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Fumbling Towards Ecstasy

 
Album Review: Fumbling Towards Ecstasy
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Fumbling Towards Ecstasy

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  • Artist: Sarah McLachlan
  • Rating: StarStarStarStarHalf Star
  • Release Date: October 22, 1993
  • Type: Lyrics are included with the album
  • Genre: Rock

Review

Although 1991's Solace made Sarah McLachlan a star in Canada, her international breakthrough arrived two years later with Fumbling Towards Ecstasy, a softly assured album that combined the atmospheric production of Pierre Marchand (a former apprentice -- and evident disciple -- of Daniel Lanois) with some of McLachlan's strongest songwriting to date. At the center of everything was her voice, an ethereal, lilting soprano that helped pave the way for Paula Cole, Lillith Fair, and a decade's worth of successful female songwriters. McLachlan utilized the crack between her chest and head voice, emphasizing the changing tones as her melodies climbed into the vocal stratosphere. She was also comparatively young at the time of Ecstasy's release, and her combination of vocal hooks and commercial appeal wouldn't be fully mastered until 1997's Surfacing. Even so, McLachlan's work was rarely as raw or honest as it is on this record, where tales of sin, lust, and love are delivered alongside piano arpeggios and electronic flourishes. "Possession," the album's lead-off single, is a jarring love ballad with lyrics inspired by a stalker's correspondence. There's a double-edged quality to the song's eerie lines -- "I'll take your breath away," "I won't be denied," "Just close your eyes, dear" -- and Marchand underscores that tension by setting McLachlan's melodies to a nocturnal trip-hop beat. Elsewhere, the two lighten up with "Ice Cream," which likens love's sweetness to decadent deserts, yet Fumbling Towards Ecstasy takes most of its strength from the lush, rhythmic dreamscapes that dominate the album. Alternately dark and shimmering, intimate and ornate, soothing and slyly unsettling, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy launched McLachlan's international star power while setting a high bar for her future albums, many of which approached -- but not never quite eclipsed -- this career highlight. ~ Andrew Leahey, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Possession (Lyrics) Sarah McLachlan Sarah McLachlan (4:39)
Wait Sarah McLachlan Sarah McLachlan (4:09)
Plenty Sarah McLachlan Sarah McLachlan (4:05)
Good Enough (Lyrics) Sarah McLachlan Sarah McLachlan (5:03)
Mary (Lyrics) Sarah McLachlan Sarah McLachlan (3:55)
Elsewhere Sarah McLachlan Sarah McLachlan (4:44)
Circle (Lyrics) Sarah McLachlan Sarah McLachlan (3:43)
Ice (Lyrics) Sarah McLachlan Sarah McLachlan (3:54)
Hold On (Lyrics) Sarah McLachlan Sarah McLachlan (4:09)
Ice Cream (Lyrics) Sarah McLachlan Sarah McLachlan (2:44)
Fear Sarah McLachlan Sarah McLachlan (3:59)
Fumbling Towards Ecstasy (Lyrics) Sarah McLachlan, Pierre Marchand Sarah McLachlan (9:49)

Credits

Sarah McLachlan (Guitar (Acoustic)), Sarah McLachlan (Guitar), Sarah McLachlan (Piano), Sarah McLachlan (Vocals), Sarah McLachlan (Main Performer), Bill Dillon (Bass), Bill Dillon (Guitar), Bill Dillon (Piano), Bill Dillon (?), Bill Dillon (Guitorgan), Dave Kershaw (Organ (Hammond)), Pierre Marchand (Bass), Pierre Marchand (Percussion), Pierre Marchand (Piano), Pierre Marchand (Drums), Pierre Marchand (Keyboards), Pierre Marchand (Producer), Pierre Marchand (Engineer), Pierre Marchand (Drum Machine), Pierre Marchand (Mixing), Jerry Marotta (Percussion), Jerry Marotta (Drums), Michel Dubeau (Saxophone), Brian Minato (Bass), Guy Nadon (Drums), Jane Scarpantoni (Cello), Lou Shefano (Drums), Ashwin Sood (Drums)
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Wikipedia: Fumbling Towards Ecstasy
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Fumbling Towards Ecstasy
Studio album by Sarah McLachlan
Released 15 February 1993
(see release history)
Recorded 1992 at Le Studio, Morin Heights, Quebec
Genre Pop
Length 57:50
Label Nettwerk (Canada), Arista
Producer Pierre Marchand
Professional reviews
Sarah McLachlan chronology
Solace
(1991)		 Fumbling Towards Ecstasy
(1993)		 Surfacing
(1997)
Singles from Fumbling Towards Ecstasy
  1. "Possession"
  2. "Hold On"
  3. "Good Enough"

Fumbling Towards Ecstasy is an album by Sarah McLachlan. It was produced by Pierre Marchand in Montreal, and released in 1993.

