Yesterday Went Too Soon

Yesterday Went Too Soon is the second studio album by Welsh rock band Feeder. It was released on 30 August 1999 on The Echo Label.

Yesterday Went Too Soon
Studio album by
Feeder
Released30 August 1999
Recorded1998-1999
Genre
Length57:19
LabelEcho
ProducerFeeder
Feeder chronology
Polythene
(1997)		 Yesterday Went Too Soon
(1999)		 Echo Park
(2001)
Singles from Yesterday Went Too Soon
  1. "Day In Day Out"
    Released: 22 March 1999
  2. "Insomnia"
    Released: 31 May 1999
  3. "Yesterday Went Too Soon"
    Released: 9 August 1999
  4. "Paperfaces"
    Released: 20 November 1999
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

Yesterday Went Too Soon entered the UK charts at #8, after a decent amount of critical success. The title track gave them their first top 20 single, and the album would in total give the band 4 top 50 hits. Its critical and cult appeal including slots on Top of the Pops for the first time, enabled the album to aid the band's breakthrough which was completed on the follow-up Echo Park.

The album gained a Silver certification in April 2001, shortly before the release of breakthrough album Echo Park,[2] and then went Gold in March 2003 after the extended commercial recognition of Comfort In Sound,[3] thus making the album an overdue commercial success sales-wise.

Despite the band's American breakthrough with single "High" and extensive touring in the States, Yesterday Went Too Soon was never released in the US. Promotional copies of the album were released by the band's former US label Elektra, but they would ultimately turn down the album for distribution.

Charts and sales

When the album was released, the band's reputation was on the rise and it entered the UK albums chart at number eight,[4] which was at the time an unexpected chart position for the band.[5] Before that, the band had released the album's first single, "Day In Day Out", in March 1999 which charted at #31 followed by "Insomnia" at #22, resulting in their first appearance on Top of the Pops.[4][6] A week before the album's release, the band played the main stage of the Reading and Leeds festivals, while the title track from the album was at #20 in the singles chart. The album was then released on 30 August 1999. Only one single was lifted from the album after its release, in which a re-recorded version of "Paperfaces" charted at #41.[4]

The album was Melody Maker's #24 album of 1999,[7] while Metal Hammer placed the album in at #6 and Kerrang! ranked it at #16.[8][9]

Background

The band decided to self-produce the album, brought in Matt Sime for engineering duties and had the album mixed in New York by Andy Wallace.[10]

The working title for the album was originally A Life Through Headphones,[11] and was originally set to be a double album.[12] The name change was due to former Take That singer Robbie Williams releasing his solo debut album Life Thru a Lens, with the band not wanting to be compared to him.[13]

The album was written and recorded during and before the band's US tour of 1998. Before they left the UK, some demos were recorded with a few completed into final recordings, with some of these featuring on their single "Suffocate" as B-sides. "Dry" on CD2 of the single was later made into a full band version, as opposed to the acoustic recording found on the single.

Some of the album's lyrical themes were derived from Grant's personal perspective of working in a menial supermarket job ("Day in Day Out"), his experiences after gigs on their US tour ("Insomnia" and "You're My Evergreen"), past relationships (the title track and "Dry"), the music industry ("Hole in My Head") and "fear of commitment in relationships" ("Anaesthetic") amongst others.[14][15] Musically, the album employed an indie rock feel to it, which also featured extended appearances of an acoustic guitar on some of its tracks.[16]

"Dry" was re-recorded as a full band version after the original acoustic version appeared on "Suffocate" as a b-side. That single's b-sides featured tracks from the sessions for that album, therefore revealing what sort of direction it would take on.[17]

The album was due for release in June 1999, but this was delayed to include material written after its completion which the band felt was too good to leave off.[18]

Accolades
  • #6 on Metal Hammer's 1999 list (the highest placing from a UK act that year).[19]
  • #24 on Melody Maker's 1999 list.[20]
  • #16 on Kerrang's 1999 list.[21]
  • #73 in Kerrang! magazines "Top 100 British Rock Albums of All Time" list.[22]
  • Maxim and Loaded's- "Album of The Month".[23]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Grant Nicholas.

