How to Save a Life (album)
How to Save a Life is the debut studio album by American alternative rock band The Fray. Released on September 13, 2005, through Epic Records, the record charted in the top 15 on the Billboard 200 and was a top ten hit in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the UK. The first two singles from the album, "Over My Head (Cable Car)" and "How to Save a Life" helped the album become a commercial success and brought the band mainstream popularity.
| How to Save a Life | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by The Fray | ||||
| Released | September 13, 2005 | |||
| Recorded | 2005 | |||
| Studio | Echo Park Studios (Bloomington, Indiana); Sony Music Studios (New York City, New York); Coupe Studios (Boulder, Colorado); FTM Studios (Lakewood, Colorado). | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock, pop rock | |||
| Length | 45:56 | |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Producer | Aaron Johnson, Mike Flynn | |||
| The Fray chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from How to Save a Life | ||||
| ||||
Critical reception to the album was mixed, with some critics complimenting its similarities in style to British piano-driven bands like Keane and Coldplay, but in turn disparaging its unoriginality and derivation, as well as schmaltzy and self-pitying lyrics. The album was certified double platinum by the RIAA, and was also certified platinum in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and in the UK. The album went on to become the best-selling digital album of all time until Eminem's Recovery (2010), breaking the record held previously by Coldplay's X&Y (2005). It was ranked #21 on Billboard's list of the Best Digital Albums of the Decade.