Afterglow (Sarah McLachlan album)

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Afterglow
Studio album by
Sarah McLachlan
Released4 November 2003 (2003-11-04)
RecordedAugust 2002 – 2003
GenrePop
Length40:11
Label
ProducerPierre Marchand
Sarah McLachlan chronology
Remixed
(2001) 		Afterglow
(2003) 		Afterglow Live
(2004)
Singles from Afterglow
  1. "Fallen"
    Released: 22 September 2003
  2. "Stupid"
    Released: 31 May 2004
  3. "World on Fire"
    Released: 14 June 2004
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic55/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]
Blender[3]
E! OnlineB−[4]
Entertainment WeeklyB−[5]
Mojo[4]
Q Magazine[4]
Rolling Stone[6]
Slant Magazine [7]
Stylus Magazine(F)[8]

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.

Unlike past albums where she went to an isolated cottage to write the songs, she wrote the songs for Afterglow in her family home mainly before the birth of her child. She wrote the songs entirely on piano, which was also a departure from her previous albums which she wrote on guitar. Longtime collaborator Pierre Marchand produced the album. McLachlan wrote eight of the 10 songs herself and co-wrote the other two with Marchand.

The song "Answer" was featured in the 2007 movie The Brave One. It has also been used in television commercials for the ASPCA, with McLachlan appearing in person.

Critical reception[edit]

Afterglow was met with "mixed or average" reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 55 based on 11 reviews.[1]

Commercial performance and award nominations[edit]

Afterglow was released on 4 November 2003, and was a success in North America, reaching number two on the Billboard 200, topping the Canadian Albums Chart and selling 361,000 copies in its first week of release.[9] It reached #33 in the UK (McLachlan's biggest success there thus far) and the top 50 in Australia in 2004. The first single, "Fallen", reached the top ten on the Adult Top 40 Billboard charts and a remix reached top ten in the United States dance charts. A second single, "Stupid" was released in March 2004.

McLachlan was nominated in five Juno Award categories in Canada, including Album of the Year and Pop Album of the Year for Afterglow, and Songwriter of the Year for the songs on the album. The awards were announced on 4 April 2004. The album was also nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Pop Vocal Album field in 2005.

Although not as successful as Surfacing, Afterglow has sold over 2.3 million copies in the US (as of November 2004) and went two times platinum.[10] Worldwide, the album has sold more than four million copies (as of October 2006).[11]

Track listing[edit]

Afterglow
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Fallen"Sarah McLachlan3:47
2."World on Fire"McLachlan, Pierre Marchand4:22
3."Stupid"McLachlan3:24
4."Drifting"McLachlan3:23
5."Train Wreck"McLachlan4:36
6."Push"McLachlan3:56
7."Answer"McLachlan3:58
8."Time"McLachlan4:07
9."Perfect Girl"McLachlan, Marchand4:43
10."Dirty Little Secret"McLachlan3:55
Total length:40:11

Personnel[edit]

  • Sarah McLachlan – vocals, electric guitar, piano, Rhodes piano, keyboards
  • Sean Ashby – guitar
  • Michel Pepin – guitar
  • Pete Caigan – engineering
  • Michael Chaves – guitar
  • Jim Creeggan – acoustic bass
  • Yanick Daunais – engineering
  • Bill Dillon – guitar, guitorgan, church organ
  • Yves Desrosiers – guitar
  • Kharen Hill – photography
  • Brian Hogue – engineering
  • Ethan Johns – guitar
  • Jorane – cello, background vocals, vocal treatments
  • Mark Jowett – guitar
  • David Kershaw – Hammond organ
  • Daryl Johnson – bass guitar
  • Tony Levin – bass guitar
  • Roman Klun – engineering
  • Bob Ludwig – mastering
  • Pierre Marchand – guitar, bass guitar, piano, keyboards, synthesizer bass, production, engineering, mixing
  • Jerry Marotta – percussion
  • John Oliviera – engineering
  • Chis Potter – engineering, mixing
  • Ashwin Sood – drums, percussion, loops, keyboard bass
  • Linda Strawberry – engineering

Charts[edit]

Certifications and sales[edit]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[35] Gold 35,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[36] 5× Platinum 500,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[37] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[38] 2× Platinum 2,300,000[10]
Summaries
Worldwide — 4,000,000[11]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Afterglow reviews". CBS Interactive. 4 November 2003. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  2. ^ Thomas Erlewine, Stephen. "AllMusic Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  3. ^ Blender review[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ a b c "Afterglow by Sarah McLachlan" – via www.metacritic.com.
  5. ^ Browne, David (17 March 2020). "Entertainment Weekly Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  6. ^ Lechner, Ernesto (3 November 2003). "Rolling Stone review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 27 November 2007. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  7. ^ Cinquemani, Sal (28 October 2003). "Review: Sarah McLachlan, Afterglow". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  8. ^ "Stylus Magazine". stylusmagazine.com. Archived from the original on 7 May 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  9. ^ Caulfield, Keith. "Drake Debuts At No. 1 on Billboard 200". billboard.com. 23 June 2010.
  10. ^ a b "McLachlan Returning To The Road Next Spring". Billboard. 2 December 2004. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  11. ^ a b "Sarah McLachlan Releases Holiday Album, "Wintersong"". Starpulse. 26 October 2006. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  12. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Sarah McLachlan – Afterglow". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  13. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Sarah McLachlan – Afterglow" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  14. ^ "Ultratop.be – Sarah McLachlan – Afterglow" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  15. ^ "Ultratop.be – Sarah McLachlan – Afterglow" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  16. ^ "Sarah McLachlan Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  17. ^ "Danishcharts.dk – Sarah McLachlan – Afterglow". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  18. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Sarah McLachlan – Afterglow" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  19. ^ "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  20. ^ "Lescharts.com – Sarah McLachlan – Afterglow". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  21. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Sarah McLachlan – Afterglow" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  22. ^ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 6, 2004". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  23. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Sarah McLachlan – Afterglow". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  24. ^ "Charts.nz – Sarah McLachlan – Afterglow". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  25. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Sarah McLachlan – Afterglow". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  26. ^ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  27. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  28. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Sarah McLachlan – Afterglow". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  29. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Sarah McLachlan – Afterglow". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  30. ^ "Sarah McLachlan | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  31. ^ "Sarah McLachlan Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  32. ^ "2003: Billboard 200 Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  33. ^ "ARIA Charts - End Of Year Charts - Top 100 Albums 2004". ARIA. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  34. ^ "2004: Billboard 200 Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  35. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2004 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  36. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Sarah McLachlan – Afterglow". Music Canada. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  37. ^ "British album certifications – Sarah McLachlan – Afterglow". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  38. ^ "American album certifications – Sarah Mc Lachlan – Afterglow". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
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