Melissa Etheridge (album)

Last updated

Melissa Etheridge
Melissa Etheridge - Melissa Etheridge.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedMay 2, 1988
RecordedOctober 19–25, 1987
Studio Cherokee (Hollywood)
Genre Roots rock [1]
Length45:50
Label Island
Producer
Melissa Etheridge chronology
Melissa Etheridge
(1988)
Brave and Crazy
(1989)

Melissa Etheridge is the debut album by American singer-songwriter Melissa Etheridge, released in 1988.

Contents

The album was re-released on September 23, 2003, as a two-CD remastered edition containing a bonus disc of ten tracks recorded live at the Roxy in Los Angeles and a five-track session from BBC Kent in April 1988.

As of 2010, the album has tallied 1,145,000 copies in the United States alone, according to Nielsen SoundScan. [2] This figure does not include sales of the album between 1988 and 1991.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [1]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg (Deluxe edition) [3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [4]
Uncut Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg (Deluxe edition) [3] [5]

Billboard called the album an "excellent debut" and "as varied as Etheridge is talented," noting that "Bring Me Some Water" should bring album rock radio to its knees, while "Similar Features" and several other tracks have broader - even AC appeal." " [6]

In their review, Cashbox stated that "nobody this side of Tina Turner can belt like Melissa Etheridge. Insiders are calling her the next Janis Joplin, and she's certainly got the whiskey voice, the Texas twang and the hard-luck stories of sexual pain. But she's also got an identity of her own and a big future." [7]

AllMusic called it "one of the most stunning debut albums of the 1980s....Etheridge's true talent, however, is reconciling uncontrollable emotions such as jealousy with a strong and fiercely independent spirit. Perhaps that's why Etheridge became a role model for a generation of young women who found her to be an uncompromising artist unafraid to expose (and celebrate) her strengths and weaknesses." [1]

Track listing

All tracks written by Melissa Etheridge.

  1. "Similar Features" – 4:42
  2. "Chrome Plated Heart" – 3:59
  3. "Like the Way I Do" – 5:23
  4. "Precious Pain" – 4:15
  5. "Don't You Need" – 4:59
  6. "The Late September Dogs" – 6:33
  7. "Occasionally" – 2:36
  8. "Watching You" – 5:33
  9. "Bring Me Some Water" – 3:52
  10. "I Want You" – 4:07

Note

Remastered edition bonus disc

  1. "Chrome Plated Heart" – 3:55
  2. "Don't You Need" – 4:54
  3. "Similar Features" – 4:25
  4. "Precious Pain" – 5:55
  5. "Occasionally" – 3:11
  6. "The Late September Dogs" – 6:34
  7. "Watching You" – 5:57
  8. "I Want You" – 5:26
  9. "Bring Me Some Water" – 5:34
  10. "Like The Way I Do" – 10:31
  11. "Chrome Plated Heart" – 3:28
  12. "Don't You Need" – 4:22
  13. "Similar Features" – 4:07
  14. "Bring Me Some Water" – 3:37
  15. "Precious Pain" – 3:52

Personnel

Overdubs recorded at Studio A, Sunset Sound Factory on November 16–18, 1987. Guitars on "Precious Pain" and "I Want You" recorded at Yo Dad Studio on October 25, 1987.

Technical

Charts

Certifications and sales

Certifications and sales for Melissa Etheridge
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [20] 2× Platinum300,000 [21]
Austria (IFPI Austria) [22] Gold25,000*
Canada (Music Canada) [23] 3× Platinum300,000^
Germany (BVMI) [24] Gold250,000^
Netherlands (NVPI) [25] Gold50,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ) [26] Platinum15,000^
United States (RIAA) [27] 2× Platinum2,000,000^

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

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References

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