The Hush | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 10 May 1999 [1] | |||
Recorded | 1998–1999 | |||
Studio | Shar's House, Park Lane (Glasgow, Scotland) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 50:40 | |||
Label | Mercury | |||
Producer | Johnny McElhone (as "Johnny Mac") [2] | |||
Texas chronology | ||||
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Singles from The Hush | ||||
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The Hush is the fifth album by Scottish rock band Texas. Released in May 1999 as the follow up to the previous studio album, White on Blonde (1997), the album went onto achieve similar international success than that of its predecessor. It debuted at number one in Scotland and the United Kingdom and spent a total of 43 weeks on the UK Album Chart. [6] It has been certified triple platinum by the British Phonographic Industry. It performed strongly in a number of continental European album charts, reaching the top ten in France, Germany, Switzerland and Sweden. [7]
Its release marked the first time that outside record producers were not involved in the production process of a Texas album. Instead, bassist Johnny McElhone, performing under the name Johnny Mac, assumed sole responsibly for the album's production. [8] Three singles were taken from the album: "In Our Lifetime", "Summer Son" and "When We Are Together".
The album was recorded mostly in singer Sharleen Spiteri's house and was produced by co-songwriter Johnny McElhone. [9] Band member, Johnny McElhone, under the name of Johnny Mac, assumed the lead production duties during the recording of The Hush. [10] The decision to have a band member as the sole producer for the album was a major milestone for the band, as their previous albums had some involvement from outside record producers who were involved at various points throughout the recording of their previous releases. Three co-writers – Robert Hodgens, Mark Rae and Steve Christian – assist lead singer Sharleen Spiteri and McElhone in songwriting duties on the tracks “Tell Me the Answer”, “Summer Son” “Move In” and “The Day Before I Went Away". All other songs on the album were written solely by Spiteri and McElhone. [11]
During the recording of the album, the band were said to be "in an exploratory mood musically", having "shored up the technical aspects of the recording processes". [12] The band described "In Our Lifetime" as "Siouxsie's "Hong Kong Garden" remixed by Prince". [13] Andy Gill of The Independent wrote that "Day After Day" sounded like Diana Ross meeting Massive Attack and "Saint" as "Chrissie Hynde covering a Van Morrison song". [13]
The album was released internationally on 10 May 1999 via Mercury Records. [14] Released as the lead single of the album, "In Our Lifetime" reached number 4 in the UK Singles Chart. The other singles, "Summer Son" and "When We Are Together" respectively peaked at number 5 and number 12 in the UK. [15] The Hush has been certified triple platinum by the BPI for UK sales in excess of 900,000 copies. This makes it the band's second most successful studio album after their previous album, White on Blonde (1997), which had been certified 6× Platinum.
Writing in Albumism, Quentin Harrison commented on the album saying "the autumnal pop sprawl favored for White on Blonde is exchanged for a summery amalgamation of R&B, jazz and guitar-pop sounds. Though there had been American and British pop-soul strains underneath Texas’ rock musculature on past endeavors, here Texas pull them forward to operate as the axis of The Hush. There are the elaborate anachronisms of “When We Are Together” and the title track that evoke spirits of The Supremes and Dusty Springfield. The striking album side “Day After Day” is a Thom Bell inspired downtempo number shamefully overlooked for consideration as a single". He further commented, saying "thematically, Texas salutes the incomparable art form of the love song in its various emotional shades of lust (“Summer Son”), joy (“Sunday Afternoon”) and melancholy (“Saint”). Spiteri's voice—boundless in its range—sketches vivid aural portraiture on “Tell Me the Answer” and “The Day Before I Went Away,” to spotlight just two entries. To call Spiteri a singular talent as a singer would be a vast understatement of her abilities". [16]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Entertainment Weekly | B+ [18] |
Pitchfork | 4/10 [19] |
