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Although 1991's Solace made Sarah McLachlan a star in Canada, her international breakthrough arrived two years later with Fumbling Towards Ecstasy, a softly assured album that combined the atmospheric production of Pierre Marchand (a former apprentice -- and evident disciple -- of Daniel Lanois) with some of McLachlan's strongest songwriting to date. At the center of everything was her voice, an ethereal, lilting soprano that helped pave the way for Paula Cole, Lillith Fair, and a decade's worth of successful female songwriters. McLachlan utilized the crack between her chest and head voice, emphasizing the changing tones as her melodies climbed into the vocal stratosphere. She was also comparatively young at the time of Ecstasy's release, and her combination of vocal hooks and commercial appeal wouldn't be fully mastered until 1997's Surfacing. Even so, McLachlan's work was rarely as raw or honest as it is on this record, where tales of sin, lust, and love are delivered alongside piano arpeggios and electronic flourishes.
"Possession," the album's lead-off single, is a jarring love ballad with lyrics inspired by a stalker's correspondence. There's a double-edged quality to the song's eerie lines -- "I'll take your breath away," "I won't be denied," "Just close your eyes, dear" -- and Marchand underscores that tension by setting McLachlan's melodies to a nocturnal trip-hop beat. Elsewhere, the two lighten up with "Ice Cream," which likens love's sweetness to decadent deserts, yet Fumbling Towards Ecstasy takes most of its strength from the lush, rhythmic dreamscapes that dominate the album. Alternately dark and shimmering, intimate and ornate, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy launched McLachlan's international star power while setting a high bar for her future albums, many of which approached -- but not never quite eclipsed -- this career highlight.
© Andrew Leahey /TiVo
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Pierre Marchand, Producer - Pierre Marchand, Recording Engineer - Pierre Marchand, Mixing Engineer - Sarah McLachlan, Composer - Sarah McLachlan, Lyricist - Sarah McLachlan, Performer
(P) 1993 RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Pierre Marchand, Producer - Pierre Marchand, Recording Engineer - Pierre Marchand, Mixing Engineer - Sarah McLachlan, Composer - Sarah McLachlan, Lyricist - Sarah McLachlan, Performer
(P) 1993 RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Pierre Marchand, Producer - Pierre Marchand, Recording Engineer - Pierre Marchand, Mixing Engineer - Sarah McLachlan, Composer - Sarah McLachlan, Lyricist - Sarah McLachlan, Performer
(P) 1993 RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Pierre Marchand, Producer - Pierre Marchand, Recording Engineer - Pierre Marchand, Mixing Engineer - Sarah McLachlan, Composer - Sarah McLachlan, Lyricist - Sarah McLachlan, Performer
(P) 1993 RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Pierre Marchand, Producer - Pierre Marchand, Recording Engineer - Pierre Marchand, Mixing Engineer - Sarah McLachlan, Composer - Sarah McLachlan, Lyricist - Sarah McLachlan, Performer
(P) 1993 RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Pierre Marchand, Producer - Pierre Marchand, Recording Engineer - Pierre Marchand, Mixing Engineer - Sarah McLachlan, Composer - Sarah McLachlan, Lyricist - Sarah McLachlan, Performer
(P) 1993 RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Pierre Marchand, Producer - Pierre Marchand, Recording Engineer - Pierre Marchand, Mixing Engineer - Sarah McLachlan, Composer - Sarah McLachlan, Lyricist - Sarah McLachlan, Performer
(P) 1993 RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Pierre Marchand, Producer - Pierre Marchand, Recording Engineer - Pierre Marchand, Mixing Engineer - Sarah McLachlan, Composer - Sarah McLachlan, Lyricist - Sarah McLachlan, Performer
(P) 1993 RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Pierre Marchand, Producer - Pierre Marchand, Recording Engineer - Pierre Marchand, Mixing Engineer - Sarah McLachlan, Composer - Sarah McLachlan, Lyricist - Sarah McLachlan, Performer
(P) 1993 RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Pierre Marchand, Producer - Pierre Marchand, Recording Engineer - Pierre Marchand, Mixing Engineer - Sarah McLachlan, Composer - Sarah McLachlan, Lyricist - Sarah McLachlan, Performer
(P) 1993 RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Pierre Marchand, Producer - Pierre Marchand, Recording Engineer - Pierre Marchand, Mixing Engineer - Sarah McLachlan, Composer - Sarah McLachlan, Lyricist - Sarah McLachlan, Performer
(P) 1993 RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Pierre Marchand, Producer - Pierre Marchand, Recording Engineer - Pierre Marchand, Mixing Engineer - Pierre Marchand, Composer - Pierre Marchand, Lyricist - Sarah McLachlan, Composer - Sarah McLachlan, Lyricist - Sarah McLachlan, Performer
(P) 1993 RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Pierre Marchand, Recording Engineer - Pierre Marchand, Producer - Pierre Marchand, Mixing Engineer - Sarah McLachlan, Composer - Sarah McLachlan, Performer - Sarah McLachlan, Lyricist
(P) 1993 Arista Records LLC
