After an EP on Jim Adkins' Western Tread label in early 2003, Arizona's the Format jumped to Elektra for Interventions and Lullabies, an album of accessible and often charming modern rock.
The appropriately titled, airwave-ready "The First Single (You Know Me)" gets things off on the right foot, with a sugary, anthemic chorus propelled by chiming acoustic and electric guitars.
While there are several enchanting, mellow moments, including the breathtaking, string-touched "On Your Porch," and "Give It Up," the pair's commercial aspirations on a ballad like "Tune Out" have singer Nate Ruess and multi-instrumentalist Sam Means coming closer to Goo Goo Dolls-like anonymity than any credible outfit should be comfortable with.
That said, the majority of the time the Format sound pretty darn original, hopping from the waltzing, banjo-touched "A Mess to Be Made" to the punchy energy of "Sore Thumb" with great ease.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wait, Wait, WaitSam Means, Nate Ruess | The Format | Play | 03:13 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 2 | Give It UpSam Means, Nate Ruess | The Format | Play | 03:51 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 3 | Tie the RopeSam Means, Nate Ruess | The Format | Play | 03:19 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 4 | Tune OutSam Means, Nate Ruess | The Format | Play | 03:31 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 5 | I'm Ready, I AmSam Means, Nate Ruess | The Format | Play | 03:14 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 6 | On Your PorchSam Means, Nate Ruess | The Format | Play | 05:11 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 7 | Sore ThumbSam Means, Nate Ruess | The Format | Play | 03:18 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 8 | A Mess to Be MadeSam Means, Nate Ruess | The Format | Play | 03:27 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 9 | Let's Make This Moment a CrimeSam Means, Nate Ruess | The Format | Play | 03:49 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 10 | Career DaySam Means, Nate Ruess | The Format | Play | 05:44 | 13 MB | 0 MB |
| 11 | A Save SituationSam Means, Nate Ruess | The Format | Play | 02:19 | 5 MB | 0 MB |
| 12 | The First Single (You Know Me) | The Format | Play | 04:25 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 45 mins | 104 MB | |||||
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chuck Bailey | Assistant Engineer |
| 2 | Danielle Bond | A&R |
| 3 | Mike Clines | Assistant Engineer |
| 4 | Larry Colbert | Cello |
| 5 | Joel Derouin | Violin |
| 6 | The Format | Primary Artist |
| 7 | Josh Freese | Drums |
| 8 | Chris Fudurich | Mixing |
| 9 | Matthew Funes | Violin |
| 10 | Andrew Gross | Conductor, Orchestral Arrangements |
| 11 | Ben Grosse | Mixing |
| 12 | Scott Higgins | Guiro, Sleigh Bells |
| 13 | Rami Jaffee | Accordion |
| 14 | Suzie Katayama | Contractor |
| 15 | John Kirkpatrick | A&R |
| 16 | Daniel Kresco | Assistant |
| 17 | Aaron Lepley | Assistant Engineer |
| 18 | Austen Lund | Assistant Engineer |
| 19 | Stephen Marcussen | Mastering |
| 20 | Sam Means | Banjo, Composer, Fender Rhodes, Group Member, Guitar (12 String), Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Handclapping, Keyboards, Mellotron, Piano, Sax (Baritone), Slide Guitar, Xylophone |
| 21 | Joe Meyer | French Horn |
| 22 | Geoffrey Moore | Guitar (Electric) |
| 23 | Charlie Paxson | Drums |
| 24 | Michele Richards | Violin |
| 25 | Tom Rothrock | Mixing |
| 26 | Nate Ruess | Composer, Group Member, Handclapping, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 27 | Mike Shipley | Mixing |
| 28 | Richard Todd | French Horn |
| 29 | Steve Tramposch | A&R |
| 30 | Josh Turner | Assistant Engineer, Digital Editing, Engineer |
| 31 | R. Walt Vincent | Bass, Drums, Engineer, Harmonium, Keyboards, Melodica, Mixing, Organ (Hammond), Piano, Producer, Shaker, Tambourine, Vocals (Background), Wurlitzer |
| 32 | Jeremy Weiss | Photography |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |