The Boy with No Name

The Boy with No Name
Studio album by
Travis
Released7 May 2007
RecordedDecember 2004 – January 2007
Studio
GenreIndie pop, alternative rock
Length52:54
LabelIndependiente, Epic
ProducerTravis, Steve Orchard, Nigel Godrich, Mike Hedges, George Tandero
Travis chronology
Singles
(2004) 		The Boy with No Name
(2007) 		Ode to J. Smith
(2008)
Singles from The Boy with No Name
  1. "Closer"
    Released: 23 April 2007
  2. "Selfish Jean"
    Released: 9 July 2007
  3. "My Eyes"
    Released: 17 September 2007

The Boy with No Name is the fifth studio album by Scottish rock band Travis, released on 7 May 2007 through Epic Records. The album marked the first time in which other members contributed to songwriting, rather than solely being the responsibility of frontman Fran Healy, who was the sole songwriter across their past four albums. The album was supported by the release of its lead single, "Closer", which was released in April 2007 and reached number one on the Scottish Singles Charts. It reached the top ten in both the United Kingdom and Norway, whilst it achieved moderate success in the likes of Germany, Belgium and Switzerland. A second single, "Selfish Jean", was released in July 2007, reaching the top ten in their native Scotland and number thirty on the UK Singles Charts.

A third and final single, "My Eyes", was released in September 2007. Described by the BBC as their "most eclectic album to date",[1] The Boy with No Name debuted atop the Scottish Albums Charts, whilst it debuted at number four on the UK Albums Charts.[2] The Boy with No Name was certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). It reached the top ten in various international markets, including Norway, Switzerland and Germany, whilst in the United States it peaked at number fifty-eight on the Billboard 200.

Background

The name of the album came about when lead singer Fran Healy and his partner Nora were deciding on a name for their newly born son. During this time, he sent a photo of his son to a friend by email and labeled the photo "The Boy with No Name". Healy revealed this on The Chris Moyles Show during an interview. Healy has also revealed in pre-album release performances that some tracks are influenced by his developing family status, such as "My Eyes" being about his new son or "Battleships" referring to ups and downs of relationships.

Travis dedicated this album to the Abbey Road Studios chief master engineer Chris Blair and British world champion rally driver Richard Burns, who died of a brain tumour at the age of 34 in 2005.[3]

During the recording, the band discovered they were in the same studio as British band Feeder but in different rooms. (Feeder were recording what would be their fifth studio album Pushing the Senses.) It occurred to Fran and Dougie they should help Feeder with their album and provided backing vocals for the final chorus of the first single, "Tumble and Fall".

For the track "Under the Moonlight", backing vocals were recorded by singer-songwriter KT Tunstall, and "Battleships" features backing vocals by Julia Stone.

Release

The Boy with No Name entered at No. 4 on the UK Album Charts. In the U.S., the album debuted at number 58 on the Billboard 200, selling 12,000 copies in its first week.[4] The album went gold in the UK. "Closer" was released as the first single from the album in the United Kingdom on 23 April 2007, and peaked at No. 10 in the UK Singles Chart (see 2007 in British music). Second single "Selfish Jean" made No. 30. The final single, "My Eyes", reached No. 60 – their lowest chart placing during their career at the time. The full album was available to purchase at the Virgin Megastore at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California over the weekend of 27 April 2007 – 29 April 2007.

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic57/100[5]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarHalf star[6]
BBCfavourable[7]
Digital SpyStarStarStarStarStar[8]
NME2/10[9]
New York Daily Newsfavourable[10]
Pitchfork Media5.6/10[11]
Philadelphia InquirerStarStarStar[12]
Rolling StoneStarStarHalf star[13]
QStarStarStarStar
PopMatters6/10[14]

The Boy with No Name received mixed reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 57 based on 20 reviews, which indicates "mixed or average reviews".[5] NME gave the album 2 out of 10 and labelled it "impotent aural gruel" with "all the soul of a platform announcement".[15]

Writing for the BBC, Al Fox described the album as their "most eclectic album to date", advising against the single "Closer" giving a false sense of calm tones throughout the album, claiming that the calm and acoustic guitar lead song was "no means a representation" of the wider album.[1] Fox claimed that "Selfish Jean" is a flashback to the bands heavier rock sound that had been "dormant" since the release of their debut album Good Feeling in 1997, some ten years earlier, whilst stating that the likes of "Big Chair" continued "a similarly uptempo sound, but with a considerably darker overtone".[1]

