Solace | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 29 June 1991 (Canada) 28 January 1992 (US) | |||
Studio | Morin Heights at Lars Westvind's house, in Vancouver at Mushroom Studio and Venture Studios and in New Orleans at Karen's House | |||
Genre | Pop | |||
Length | 45:31 | |||
Label | Nettwerk (Canada) Arista (US) | |||
Producer | Pierre Marchand | |||
Sarah McLachlan chronology | ||||
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Singles from Solace | ||||
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Solace is the second studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan, released on 29 June 1991, on Nettwerk in Canada and 28 January 1992, on Arista Records in the United States. It was the album that first made her a star in Canada, spawning the hit singles "The Path of Thorns (Terms)" and "Into the Fire" and being certified double platinum for sales of 200,000 copies in Canada. This was also the first of many Sarah McLachlan albums produced by Pierre Marchand.
Although the album received favourable reviews internationally, her commercial breakthrough outside of Canada would not come until her next full album, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy . Although McLachlan has not discarded the album's songs from her concerts so completely as those of Touch, nothing from Solace has been performed live since 1999 except for “The Path of Thorns (Terms)”, [1] which was performed 19 times between 2010 and 2012. [2]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [3] |
Chicago Tribune | [4] |
Los Angeles Times | [5] |
NME | 6/10 [6] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [7] |
In a rave review for the Los Angeles Times , Steve Hochman said that Solace "gorgeously recalls" Joni Mitchell, Judy Collins, and Sandy Denny "without sounding derivative", praising McLachlan's "strong, emotional songwriting and singing" and Marchand's "atmospheric yet involving production". [5] Gary Dretzka was more ambivalent in the Chicago Tribune , commenting that the album's songs "are not without some poetic beauty", but "no one piece really stands out" due to their similar "somber emotional range". [4] Writing for NME , David Quantick found the record merely promising, with "hints of possible excellence". [6]
Retrospectively, AllMusic critic Kelly McCartney deemed Solace "a wonderful record that offers a glimpse of the astounding talent of a young Sarah McLachlan", writing that McLachlan avoided the "sophomore jinx" with "a superior collection of songs and performances". [3] Richard Skanse stated in the 2004 Rolling Stone Album Guide that Solace "represented a considerable leap in maturity and focus" for McLachlan, noting the album's "less muddled" production and its songs' "sharper hooks and distinctive melodies". [7]
All tracks are written by Sarah McLachlan, except where otherwise noted.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Drawn to the Rhythm" | 4:08 | |
2. | "Into the Fire" | 3:34 | |
3. | "The Path of Thorns (Terms)" | 5:51 | |
4. | "I Will Not Forget You" |
| 5:20 |
5. | "Lost" | 5:03 | |
6. | "Back Door Man" | 4:00 | |
7. | "Shelter" | 3:23 | |
8. | "Black" | 5:04 | |
9. | "Home" | 4:45 | |
10. | "Mercy" | 4:23 | |
Total length: | 45:31 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
11. | "Wear Your Love Like Heaven" | Donovan | 3:19 |
Total length: | 48:50 |
Note: In Canada, "Wear Your Love Like Heaven" appeared on Nettwerk's Donovan tribute album, Island of Circles . McLachlan fought hard to not have the song on her album but she eventually let Arista Records include it on the release. [ citation needed ]
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada) [12] | 2× Platinum | 200,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [13] | Gold | 671,000 [14] |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Sarah Ann McLachlan OC OBC is a Canadian singer-songwriter. As of 2015, she had sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is Surfacing, for which she won two Grammy Awards and four Juno Awards. In addition to her personal artistic efforts, she founded the Lilith Fair tour, which showcased female musicians.
Fumbling Towards Ecstasy is the third studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan, released on 22 October 1993 in Canada, 15 February 1994 in the United States, 24 May 1994 in Japan, and 14 August 1994 in Australia. It was produced by Pierre Marchand in Montreal; McLachlan wrote most of the album while living in a small house near Marchand's studio.
Surfacing is the fourth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan. Released in 1997, it was produced by McLachlan's frequent collaborator, Pierre Marchand. It was released in July 1997, coinciding with the start of McLachlan's Lilith Fair tour. The album reached the top position on the Canadian RPM 100 Albums chart, number two on the US Billboard 200 and became her first album to reach the top 50 outside of North America, achieving that in the UK, Australia and the Netherlands. It was certified as Diamond in sales in Canada and as 8× Platinum in sales in the US. Critical reviews were mixed; some of the more positive reviews praised the songwriting, while the album's detractors criticized it as banal and slow.
Mirrorball is a 1999 live album by Sarah McLachlan, compiled from performances during the Surfacing tour in 1997–98. Most of the 14 songs are from McLachlan's two most recent albums at the time, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy and Surfacing. It was a commercial success, entering top 3 on both Billboard 200 and Canadian Albums Chart.
Nettwerk Music Group is an independent record label founded in 1984.
Afterglow is the fifth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan. Released on 4 November 2003, on Nettwerk in Canada and 4 November 2003, on Arista Records in the United States, it was her first album of new material in six years, after the success of Surfacing and the Lilith Fair festival. Longtime collaborator Pierre Marchand produced the album. McLachlan wrote eight of the 10 songs herself and co-wrote the other two with Marchand.
