Heroes & Thieves

Infobox Album
Name = Heroes & Thieves


Type = Studio album
Longtype =
Artist = Vanessa Carlton
Released = October 9, 2007 (U.S.)
October 22, 2007 (Europe)
Recorded =
Genre = Pop
Length =
Label = The Inc., Universal Motown
Producer = Irv Gotti, Linda Perry, Stephan Jenkins
Reviews =
*Allmusic rating|3.5|5 [http://wm10.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=A99kxlf3ehczp link]
*"The Batt" (positive) [http://media.www.thebatt.com/media/storage/paper657/news/2007/10/17/Aggielife/A.Thousand.Times.Better-3036698.shtml link]
*"Billboard" (positive) [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/content_display/reviews/albums/e3i9d8c70e4b0c4294a82ad8eca2e3088dc link]
*"Blender" rating|3.5|5 [http://www.blender.com/guide/reviews.aspx?id=4776 link]
*"Daily Egyptian" rating|3.5|5 [http://media.www.siude.com/media/storage/paper1096/news/2007/10/10/Music/Carltons.Voice.A.Sweet.Serenade-3021840.shtml link]
*"The Dallas Morning News" (mixed) [http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/ent/stories/DN-cd_carlton_1009gl.ART.State.Edition2.420290a.html link]
*"Entertainment Weekly" (B) [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20144963,00.html link]
*"Philadelphia Daily News" (B+) [http://www.philly.com/dailynews/features/20071009_Marc_Cohn_back_after_10_years_with_Parade.html link]
*"Slant Magazine" rating|3|5 [http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/music_review.asp?ID=1202 link]
*"USA Today" rating|3|4 [http://blogs.usatoday.com/listenup/2007/10/this-weeks-re-1.html?csp=34 link]
Last album = "Harmonium"
(2004)
This album = "Heroes & Thieves"
(2007)
Next album =
Misc = Singles
Name = Heroes & Thieves
Type = studio
single 1 = Nolita Fairytale
single 1 date = July 17, 2007
Name = Heroes & Thieves
Type = studio
single 2 = Hands on Me
single 2 date = February 19, 2008

"Heroes & Thieves" is the third album by Vanessa Carlton, released by The Inc. Records on October 9, 2007 (see 2007 in music). It is co-produced by Irv Gotti, Linda Perry and Third Eye Blind lead singer Stephan Jenkins, who produced Carlton's second album, "Harmonium" (2004), and Carlton co-wrote the tracks with Perry and Jenkins. It is Carlton's first album on The Inc. Records, after Irv Gotti signed her to a record deal there in late 2006, and Gotti has said that "Heroes & Thieves" is the first album on which he is acting as "co-pilot" rather than "dictator".

Themes

According to Carlton, the album is "the best patch of songs I've ever written".Rodriguez, Jayson. [http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1544642/11012006/gotti_irv.jhtml "Yeah, Irv Gotti Knows Who Vanessa Carlton Is — He Just Signed Her"] . MTV News. November 2, 2006. Retrieved November 30, 2006.] She described it as "pretty uplifting" and as having "a lot of layers ... [There are] very complex arrangements but everything just makes me feel good and not in a simplistic way." She also called it her most honest album, and the only one of hers that she considers "a body of work" as opposed to a collection of songs. "I think that shows", she said. "It really does feel like a real album."Benson, John. [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003603742 "Carlton Links With The Inc. For Third Album"] . "Billboard". June 26, 2007. Retrieved June 28, 2007.] Carlton says that the concept of the album is "about personal evolution and finding joy through hardships. Every song is like a different chapter in a book". [Cheung, Nadine. [http://music.aol.com/popeater/2007/07/10/vanessa-carlton-dodges-looming-question/ "Vanessa Carlton Dodges Looming Question"] . AOL Music PopEater. July 10, 2007.] According to her, the lyrics are "far better written" and build on her greater life experience, which she says produces "a more interesting perspective through song" and lyrics more adults can listen to than previously, when she was writing from the point of view of a seventeen year-old girl rather than "more of a fully formed person". [Rowland, Marijke. [http://www.modbee.com/scene/story/151887.html "Acoustic Christmas - Carlton Brings new life to show"] . "The Modesto Bee". December 27, 2007.]

