Land of the Living (Kristine W song)

"Land of the Living"
One of artwork variants
Single by Kristine W
from the album Land of the Living
Released	1997
Genre	Dance
Length	4:02(Rollo And Sister Bliss Radio Edit) 3:57 (Album Radio Edit)
Label	Tommy Boy Records
Songwriter(s)	Rob D. Rollo Kristine W
Producer(s)	Rob D. Rollo
Kristine W singles chronology
"One More Try" (1996) "Land of the Living" (1997) "Stronger" (2000)
Music video
"Land of the Living" on YouTube

"Land of the Living" is a song by American singer Kristine W. It was released in 1996 as the third and final single from her debut album, Land of the Living (1996). The single was a huge club hit but only reached number 57 on the UK Singles Chart. ^[1] In the US, it spent two weeks at number-one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in November 1996. That was the singer's third number-one single on this survey. ^[2]

American singer and actress Patti LaBelle and Kristine W covered the song as a duet on Labelle's 2005 cover album Classic Moments .

Critical reception

Larry Flick from Billboard wrote that Kristine W returns with the title track to her deservedly acclaimed debut, "a melancholy pop/house anthem that beautifully showcases her formidable pipes and dramatic flair. With its affecting and intelligent lyrics, "Land Of The Living" deftly squashes the idea that all dance music is fluffy and mindless." ^[3] William Stevensen from Entertainment Weekly described it as "ebullient". ^[4] Alan Jones from Music Week declared it a "dancefloor monster". ^[5] Joey Bolsadura from Muzik viewed it as a "song of survival a la Gloria Gaynor with phunk". ^[6] A reviewer from People Magazine said that "even when Kristine W strikes her gloomiest pose, as in the beginning of the title song—"I got a mirror, a bottle and a pen/ The mirror is cracked/ The bottle is empty/ And my pen don't know where to begin"—she conveys that somehow things will get better. They do. Before long, a jacked-up beat kicks in, and she rides it all the way to a happy ending." ^[7] J.D. Considine for Vibe complimented it as a "lean, house-style jam". ^[8]

Official versions

Album Version 4:59 Radio Edit 3:59 Rollo & Sister Bliss/Kristine W Radio Edit 4:00 Rollo And Sister Bliss Remix 7:18 Lisa Marie Experience Radio Edit 4:08 Lisa Marie Experience 8:05 Lisa Marie Sequential Dub 7:41 Junior Vasquez New Vocal Mix 7:36 Junior's Factory Dub 8:01 Dekkard's Planet Vocal Mix 12:03 Dekkard's Planet Dub Mix 12:03 Deep Dish Land Of The Lost Vocal Edit 8:30

Deep Dish Land Of The Lost Remix (Vocal) 13:07 Deep Dish Land Of The Lost Remix (Instrumental) 13:07 Deep Dish Summer Madness Dub 11:30 Deep Dish Slee-Stack Dub 1 5:20 Deep Dish Slee-Stack Dub 2 3:40 Kevin Saunderson Remix 6:35 Kevin Saunderson Dub 6:33 Timothy Allan Remix 7:26 Timothy Allan Dub 7:26 Maddladd's Dub 6:51 Subgroover Radio Edit 3:44 Subgroover Subwoofer Club Mix 5:28

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1996-1997) Peak position Belgium Dance (Ultratop) [9] 20 Canada Dance/Urban (RPM) [10] 6 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [11] 35 Netherlands (Single Top 100) [12] 44 Scotland (OCC) [13] 75 UK Singles (OCC) 57 UK Dance (OCC) [14] 3 UK Cool Cuts ( Music Week ) [15] 1 US Hot Dance Club Play ( Billboard ) 1

Year-end charts Chart (1996) Positions UK Club Chart (Music Week) [16] 13

See also

• List of Billboard number-one dance singles of 1996

References

1. "KRISTINE W – full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 1 November 2016.
2. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play info from billboard.com
3. Flick, Larry (11 January 1997). "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard . Retrieved 24 January 2018.
4. Stevensen, William (26 July 1996). "Land of the Living". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved 28 February 2020.
5. Jones, Alan (28 June 1997). "Talking Music" (PDF). Music Week . p. 20. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
6. Bolsadura, Joey (1 December 1996). "Hardbag" (PDF). Muzik . p. 161. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
7. "Picks and Pans Review: Land of the Living". People . 29 July 1996. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
8. Considine, J.D. (1 September 1996). "Kristine W - Land of the Living". Vibe . Retrieved 2 March 2020.
9. "Ultratop Dance 18/01/1997". ultratop.be. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
10. "RPM Dance (Mar 24, 1997)". RPM . 24 March 1997. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
11. "Kristine W - Land Of The Living". top40.nl.
12. "KRISTINE W - LAND OF THE LIVING (SONG)". danishcharts.dk.
13. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100 15 December 1996 - 21 December 1996". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 16 May 2018.
14. "Official UK Dance Singles Chart (15 December 1996-21 December 1996)". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 12 February 2018.
15. "The RM Cool Cuts" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). 27 July 1996. p. 4. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
16. "The RM Club Chart of the Year 96" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). 11 January 1997. p. 8. Retrieved 4 May 2022.