Q | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Independent wrote a favourable review, describing the song "Summer Son" as "funk motorik with bells Spectorising majestically away". Reviewer Andy Gill stated; "It's almost as if they've set out to make [...] a post-modern pop that sums up the entire history of this most varied of 20th-century media. The miracle is that they've just about pulled it off". [13] In a 4 out of 5 star review, Q magazine said; "Production is paramount to The Hush [...], but for all the handsome noise, it's Spiteri's -widening vocal palette that gives the songs personality. "Move In" is built upon the muscular funk framework of, say, [ Grace Jones 's] "Pull Up to the Bumper", but elevated by a light, hipswaying vocal. In case anyone thinks "When We Are Together" is standard Motown confection, Texas strip it back to Spiteri and a piano in the middle just to prove how strong it is. For "Day After Day", she's Dusty Springfield." Reviewer Andrew Collins concluded: this is "rare pop music that possesses both a collective personality and accumulated wisdom." [9]
Pitchfork wrote: "Summer Son" bounces along like two-toned buttocks frolicking under a silk skirt, while the title track slowjams erotically like Spiteri rubbing down her body with her eyes closed, lips blooming to reveal marble teeth and a sentient tongue. Well, no. Really, there's more to this "music" than the singer's looks. Really. Stop looking at that. She's out of our league. Give me that back. I want the artwork! [19]
The Hush was regarded as a "repeat success" for Texas, as the follow up to their 1997 international successful fourth studio album White on Blonde . The Hush was a major success for the band, debuting atop the albums charts in both Scotland and the United Kingdom. [20] [21] In the United Kingdom, it spent twelve weeks within the UK Top 10, and a further twenty-seven weeks within the Top 20, forty-three in the Top 40 and fifty-three within the Top 100 as a whole. [22] It continued a similar pattern in continental European albums charts to that of its predecessor, White on Blonde, debuting at number two on the French Albums Charts, and spent fifty-five weeks on the French charts. [23] In Switzerland, it peaked at number five and spent forty-two weeks on the Swiss Albums Charts, and in Germany, it spent thirty-seven weeks on the German Albums Charts following a peak of number seven. On the Austrian Albums Charts, it peaked at number eleven, spending a further nineteen weeks on the Austrian charts. [24]
In the Netherlands, it peaked at number twenty-nine, and went onto spend a total of twenty-two weeks on the Dutch Albums Charts, and in Belgium, it peaked at three on the Flanders Ultratip Albums Charts, spending forty-two weeks on the Flanders charts, and in the Wallonia region of Belgium, it peaked at number nine and went onto spend a total of forty four weeks on the Wallonia Albums Charts. [25] Elsewhere in Europe, it peaked within the top ten in Sweden, charting at number seven on the Swedish Albums Charts and spending a total of twenty-three weeks on the Swedish charts. In Norway, it reached the same position as it did in Sweden, and spent a total of eighteen weeks on the Norwegian Albums Charts. In Australia, however, it peaked at number seventy-five and in New Zealand, it reached number forty-two, and spent a further six weeks on the albums charts in New Zealand. [26]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
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1. | "In Our Lifetime" | Johnny McElhone, Sharleen Spiteri | Johnny McElhone | 4:06 |
2. | "Tell Me the Answer" | McElhone, Spiteri, Robert Hodgens | McElhone, The Boilerhouse Boys | 3:54 |
3. | "Summer Son" | McElhone, Spiteri, Eddie Campbell, Hodgens | McElhone | 4:04 |
4. | "Sunday Afternoon" | McElhone, Spiteri | McElhone | 4:21 |
5. | "Move In" | McElhone, Spiteri, Mark Rae, Steve Christian | McElhone, Mark Rae, Steve Christian | 4:28 |
6. | "When We Are Together" | McElhone, Spiteri | McElhone | 3:30 |
7. | "Day After Day" | McElhone, Spiteri | McElhone | 4:37 |
8. | "Zero Zero" | McElhone, Spiteri, Campbell | McElhone | 1:42 |
9. | "Saint" | McElhone, Spiteri | McElhone | 4:46 |
10. | "Girl" | McElhone, Spiteri | McElhone | 3:46 |
11. | "The Hush" | McElhone, Spiteri, Rae, Christian | McElhone, Rae, Christian | 4:53 |
12. | "The Day Before I Went Away" | McElhone, Spiteri | McElhone | 6:28 |
13. | "Let Us Be Thankful" (hidden track) |
No. | Title | Length |
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14. | "You'll Never Know" | |
15. | "In Our Lifetime" (Return to tha Dub mix) |
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
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Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Belgium (BEA) [50] | Platinum | 50,000* |
France (SNEP) [51] | 2× Platinum | 600,000* |
Germany (BVMI) [52] | Gold | 250,000^ |
Norway (IFPI Norway) [53] | Gold | 25,000* |
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [54] | 2× Platinum | 200,000^ |
Sweden (GLF) [55] | Gold | 40,000^ |
