Come Clean (Puddle of Mudd album)
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- Third Stone Recording (Woodland Hills, California)
- NRG Recording Studios (North Hollywood, California)
| Come Clean | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 28, 2001 | |||
| Recorded | 2000–2001 | |||
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| Genre | ||||
| Length | 48:14 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | John Kurzweg | |||
| Puddle of Mudd chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Come Clean | ||||
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Come Clean is the second studio album and major label debut by the American rock band Puddle of Mudd. Released on August 28, 2001, the album's music was responsible for breaking Puddle of Mudd into the mainstream music scene. It features the singles "Control," "Blurry," "Drift & Die" and "She Hates Me". Various tracks were re-recorded from the band's previous releases, Stuck and Abrasive. The album was the band's biggest hit on the US Billboard 200, peaking at number nine.
The album has sold over 5,000,000 copies[4] and was certified 3× Platinum by the RIAA.
The vocals have drawn comparisons to Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, "but with a bit more sneer," according to Lauryn Schaffner of Loudwire. She described the album's instrumentation as "certainly a bit sludgier than Nirvana". The album contains hooks.[5]
Reception and legacy
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [6] |
| Drowned in Sound | 6/10[7] |
| Entertainment Weekly | C[8] |
| NME | [9] |
| Rolling Stone | [10] |
Come Clean received mixed reviews from critics. AllMusic and Rolling Stone said that Puddle of Mudd did not stand out from other post-grunge bands with this album.[6][10] In contrast, Stephanie Dickison of PopMatters touted Come Clean as the band's "album of the year".[11] In 2014, Tom Hawking of Flavorwire included the album in his list of "The 50 Worst Albums Ever Made", in which he said: "Sadly, grunge led straight to post-grunge, a genre that retained grunge’s guitar sound and jettisoned everything else that made it special. The result was torpid pseudo-grunge made by the sort of bros who Cobain would have loathed. Like this album, for instance."[12] In 2025, Lauryn Schaffner of Loudwire said it was the band's best album, saying: "Though they've released six other albums since, Puddle of Mudd never surpassed the success they had with Come Clean, making it the best offering of their catalog."[5]
Track listing
All tracks written by Wes Scantlin except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Control" |
| 3:49 |
| 2. | "Drift & Die" |
| 4:25 |
| 3. | "Out of My Head" | 3:43 | |
| 4. | "Nobody Told Me" | 5:22 | |
| 5. | "Blurry" |
| 5:04 |
| 6. | "She Hates Me (listed as "She fucking hates me" in liner notes)" |
| 3:37 |
| 7. | "Bring Me Down" | 4:03 | |
| 8. | "Never Change" | 3:59 | |
| 9. | "Basement" | 4:22 | |
| 10. | "Said" | 4:08 | |
| 11. | "Piss It All Away" | 5:39 | |
| Total length: | 48:11 | ||
Some copies of the album have one or both of the following bonus tracks:
- "Abrasive" Japanese Edition – 3:14
- "Control" (Acoustic) – 4:09
Personnel
Puddle of Mudd
- Wes Scantlin – lead vocals, guitars
- Paul Phillips – guitars
- Doug Ardito – bass guitar, backing vocals
- Greg Upchurch – drums (credit only), backing vocals
Additional personnel
- Josh Freese – drums (uncredited)
- John Kurzweg - producer, engineer
- Andy Wallace – mixing
- Scott Sisco - assistant mixing engineer
- Scott Francisco, Steve Mixdorf - recording engineer
- Bobby Selvaggio - digital editing (Pro Tools)
- Vlado Meller - mastering
- Steve Twigger – string arrangements (track 11)
- Kate Schermerhorn – cover photo
A&R / Coordinators
- Fred Durst – A&R
- Danny Wimmer – A&R Coordinator
- Les Scurry – Production Coordinator
