The Beautiful Letdown

by Switchfoot

The Beautiful Letdown cover art
  • Type: Album
  • Released: 25 February 2003
  • Label: RED Ink, Columbia, Sony, BMG, Sparrow
  • Country: United States
  • Length: 55:30
  • Community rating: 3.85/5 from 7 ratings

Artists on this release: Chad Butler, Tim Foreman, Jerome Fontamillas, Jon Foreman

Album Notes & Community Reviews

As the band's major-label debut, 'The Beautiful Letdown' pivots from lo-fi origins to a polished, layered production that merges post-grunge and alternative rock with electronic textures and synthesizers. Lyrically, the album is defined by Jon Foreman's Socratic songwriting, which poses universal questions about the human condition, dissatisfaction, and the search for meaning on hits like "Meant to Live" and a re-recorded "Dare You to Move." This approach, which favors introspection over explicit evangelism, helped the album achieve significant mainstream crossover success while becoming a landmark in Christian rock.

Genres

Descriptors: arena rock, melodic, christian, soaring, life-affirming

Tracklist

  1. Meant to Live (03:21)
  2. This Is Your Life (04:19)
  3. More Than Fine (04:16)
  4. Ammunition (03:47)
  5. Dare You to Move (04:09)
  6. Redemption (03:08)
  7. The Beautiful Letdown (05:21)
  8. Gone (03:47)
  9. On Fire (04:42)
  10. Adding to the Noise (02:52)
  11. Twenty-four (04:53)
  12. Monday Comes Around (03:31)
  13. Dare You to Move - Alternative Version (04:05)
  14. Meant To Live - Acoustic Version (03:19)

Credits

  • Jon Foreman - vocals, guitar, lead vocals, writer, production
  • Jerome Fontamillas - keyboardist, guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
  • Tim Foreman - bass guitar, backing vocals, writer
  • Chad Butler - drums, percussion
  • Stephan Hovsepian - violin
  • Ameena Khawaja - cello
  • John Fields - producer, keyboards, percussion, effects [fx], other [tasty bits], recording, mixing
  • Switchfoot - producer, remix
  • Charlie Peacock - production
  • Dorian Crozier - computer
  • Chris Lord-Alge - mixing
  • Jack Joseph Puig - mixing
  • Tom Lord-Alge - mixing
  • Matthew Welch - audio remixer, photographer, photography by
  • Tim Devine - a&r
  • Mary Maurer - art direction
  • Mike Buzbee - computer
  • Kevo Sassouni - design
  • Erin Familia - mixed by [assistant], assistant
  • Ted Reiger - mixed by [assistant], assistant
  • Aaron Redfield - technician [drum]
  • Daniel Victor - written-by
  • Jon Leshay - management

More from Switchfoot: full discography