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) [56] | Platinum | 50,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [57] | 3× Platinum | 900,000^ |
Summaries | ||
Europe (IFPI) [58] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000* |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Texas is a Scottish rock band from Glasgow, founded in 1986 by Johnny McElhone, Ally McErlaine, and Sharleen Spiteri. Texas, despite their name, has no connection with the state of Texas USA. Texas made their performing debut in March 1988 at the University of Dundee. The band released their debut album Southside in 1989, along with the debut single "I Don't Want a Lover", which was a top-ten hit on the UK Singles Chart and peaked within the top ten of the charts in many other European countries. Southside entered at number three on the UK Albums Chart and number 88 on the Billboard 200 album chart in the United States, and sold over two million copies worldwide. Despite the success of Southside, the follow-up albums Mothers Heaven (1991) and Ricks Road (1993) were less successful, peaking at number 32 and number 18 on the UK Albums Chart respectively, but achieved moderate success on various European markets.
White on Blonde is the fourth studio album by Scottish rock band Texas, released by Mercury Records on 3 February 1997. The album was the band's first number one in their native Scotland, and also reached number one in the United Kingdom, and would become their biggest seller internationally, selling in excess of four million copies worldwide. A major commercial success for the band, it has been certified 6× Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry for shipments of over 1.8 million copies, and has sold 1.65 million as of January 2017.
Sharleen Eugene Spiteri is a Scottish singer–songwriter and guitarist who has a contralto vocal range, best known as the lead singer of the rock band Texas, who rose to prominence in 1989 with the release of their debut single "I Don't Want a Lover". Their debut album, Southside (1989) was a commercial success, selling over two million copies. Follow up albums were less successful, however, the release of their fourth album White on Blonde (1997) returned the band to prominence, spawning the internationally successful singles "Say What You Want", "Halo", "Black Eyed Boy" and "Put Your Arms Around Me". Their commercial success continued during the late 1990s and into the early 2000s, with singles "In Our Lifetime", "Summer Son", "In Demand" and "Inner Smile". Following the release of their seventh album Red Book (2005), the band began a hiatus. In 2013, Texas's worldwide album sales were counted at 40 million records.
The Greatest Hits is a compilation album by Scottish rock band Texas, released on 23 October 2000. It was the band's first greatest hits album, featuring songs spanning their career from 1989 to 2000. Three new singles were also included: "In Demand", "Inner Smile" and "Guitar Song".
Southside is the debut album by Scottish rock band Texas. It was released on 13 March 1989. It peaked at no. 3 in the UK Albums Chart and within three weeks of release was certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry for sales in excess of 100,000 copies. Worldwide, Southside has sold over 2 million copies.
Mothers Heaven is the second album from the Scottish rock band Texas. The album was released on 23 September 1991 by Mercury Records. The album peaked at no. 32 in the UK and spent 4 weeks on the charts.
Ricks Road is the third album by Scottish rock band Texas. The album was released on 1 November 1993 by Mercury Records. The album peaked at number 18 in the UK and spent two weeks on the UK Albums Chart. It was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry in October 1997. In Australia, the album peaked at number 96 on the ARIA Albums Chart.
Careful What You Wish For is the sixth album by Scottish rock band Texas, released 20 October 2003. Released on the backdrop of their 2000 compilation album The Greatest Hits which had sold over four million copies internationally by the time Careful What You Wish For was released, it spawned two singles, the commercial successful "Carnival Girl", featuring Canadian rapper Kardinal Offishall, and the second single, "I'll See It Through", which failed to match the success of "Carnival Girl".
Red Book is the seventh album from Scottish rock band Texas. It was released on 7 November 2005 and entered the UK Albums Chart at #16. It is named after the little red book that singer Sharleen Spiteri used to write the album songs. The album yielded two UK Top Ten singles, "Getaway" and "Sleep" and the UK Top 20 single, "Can't Resist". Four of the album's tracks were co-written with Brian Higgins of Xenomania — "Can't Resist", "Cry", "Get Down Tonight" and "Bad Weather".