Carlton said she was inspired by the atmosphere of her New York City loft apartment, including the view from her window, and by her thoughts during long walks around the Nolita neighborhood — "I was very inspired by the vibe here ... There really is a very deep, underlying connection between this space and my record." [Getlen, Larry. [http://www.nypost.com/seven/10112007/realestate/once_upon_a_time.htm "Once upon a Time"] . "New York Post". October 11, 2007.] Another inspiration was metaphors in German fairy tales such as "Little Red Riding Hood", the theme of which she said she adapted for the album: "The moral of that story is to never stray from the beaten path or you'll get eaten by a wolf. And, of course, in the past few years, I've really strayed from the beaten path and reaped the rewards. Instead of being eaten by the wolf, I've tamed the wolf, and it does what I say." The album was influenced by Carlton's breakup with its co-producer, Stephan Jenkins, and Carlton said that one of the reasons they remained friends was that "nothing took precedence over the music ... No matter what was going on in the emotional realm, all we cared about was the album. It created this kinetic environment that was kind of like Fleetwood Mac. It made for better music." [Vaziri, Aidin. [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/11/04/PK2QT1OLN.DTL&type=music "POP QUIZ: Vanessa Carlton"] . "San Francisco Chronicle". November 4, 2007.]

Carlton said the song "Nolita Fairytale" is about her life in Nolita, and in her words, "the series of revelations I have had over the past few years." She called the song "Heroes & Thieves" "a song about assessing, to put it in a dramatic way, the Heroes and Thieves in your life"; it is about her personal evolution, and her deciding how she wants to lead her life and the people with whom she wants to share it.Brill, Lauren. [http://www.wnba.com/allstar2007/vanessacarlton_070711.html "One On One With Vanessa Carlton"] . WNBA.com. July 11, 2007.] The third song, "My Best", has been described by Carlton as "one of the most level-headed responses to a broken relationship [...] no matter what crimes are committed in any relationship that fell apart, you kind of always keep your promise to that person, those people in your past. If you were to serendipitously cross paths with them again, you would always be the best version of yourself and offer them your best." [Nome, Valerie. [http://www.okmagazine.com/news/view/2944/OK!-Interview:-Vanessa-Carlton "OK! Interview: Vanessa Carlton"] . "OK!" (U.S.). November 28, 2007.] The track "The One", which features Stevie Nicks, was inspired by conversations Carlton had with Nicks about relationships and the search for one true love. [Halperin, Shirley. [http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2007/07/on-the-scene-va.html "On the Scene: Vanessa Carlton and special guest at L.A.'s Roxy"] . "Entertainment Weekly" PopWatch Blog. July 26, 2007.] According to Irv Gotti, the ballad "Home" (which Carlton said she felt sad singing) was written about Stephan Jenkins, Carlton's partner at the time of its writing, although he added that "Vanessa's found home in her music, and home can be anything for people: a boyfriend, husband, child, mother ... what home can represent makes it such an enormous record. That record is very special to me." The closing track, "More Than This", documents a relationship in which Carlton felt the other party "can never have enough. It's like if they don't want peace, it would just be peaceful. The song is saying how you could experience euphoria if, in this moment, you decided you didn't need any more than this. But I don't know ... Maybe it's hard to actively make that decision.""Desert Rose". "Giant". August 2007, pg. 120–4.]