The album was an immediate hit in Canada, where McLachlan was already an established star. Over the next two years, it became her breakthrough album internationally as well. However, in some countries, most notably the United States, the album was a steady seller that stayed in the middle ranges of the pop charts for almost two years, rather than the #1 smash that McLachlan would achieve with 1997's Surfacing (1997). As of November 2003, the album has sold 2.8 million copies in the United States.[1]

"Possession", the album's first single, is written from the point of view of an obsessed fan. Following the album's release, a fan named Uwe Vandrei sued McLachlan for songwriting credit, claiming that his letters were used as the basis of the song. The case never made it to trial as Vandrei was found dead of apparent suicide in November 1994.

Some editions contain an album version of McLachlan's 1995 single used for The Brothers McMullen soundtrack, "I Will Remember You". The track's lyrics do not appear in the booklet, nor strangely does the track's crediting information.

August 5, 2008 saw the release of the 15th anniversary 3-disc edition the album. The set includes the original remastered album, The Freedom Sessions and a DVD that includes live performances, music videos and more. The album was released by Legacy Recordings.

Contents

Track listing

All songs written by Sarah McLachlan unless otherwise noted.

  1. "Possession" – 4:39
  2. "Wait" – 4:09
  3. "Plenty" – 4:05
  4. "Good Enough" – 5:03
  5. "Mary" – 3:55
  6. "Elsewhere" – 4:44
  7. "Circle" – 3:43
  8. "Ice" – 3:54
  9. "Hold On" – 4:09
  10. "Ice Cream" – 2:44
  11. "Fear" – 3:59
  12. "Fumbling Towards Ecstasy" (Pierre Marchand, McLachlan) – 9:49
  • Japan and UK bonus track
  1. "Blue" (Joni Mitchell) – 2:50

Legacy edition

Disc 1: Fumbling Towards Ecstasy

  1. "Possession" – 4:39
  2. "Wait" – 4:09
  3. "Plenty" – 4:05
  4. "Good Enough" – 5:03
  5. "Mary" – 3:55
  6. "Elsewhere" – 4:44
  7. "Circle" – 3:43
  8. "Ice" – 3:54
  9. "Hold On" – 4:09
  10. "Ice Cream" – 2:44
  11. "Fear" – 3:59
  12. "Fumbling Towards Ecstasy" – 4:56
  13. "Possession" [Piano Version] – 4:30

Disc 2: The Freedom Sessions

  1. "Elsewhere" – 4:33
  2. "Plenty" – 3:20
  3. "Mary" – 3:55
  4. "Good Enough" – 3:20
  5. "Hold On" – 6:43
  6. "Ice Cream" – 2:30
  7. "Ice" – 3:58
  8. "Ol' 55" (Tom Waits) – 4:12
  9. "Hold On" [Alternate Version] – 6:43

Disc 3: Fumbling Towards Ecstasy Live DVD

  1. "Plenty"
  2. "Good Enough"
  3. "Wait"
  4. "Home"
  5. "Ice" (live studio)
  6. "Ben's Song"
  7. "Out of The Shadows"
  8. "I Will Not Forget You"
  9. "Path of Thorns" (live studio)
  10. "Hold On"
  11. "Possession"
  12. "Mary" (live studio)
  13. "Ice Cream"
  14. "Fumbling Towards Ecstasy"
  15. "Ol' 55"

Charts

Chart Peak
position		 Certification Sales/shipments
Australian Albums Chart[2] 76
Canadian Albums Chart[3] 5 5x platinum 500,000[4]
U.S. Billboard 200[5] 50 3x platinum 3,000,000[6]


Release history

Region Date Label Format Catalogue
Japan 24 May 1994 BMG Japan CD BVCA-638
Australia 14 August 1994 Arista Records CD 07822-18725-2

Personnel

  • Sarah McLachlan: Vocals, Acoustic & Electric Guitars, Piano
  • Bill Dillon: Acoustic & Electric Guitars, Guitorgan, Bass, Piano
  • Pierre Marchand: Bass, Piano, Keyboards, Fake B-3 Organ, Drum Machine, Percussion Machine, 808, Shaker, Found Sound
  • Brian Minato: Bass
  • David Kershaw: Hammond Organ
  • Jane Scarpantoni: Cello
  • Michel Dubeau: Saxophone
  • Ashwin Sood: Drums, Percussion
  • Jerry Marotta: Drums, Percussion
  • Lou Shefano: Drums
  • Guy Nadon: Drums

References

  1. ^ "Ask Billboard - FUMBLING TOWARDS SALES". Billboard. Retrieved 28 May 2009.
  2. ^ Australian Albums Chart
  3. ^ Canadian Albums Chart
  4. ^ CRIA
  5. ^ U.S. Albums Chart
  6. ^ RIAA
v • d • e
Sarah McLachlan
Studio albums

Touch · Solace · Fumbling Towards Ecstasy · Surfacing · Afterglow · Wintersong
Live albums
Other albums
Singles
Collaborators
Related articles

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

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