"Inner Smile" is a song by Scottish alternative rock band Texas, originally released on their greatest hits album, The Greatest Hits (2000). Written by Gregg Alexander and Rick Nowels and arranged by Texas, the song is based on Alexander's unreleased demo "Inner Child", which was written and performed between 1995 and 1998.
"In Our Lifetime" is a song by Scottish pop rock band Texas. The first single from their fifth studio album, The Hush (1999), it was released on 12 April 1999 in Europe and on 19 April 1999 in the United Kingdom. The song peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart and became the band's second number one on the Scottish Singles Chart. It was also included on the soundtrack of the 1999 romantic comedy Notting Hill.
The discography of Scottish pop rock band Texas contains 10 studio albums, one live album, five compilation albums and 45 singles. Their most successful single to date is "Say What You Want" (1997), which peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart. Texas made their performing debut in March 1988 at Scotland's University of Dundee. They took their name from the 1984 Wim Wenders movie Paris, Texas. The band released their debut album Southside in 1989, along with the debut single "I Don't Want a Lover", which was a worldwide success, charting at number eight on the UK Singles Chart and other high charting positions in Europe. Southside debuted at number three in the United Kingdom and number 88 on the US Billboard 200 album chart. Despite the success of Southside, follow-up albums Mothers Heaven and Ricks Road were less successful in the UK.
Melody is the debut solo album by Sharleen Spiteri, lead singer of the Scottish band Texas. It was released on 14 July 2008 and peaked at number three in the UK Albums Chart.
"Summer Son" is a song by Scottish band Texas, released as the second single from their fifth studio album, The Hush (1999). The song was released in Europe on 9 August 1999 and in the United Kingdom on 16 August 1999, peaking at number five on the UK Singles Chart. In mainland Europe, "Summer Son" became one of the band's biggest hits, reaching the top five in Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Switzerland, and Wallonia. It has received gold certifications in Belgium and Germany and a silver certification in the United Kingdom.
"Halo" is a song by Scottish alternative rock band Texas, released on 7 April 1997 as the second single from their fourth studio album, White on Blonde (1997). The song was written by Texas frontwoman Sharleen Spiteri and guitarist Johnny McElhone and was produced by Texas and Mike Hedges. "Halo" debuted and peaked at number 10 on the UK Singles Charts. The music video, filmed in Hong Kong, features Spiteri and a Chinese woman acting as her "halo".
The Movie Songbook is the second studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter Sharleen Spiteri. It was released on 1 March 2010. The album consists of film song covers, chosen and recorded by Spiteri in 2009.
The Conversation is the eighth album from Scottish rock band Texas. It was released on 20 May 2013. Tracks are written mainly by Sharleen Spiteri and Johnny McElhone, with Richard Hawley and Bernard Butler as collaborators. The Conversation is the group's first studio album of new material since Red Book in 2005. The title track "The Conversation" was released as the first single from the album in April 2013, followed by up-beat Pop Rock "Detroit City", both of which received a decent amount of UK airplay, including on BBC Radio 2's playlist.
Texas 25 is a compilation album by Scottish rock band Texas, released on 16 February 2015. The album was released to celebrate the band's 25th anniversary and features eight reworked Texas tracks along with four new songs. A 2-disc deluxe edition of the album was also released, with disc 1 featuring the same track listing as the standard version of the album and disc 2 including the original versions of 15 of the band's biggest hits.
Hi is the tenth studio album by Scottish alternative rock band Texas, released on 28 May 2021 through BMG. Hi was originally intended to be based on "lost" outtakes from the recording sessions of their 1997 chart-topping White on Blonde album, but this was eventually shelved and ultimately led the band to create new material.
"Tell That Girl" is a 2017 single released by Scottish alternative rock band Texas as the second single from their ninth studio album Jump on Board (2017). The song was released in March 2017 through PIAS Records and was written by Sharleen Spiteri, Johnny McElhone, Karen Overton, with McElhone serving as the songs producer.
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