History

In January 2005, two months after the release of "Harmonium", Carlton co-wrote three songs with production team The Matrix: "It's Now", "Summer Child" (alternatively titled "Tuesday") and "Underneath". [ [http://www.mtv.com/bands/p/projects_time_forgot/news_feature_013105/ "The Projects That Time Forgot"] . MTV News. January 31, 2005. Retrieved June 28, 2007.] [BMI [http://repertoire.bmi.com/startpage.asp repertoire search] : "It's Now" (work no. 7532078), "Summer Child"/"Tuesday" (work no. 7532080), "Underneath" (work no. 7532079).] In May 2005, in a post on her official site's forum, Carlton said to her fans that she would be releasing a third album in 2006, although she added "most people will know it as my second!" because of a perceived lack of commitment to "Harmonium" at her then-current label, A&M Records. [ [http://forums.nessaholics.com/viewtopic.php?t=8149 "harmonium"] . VanessaCarlton.com. May 7, 2005. Retrieved September 16, 2006.] During her "Harmonium" tour, Carlton debuted three new songs in June 2005 at The Living Room in New York City: "Put Your Hands on Me", "This Time" (co-written with Linda Perry) and "The One".Cinquemani, Sal. [http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/features/vanessacarlton.asp "Vanessa Carlton: A Pop Princess in Her Living Room"] . "Slant". June 14, 2005. Retrieved September 16, 2006.] (For the release of the album, the title of "Put Your Hands on Me" was shortened to "Hands on Me" because Joss Stone has a song with the original title on her 2007 album, "Introducing Joss Stone". [Cinquemani, Sal. [http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/features/vanessacarltoninterview.asp "Vanessa Carlton: A Rent-Controlled Life"] . "Slant". 2007.] ) When on tour with rock singer Stevie Nicks in 2005 and 2006, Carlton premiered the songs "Best Behavior" [Laszewski, Caiti. [http://www.nicksfix.com/2005_fan_reviews_july6_minneapolis.htm "Stevie Nicks Summer 2005 FAN REVIEWS - 7/6/05 Target Center Minneapolis, MN"] . The Nicks Fix (official Stevie Nicks website).] and "All Is Well". (Nicks recorded backing vocals for the track "The One".)

Production

In August 2005, Carlton said she was to enter the recording studio the following month with producer Linda Perry, [Carlton, Vanessa. [http://forum.nessaholics.com/viewtopic.php?t=8774&view=previous "next chapter"] . vanessacarlton.com (official Vanessa Carlton website) via NESSAholics.com. August 2, 2005.] with whom she had previously collaborated after executives at A&M Records sent her into the studio to record a second single for "Harmonium".Sclafani, Tony. [http://www.readexpress.com/read_freeride/2007/11/vanessa_carlton_learned_the_hard.php "Don't Call It a Comeback: Vanessa Carlton"] . "Express". November 20, 2007.] In December 2005, they completed half the album and experienced what Carlton described as a "whirlwind moment", during which they recorded five songs in two weeks. Carlton said on her website that Perry was "fantastic and genuine and really inspiring". [MusicMan. [http://popdirt.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=44696 "Vanessa Carlton Midway Thru Recording New Album"] . popdirt.com. January 1, 2006.] [Staff. [http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1519737/20060104/madonna.jhtml "For The Record: Quick News On Madonna, Jessica Simpson, Avenged Sevenfold, Nine Inch Nails, David Lee Roth & More"] . MTV News. January 4, 2006.] Mastering work on the album was proceeding by February 2006, when "Billboard" magazine quoted a spokesperson for Carlton as saying that Stephan Jenkins and several "departure producers" had contributed to the album. [Hasty, Katie. [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002074871 "Billboard Bits: Pearl Jam, Vanessa Carlton, Don Caballero"] . "Billboard". February 24, 2006.] According to Carlton, she recorded most of the album in a Victorian mansion with Jenkins in San Francisco.Stout, Gene. [http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/pop/338856_nightlife09.html "Classically trained pianist Vanessa Carlton plays and sings her way across genres"] . "Seattle Post-Intelligencer". November 8, 2007.] She told her fans in September that she was writing songs in the city, [MusicMan. [http://popdirt.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=52777 "Vanessa Carlton's Music Recommendations"] . popdirt.com. September 22, 2006.] and the following month, after signing with The Inc. Records, she said she would return to the studio in Los Angeles to record more songs. [MusicMan. [http://popdirt.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=53123 "Vanessa Carlton Returns To The Recording Studio This Month"] . popdirt.com. October 3, 2006.] The head of The Inc., Irv Gotti, helped to produce the album and said that 7 Aurelius and Rick Rubin would also serve as co-producers,Reid, Shaheem. [http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1546650/11272006/gotti_irv.jhtml "Irv Gotti Maps Out Inc. Comeback With Vanessa Carlton, Lloyd, Ja Rule"] . MTV News. November 28, 2006. Retrieved November 30, 2006.] though neither are credited in the album's liner notes.