Pierre Marchand, Percussion - Pierre Marchand, Producer - Pierre Marchand, Recording Engineer - Pierre Marchand, Mixing Engineer - David Kershaw, Piano - Ashwin Sood, Performer - Luke Doucet, Acoustic Baritone Guitar - David Sinclair, Acoustic Baritone Guitar - Greg Calbi, Mastering Engineer - Sarah McLachlan, Composer - Sarah McLachlan, Lyricist - Sarah McLachlan, Vocal - Sarah McLachlan, Acoustic Baritone Guitar - Brian Minato, Bass - Camille Henderson, Background Vocal - Craig Waddell, Edited By
(P) 1995 RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment / change participant to Performer
Vince Jones, Keyboards - Vince Jones, Vocal - Ashwin Sood, Drums - Ashwin Sood, Percussion - Ashwin Sood, Vocal - Sean Ashby, Guitar - Sean Ashby, Vocal - David Sinclair, Guitar - David Sinclair, Vocal - Greg Calbi, Mastering Engineer - Sarah McLachlan, Composer - Sarah McLachlan, Lyricist - Sarah McLachlan, Performer - Sarah McLachlan, Vocal - Sarah McLachlan, Piano - Sarah McLachlan, Guitar - Tim Oberthier, Recording Engineer - Brian Minato, Acoustic Bass - Tom Lord-Alge, Mixing Engineer - Camille Henderson, Vocal
(P) 1999 Arista Records LLC
Pierre Marchand, Recording Engineer - Pierre Marchand, Programmer - Pierre Marchand, Mixing Engineer - Sarah McLachlan, Piano - Sarah McLachlan, Lyricist - Sarah McLachlan, Producer - Sarah McLachlan, Vocal - Sarah McLachlan, Acoustic Baritone Guitar - Sarah McLachlan, Composer - Sarah McLachlan, Performer
(P) 2006 RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Pierre Marchand, Producer - Pierre Marchand, Recording Engineer - Pierre Marchand, Mixing Engineer - Pierre Marchand, Keyboards - Craig Waddell, Edited By - Greg Calbi, Mastering Engineer - Sarah McLachlan, Composer - Sarah McLachlan, Lyricist - Sarah McLachlan, Vocal - Sarah McLachlan, Piano
(P) 1995 Arista Records LLC
Pierre Marchand, Producer - Pierre Marchand, Recording Engineer - Pierre Marchand, Mixing Engineer - Craig Waddell, Edited By - Greg Calbi, Mastering Engineer - Sarah McLachlan, Composer - Sarah McLachlan, Lyricist - Sarah McLachlan, Vocal - Sarah McLachlan, Piano
(P) 1995 RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
David Kershaw, Engineer - David Kershaw, Mixing Engineer - David Kershaw, Bass - Pleasure Palace, Producer - Craig Waddell, Edited By - Greg Calbi, Mastering Engineer - Sarah McLachlan, Composer - Sarah McLachlan, Lyricist - Sarah McLachlan, Vocal - Sarah McLachlan, Acoustic Baritone Guitar - Ashwin Sood, Background Vocal
(P) 1995 RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Pierre Marchand, Recording Engineer - Pierre Marchand, Producer - Pierre Marchand, Mixing Engineer - Sarah McLachlan, Lyricist - Sarah McLachlan, Composer - Sarah McLachlan, Performer
(P) 1993 Arista Records LLC
Pierre Marchand, Producer - Pierre Marchand, Recording Engineer - Pierre Marchand, Mixing Engineer - Craig Waddell, Edited By - Greg Calbi, Mastering Engineer - Sarah McLachlan, Vocal - Tom Waits, Lyricist - Tom Waits, Composer
(P) 1995 RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment / change participant to Performer
Pierre Marchand, Recording Engineer - Pierre Marchand, Producer - Pierre Marchand, Mixing Engineer - Sarah McLachlan, Lyricist - Sarah McLachlan, Composer - Sarah McLachlan, Performer
(P) 1994 Nettwerk Productions
Albumbeschreibung
Although 1991's Solace made Sarah McLachlan a star in Canada, her international breakthrough arrived two years later with Fumbling Towards Ecstasy, a softly assured album that combined the atmospheric production of Pierre Marchand (a former apprentice -- and evident disciple -- of Daniel Lanois) with some of McLachlan's strongest songwriting to date. At the center of everything was her voice, an ethereal, lilting soprano that helped pave the way for Paula Cole, Lillith Fair, and a decade's worth of successful female songwriters. McLachlan utilized the crack between her chest and head voice, emphasizing the changing tones as her melodies climbed into the vocal stratosphere. She was also comparatively young at the time of Ecstasy's release, and her combination of vocal hooks and commercial appeal wouldn't be fully mastered until 1997's Surfacing. Even so, McLachlan's work was rarely as raw or honest as it is on this record, where tales of sin, lust, and love are delivered alongside piano arpeggios and electronic flourishes.
"Possession," the album's lead-off single, is a jarring love ballad with lyrics inspired by a stalker's correspondence. There's a double-edged quality to the song's eerie lines -- "I'll take your breath away," "I won't be denied," "Just close your eyes, dear" -- and Marchand underscores that tension by setting McLachlan's melodies to a nocturnal trip-hop beat. Elsewhere, the two lighten up with "Ice Cream," which likens love's sweetness to decadent deserts, yet Fumbling Towards Ecstasy takes most of its strength from the lush, rhythmic dreamscapes that dominate the album. Alternately dark and shimmering, intimate and ornate, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy launched McLachlan's international star power while setting a high bar for her future albums, many of which approached -- but not never quite eclipsed -- this career highlight.
© Andrew Leahey /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 22 track(s)
- Total length: 01:31:54
- Main artists: Sarah McLachlan
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Arista - Legacy
- Genre: Pop/Rock
(P) 1993, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2006, 2008 Arista Records, LLC
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