Because of the Times

Because of the Times is the third studio album by American rock band Kings of Leon. It was released on April 2, 2007, in the United Kingdom and the next day in the United States.^[8] The album received generally positive reviews and appeared in numerous Top-10 lists for "Album of the Year".^[9] In 2009, Clash named the album number 3 on the "Clash Essential 50", a list of the most important albums released since the magazine's inception in 2004.^[10]

Because of the Times
Studio album by Kings of Leon
Released	April 2, 2007
Recorded	2006
Studio	Blackbird (Berry Hill, Tennessee) Sunset Sound (Hollywood, California)
Genre	Alternative rock[1][2] southern rock[3][4] garage rock revival[5] post-punk revival[6][7] pop rock[1] progressive rock[7]
Length	51:33
Label	RCA
Producer	Ethan Johns Angelo Petraglia
Kings of Leon chronology
Day Old Belgian Blues (2006) Because of the Times (2007) Only by the Night (2008)
Singles from Because of the Times
"On Call" Released: March 26, 2007 "Fans" Released: July 9, 2007 "Charmer" Released: October 29, 2007
Alternate cover
United Kingdom editions

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	79/100[11]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[7]
The A.V. Club	A−[12]
Entertainment Weekly	A−[13]
The Guardian	[14]
The Independent	[15]
NME	8/10[16]
Pitchfork	5.4/10[17]
Q	[18]
Rolling Stone	[19]
Spin	[20]

Writing for NME, Barry Nicolson said the album "cements Kings Of Leon as one of the great American bands of our times".^[16] Entertainment Weekly called Because of the Times "an epic wide-screen movie of a CD and the band's best to date."^[21] Another reviewer described Because of the Times as "an accomplished album of unbelievable beauty and familiar, loveable grit. Kings of Leon is maturing wonderfully and with patience, not forcing anything musically or lyrically that doesn't sound natural."^[22]

Some critics found the album inferior to the band's previous efforts.^[23] Dave Hood of Artrocker gave the album one star out of five, finding that "Kings of Leon are experimenting, learning, and getting a bit lost."^[24] Pitchfork contended that "Because of the Times sound[s] suspiciously like a counterattack on womankind, launched from somewhere in the mid-1990s, deep inside a bruised, stadium-sized ego."^[17]

The album was ranked #6 on NME's list of the best albums of the year and #31 on Rolling Stone's Top 50 Albums of 2007 list.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Kings of Leon.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Knocked Up"	7:10
2.	"Charmer"	2:56
3.	"On Call"	3:21
4.	"McFearless"	3:09
5.	"Black Thumbnail"	4:00
6.	"My Party"	4:10
7.	"True Love Way"	4:02
8.	"Ragoo"	3:00
9.	"Fans"	3:35
10.	"The Runner"	4:16
11.	"Trunk"	3:57
12.	"Camaro"	3:09
13.	"Arizona"	4:50
Total length:		51:33

US iTunes, Japanese and deluxe edition bonus track

No.	Title	Length
14.	"My Third House"	4:03

UK iTunes bonus track

No.	Title	Length
14.	"On Call" (AOL Music Sessions)	3:21

Personnel

• Caleb Followill – guitar, vocals
• Matthew Followill – guitar, backing vocals
• Jared Followill – bass guitar, backing vocals
• Nathan Followill – drums, backing vocals

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (2007) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[25] 4 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[26] 35 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[27] 20 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[28] 39 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[29] 62 French Albums (SNEP)[30] 88 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[31] 32 Irish Albums (IRMA)[32] 1 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[33] 1 Scottish Albums (OCC)[34] 2 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[35] 86 UK Albums (OCC)[36] 1 US Billboard 200[37] 25 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[38] 4

Year-end charts Chart (2007) Position Australian Albums (ARIA)[39] 46 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[40] 99 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[41] 25 UK Albums (OCC)[42] 31 Chart (2008) Position Australian Albums (ARIA)[43] 46 UK Albums (OCC)[44] 66 Chart (2009) Position Australian Albums (ARIA)[45] 83 UK Albums (OCC)[46] 90

Certifications

Sales certifications for Because of the Times

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[47]	2× Platinum	140,000^
Belgium (BRMA)[48]	Gold	25,000*
Germany (BVMI)[49]	Gold	100,000^
Ireland (IRMA)[50]	3× Platinum	45,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[51]	2× Platinum	30,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[52]	3× Platinum	900,000‡
United States	—	226,000[53][page needed]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.