Afterglow
AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Albums:
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Afterglow
- Artist: Sarah McLachlan
- Rating:
- Release Date: November 04, 2003
- Type: Lyrics are included with the album, Enhanced CD-ROM
- Genre: Rock
Review
During the mid-'90s, Sarah McLachlan was a near-ubiquitous presence in pop music, establishing adult alternative pop radio with 1994's Fumbling Toward Ecstasy and 1997's Surfacing and spearheading the popular Lilith Fair touring festival, but once the last Lilith wound up in 1999, she retreated from the spotlight, had a baby, and seemingly retired from music. Four years later, she made a typically subdued return with Afterglow, her first album in six years. Not much has changed in the time she was away. Afterglow is firmly within the McLachlan signature sound -- a softly tuneful, mildly atmospheric blend of classic singer/songwriterism and a touch of vaguely dreamy alternative pop, all shined and immaculately produced by Pierre Marchand. Prior to its release, the album was touted as the first collection of songs she wrote entirely on piano, not guitar, but ultimately this doesn't make much of a difference to the overall feel and effect of the album, which perfectly dovetails with Surfacing. At times, the pacing is so languid and the production so open-ended, the album kind of drifts away, but it's not only in a pleasant fashion; it's also no different than its immediate predecessor, which also could meander. In other words, after a prolonged absence, Sarah McLachlan re-emerges with a record that could have followed Surfacing by six months, not years. Some may call that predictable, some may call it reliable, but there's little arguing that Afterglow is a solid effort -- it won't win new fans, but it will certainly satisfy the old ones. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi| Afterglow (2003 Album by June Hutton) | |
| Afterglow (2008 Album by Jemma Endersby) |
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
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Afterglow (Sarah McLachlan album)
| Afterglow | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
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| Studio album by Sarah McLachlan | ||||
| Released | 4 November 2003 | |||
| Recorded | 2002-2003 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Label | Nettwerk (Canada), Arista | |||
| Producer | Pierre Marchand | |||
| Sarah McLachlan chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Blender | [2] |
| E! Online | B−[3] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B−[4] |
| Mojo | [5] |
| Q Magazine | [6] |
| Rolling Stone | [7] |
| Stylus Magazine | (F)[8] |
Afterglow is the fifth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan. Released on November 4, 2003, it was her first album of new material in six years, after the success of Surfacing and the Lilith Fair festival. Following those successes, McLachlan took a few years furlough to start a family with her husband and drummer, Ashwin Sood. Their daughter, India Ann Sushill Sood, was born in 2002.
She also did a lot of work with the Sarah McLachlan Music Outreach program, funding music lessons for disadvantaged children.
Unlike past albums where she went to an isolated cottage to write the songs, she wrote the songs for Afterglow in her family home mainly before the birth of her child. She wrote the songs entirely on piano, which is also a departure from her previous albums which she wrote on guitar. Longtime collaborator Pierre Marchand produced the album. McLachlan wrote eight of the 10 songs herself and co-wrote the other two with Marchand.
The song "Answer" was featured in the 2007 movie The Brave One, starring Jodie Foster. It has also been used in television commercials for the ASPCA, with McLachlan herself appearing in person.
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Contents
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Chart success and award nominations
Afterglow was released on November 4, 2003 and was a success in North America, reaching number two on the Billboard 200, selling 361,000 copies in its first week of release and number one on the Canadian charts.[9] It reached #33 in the UK (McLachlan's biggest success there thus far) and the top 50 in Australia in 2004. The first single, "Fallen", reached the top ten on the Adult Top 40 Billboard charts and a remix reached top ten in the United States dance charts. A second single, "Stupid" was released in March 2004.
McLachlan was nominated in five Juno Award categories in Canada, including Album of the Year and Pop Album of the Year for Afterglow, and Songwriter of the Year for the songs on the album. The awards were announced on April 4, 2004. The album was also nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Pop Vocal Album field in 2005.
