Midnight Memories

by One Direction

Overview

After conquering the pop world over a three-year span with their many hit singles, two chart-topping albums, a box office smash concert film, and sold-out arena tours, it would be understandable if the lads of One Direction took some time off to regroup and pursue other things like having lives, taking film roles, or embarking on solo projects. They did nothing of the sort, and their third album in three years, Midnight Memories, rolled off the production line right on time for the holidays. Anyone expecting there to be any kind of drop in quality, or early warnings that the group had begun their inevitable decline, will be happily surprised that not only does the album satisfy the established quota of thrilling modern pop tracks and uplifting ballads, but also introduces some interesting new directions: one direction that makes sense in the music landscape of 2013, and one that comes out of nowhere. In that first category are the songs, like "Through the Dark" and "Something Great" that sound heavily influenced by the inescapably popular upbeat, acoustic guitar-driven folk-pop of the Lumineers and Mumford & Sons. Even though their cleaned-up take sounds a little on the slick side, the group deliver the lyrics with a clear-voiced enthusiasm that is infectious and helps them go down smoothly. The direction that's a bit of a shock comes to the fore on songs like the title track and "Little Black Dress." With their distorted power chords, tightly wound rhythms, and punchy vocals, they sound like an uncanny mashup of Rick Springfield circa "Jessie's Girl and "Pour Some Sugar on Me"-era Def Leppard. It's a fun left turn that works really well, as the guys' voices are surprisingly sassy and show off some spunky rock & roll attitude. These stylistic diversions show two paths the band could take in the future if they decide to evolve and discard their pop sound entirely. Not that their sound doesn't work here, as there are plenty of tracks that will undoubtedly show up (alongside the title track) on their Greatest Hits collection. "Best Song Ever" is a buoyant, instantly catchy radio hit that may not be the best song ever, but it may be theirs, the dramatic "Diana" adds a little bit of adult feeling into the mix, and the cinematically swoony ballad "You & I" shows that the group have a sure-handed way with a big ballad and can tap into some real emotion. Not many acts have blown up as much as One Direction have in such a short time and managed to stay on track; even fewer have tried to grow musically, even a little bit. One Direction and the team have done exactly that here, and when the album ends and the various styles, songs, and moods are added up, Midnight Memories ends up as another satisfying album that does everything a One D album should do and then some. ~ Tim Sendra

Product Details

Release Date:	11/25/2013
Label:	Sony Music Entertainment / Syco Music
UPC:	0888837740623

Tracks

1. Best Song Ever
2. Story of My Life
3. Diana
4. Midnight Memories
5. You & I
6. Don't Forget Where You Belong
7. Strong
8. Happily
9. Right Now
10. Little Black Dress
11. Through the Dark
12. Something Great
13. Little White Lies
14. Better Than Words

Album Credits

Performance Credits

One Direction   Primary Artist
Petros Anastos-Prastacos   Choir/Chorus,Vocals (Background),Vocals
Davide Rossi   Strings
Jacknife Lee   Bass,Drums,Guitar,Keyboards,Percussion
Steve Robson   Bass,Guitar,Keyboards
John Ryan   Guitar,Guitar (Acoustic),Vocals (Background),Guitar,Guitar (Acoustic),Vocals (Background),Drums,Guitar,Vocals,Guitar (Acoustic),Vocals (Background)
Matt Rad   Choir/Chorus,Vocals (Background),Bass,Guitar,Vocals,Keyboards
Peter Bunetta   Vocals (Background)
Ryan Tedder   Bass,Drums,Piano,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Karl Brazil   Drums
Daniel Weiner   Vocals (Background)
Stefan Litrownik   Drums
Jaco Caraco   Guitar
Pete Whitfield   Violin
Simon Turner   Cello
Teddy Geiger   Bass,Vocals (Background)
Luke Potashnick   Guitar
Jamie Scott   Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Christine Wu   Strings
Savan Kotecha   Vocals (Background)
Alex Stemp   Violin
Carl Falk   Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Julian Bunetta   Drums,Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Chris Leonard   Guitar
Sarah Brandwood-Spencer   Violin
Chris Patrick   Bass
Dale Culliford   Cello
Ruth-Anne Cunningham   Vocals (Background)
Damon Bunetta   Vocals (Background)
Ilya Toshinskiy   Banjo,Mandolin
Eddy Thrower   Drums
Nick Trygstad   Cello
Ian Franzino   Vocals (Background)
Chris Thornberry   Piano
Paulette Bayley   Violin

Technical Credits

John Ryan   Engineer,Producer,Vocal Producer,Instrumentation,Composer,Additional Production,Composer,Engineer,Producer,Vocal Producer,Instrumentation,Additional Production,Composer,Engineer,Producer,Vocal Producer,Instrumentation
Petros Anastos-Prastacos   Engineer
Toby Smith   Composer,Producer,Instrumentation
Serban Ghenea   Mixing
Kristian Lundin   Producer,Vocal Editing,Vocal Engineer,Vocal Producer
Jacknife Lee   Composer,Engineer,Producer
Steve Robson   Mixing,Composer,Producer
Joe Zook   Mixing
John Hanes   Mixing,Engineer,Mixing Engineer
Mark "Spike" Stent   Mixing
Matt Rad   Programming,Instrumentation,Engineer,Producer
Wayne Hector   Composer
Peter Bunetta   Instrumentation
Ryan Tedder   Composer,Engineer,Producer,Vocal Producer,Instrumentation,Drum Programming
Lindy Robbins   Composer
Matt Bishop   Engineer
Claude Kelly   Composer
Tim Thomas   Engineer,Engineer
Tom Fletcher   Composer,Producer,Composer,Producer
Gary Lightbody   Composer
Pete Whitfield   String Arrangements
Teddy Geiger   Composer,Producer
Ash Howes   Mixing
Jamie Scott   Composer,Producer,Vocal Producer,Instrumentation
Christine Wu   String Arrangements
Savan Kotecha   Composer,Engineer,Vocal Engineer
Ryan Lipman   Mixing Engineer,Mixing Assistant,Assistant Engineer
Carl Falk   Composer,Producer,Programming,Instrumentation
Julian Bunetta   Composer,Engineer,Producer,Vocal Producer,Instrumentation
Sam Miller   Engineer
Danny Jones   Composer,Producer,Composer,Producer
Dougie Poynter   Composer,Producer
Jake Gosling   Vocal Producer
Ed Drewett   Composer
Damon Bunetta   Instrumentation
Alex Oriet   Engineer,Vocal Engineer
Harry Styles   Composer
Liam Payne   Composer
Louis Tomlinson   Composer
Niall Horan   Composer
Zayn Malik   Composer
Ben "Bengineer" Chang   Engineer,Vocal Engineer
Ian Franzino   Instrumentation,Assistant Engineer
Tom Fuller   Engineer
Geoff Swan   Assistant,Mixing Assistant