Gran Turismo (album)

Last updated
Gran Turismo
CardigansGranTurismo.jpg
Studio album by
The Cardigans
Released19 October 1998
Recorded1997–1998
Genre
Length42:36
Label Stockholm
Producer Tore Johansson
The Cardigans chronology
The Other Side of the Moon
(1997)		Gran Turismo
(1998)		 Long Gone Before Daylight
(2003)
Singles from Gran Turismo
  1. "My Favourite Game"
    Released: 14 September 1998
  2. "Erase/Rewind"
    Released: 20 January 1999
  3. "Hanging Around"
    Released: 12 July 1999
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [5]
The Boston Phoenix Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Entertainment Weekly B+ [1]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [7]
Los Angeles Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [8]
NME 6/10 [9]
Pitchfork 7.0/10 [10]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [11]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [12]
USA Today Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [13]

Gran Turismo is the fourth studio album by Swedish band the Cardigans, released internationally on 19 October 1998 and in November 1998 in the United States. It features a darker and more moody type of music, mixed with more electronic sounds.

Contents

In an interview in 2009, producer and sound engineer Tore Johansson commented on the dark sound of the record, which sets it apart from the warm, jammy feel of many other recordings made at Tambourine Studios: "It's a very cold and defined recording, no natural reverb or audio curtains: there's not a sound element on that disc which wasn't deliberately put there." [14]

The album and band were nominated for a total of seven awards at the 1999 Grammis—the Swedish equivalent of the Grammy Awards. [15] Gran Turismo sold more than three million copies worldwide. [16]

Background

The album's name is explained by the band in a track on an advanced copy of the album titled "Explain the Title of the Album Gran Turismo": "The title can be interpreted in many ways but I think we only thought of a few ones we liked," Nina says. "We talked about having like Italian or French title and Gran Turismo came up and it sort of felt really good and you know I can think of music sometimes as tourism and traveling. So to me Gran Turismo is sort of the way to describe music sometimes or spending time with music." Peter says, "and I think that also the title suits this very album extremely well because the album is pretty much about trying to find your place in the world. I think sometimes you can always compare living to being a tourist in the world," Nina finishes.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Nina Persson and Peter Svensson, except where noted

Gran Turismo track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Paralyzed" 4:54
2."Erase/Rewind" 3:35
3."Explode" 4:04
4."Starter" 3:49
5."Hanging Around" 3:40
6."Higher" 4:32
7."Marvel Hill"Persson, Magnus Sveningsson, Svensson4:16
8."My Favourite Game" 3:36
9."Do You Believe" 3:19
10."Junk of the Hearts"Persson, Sveningsson, Svensson4:07
11."Nil" (instrumental) Lars-Olof Johansson 2:18

Personnel

Singles

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for Gran Turismo
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [42] Platinum50,000^
France (SNEP) [43] Gold100,000*
Japan (RIAJ) [44] Gold100,000^
Netherlands (NVPI) [45] Gold50,000^
Norway (IFPI Norway) [46] Platinum50,000*
Sweden (GLF) [47] 2× Platinum160,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) [48] Platinum520,000 [49]
Summaries
Europe (IFPI) [50] Platinum1,000,000*
Worldwide—3,000,000 [16]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

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References

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  3. ↑ Davies, Lucy (2003). "The Cardigans - Long Gone Before Daylight Review". BBC Music . Retrieved December 29, 2023.
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  11. ↑ "The Cardigans: Gran Turismo". Q (159): 115. December 1999.
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  14. ↑ "Gran Turismo Live – Snuggling with the Enemy".
  15. ↑ "Artists & Music | Stockholm Records". Billboard . Vol. 111, no. 7. 13 February 1999. p. 20. ISSN   0006-2510.
  16. 1 2 "GT sales" . Retrieved 19 February 2012.
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  29. ↑ "Hits Of The World - Gran Turismo - Japan". Billboard . Vol. 110, no. 43. 28 October 1998. p. 60. ISSN   0006-2510.
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  44. ↑ "Japanese album certifications – カーディガンズ – グラン・トゥーリスモ" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan.Select 1998年11月 on the drop-down menu
  45. ↑ "Dutch album certifications – The Cardigans – Gran Turismo" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers.Enter Gran Turismo in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 2002 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
  46. ↑ "IFPI Norsk platebransje". IFPI Norway. Archived from the original on 26 June 2006. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
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  48. ↑ "British album certifications – The Cardigans – Gran Turismo". British Phonographic Industry.
  49. ↑ Copsey, Rob (19 June 2018). "The Cardigans announce UK tour to celebrate 20th anniversary of Gran Turismo album". Official Charts. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  50. ↑ "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 1999". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 2 February 2020.
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