When I Was a Boy

Last updated
When I Was a Boy
Jane Siberry-When I Was a Boy (album cover).jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedAugust 3, 1993
RecordedJune 1991–January 1993
Mushroom Studios, Vancouver
Reaction Studios, Toronto
Westside Studios, London
Genre Ambient [1]
Synthpop [1]
Downtempo [1]
Length66:23
Label Reprise/Warner Bros. Records
26824
Producer Jane Siberry, Brian Eno (tracks 1 and 4), Michael Brook (track 3)
Jane Siberry chronology
Bound by the Beauty
(1989)
When I Was a Boy
(1993)
Maria
(1995)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]
Chicago Tribune Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [3]
The Philadelphia Inquirer Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [4]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [5]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [6]
The Village Voice B− [7]

When I Was a Boy is a 1993 album by Jane Siberry. Internationally, it is her most famous album. In Siberry's native Canada, however, the album was commercially successful but not as big a hit as her 1985 album The Speckless Sky .

Contents

The album includes Siberry's most famous song, "Calling All Angels", a duet with k.d. lang which appeared on two movie soundtracks, Until the End of the World in 1991 and Pay It Forward in 2000. The song was also sung by cast members of Six Feet Under in a scene from the episode "The Rainbow of Her Reasons." "Sail Across the Water" and "Temple" were the other singles from the album.

Several songs included electronic textures; "Temple" was Siberry's first song that was popular in dance clubs. The album was also Siberry's first to explore more spiritual themes, which would become a hallmark of her later music. [8]

On The Tragically Hip's 1997 live album Live Between Us , Gordon Downie sings the chorus from "Temple" in that album's track "Nautical Disaster".

Track listing

All songs written by Jane Siberry, except where indicated.

  1. "Temple" – 4:45
  2. "Calling All Angels" – 5:17
  3. "Love Is Everything" – 5:50
  4. "Sail Across the Water" – 5:22
  5. "All the Candles in the World" – 3:49
  6. "Sweet Incarnadine" (Siberry, Erdal Kızılçay, Ken Myhr) – 6:46
  7. "The Gospel According to Darkness" – 4:51
  8. "An Angel Stepped Down (And Slowly Looked Around)" – 5:50
  9. "The Vigil (The Sea)" – 9:23
  10. "Bells" – 1:19
  11. "At the Beginning of Time" – 8:20
  12. "Love Is Everything" (Harmony Version) – 5:51

Personnel

Additional personnel

Charts

Album

YearChartPeak positionWeeks on the chart
1993 RPM Top 100 Albums46 [9] 13

Singles

SongYearChartPeak position
"Calling All Angels"1992 RPM Adult Contemporary9 [10]
"Sail Across the Water"1993 RPM Top 100 Singles66 [11]

The song "All the Candles in the World" is featured in the 2000 movie Final Destination .

The final track, "Love Is Everything (Harmony Version)", is featured as the closing track of the episode titled "Loud and Proud" (S02E11) of Showtime series The L Word .

"Calling All Angels" is featured on the season one finale, "Déjà Vu All Over Again", of The WB series Charmed .

References

  1. 1 2 3 "When I Was a Boy". Discogs. 3 August 1993.
  2. Parisien, Roch. "When I Was a Boy – Jane Siberry". AllMusic . Retrieved May 11, 2017.
  3. McCormick, Moira (November 25, 1993). "Celestial Standout". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved May 11, 2017.
  4. Wood, Sam (August 31, 1993). "Jane Siberry sings angelic love songs, guitarists celebrate Wes Montgomery". The Philadelphia Inquirer .
  5. "Jane Siberry: When I Was a Boy". Q . No. 83. August 1993. p. 100.
  6. Walls, Richard C. (November 25, 1993). "Jane Siberry: When I Was a Boy". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on April 18, 2003. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
  7. Christgau, Robert (April 5, 1994). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice . Retrieved May 11, 2017.
  8. Scott Gray, "Sing a Little Sweeter" Archived 2009-02-08 at the Wayback Machine . Ascent .
  9. Top Albums/CDs - Volume 58, No. 8, September 04 1993
  10. Adult Contemporary - Volume 55, No. 25, June 20 1992
  11. Top Singles - Volume 58, No. 9, September 11 1993