Welcome (Taproot album)
| Welcome | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Taproot | ||||
| Released | October 15, 2002 | |||
| Recorded | November 2001–May 2002 in Los Angeles, California | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 46:44 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | Toby Wright | |||
| Taproot chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Welcome | ||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Blender | |
| Orlando Sentinel | (favorable) |
| Q | |
| Rolling Stone | |
| Sputnikmusic | |
Welcome is the second major label album by the rock music group Taproot. It was released on October 15, 2002. "Poem" served as the album's lead single and became a smash hit, propelling the group to stardom. A follow-up single, "Mine," was produced and its video was directed by System of a Down bassist Shavo Odadjian. The third single and video was announced for "Art," but curiously Atlantic pulled the plug soon after the announcement, further irking fans who claimed the label was holding Taproot back. Welcome remains Taproot's most successful record, selling around 450,000 copies.
The band performed on Disturbed's Music as a Weapon II in promotion of the album.
During a break in their intense touring schedule in support of their debut album, Gift, Taproot went to Los Angeles to record several demos with Toby Wright. Those tracks were "Poem to Self", "Remain", "Get Me", "When", and "Transparent". Bolstered by their new recordings, the band featured "Poem to Self", "Transparent", and "Get Me" on tour during 2001, with "Poem to Self" soon becoming one of their most popular songs.
During the early development of Welcome, Taproot had given producer Toby Wright roughly 40 complete songs. Wright said that while they were good, the songs were not up to the band's potential, and he forced them to start from scratch. Several earlier tracks were reworked for the album, while the bulk of the material was discarded. Some of the demos include "Can't Believe", "Poem to Self", "Sumtimes", "Remain", "Strive", "Free", "Fort", "Like", "Promise", "When", "Transparent", "Contradiction", "Keep Your Head Up", "Not a Quitter", "Fault", "Get Me", "Can You", "Indecisive", "Myself", and "Dreams". This was initially met with resentment from the band, but they ultimately wrote entirely new songs that they felt show greater maturity. One of the most prominent songs to survive the fresh batch was "Poem," which had seen prior success after being debuted by the band during concerts, such as Ozzfest 2001, and went on to be arguably Taproot's most well known single. Other songs that were refined with Toby Wright from earlier demos include "When", "Fault", "Sumtimes", and "Like". As with many Toby Wright productions, songs throughout Welcome are heavy on multi-tracked vocals and layered guitars.
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