Although not as a success as Surfacing, Afterglow sold over 2,500,000 units in the U.S. and went two times platinum. Worldwide, the album has sold more than five million copies, mainly in United States, Canada and United Kingdom.[citation needed]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Fallen" | Sarah McLachlan | 3:47 |
| 2. | "World on Fire" | McLachlan, Pierre Marchand | 4:22 |
| 3. | "Stupid" | McLachlan | 3:24 |
| 4. | "Drifting" | McLachlan | 3:23 |
| 5. | "Train Wreck" | McLachlan | 4:36 |
| 6. | "Push" | McLachlan | 3:56 |
| 7. | "Answer" | McLachlan | 3:58 |
| 8. | "Time" | McLachlan | 4:07 |
| 9. | "Perfect Girl" | McLachlan, Marchand | 4:43 |
| 10. | "Dirty Little Secret" | McLachlan | 3:56 |
Personnel
- Sarah McLachlan: Vocals, Electric Guitar, Piano, Rhodes Piano, Keyboards
- Pierre Marchand: Guitar, Bass, Piano, Keyboards, Synthesizer Bass
- Bill Dillon: Guitar, Guitorgan, Church Organ
- Michael Chaves: Guitar
- Michel Pepin: Guitar
- Sean Ashby: Guitar
- Yves Desrosiers: Guitar
- Mark Jowett: Guitar
- Ethan Johns: Guitar
- Tony Levin: Bass
- Daryl Johnson: Bass
- Jim Creeggan: Acoustic Bass
- David Kershaw: Hammond Organ
- Jorane: Cello, Background Vocals, Vocal Treatments
- Ashwin Sood: Drums, Percussion, Loops, Keyboard Bass
- Jerry Marotta: Percussion
Album charts
| Chart | Peak position |
Certification | Sales/shipments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Albums Chart[10] | 22 | Gold | 35,000[11] |
| Austrian Albums Chart[12] | 72 | ||
| Belgian Flanders Albums Chart[13] | 18 | ||
| Belgian Wallonia Albums Chart[14] | 23 | ||
| Canadian Albums Chart[15] | 1 | 5x platinum | 500,000[16] |
| Danish Albums Chart[17] | 33 | ||
| Dutch Albums Chart[18] | 23 | ||
| French Albums Chart[19] | 65 | ||
| German Albums Chart[20] | 56 | ||
| New Zealand Albums Chart[21] | 30 | ||
| Norwegian Albums Chart[22] | 14 | ||
| Swedish Albums Chart[23] | 20 | ||
| Swiss Albums Chart[24] | 19 | ||
| UK Albums Chart[25] | 33 | Gold | 100,000[26] |
| U.S. Billboard 200[27] | 2 | 2x platinum | 2,500,000[28] |
References
- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ Blender review
- ^ E! Online review
- ^ Entertainment Weekly review
- ^ Mojo review
- ^ Q Magazine review
- ^ Rolling Stone review
- ^ Stylus Magazine review
- ^ Caulfield, Keith. "Drake Debuts At No. 1 on Billboard 200". billboard.com. June 23, 2010.
- ^ Australian Albums Chart
- ^ ARIA
- ^ Austrian Albums Chart
- ^ Belgian Flandres Albums Chart
- ^ Belgian Wallonia Albums Chart
- ^ Canadian Albums Chart
- ^ CRIA
- ^ Danish Albums Chart
- ^ Dutch Albums Chart
- ^ French Albums Chart[dead link]
- ^ German Albums Chart
- ^ New Zealand Albums Chart
- ^ Norwegian Albums Chart
- ^ Swedish Albums Chart
- ^ Swiss Albums Chart
- ^ UK Albums Chart
- ^ BPI
- ^ U.S. Albums Chart
- ^ "Gold & Platinum - July 26, 2010". RIAA. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=2&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=&artist=sarah%20mc%20lachlan&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2009&sort=Artist&perPage=25. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
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