Songoftheday 5/17/24 - This is my life Its not what it was before, all these feelings I've shared and these are my dreams...

 

 

"So Far Away" - Staind

from the album 14 Shades Of Grey (2003)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #24 (three weeks)

Weeks in the Top-40: 18

 

Today's song comes from the post-grunge rock band Staind, who had their big mainstream breakthrough in the autumn of 2001 when their hit "It's Been Awhile" climbed all the way into the top five on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 chart.  In the spring of 2003, the band returned with their third studio album on the Flip label distributed by Elektra Records, 14 Shades of Grey. The lead single from the set, "Price To Pay", was a raucous assault of guitar crunch and angsty shade on the music industry. It did decently on rock radio, spending a week at #2 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart and hitting #8 on their Alternative Rock counterpart. But lack of pop radio notice had "Price" stall down at #66 on the all-genre sales and airplay Hot 100. However it managed to do better in the United Kingdom, landing a third top-40 hit at #36.

For the follow-up, the group went with what worked before, a power-ballad. Written by lead singer Aaron Lewis, guitarist Mike Mushok, bass player Johnny April, and drummer Jon Wysocki, the song this time is a little more optimistic, as Lewis sings to someone with whom they weathered the storm and are finally seeing the fruits of their work. The production from Josh Abraham adds strings to the guitars to bring about a somewhat darker shade of Creed, with Lewis' voice (at least then) a bit less sanctimonious. The music video pieces together footage from being on the road, including Aaron's daughter...

"So Far Away" became Staind's second, and so far most recent, single to reach the top-40 on Billboard's Hot 100 in November of 2003. On the radio, the song climbed to #17 on the Mainstream Top-40 chart and #16 on the older-skewing Adult Top-40 format. On rock stations, it was massive, spending fourteen weeks atop Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart and seven weeks at #1 on the Alternative Rock list. The 14 Shades Of Grey album, released in May of that year, took a week at #1 on the Billboard 200 sales tally, going on to sell over a million copies.

A third single from the project, "How About You", was a little more nuanced, and peaked at #10 on both the Mainstream and Alternative Rock charts, but only "bubbled under" the Hot 100 at #119. 

Two years later, Staind returned with their next album Chapter V, which scored yet another #1 placing on the Billboard 200 and selling over a million copies. This time the set, still on the Flip imprint, went through Atlantic Records. The first single, "Right Here", did okay on the radio, peaking at #9 on the Mainstream Top-40 chart, #7 on the Adult Contemporary list, and even made the "easy listening" Adult Contemporary tally at #40. It also spent two weeks at #1 on the Mainstream Rock chart as well as four weeks at #3 on the Alternative Rock counterpart. But lack of sales hindered its progress on the Hot 100, where it stopped at #55. Another of the four singles from the album, "Everything Changes" slipped on to the Adult Top-40 chart at #33. A collection of The Singles 1996-2006 followed, which just missed the top-40 on the Billboard 200 at #41.

Staind re-emerged in 2008 with The Illusion Of Progress, which came in at #3 on the Billboard 200. Lead single "Believe" brought the band back to #1 on the Alternative Rock chart, while it rose to #4 on the Mainstream Rock counterpart and #28 on the Adult Top-40. It also was their last appearance so far on the Hot 100 at #83. 

In 2011, a return to harder rock on their eponymous seventh studio album was released, but by that time band tensions as Lewis was starting to pursue a solo career as a country music artist. Wysocki, who recorded drums on the album, split before its release. The record came in at #5 on the Billboard 200, and first single "Not Again" spent seven weeks at #1 on the Mainstream Rock chart (and rose to #14 on Alternative rock), but without any pop airplay it only "bubbled under" the Hot 100 at #122. 

At this point Staind took a break, with Lewis releasing a series of solo country album, and Mushok eventually forming a side project, Saint Asonia, with former Three Days Grace singer Adam Gontier. Saint Asonia scored a trio of top ten Mainstream Rock hits, while Lewis rode the jingoist train into the Hot 100 top-20 with "Am I The Only One", which unfortunately will eventually be in this series.

Lewis, Mushok, and April reunited with new drummer Sal Giancarelli in 2023 on BMG Records, which came in at #64 on the Billboard 200. From it "The Lowest In Me" took the group back to #1 for two weeks on the Mainstream Rock chart as well as slipping on to the Alternative list at the #40 bottom rung. That was followed by "Here And Now", which climbed to #2 on the Mainstream Rock chart. The third single, "Better Days", which pairs then with younger rockers DOROTHY, is currently climbing the rock chart at #28. 

(5/10)

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Here's the band getting interviewed and performing live on the Jimmy Kimmel show...

Next up, from a televised concert at the Hard Rock in 2003...

and finally , live at the Mohegan Sun casino in 2011...

Tomorrow, I'll have my top hits of this week, then on Monday SOTD will be back with the oxygen-depleting breakthough hit for the future Voice coach.