Heroes & Thieves

Heroes & Thieves

Heroes & Thieves is the third album by Vanessa Carlton, released by The Inc. Records on October 9, 2007 (see 2007 in music). It is co-produced by Irv Gotti, Linda Perry and Third Eye Blind lead singer Stephan Jenkins, who produced Carlton's second album, Harmonium (2004), and Carlton co-wrote the tracks with Perry and Jenkins. It is Carlton's first album on The Inc. Records, after Irv Gotti signed her to a record deal there in late 2006, and Gotti has said that Heroes & Thieves is the first album on which he is acting as "co-pilot" rather than "dictator".

The album itself was a commercial failure, becoming her first not to enter the Top 40 of the Billboard 200, selling just over 18,000 copies in its first week of release. As of 2011, the album has sold approximately 75,000 copies in the United States. Due to its commercial failure, the album only spawned two singles. The first, Nolita Fairytale, was a minor success for Carlton, reaching the Top 40 in the United Kingdom, as well as having minor radio success in the United States. The follow-up single, "Hands On Me", was more successful, reaching the Top 40 in Australia, as well as becoming her first song in five years to chart in New Zealand. Although it was a commercial failure in the US, it did receive minimal airplay on mainstream radio.

Despite minimal chart success, the album was a critical success, becoming Carlton's highest rated album on Metacritic, with a 78% approval rate. Allmusic awarded the album three and a half stars, while PopMatters rated the album an eight out of a possible ten. USA Today also praised the album, awarding it three out of four stars. Slant Magazine awarded the album three out of five stars, and the Philadelphia Daily News rated the album at a "B".