| "Falling to Pieces" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Artwork for US commercial cassette single | ||||
| Single byFaith No More | ||||
| from the albumThe Real Thing | ||||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | July 2, 1990 (1990-07-02) | |||
| Studio | Studio D (Sausalito, California) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 5:15 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Composers | ||||
| Lyricist | Mike Patton | |||
| Producer | Matt Wallace | |||
| Faith No More singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| The Real Thing track listing | ||||
| ||||
"Falling to Pieces" is a song by American rock bandFaith No More. The song was released as the third single from the band's third studio album,The Real Thing (1989). It peaked at No. 92 on theBillboard Hot 100 and at No. 40 onBillboard'sAlbum Rock Tracks chart. The song has rarely been performed live due to the band's disdain for it.
Despite its success, the song did not go on to be a live staple. The song appeared very rarely in concerts after their appearance at the 1993 Phoenix Festival,[5] whereBilly Gould announced, "This is the last time we'll ever play this song again" right before the song. DuringSecond Coming Tour, the band picked up the song again and performed it at least once at a concert in Rio de Janeiro in 2009. The song was performed at the Open'er Festival in 2014 for the first time since 2009. In a 2016 interview, Gould stated, "That song sucks, let's face it. I don't know, we don't groove on that one. Also, when you play it live, it just kind of gets boring".[6]
The bass-driven song spawned a video directed by Ralph Ziman (who also directed the video for "Epic"), in which lead singer Mike Patton wears a series of different outfits, including one resemblingAlex from theStanley Kubrick filmA Clockwork Orange. Billy Gould wears variousdeath metal band shirts during the video includingCarcass and, at the time,Sepultura. The video is also notable for using a different mix of the song featuring more prominent background vocals, keyboards, and a guitar solo during the fade out.
There is also another lesser known music video which uses clips from the Brixton Academy performance, played with the album version of the song.[7]
In 2014, a lullaby version of "Falling to Pieces" was released by music collective Twinkle Twinkle Little Rock Star, as part of an album of lullaby covers for Faith No More.[8] The song "Rubber Mallet", fromAlien Ant Farm's 2003 albumTruant, has the line "indecision breaks my vision", which is believed to be a reference to a line from "Falling to Pieces".[9]
Disc one
Disc two
Notes
| Chart (1990) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[11] | 26 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[12] | 16 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[13] | 41 |
| USBillboard Hot 100[14] | 92 |
| USMainstream Rock (Billboard)[15] | 40 |
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | July 2, 1990 |
| [16] | |
| Australia | September 10, 1990 |
|
| [17] |
| Japan | March 1, 1991 | CD |
| [18] |
