Piece by Piece (Katie Melua album)

Occupation

  • Katie Melua: vocals, guitar; Piano ( 4)
  • Mike Batt: Piano
  • Jim Cregan, Chris Spedding: guitar
  • Mike Darcy: Violin
  • Martin Ditchman, Chris Karan: Percussion
  • Dominic Glover: Trumpet
  • Tim Harris: Bass
  • Henry Spinetti: Drums
  • Andrian Bratt: Flute ( 2)
  • Craig Pruess: Sitar ( 4)
  • Paul Jones: harmonica ( 5)
  • Peter Knight: Mandolin ( 9)
  • The Irish Film Orchchestra

Piece by Piece is the second album of the Georgian- British singer Katie Melua.

The album is similar in style to the debut album Call Off the Search, also bar jazz, blues and folk influences were mixed, with this album the personal reference Katie Melua is significantly stronger. While the first album was still made ​​much of producer Mike Batt, come four titles on Piece by Piece by Katie Melua ( a song has been written by both together). With placements in the top ten of most of the charts in Europe Piece by Piece can be seen as the final breakthrough of the singer.

History

Piece by Piece was released in Germany on 23 September 2005, 17 months after the release of the debut album Call Off the Search, in the UK it was released three days later. It was produced as its predecessor by Melua - discoverer Mike Batt, who also released this album on his own label Dramatico. It reached both in Germany and in Austria and Switzerland, the top ten, holding each over 40 weeks in the charts. In the UK, the album, like its predecessor reached # 1 on the charts and has received more than 600,000 copies sold double platinum.

After producer Mike Batt wrote the bulk of the title of the debut album, this time five songs written by Katie Melua itself, including the title song of the album come. In addition to the titles of Melua and Batt album includes three cover versions. The title " Just Like Heaven" is from the band The Cure and was originally released in 1987 on the album Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me. Katie Melua's interpretation was also the theme song to the film Just Like Heaven (Original Title: Just Like Heaven ) by Mark Waters. " Blues in the Night " by Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen in 1941 was nominated for an Oscar in the original. The song " On the Road Again " comes from the 1968 album Boogie with Canned Heat American blues rock band Canned Heat. The title " Sometimes When I'm Dreaming " is a composition Mike Batts and was interpreted originally by Art Garfunkel.

When filling Melua and Batt attacked largely back to the musicians back, with whom they had already played Call Off the Search, and with whom they were on tour. As a guitarist Chris Spedding could again be required in addition to some solo albums Spedding has also worked as a studio musician Elton John, Tom Waits, Brian Ferry, and other worked. In the play " Blues in the Night ", the band of the harmonica player Paul Jones was supported, which became known in the 1960s, along with Manfred Mann.

Special Bonus Edition

On 22 September 2006, the Special bonus edition of the album, which also contains an approximately 90-minute bonus DVD alongside three new titles released. The majority of the live recordings of the DVD was recorded at a concert in Dusseldorf, further recordings were made in Amsterdam.

Among the new titles there is also a cover of the Beatles hit " Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" from 1967, the Katie Melua has recorded at Abbey Road Studios where the Beatles worked. Prior to the CD she released on 8 September 2006, the single "It 's Only Pain", the title is also included on the CD of the Special Bonus Edition.

Simon Singh about Nine Million Bicycles

A stir outside the music scene made ​​the first single of the album. This was triggered by an article titled Katie Melua 's bad science of the physicist and science journalist Simon Singh in the British newspaper The Guardian of 30 September 2005 In it Singh echauffiert about the verse.:

"We are 12 billion light -years from the edge, That's a guess, No one can ever say it 's true, But I knowthat I will always be with you. "

Singh wrote this text is scientifically unacceptable. First of all, the distance amounts to 12, but not 13.7 billion light years to the edge of the ( observable ) universe. In addition, the statement that this statement had only a guess, no one of which could tell if it was really bothering him. Rather, this information is based on scientific facts and is a good estimate, but could be revised. Singh therefore proposed to change the text as follows:

"We are 13.7 billion light -years from the edge of the observable universe, That's a good estimate with well- defined error bars, Scientists say it 's true, but did acknowledge it 'may be refined, And with the available information, I predict did I will always be with you. "

The result was a lively discussion of proponents and opponents of Singh's views. During an episode of the radio program Today the British radio station BBC Radio 4 Katie Melua presented the new " Singh " version of the title, however, decided to continue the version of Mike Batt to use because this is more comfortable to sing.

The article, however, is probably less as a criticism of Katie Melua's scientific knowledge, but more as an advertisement for Singh's book Big Bang: to assess the origin of the cosmos and the invention of modern science, also have the sales figures for the single not suffered from Singh's remarks, as managed " Nine Million Bicycles" # 5 on the UK charts and thus the hitherto best chart position of all their singles.

Track Listings

In parentheses are the names of the respective composers are given.

Chart positions

Awards

  • Platinum records: Germany (2 × ), Poland, Switzerland, United Kingdom (2 × )
  • Golden Records: Austria
  • Prices: Edison Award 2006

Singles

- Not out in the charts

Swell

References:

General sources:

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