No.TitleLength
1."Anaesthetic"3:50
2."Insomnia"2:54
3."Picture of Perfect Youth"3:46
4."Yesterday Went Too Soon"4:20
5."Waiting For Changes"2:44
6."Radioman"3:37
7."Day In Day Out"3:39
8."Tinsel Town"4:29
9."You're My Evergreen"3:24
10."Dry"4:24
11."Hole in My Head" (omitted from Japanese pressings)2:58
12."So Well"4:03
13."Paperfaces" ("Paperfaces" ends at 4:28, hidden track "Bubblehead" starts at 9:25, "Bubblehead" omitted from bonus track versions)13:21
Japanese release bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
13."I Need a Buzz"2:50
14."Can't Dance to Disco"3:01
Korean release bonus track
No.TitleLength
14."High"4:33
iTunes and Spotify digital releases + Sony re-issue
No.TitleLength
13."Paperfaces"4:29
14."Bubblehead"3:53

Personnel
Feeder
Additional personnel
  • Audrey Riley – string arrangements on "Yesterday Went Too Soon" and "Dry"
  • Matt Sime – engineering
  • Andy Wallace – mixing
  • Al Clay – mixing on "Yesterday Went Too Soon" and "Hole in my Head", additional engineering on "Hole in my Head"
  • George Marino – mastering
  • Rick Guest – photography

UK chart performance
UK Album Chart
Week 01 02 03
Position
8
24
43

References
  1. Gallucci, Michael. Yesterday Went Too Soon at AllMusic
  2. FeederWeb
  3. BPI searchable database
  4. "The Official Charts Company - UK Singles & Albums Chart Archive - Feeder". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2007-11-02.
  5. ""Maker Shakers"- Melody Maker article". feederscrapbook.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2007-12-14. Retrieved 2009-01-21.
  6. Pete Seaton and Richard Down. (2006). The Kaleidoscope British Television Music & Variety Guide II : Top Pop 1964 - 2006. Kaleidoscope Publishing. ISBN 978-1-900203-27-2.
  7. "Melody Maker yearly albums lists". rocklist.net. Retrieved 2007-02-06.
  8. "Metal Hammer yearly albums lists". rocklist.net. Retrieved 2007-03-02.
  9. "Kerrang! yearly albums lists". rocklist.net. Retrieved 2007-02-06.
  10. ""Yesterday Went Too Soon Lowdown"- Kerrang! article". feederscrapbook.co.uk. Archived from the original on 6 October 2007. Retrieved 3 August 2007.
  11. ""A Life Through Headphones finished"- Kerrang! article". feederscrapbook.co.uk. Archived from the original on 28 November 2007. Retrieved 31 July 2007.
  12. ""The Great American Dream"- Metal Hammer article". feederscrapbook.co.uk. Archived from the original on 14 October 2007. Retrieved 31 July 2007.
  13. ""Feeder In Robbie Williams Clash"- Kerrang! article". feederscrapbook.co.uk. Archived from the original on 6 October 2007. Retrieved 3 August 2007.
  14. ""Life Thru a Lens" part 1- Kerrang!- 31 August 1999". feederscrapbook.co.uk. Archived from the original on 30 June 2007. Retrieved 14 March 2007.
  15. ""Life Thru a Lens" part 2- Kerrang!- 31 August 1999". feederscrapbook.co.uk. Archived from the original on 30 June 2007. Retrieved 14 March 2007.
  16. ""Yesterday Went Too Soon" info page". amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 30 March 2007.
  17. Feeder Central "Suffocate" release information mailing card.
  18. Feeder Central "Insomnia" mailing list release information mailing card.
  19. Metal Hammers Top 20 Albums of 1999
  20. Melody Maker's Albums of 1999
  21. Kerrang!'s Albums of 1999
  22. Kerrang!'s "Top 100 British Albums of All Time"- February 2005
  23. Yesterday Went Too Soon 1999 press advert
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