Hardcore David Lynch fans knew the album cut "Mysteries of Love" thanks to its appearance in the middle of Blue Velvet but otherwise, Julee Cruise and her singing abilities were total unknowns when Floating into the Night surfaced in 1990. When Twin Peaks took off, however, the album became more or less its unofficial soundtrack thanks to the instrumental adaptation of "Falling" that served as the theme song. Other cuts, like the haunting, moody "Into the Night," and "Rockin' Back Inside My Heart" turned up on the show as well; but as a beautiful, mysterious stand-alone effort, Floating is still that best of surprises, a left-field hit that loses nothing thanks to its fame. The combination of Cruise's sweet, light tones, Lynch's surprisingly affecting lyrics, which play just enough with clichés so as not to seem willfully ironic, and Angelo Badalamenti's combination of retro styles and modern ambience, is a winner throughout. The feeling is one of a '50s jukebox suddenly plunged into a time warp, dressed with extra sparkle and with a just-sleepy-enough, narcotic feeling. At its most upfront, the music can get downright raunchy -- check out the big band/sax blasts on the strutting tearjerker "Rockin' Back Inside My Heart," or the sudden orchestral blast three minutes into "Into the Night." Cruise herself has a wonderfully slow, burning passion that surfaces as well, such as in her whispers on "Floating." But mostly everything is just sedate enough, crystalline rockabilly guitar playing gentle riffs with a slow slinkiness, Cruise's multi-tracked backing vocals and more combining beautifully. "Falling" remains the most well-known number, and a winner it is, too; Badalamenti's synth orchestrations are so affecting that Moby ended up sampling them for "Go," kickstarting his own career. But songs like the just-spooky-enough "The World Spins," and "The Nightingale," with a great performance all around, ensure Floating's success as a through-and-through listen. ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide
Albert Regni (Sax (Tenor)), Mike Krowiak (Mixing), Angelo Badalamenti (Synthesizer), David Lynch (Photography), Tim Leitner (Mixing), David Lynch (Producer), Art Pohlemus (Engineer), Tom Recchion (Design), David Lynch (Art Direction), Angelo Badalamenti (Piano), Heba Thorisdottir (Make-Up), Eddie Dixon (Guitar (Electric)), Kinny Landrum (Synthesizer), Vincent Bell (Guitar (Electric)), Julee Cruise (Vocals), Stephen Marcussen (Mastering), Jay Healy (Mixing), Albert Regni (Clarinet), Heba Thorisdottir (Hair Stylist), Angelo Badalamenti (Producer)
Floating into the Night is the debut album by dream pop artist Julee Cruise, released in 1989. The album was produced and all songs were written by film director, David Lynch, and composer, Angelo Badalamenti. Lynch wrote the lyrics to Badalamenti's music. Two singles were released from the album, "Falling" and "Rockin' Back Inside My Heart", which were also both featured in Lynch's television series, Twin Peaks. The instrumental version of "Falling" was used as the theme to the series.
The track, "Mysteries of Love", was prominently featured in Lynch's 1986 cult film, Blue Velvet. In addition to the two singles, a number of other tracks from the album appeared in Twin Peaks as well, including "Into the Night", "The Nightingale", and "The World Spins". "The World Spins" was also featured on the soundtrack to the 2003 Robert Altman film, The Company.
Fellow artist Moby has commented that the album is one of his all-time favorites and collaborated with Julee Cruise on later works.[citation needed]
Track listing
All tracks composed by David Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti
