Drastic Fantastic

Last updated

Drastic Fantastic
Drastic Fantastic.jpg
Studio album by
Released10 September 2007 (2007-09-10)
Recorded2006–2007
Studio
Genre
Length39:50
Label Relentless
Producer Steve Osborne
KT Tunstall chronology
KT Tunstall's Acoustic Extravaganza
(2006)
Drastic Fantastic
(2007)
Have Yourself a Very KT Christmas
(2007)
Singles from Drastic Fantastic
  1. "Hold On"
    Released: 16 July 2007
  2. "Saving My Face"
    Released: 12 November 2007
  3. "If Only"
    Released: 3 March 2008
  4. "Little Favours [2] "
    Released: January 2009 (Brazil only)

Drastic Fantastic is the second studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall. It features some unreleased tracks she wrote before Eye to the Telescope such as new tracks she wrote in 2003. The record was released by Relentless Records on 10 September 2007 in the United Kingdom and elsewhere in Europe, on 15 September in Australia, and 18 September 2007 in the United States and Canada. However, the album was leaked on P2P networks on 3 September 2007.

Contents

Some additional tracks features other unreleased songs such as "Mothgirl", "Bad Day" and "Journey", and during the Drastic Fantastic Tour, Tunstall covered "La Vie En Rose", which is on the U.K Bonus tracks, "My Sharona", The Bangles' "Walk Like an Egyptian" and Chaka Khan's "Ain't Nobody" which features on the DVD. Also, three singles were taken from Drastic Fantastic: "Hold On", the lead single, "Saving My Face" and "If Only", which all charted in the UK Top 100.

On the US Billboard 200 chart, Drastic Fantastic debuted at number nine, selling about 50,000 copies in its first week, and sold around 225,000 copies in 2007. [3]

The album was reissued on 15 January 2021 in vinyl, triple-disc, and digital formats as Drastic Fantastic: Ultimate Edition, consisting of previously unreleased songs and remixes. [4]

Artwork

According to Tunstall, the album cover is based on Suzi Quatro. [5]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 68/100 [6]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [7]
Robert Christgau Rating-Christgau-dud.svg [8]
Entertainment.ie Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [9]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [10]
The Observer Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [11]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [12]
The Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [13]
Uncut Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [14]

The album received warm, though conservative, praise by most critics. Music critics from The Observer gave Drastic Fantastic five stars, stating the album was "bursting with so many hits that Tunstall's comic-book life is about to go stratospheric". [11] Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone gave the album three-and-a-half stars out of five, and said that the album's sound was a "flashback" to 1997 by noting similarities between the songs on Drastic Fantastic and songs written 10 years earlier. [12] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic gave the album four out of five, calling Drastic Fantastic "a rare beast: a pop album with a songwriter's heart". [7]

However, some critics were less impressed, stating that the album was overproduced and lacked the "folksy" touch of her previous album Eye to the Telescope .[ citation needed ]The Guardian gave it three stars, stating "Tunstall could do better". [10]

Track listing

All tracks produced by Steve Osbourne.

All tracks are written by KT Tunstall except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Little Favours" 3:09
2."If Only"KT Tunstall, Jimmy Hogarth 3:46
3."White Bird" 3:13
4."Funnyman"KT Tunstall, Martin Terefe 2:56
5."Hold On"KT Tunstall, Ed Case2:57
6."Hopeless" 3:41
7."I Don't Want You Now" 3:48
8."Saving My Face" 3:38
9."Beauty of Uncertainty" 5:01
10."Someday Soon"KT Tunstall, Jimmy Hogarth, Samuel Dixon 3:53
11."Paper Aeroplane" 3:16
Total length:39:50
Digital bonus tracks [15]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."Journey" 4:39
13."La Vie en rose" (Edith Piaf cover) Louis Guglielmi, Edith Piaf 2:29
UK iTunes bonus tracks [16]
No.TitleLength
12."Bad Day"4:09
13."Suddenly I See" (Live)6:03
Australian bonus track [17]
No.TitleLength
12."Suddenly I See"3:21
Japanese bonus track [18]
No.TitleLength
12."Suddenly I See" (Live)6:03
UK Amazon MP3 bonus tracks [19]
No.TitleLength
12."Mothgirl"5:01
13."Bad Day"4:09
14."Suddenly I See" (Live)6:03

In addition with the Deluxe edition, a documentary DVD with the album.

Most songs on Drastic Fantastic are not new songs. An acoustic version of "Little Favours" and "Paper Aeroplane" appeared on the 2000 demo album Tracks in July. "Little Favours" also appeared as the B-side to "Under the Weather". "If Only", "Funnyman", and "Saving My Face" appeared on the demo album Toons March '03. Finally, Tunstall mentioned writing two new songs, "Hopeless" and "White Bird", in a blog entry from 2003.

The bonus track "Journey" appeared on KT Tunstall's early band Red Light Stylus' album Roughworks, under the title "The Journey's the Thing".

The original studio version "Suddenly I See", which appeared on Tunstall's first album Eye to the Telescope in 2004, was included as a bonus track on the Australian release due to the song's popularity in the country.

Singles

The song is featured on the Brazilian soap opera Três Irmãs. [2]

"Someday Soon" is available as a single on Internet music stores such as iTunes and Rhapsody. It was featured in the film The Women in a montage featuring Annette Bening and Meg Ryan.

Personnel

Charts and certifications

Release history

RegionDate
Europe10 September 2007
Australia15 September 2007
Canada18 September 2007
United States

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KT Tunstall</span> Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist

Kate Victoria "KT" Tunstall is a Scottish singer-songwriter and musician. She first gained attention with a 2004 live solo performance of her song "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" on Later... with Jools Holland. She has released eight studio albums internationally: Eye to the Telescope (2004), Drastic Fantastic (2007), Tiger Suit (2010), Invisible Empire // Crescent Moon (2013), Kin (2016), Wax (2018), Nut (2022), and a collaboration album with American musician Suzi Quatro, Face to Face (2023). She has also appeared in two episodes of the comedy series This is Jinsy on Sky Atlantic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Other Side of the World</span> 2005 single by KT Tunstall

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<i>Eye to the Telescope</i> 2004 studio album by KT Tunstall

Eye to the Telescope is the debut studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall, originally released on 13 December 2004 and re-released 10 January 2005 by Relentless Records. On 19 July 2005, it was nominated for the 2005 Mercury Music Prize in the United Kingdom. Tunstall promoted the album in the United States and Canada in December 2005. The album was released on 7 February 2006 in the US. Also, a special CD/DVD edition of the album was released in September 2006 in the United States, along with a different cover and a bonus track.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suddenly I See</span> 2005 single by KT Tunstall

"Suddenly I See" is a song by Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall from her debut studio album, Eye to the Telescope (2004). It was inspired by New York singer and poet Patti Smith, whose album cover for Horses (1975) also inspired Tunstall's album cover for Eye to the Telescope. The song was released on 29 August 2005 as the third single from the album in the United Kingdom. In the United States, it was released as the album's second single on 27 February 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Horse and the Cherry Tree</span> 2005 single by KT Tunstall

"Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" is a song by Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall from her 2004 debut album, Eye to the Telescope. The track was released on 21 February 2005 as the lead single from the album, charting at No. 28 on the UK Singles Chart the same month. The following year, the single became a hit outside Europe, reaching No. 7 in Canada and No. 20 in the United States and New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Under the Weather</span> 2005 single by KT Tunstall

"Under the Weather" is an alternative rock song performed by Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall. The song was written by Tunstall and TommyD and produced by Steve Osborne for Tunstall's debut album Eye to the Telescope (2004). It was released as the album's fourth single on 5 December 2005. The song reached No. 39 on the UK Singles Chart, remaining on the chart for two weeks.

<i>KT Tunstalls Acoustic Extravaganza</i> 2006 studio album by KT Tunstall

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hold On (KT Tunstall song)</span> 2007 single by KT Tunstall

"Hold On" is a song by Scottish singer KT Tunstall, written by Tunstall and produced by Steve Osborne for Tunstall's second album, Drastic Fantastic (2007). The song was released as the album's first single on 16 July 2007 in the United States. It was then released in the United Kingdom as a download single on 13 August 2007 and as a CD and 7-inch single on 27 August 2007. "Hold On" peaked at number 21 on the UK Singles Chart, number 19 in Norway, and number 26 in Italy and Switzerland. In North America, the song reached number 46 in Canada and number four on the US Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100, topping the Billboard Adult Alternative Songs chart for 11 weeks.

<i>Songs of Mass Destruction</i> 2007 studio album by Annie Lennox

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">KT Tunstall discography</span>

The discography of KT Tunstall, a Scottish rock and folk recording artist, includes eight studio albums, seven as a solo artist, a a collaboration album with Suzi Quatro, and twenty-three singles. In addition to her recording work, she has also written various soundtracks for movies. In 2014, Tunstall wrote "Miracle" as an official soundtrack single for the film Winter's Tale, and "We Could Be Kings" for Million Dollar Arm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saving My Face</span> 2007 single by KT Tunstall

"Saving My Face" is a song performed by Scottish singer KT Tunstall. The song was written by Tunstall and produced by Steve Osborne for the Tunstall's second album Drastic Fantastic (2007). The song's lyrics were inspired by a documentary Tunstall watched on the Discovery Channel "about old women having really disturbing amounts of plastic surgery to look very, very young."

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">If Only (KT Tunstall song)</span> 2008 single by KT Tunstall

"If Only" is an alternative rock song performed by Scottish singer KT Tunstall. The song was written by Tunstall and Jimmy Hogarth for Tunstall's second album Drastic Fantastic (2007). It was released as the album's third single in the United Kingdom on 3 March 2008. "If Only" reached No. 45 on the UK Singles Chart.

<i>Tiger Suit</i> 2010 studio album by KT Tunstall

Tiger Suit is the third studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall. It was released by Relentless Records in Ireland on 24 September 2010, in the United Kingdom on 27 September 2010 and in the United States and Canada on 5 October 2010. It was released in Europe on the 22 and 25 October 2010. The Japanese edition, released on 22 September, features two additional tracks: a cover of LCD Soundsystem's "New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down" and "It Doesn't Have to Be Like This (Baby)"

<span class="mw-page-title-main">(Still a) Weirdo</span> 2010 single by KT Tunstall

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<i>Invisible Empire // Crescent Moon</i> 2013 studio album by KT Tunstall

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<i>Kin</i> (KT Tunstall album) 2016 studio album by KT Tunstall

Kin is the fifth studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall. It was released on 9 September 2016 worldwide, following up her previous album, the folk-toned Invisible Empire // Crescent Moon. It was preceded by the Golden State EP, which included one of the songs from the album, "Evil Eye". The album was produced by Tony Hoffer in a studio in Los Angeles.

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<i>Wax</i> (KT Tunstall album) 2018 album by KT Tunstall

Wax is the sixth studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall, and the second album in the "soul, body and mind" trilogy. It was released on 5 October 2018, following up the first album of the trilogy, Kin. The first single from the album is "The River", released on 23 August 2018.

<i>Face to Face</i> (Suzi Quatro and KT Tunstall album) 2023 studio album by Suzi Quatro and KT Tunstall

Face to Face is a collaborative album by American musician Suzi Quatro and Scottish musician KT Tunstall, released on 11 August 2023 via Sun Records. The album features original duets recorded by both artists, and was recorded by both Quatro and Tunstall together in England, with the album produced by Quatro's son, LR Tuckey.

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