The Freedom Sessions is an album by Sarah McLachlan which was released on 6 December 1994 on Nettwerk in Canada and on 28 March 1995 on Arista Records in the United States. The album contains previously unreleased alternative versions and remixes of seven songs that had appeared on McLachlan's 1993 album Fumbling Towards Ecstasy, as well as a cover version of "Ol' '55" by Tom Waits. Many of the tracks were recorded during the same sessions as Fumbling. In subsequent live performances, some of these songs were reworked to match the style in which they were played on this album.
Touch is the debut album by Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan. It was originally released on October 11, 1988 through Nettwerk and Capitol Records. The album was then re-released on April 3, 1989 through Nettwerk and Arista Records with additional material and new cover art. The album includes "Vox", McLachlan's debut single, which reached number 90 in Canada upon its release.
Remixed is the first remix album by Canadian singer Sarah McLachlan, released in Canada on 4 July 2001 by Nettwerk and in the United States on 16 December 2003 by Arista Records. It includes various dance club versions of McLachlan's songs, remixed by DJs such as William Orbit, Tiësto, BT, and Rabbit in the Moon.
Afterglow Live is a 2004 live CD and DVD package by Sarah McLachlan.
"Building a Mystery" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan from her fourth studio album, Surfacing (1997). At a live performance, Sarah explains the song as being "basically about the fact that we all... have insecurities to hide, and we often do that by putting on a facade." She also goes on to say that "unfortunately, if we just be who we are, that's usually the more attractive and beautiful thing".
The Path of Thorns (Terms) is a hit song by singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan from her album, Solace. A nearly 6-minute ballad, it is one of McLachlan’s longest compositions. It was her first top-forty chart hit in her native Canada, and the 50 millionth song purchased from the iTunes Store. The original music video for this song shows a couple dancing but is distinguished by the fact McLachlan was filmed performing the song nude.
"Vox" is the debut single by Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan. It was released in 1988 in Canada from her album Touch, and as a CD-single in 1992. The 1989 Arista Records release of Touch contained a different mix of the song from the original 1988 album, and different extended remixes were released as well. "Vox" reached number 90 on Canada's RPM Top Singles chart but failed to chart elsewhere.
"Angel" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan. The song first appeared on McLachlan's fourth studio album, Surfacing, in 1997 and was released as the album's fourth and final single in September 1998. The lyrics are about the death of musician Jonathan Melvoin (1961–1996) from a heroin overdose, as McLachlan explained on VH1 Storytellers. It is sometimes mistitled as "In the Arms of an Angel". or "Arms of the Angel".
“Possession” is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan, and was the first single from her album Fumbling Towards Ecstasy. It was written and composed by McLachlan herself and was produced by Pierre Marchand. It was released in Canada on 10 September 1993 by Nettwerk Records. The song appears twice on the album, as the first track and as a hidden track at the end, which is a solo piano version. “Possession” is written from the viewpoint of a man obsessed with a woman, and was inspired by consistent fan letters to McLachlan some time before the writing of the song. The most famous ones are from a computer programmer from Ottawa, Ontario named Uwe Vandrei, who sued McLachlan for using his words without crediting him. However, Vandrei died by suicide before the case could ever be taken to court.
Wintersong is the sixth album and first Christmas album by Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan, released in October 2006. It was produced by longtime collaborator Pierre Marchand and includes contributions from Jim Creeggan of Barenaked Ladies. The album also includes a collaboration with Jazz musician Diana Krall. In 2007, the album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. In 2015, all songs from Wintersong plus five more tracks were released as The Classic Christmas Album.
"Adia" is a song by Canadian singer Sarah McLachlan from her fourth studio album, Surfacing (1997). It was co-written by McLachlan and her longtime producer, Pierre Marchand. McLachlan has said about the song, "...more than anything, it's about my problems in dealing with feeling responsible for everyone else". "Adia" was released as the third North American single from Surfacing on 2 March 1998; in Europe, it served as McLachlan's debut single, receiving a UK release in September 1998.
"Sweet Surrender" is a song by Canadian singer Sarah McLachlan. It was released in 1997 as the second single from her fourth studio album, Surfacing (1997). The song peaked at number two in Canada and number 28 on the US Billboard Hot 100. In 2001, a maxi-single with remixes by DJ Tiësto was released peaking at number six on the US Hot Dance Club Play chart, three years after its original release.
This is the discography of Canadian musician, singer, songwriter and pianist, Sarah McLachlan. Her debut album, Touch was released in 1988 and included first singles: "Vox", "Steaming" and "Ben's Song". The album charted in Canada and the United States and was certified platinum in Canada and gold in the US. The next album, Solace was issued in 1991. It peaked at number 20 in Canada and was certified double platinum there. Solace also charted in the US, where it was certified gold. It featured three singles: "The Path of Thorns (Terms)", "Into the Fire" and "Drawn to the Rhythm". The third studio album, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy (1993) became McLachlan's mainstream breakthrough album in Canada and the United States. It peaked at number five in Canada and number 50 on the US Billboard 200, and was certified 5× platinum in Canada and 3× platinum in the US. "Possession" and "Good Enough" became McLachlan's first singles to chart on the US Billboard Hot 100. "Good Enough" also became her first top 10 hit in Canada, reaching number nine. At the 37th Annual Grammy Awards, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Performance.
Laws of Illusion is the seventh studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan. It was released on 11 June 2010 on Arista Records in the United States and 15 June 2010 on Nettwerk in Canada. Recording for the album took place in Montreal and Vancouver and production was handled by Pierre Marchand, with whom McLachlan has frequently collaborated in the past.