The Glass Passenger

Background

The band's first album Everything in Transit was released in 2005. Following its recording, frontman Andrew McMahon was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and spent several months receiving cancer treatment for his disease. During this time, the documentary Dear Jack was filmed. Jack's Mannequin played its first concert since the diagnosis in December of that year, and the band began several tours over the next two years, both supporting the likes of O.A.R. in 2005 and Panic! at the Disco in 2006 and also headlining shows, including Tour for the Cure and the West Coast Winter Tour.

Composition

McMahon began writing songs for the band's second record following the summer of 2007. He had about ten songs written by that December and hoped to start mixing and recording the album in January 2008.

Delayed release

The band's official blog was updated in December 2007 with the album's title, in February 2008 with song lyrics, and in March and May with tentative track lists. Jack's Mannequin played college shows in January and February, premiering "Suicide Blonde" and "Caves" at Ramapo College in New Jersey. Stacy Clark's MySpace blog confirmed in April 2008 that she provided guest vocals on the track "Spinning". She also lent her voice to the track "Crashin'".

In interviews with AbsolutePunk.net and Alternative Press, the release date was tentatively given as April 22, 2008, but an AbsolutePunk.net notice was posted on March 18, 2008, stating that the album would be pushed back to June 3. On June 3, 2008, AbsolutePunk.net reported that the album had been mixed by Chris Lord-Alge, and was being mastered in New York. A month later, however, McMahon told the Montclair State University student newspaper that the release date would be moved to late August or early September 2008. and on June 13, he told Alternative Addiction the album was expected sometime in the first two weeks of September. Jason Tate of AbsolutePunk.net reported on July 15 that the album had been pushed back from the reported September 9 date; four days later, Jonathan Lally reported that the official release date would be September 30, 2008.

Eventual release and EPs

On August 5 an EP titled The Ghost Overground was released exclusively on iTunes to "tide Jack's Mannequin fans over until the release of the Glass Passenger." The EP contains two new songs titled "The Resolution" and "Bloodshot", and also includes live versions of "Kill The Messenger" and "Holiday From Real" from the band's first album, Everything in Transit. "The Resolution" was released to radio on August 19, 2008. A new EP entitled In Valleys was released exclusively on iTunes on September 9 featuring b-sides and new tracks from The Glass Passenger. Tracks include "Swim", "Cell Phone", "In Slow Motion (Sleazy Wednesday)" and "Annie Use Your Telescope". However, Jack's Mannequin later posted a bulletin on MySpace, which pointed out that the track "Annie Use Your Telescope" was actually "At Full Speed." As a consolation for the mix up, the band posted the real version of "Annie Use Your Telescope" on their MySpace account. The issue was rectified by Apple and the song was correctly named soon after release.

A third EP, The Resolution EP, was released on September 23 as a Verizon and Rhapsody exclusive. The EP includes the songs "The Resolution", "Annie Use Your Telescope" and an acoustic version of "The Resolution". A music video for "The Resolution", the album's first single was co-directed by author Stephenie Meyer for release on September 29.

The Australian iTunes edition features all songs from The Ghost Overground EP and the In Valleys EP. However, it does not include the track "Doris Day".

Extra content

A conceptual, short film entitled, "Choke, California", directed by James Minchin III, and starring Andrew McMahon, was included in the traditional pre-order package found on the official band website. A trailer for the film is featured on the band's YouTube page. In addition, a long-form trailer featuring the b-side "At Full Speed", was featured on the album's website on August 13, upon completion of a puzzle.

Preorders

There were several different preorders for The Glass Passenger.

Reception

The album debuted at number eight on the Billboard 200, moving 49,000 units in its first week.

Track listing

All tracks written by Andrew McMahon.