Maps of Music

Lines, Vines and Trying Times (2009)

Where the lyrics of Lines, Vines and Trying Times take you, and where it was really made.

The title came from a bit of poetry the band made up on the set of a TV show.

Key places

Recorded at Ocean Way Recording, Los Angeles (2009)

Recording site Motown Recording Studios — Ocean Way Recording in Los Angeles is listed as the recording place for this album. The map point is set at the city center, not at the exact building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Lines, Vines and Trying Times: fourth studio album by American pop rock band Jonas Brothers
• Released June 16, 2009 through Hollywood Records
• Third and last album released under Hollywood Records
• Last album before a hiatus that lasted from October 2013 to March 2019
• Debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200
• Credited producer John Fields handled the tracks

Background

• The title came from a phrase the band made up on the set of a TV show
• Nick Jonas described lines as things someone feeds you, good or bad
• Vines are things that get in the way of the path you are on
• Trying times: the band is aware of what is happening in the world and wants to bring some light to it
• Nick Jonas called the album a progression and growth for the band, with many more horns and strings
• Joe Jonas said there is more to the music than a typical relationship song
• The 2009 world tour that promoted the album began May 18, 2009 in Lima, Peru

Recording

• John Fields credited as producer, engineer and mixer
• Additional engineering by Paul David Hager, Will Owsley, Ken Chastain and Michael B. Nelson
• Strings on several tracks arranged and conducted by Steve Lu
• Horns on Much Better and Hey Baby arranged by Michael Nelson and performed by The Hornheads
• Common provided a guest rap on Don't Charge Me for the Crime
• Miley Cyrus provided a guest vocal on Before the Storm
• Recording location: Ocean Way Recording, Los Angeles (point set at city level)

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed in 2005 as an American pop rock band of brothers Kevin Jonas, Joe Jonas, and Nick Jonas.
• Raised in Wyckoff, New Jersey; moved to Little Falls, New Jersey in 2005, where they wrote their first record.
• Signed to Columbia Records after Steve Greenberg heard their first song "Please Be Mine"; the name Jonas Brothers was chosen over "Sons of Jonas".

Members

• Kevin Jonas, Joe Jonas, and Nick Jonas.

Career

• Gained popularity through Disney Channel, starring in Camp Rock (2008) and Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam (2010), and the series Jonas.
• Released seven studio albums from It's About Time (2006) to Greetings from Your Hometown (2025).
• Nominated for Best New Artist at the 51st Grammy Awards in 2008; won Breakthrough Artist at the American Music Awards.
• Split in 2011 for solo projects, reunited in 2019 with "Sucker", their first number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100.
• Happiness Begins (2019) topped the Billboard 200; The Album (2023) and Greetings from Your Hometown (2025) followed.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Critics and fans gave mixed reviews
• Metacritic gave 56 out of 100 based on 11 reviews
• AllMusic named overthinking and over-production as the album's main flaws
• AllMusic felt the teen pop mix that worked on A Little Bit Longer showed its seams on this album
• Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune said the rush to maturity was premature and that strings and horns bogged things down
• Entertainment Weekly criticized Don't Charge Me for the Crime but praised Black Keys as the most honest track
• New York Daily News criticized World War III
• Evening Standard critic John Aizlewood gave two stars and enjoyed the fiddle on What Did I Do to Your Heart

Reappraisal

• Reviews from critics and fans both described the album as premature

Records

• Debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 247,000 copies in its first week
• Second number-one album for the Jonas Brothers in the United States
• Sold 757,000 copies in the United States as of March 2015
• Paranoid peaked at number 37 on the Billboard Hot 100
• Fly with Me peaked at number 83 on the Billboard Hot 100

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The title came from a phrase the band made up on the set of a TV show.
• Fly with Me was first featured during the end credits of Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian.
• Radio Disney premiered every song on the album over four days, from June 11 to June 14, 2009.
• Critiques of Keep It Real noted its strong similarities to Maxine Nightingale's 1975 recording Right Back Where We Started From.
• The Limited Edition Fan Pack box set added bonus videos, including Paranoid and Fly with Me clips and karaoke versions.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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