Carlton said of the album's creative pulsinator team,

Release and promotion

According to the "News-Times", the album was originally scheduled for release in early 2007. [Friedman, David. "Third Eye Blind planning to test new songs in Hartford". "News-Times". October 27, 2006.] "Entertainment Weekly" reported in June 2007 that the album was to be released on October 9, that the first single was "Nolita Fairytale", and that the second single may be "Hands on Me".Vozick-Levinson, Simon. [http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2007/06/irv_gotti_vanes.html "Irv Gotti and Vanessa Carlton, together at last"] . "Entertainment Weekly". June 1, 2007. Retrieved June 25, 2007.] A "Billboard" magazine article published later that month reported that Carlton had "hinted" at the possibility of the ballad "Home" being the second single. It was reported in October 2007 that Carlton would embark on a concert tour, the Haunted Club Tour, from November 2 (Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S.) to November 24 (Montreal, Quebec, Canada). [Universal Motown. [http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20071008006239&newsLang=en "Vanessa Carlton Announces 'Haunted Club Tour' in Support of Highly Anticipated New Album, "Heroes & Thieves"] . Business Wire. October 8, 2007.] Carlton said that a guitarist and a violinist would accompany her. [Barth, Lauren. [http://blogs.glam.com/glamscene/2007/09/21/1663/ "A True Lady in Red..."] . GlamScene. September 21, 2007.] During the tour, she said that the music video for the second single, "Hands on Me", would be filmed in December, after which she would undertake a larger scale tour with a full band. [Beck, Marilyn and Jenel, Stacy. [http://www.nationalledger.com/artman/publish/article_272617178.shtml "Vanessa Carlton - Stephan Jenkins Romance Over, Still Making Music"] . "The National Ledger". November 12, 2007.] Also by December, she was playing a series of live shows in association with radio stations. [Gray Streeter, Leslie. [http://www.palmbeachpost.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/palmbeach/streeter/entries/2007/12/my_exclusive_qa.html "My Exclusive Q&A with Vanessa Carlton!"] . "Palm Beach Post". December 1, 2007.]

In a November interview with "Vibe" magazine, Irv Gotti said of the response to Carlton's signing with the predominantly R&B and hip hop label The Inc.:

A stripped down version of the album track More Than This appears on the compilation Songs for Tibet.

Reception

"Heroes & Thieves" received a 78/100 score on the website Metacritic, which it said indicates " [g] enerally favorable reviews". [ [http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/carltonvanessa/heroesandthieves "Heroes & Thieves by Vanessa Carlton"] . Metacritic.] Accompanied by minimal press coverage, it debuted at number forty-four on the U.S. "Billboard" 200, selling 18,200 copies in its first week of release. [Tebben, Susan. [http://www.thepost.ohiou.edu/Articles/Culture/2007/11/05/22105/ "Carlton doesn't sell out for music industry"] . "The Post". November 5, 2007.] [Harris, Chris. [http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1572111/20071017/kid_rock.jhtml "Kid Rock's "Jesus" Overpowers Bruce Springsteen's "Magic" On "Billboard" Chart"] . MTV News. October 17, 2007.] As of December 2007, the album had sold 41,000 copies in the U.S. [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20164904,00.html]

