The Meaning of Love
Studio album by
Michelle McManus
Released16 February 2004
Recorded2003–2004
GenrePop
Label19, S, BMG
Producer
Michelle McManus chronology
The Meaning of Love
(2004)		 Dancing to a Different Beat
(NR; 2008)
Singles from The Meaning of Love
  1. "All This Time"
    Released: 25 November 2003
  2. "The Meaning Of Love"
    Released: 26 January 2004

The Meaning of Love is the debut studio album by Scottish singer Michelle McManus, issued by BMG. Released on 16 February 2004, it debuted at number three on the UK Albums Chart and featured two singles: the number one UK Singles Chart entry "All This Time", and the title track, which peaked at number sixteen. Critics derided the record for its production values and songwriting quality; multiple reviewers also found McManus's singing voice to be unimpressive. The album was deemed a commercial failure by Sony BMG, who dropped McManus from the label. The album has since received various "worst album" accolades.[1][2]

The Meaning of Love was certified as gold by the British Phonographic Industry in April 2004, indicating sales of over 100,000 copies.[3]

Reception and legacy

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
entertainment.ie[5]
Evening Standard[6]
The Guardian[7]
The Herald[8]
The Press[9]
The Scotsman[10]
Sunday Herald[11]
Sunday World[12]
The Times[13]

Lynsey Hanley in The Telegraph wrote: "This whole record smacks of boil-in-the-bag songwriting and lazy, hasty production tarted up with cheesy strings." She stated that McManus's singing "lack[s] any discernible 'wow' factor" and is on par with "a karaoke regular or, at best, a provincial cabaret turn."[14] Guardian journalist Caroline Sullivan also saw McManus's vocals as lacking the "wow" factor, which, she said, "could have enlivened some of these sub-Celine Dion torchers."[7] An entertainment.ie critic said that McManus, whose vocal performances "never rise far above the level of a very average club singer", made fellow reality television music competition winners Will Young and Alex Parks "look like worldbeaters by comparison."[5]

McManus' native Scottish broadsheet press were not sympathetic. Leon McDermott of the Sunday Herald called the music "singularly unremarkable." He likened McManus to a "particularly adept ferry singer", while observing a lack of "emotion and anger, love and regret." In conclusion he said: "[S]he's competent, but sounds like a proficient karaoke singer rather than a bona fide pop star."[11] Herald journalist Beth Pearson felt that the "tinny production and synths imported direct from the 1980s", made for a "thoroughly boring, unambitious debut."[8] While The Scotsman's Fiona Shepherd delivered a track-by-track assessment of the record in which she criticised the quality of the material and described McManus as "another chicken-in-a-basket diva" with an "unremarkable" voice. Shepherd expressed a particular loathing for the cover version of Nina Simone's "Feelin' Good", which according to her, had "the guts ripped out of it."[10] The track was derided by multiple reviewers.[4][8][9][10][15]

Some reviewers, while unfavourable, were more receptive to McManus's vocals. Sharon Mawer in AllMusic saw the bulk of the material as "very bland, tuneless, and unmemorable", but commended McManus's "undoubted talent." She did, however, argue that McManus gained publicity more for "her outsized weight" than her singing.[4] Daily Mirror critic Gavin Martin stressed that she "can actually sing", but observed "some of the most horrifying material ever", with songwriting that is "drowned in cliche, seemingly knocked off with barely a thought."[16] BBC News writer Tom Bishop was impressed by McManus's "soulful" singing on Pop Idol, but felt her vocals sound "muffled and restrained by pedestrian production" on this "dull" album.[15]

Deviating from critical consensus, BBC Music journalist Ruth Mitchell wrote that the album is "packed full of dreamy songs", and "surprisingly sounds like a very competent and unhurried effort indeed."[17]

The Meaning of Love won "Worst British Album" at the 2005 Naomi Awards.[1] In a 2007 online poll, it was voted the seventh-worst album ever made by a Scottish artist.[2]

Commercial performance

The Meaning of Love debuted at number three on the UK Albums Chart on 22 February 2004.[18] It shifted around 23,000 copies in its first week.[19] It fell to number fourteen in its second week and lasted a further three weeks in the UK Top 40.[20] The record performed well in Scotland, peaking at number one on the Scottish Albums Chart.[21] However, across the UK, it was selling only one sixth of Pop Idol 2002 winner Will Young's debut From Now On.[22] The album charted at number sixty four on the Irish Albums Chart.[23] In the United Kingdom, The Meaning of Love received a gold certification, indicating sales of over 100,000 copies.[3]

