problems also inhibited the recording of the album. In 1998, singer Brett Scallions collided on stage with guitarist–songwriter Carl Bell during the band's Sunburn tour. This left Scallions with a deviated septum that required medical attention. Scallions relearned how to sing after losing his voice during the surgery: "I think I basically had to relearn how to sing... I had to recondition myself and figure out how to sing again."[2]

Bell expressed confidence in Natural Selection, stating "The record is, I think, far and beyond any of the other records we've had as a body of work."[3] Producer Michael Beinhorn has stated that Natural Selection is one of his favorite albums that he's produced.[4]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[5]
Rolling Stone	[6]

Natural Selection debuted at No. 15 on the Billboard 200 album chart,[7] selling about 71,000 copies in its first week of release.[8] The album was later nominated for a Grammy Award in 2004 for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical.[9]

Aftermath

Natural Selection would prove to be the final Fuel album to feature drummer Kevin Miller and Scallions on vocals. Miller was fired from the band in 2004, and Scallions left in 2006, stating that "... there was no fun in [making the album] because there was no activity within the band."[10] Scallions' feelings of lack of group activity along with Bell's feelings of Scallions vocal troubles led to Scallions' eventual departure from the group.[11] Fuel would release their next album with a new drummer and lead vocalist, and later Scallions reformed Fuel in 2010.

Track listing

All songs written by Carl Bell, except where noted.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Quarter"		3:39
2.	"Down Inside of You"		4:07
3.	"Million Miles"		3:51
4.	"Falls on Me"		4:13
5.	"These Things"		4:57
6.	"Won't Back Down" (Bring You Hell Remix)		3:23
7.	"Running Away"		4:54
8.	"Most of All"		4:13
9.	"Getting Thru?"		4:09
10.	"Die Like This"		4:29
11.	"Luck"	Brett Scallions	4:15
12.	"Days With You"		4:29
Total length:			50:39

Personnel

Band

• Brett Scallions - lead vocals, rhythm guitar
• Carl Bell - lead guitar, backing vocals
• Jeff Abercrombie - bass
• Kevin Miller - drums

Production

• Michael Beinhorn - Producer
• Andy Wallace - Mixing
• Josh Wilbur - Mixing on "Won't Back Down (Bring You Hell Remix)"
• Howie Weinberg - Mastering

References

1. Davis, Darren. "Fuel Rehearsing For New Recording". Yahoo! Music. October 23, 2002.
2. Author Unknown. "Fuel Vocalist Sings Again After Surgery". Yahoo! Music. October 16, 2003.
3. Author Unknown. "Fuel Guitarist Says New Album Is Best 'Selection' Of Songs Yet". Yahoo! Music. September 20, 2003.
4. Ryan. "Reflecting on Soundgarden's Superunknown". Alternative Addiction. March 5, 2014.
5. Allmusic review
6. "Rolling Stone review". Archived from the original on February 6, 2008. Retrieved 2012-05-20.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
7. "Billboard Album Chart History". Retrieved June 28, 2010.
8. Martens, Todd. "OutKast Leads Nine New Top-20 Chart Entries". boston.com. Oct 1, 2003.
9. "Complete List Of 2004 Grammy Nominations".
10. Chad. "Brett Scallions Tells his Story" Archived 2007-10-20 at the Wayback Machine. Alternative Addiction. August 5, 2007.
11. Chad. "Carl Bell of Fuel Speaks Out" Archived 2007-10-12 at the Wayback Machine Alternative Addiction. July 21, 2007.