Track listing

#"Nolita Fairytale" (Vanessa Carlton, Stephan Jenkins) – 3:28
#"Hands on Me" (Carlton, Jenkins) – 3:01
#"Spring Street" (Carlton, Linda Perry) – 4:10
#"My Best" (Carlton) – 3:00
#"Come Undone" (Carlton, Jenkins) – 4:35
#"The One" (featuring Stevie Nicks) (Carlton, Jenkins, Perry) – 4:05
#"Heroes & Thieves" (Carlton) – 3:47
#"This Time" (Carlton, Perry) – 3:49
#"Fools Like Me" (Carlton) – 3:10
#"Home" (Carlton, Jenkins) – 5:38
#"More Than This" (Carlton) – 4:48

Charts

Album

Credits and Personnel

*Vanessa Carlton: Vocals, Background Vocals, Piano, Keyboards, String Arrangements
*Stephan Jenkins: Guitar (Acoustic), Keyboards, Programming, Percussion, Group Vocalist, Harp Arrangement, String Arrangements
*Linda Perry: Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar, Piano, Mellotron
*Stevie Nicks: Vocals, Guest Appearance
*Tony Fredianelli: Guitar
*Eric Schemerhorn: Guitar
*Sebastian Steinburg: Bass
*Jon Evans (musician): Bass
*Paul III: Bass
*Leo Kramer: Bass
*Brain: Drums
*Nathan Wetherington: Drums
*Brad Hargreaves: Drums
*Matt Chamberlain: Drums, Percussion
*Luis Conte: Percussion
*Herve Salters: Keyboard
*Conor Heffernan: Organ, Group Vocalist
*Hattie Webb: Harp, Group Vocalist
*The Section Quartet: Strings
*Eric Gorfain: Violin, String Arrangements
*Daphne Chen: Violin
*Leah Katz: Viola
*Richard Dodd: Cello
*Carla Kihlstedt: Orchestrator
*Jason Martineau: Orchestrator
*Michelle Maruyama: Orchestrator
*Melissa Reese: Background Vocals, Group Vocalist
*Dionzya Sutton: Group Vocalist
*Ari Ingber: Group Vocalist (More Than This)
*Josh Ingber: Group Vocalist (More Than This)
*Lee Moretti: Background Vocalist (Come Undone), Group Vocalist (More Than This)

*Executive producers: Vanessa Carlton, Stephan Jenkins, Irv "Gotti" Lorenzo
*Produced by: Stephan Jenkins ("Spring Street" and "This Time" produced by Linda Perry)
*Engineered by: Sean Beresford ("Spring Street" and "This Time" engineered by Linda Perry)
*Mixed by: Manny Maroquinn at Larrabee North Studios, Universal City, CA ("Spring Street" and "This Time" mixed by Bill Botrell at The Pass, Los Angeles, CA)
*Mastered by: Emily Lazar, assisted by Joe LaPorta at The Lodge, NYC
*A&R: Jolene Cherry and Irv Gotti
*A&R administration by: Darcell Lawrence, Errol Vaughn, Eliose Bryan, Nina Freeman, Tracy Tolmaire for Universal Motown
*Marketing: Tenisha Ramos for The Inc., Jill Capone for Universal Motown
*Creative art direction: Vanessa Carlton
*Art department by: Sandra Brummels and Christopher Kornmann
*Illustrator: James Riches
*Additional lettering by: Vanessa Carlton
*Boots by: Stevie Nicks

*"The Moon" and "Happy Thoughts" written by Robert Lewis Stevenson

*Photography: Kurt Iswarienko
*Stylist: Elisa Goodkind, Goodkind Style, Inc
*Makeup: Lisa Storey, The Wall Group
*Hair: Damian Monzillo, Celestine
*Agency: Mitch Rose for CAA
*Management: Jordan Feldstein
*Publicity: Dvora Vener-Engelfeild for BWR Public Relations; Tracy Zamotand Kim Harris for Universal Motown
*Legal: Tim Mandelbaum, Esq; Monika Tashman; Selveme, Mandelbaum and Mintz
*Business manager: Phil Sarna for PSBM

References