Charts

Chart (2004) Peak
position
UK Albums Chart[20] 3
Irish Albums Chart[24] 64
Scottish Albums Chart[25] 1

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."All This Time"
Mac4:22
2."The Meaning of Love"
Robson4:24
3."Say It Isn't So"
  • Bottolf Lødemel
  • Lars Aass
  • Ronny Janssen
  • Lars Aass
4:30
4."Emotional"
  • Carlsson
  • Harry Sommerdahl
3:15
5."When the World Is Not Enough"
3:43
6."Too Fast Too Slow"
  • Joanne Jeffries
  • Steve Welton-Jaimes
  • Juliette Jaimes
James McMillan3:32
7."Cast the First Stone"
  • Ciaron Bell
  • Danielle Perkins
  • Sean Phillips
Stephen Lipson3:36
8."One Life"
  • Dennis
  • Simon Ellis
Lipson3:36
9."Feelin' Good"
McMillan3:14
10."How Can Sorry Ever Mend a Broken Heart"
McMillan3:08
11."Invincible"Diane WarrenRobson4:43
12."I'll Never Know"
McMillan4:19
13."More Than Anything"
  • Dennis
  • Thomas Nichols
  • Tim Woodcock
Lipson3:25
14."Once in a Lifetime"
Peden4:06

References

  1. 1 2 "Naomi Award 'winners'". London Evening Standard. 8 February 2005. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Texas Album is 'Worst Scottish Record'". Daily Record. 23 October 2007. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  3. 1 2 "Michelle Mcmanus - The Meaning Of Love". BPI. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 Mawer, Sharon (16 February 2004). "The Meaning of Love". AllMusic. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  5. 1 2 "Michelle - The Meaning of Love". entertainment.ie. 23 February 2004. Archived from the original on 21 December 2013.
  6. ↑ Smyth, David (10 February 2004). "Michelle McManus". Evening Standard. p. 10.
  7. 1 2 Sullivan, Caroline (13 February 2004). "Michelle, The Meaning of Love". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  8. 1 2 3 Pearson, Beth (14 February 2004). "CDs". The Herald. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
  9. 1 2 "Michelle, The Meaning Of Love (BMG)". The Press. 19 February 2004. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  10. 1 2 3 HighBeam Research records The Scotsman newspaper's original published score as 1/5 stars. The full review prose can be read at Scotsman.com.
  11. 1 2 McDermott, Leon (15 February 2004). "Big deal". Sunday Herald. p. 14.
  12. ↑ Rowley, Eddie (29 February 2004). "Hot Stuff". Sunday World.
  13. ↑ Sinclair, David (20 February 2004). "Beware painted Pop Idols". The Times. p. 14.
  14. ↑ Hanley, Lynsey (16 February 2004). "CD reviews: Viktoria Tolstoy and more". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
  15. 1 2 Bishop, Tom (17 February 2004). "Review: Michelle's The Meaning of Love". BBC News. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
  16. ↑ Martin, Gavin (13 February 2004). "CD Reviews". Daily Mirror. TheFreeLibrary.com. Retrieved 2 June 2013.
  17. ↑ "The Meaning of Love". BBC Music. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  18. ↑ "Album Chart For 28/02/2004". Official Charts Company. 28 February 2004. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
  19. ↑ Sweet, Lucy (22 February 2004). "The mystery of Michelle". Sunday Times.
  20. 1 2 "Michelle McManus - The Meaning Of Love". Official Charts Company. 28 February 2004. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
  21. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
  22. ↑ Fulton, Rick (5 March 2004). "The Razz: 'CHELLE NEVER MAKE IT ; American Idol judge Randy doesn't rate Scot's chances Exclusive". Daily Record. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  23. ↑ Michelle McManus – The Meaning Of Love Music Charts
  24. ↑ "Michelle Mcmanus - The Meaning Of Love - Music Charts". Acharts.us. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
  25. ↑ Walker, Ruth. "Where are they now? Former Reality TV stars tell of life out of the spotlight - The Scotsman". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.