Sunburn is the debut studio album by American rock band Fuel, released by 550 Music, an imprint of Epic Records on March 31, 1998. It was produced by Steven Haigler. The songs "Shimmer", "Jesus or a Gun", and "Bittersweet" were issued as commercial singles following its release; the former peaked at number 42 on the Billboard Hot 100.[ Billboard Chart History] Critically, the album was met with average reviews, and commercially, the album modestly entered the Billboard 200 at number 77. By June 13, 1998, Sunburn had sold 97,000 copies. Sunburn received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)—signifying sales of one million units—on May 24, 2000.
In 2025, Lauryn Schaffner of Loudwire named the album the best post-grunge release of 1998.
Track listing All songs written by Carl Bell.The Sunburn liner notes state Bell as sole writer of all the songs on the album, though BMI publishing lists Bell and Brett Scallions as writers of and .
The "special expanded edition" re-issue of the album including two bonus tracks"Fuel's Two Re-issues to Come!" Melodic.net. September 17, 2003. was released on September 23, 2003. "Walk the Sky" was initially recorded in 1998 with producer Brendan O'Brien for the Godzilla soundtrack.
Personnel Fuel Brett Scallions – lead vocals, rhythm guitar Carl Bell – lead guitar, backing vocals Jeff Abercrombie – bass Kevin Miller – drums (credited but does not perform on album) Jonathan Mover – drums (on album) Jane Scarpantoni – cello on “Shimmer” and “It Comes to This”
Production Steven Haigler – producer Brendan O'Brien – producer on "Walk the Sky" Tom Lord-Alge – mixing Ted Jensen – mastering
Charts
Weekly charts +Weekly chart performance for Sunburn Chart (1998–1999) Peakposition
Year-end charts +Year-end chart performance for Sunburn Chart (1999) Position Australian Albums (ARIA) 82
Certifications
Notes
References