As their first studio album offering since the release of their greatest hits album in 2004, The Boy with No Name was regarded by the BBC as an album in which the band "can afford to take risks", claiming that the band had no "laurels left to rest on" which allowed for the band to be creative and explorative in their recording, songwriting and production techniques for the album.[1] As a result, Al Fox for the BBC said that the band tended not to focus on one specific musical direction on the album, but did cite the fact that the band appear to have "bagged" a lot into the one album.[1] On the opposing side of the arguments, Joey Willis writing for Glide has described The Boy with No Name as being far from the bands best work, but noted that the album "fits solidly in their top albums and sounds exactly like a Travis album should".[16]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."3 Times and You Lose"Fran Healy • Andy DunlopSteve Orchard4:14
2."Selfish Jean"HealyMike Hedges4:00
3."Closer"HealySteve Orchard • Nigel Godrich4:00
4."Big Chair"Healy • DunlopSteve Orchard4:07
5."Battleships"HealySteve Orchard • Nigel Godrich4:11
6."Eyes Wide Open"HealyMike Hedges2:59
7."My Eyes"HealySteve Orchard • Nigel Godrich4:08
8."One Night"HealyGeorge Tandero4:00
9."Under the Moonlight"Susie HugSteve Orchard4:00
10."Out in Space"HealySteve Orchard • Nigel Godrich3:35
11."Colder"Healy • Dougie PayneSteve Orchard4:06
12."New Amsterdam" ("New Amsterdam" ends at 2:37, and followed by hidden track "Sailing Away", which begins at 5:50)HealySteve Orchard • Nigel Godrich9:26
British edition bonus tracks[17]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
13."Perfect Heaven Space" (hidden track)HealyNigel Godrich3:50
iTunes Store pre-order edition bonus track
No.TitleLength
14."Say Hello"3:33
Japanese edition bonus tracks[18]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
14."The Great Unknown"HealySteve Orchard • Nigel Godrich2:25
15."Perfect Heaven Space"HealyNigel Godrich3:50

Personnel

Personnel per booklet.[19]

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for The Boy with No Name
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[43] Gold 100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "BBC - Music - Review of Travis - The Boy With No Name". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
  2. ^ "Travis - The Boy With No Name". officialcharts.com. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
  3. ^ "Travis Discography: The Boy with No Name" Archived 17 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine, TravisOnline.com, 7 May 2007
  4. ^ Katie Hasty, "Buble Sidesteps Bone Thugs To Claim No. 1", Billboard.com, 16 May 2007.
  5. ^ a b "The Boy with No Name Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  6. ^ "AllMusic review".
  7. ^ "Music – Review of Travis – The Boy With No Name". BBC. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
  8. ^ "Music - Album Review - Travis: 'The Boy with No Name' - Digital Spy". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 9 May 2007. Retrieved 5 May 2007.
  9. ^ "Travis – Travis – Album Reviews". Nme.Com. 1 May 2007. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
  10. ^ "Travis' 'Boy' wonder". Nydailynews.com. 8 May 2007. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
  11. ^ "Pitchfork: Album Reviews: Travis: The Boy With No Name". Pitchforkmedia.com. 2 June 2007. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
  12. ^ "New Recordings | Inquirer | 05/13/2007". Archived from the original on 15 May 2007. Retrieved 13 May 2007.
  13. ^ "Travis: The Boy with No Name : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". www.rollingstone.com. Archived from the original on 14 February 2009. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  14. ^ Begrand, Adrien (16 May 2007). "Travis: The Boy with No Name < PopMatters". Popmatters.com. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
  15. ^ "NME review of 'The Boy With No Name', May 2007". Nme.com. 10 May 2007. Retrieved 12 January 2010.
  16. ^ Willis, Joey (31 May 2021). "Scottish Rockers Travis Reissue 2007 LP 'The Boy With No Name' on Vinyl (ALBUM REVIEW)". Glide Magazine. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
  17. ^ "Travis – The Boy with No Name (2007, CD)". Discogs. 8 May 2007.
  18. ^ "Travis – The Boy with No Name (2007, CD)". Discogs. 2 May 2007.
  19. ^ The Boy with No Name (booklet). Travis. Independiente. 2007. ISOM 67CD.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  20. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 284.
  21. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Travis – The Boy with No Name" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  22. ^ "Ultratop.be – Travis – The Boy with No Name" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  23. ^ "Ultratop.be – Travis – The Boy with No Name" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  24. ^ Williams, John (16 May 2007). "Michael Buble stays at No. 1". Jam!. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  25. ^ a b "Dutchcharts.nl – Travis – The Boy with No Name" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  26. ^ "European Albums – Week of May 26, 2007". Billboard. Archived from the original on 22 January 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2026.
  27. ^ "Lescharts.com – Travis – The Boy with No Name". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  28. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Travis – The Boy with No Name" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  29. ^ "Ελληνικό Chart – Top 50 Ελληνικών και Ξένων Aλμπουμ – Εβδομάδα: 22/2007" (in Greek). IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on 13 June 2007. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
  30. ^ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 19, 2007". GfK Chart-Track. IRMA. Archived from the original. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  31. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Travis – The Boy with No Name". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  32. ^ ザ・ボーイ・ウィズ・ノー・ネーム | トラヴィス [The Boy with No Name | Travis] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  33. ^ "Mexicancharts.com – Mexican Charts – Albums – 20.20.2007". Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 26 November 2010. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  34. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Travis – The Boy with No Name". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  35. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart on 13/5/2007 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  36. ^ "Spanishcharts.com – Travis – The Boy with No Name". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  37. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Travis – The Boy with No Name". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  38. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Travis – The Boy with No Name". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  39. ^ "Official Albums Chart on 13/5/2007 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  40. ^ "Travis Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  41. ^ "Travis Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  42. ^ "ChartsPlus Year-End 2007" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Official Charts Company. p. 4. Retrieved 21 March 2026.
  43. ^ "British album certifications – Travis – The Boy with No Name". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 22 February 2026. Select albums in the Formats field. Type The Boy with No Name Travis in the "Search:" field.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.