A Curious Thing
Encyclopedia
The album has garnered mixed to generally positive reviews. Paul Lester of BBC Music
gave the album a glowing review, calling it "a triumphant return" and went on to add that "it is a bold, grand statement of intent, full of songs of epic sweep that build to undeniable choruses, to be enjoyed by the largest possible audiences". He also praised Macdonald's vocal performance comparing it to the likes of Dolores O'Riordan
and Sinéad O'Connor
. MusicOMH
's Jenni Cole complimented Macdonald's songwriting ability, stating that her lyrics "display a maturity way beyond her years, which she marries to a wistfulness the most hardened bluesman would envy". She continued by saying that "her songwriting (in both style and substance) recalls the early days of Kirsty MacColl
, while her deeper vocals have more in common with Alison Moyet
. It's a match made in heaven." Ian Sime of The Press
noticed that the record "is very similar in feel and approach to its predecessor and should appeal to those who enjoyed This Is The Life
" and that it has "an earthy rock edge comparable to Travis
, Keane and The Killers." Sarah-Louise James of the Daily Star commented on Macdonald's voice: "her galloping guitar pop-rock and husky Celtic voice combo sounds richer, bigger and more confident than on her monster debut", while Simon Gage from Daily Express
hailed the album's lead single Don't Tell Me That It's Over
, saying that it "sets a furious pace with guitars and drums that frame her strong, slightly Irish-sounding voice" and concluded by stating that "the rest of the album follows suit with songs that stand up on their own, even without Amy’s obvious talent as a singer."
Caroline Sullivan and Neil McCormick of The Guardian
and The Daily Telegraph
respectively, both gave the album favourable reviews, however they agreed that it doesn't really manage to stand out. Sullivan spotted that the "heartfelt, songwriterly tunes ... burrow into your consciousness but somehow fail to register on a deeper level" and McCormick felt that it is lacking "anything truly distinctive or original to lift her above the massed ranks of young singer-songwriters." The Times
s Kaya Burgess did not share the other reviewers' excitement about the lyrics, saying that they "don’t quite match the striking power of Macdonald’s vocals", however he observed that "when the melodrama and crashing drums fade away on the piano-led What Happiness Means to Me we glimpse the soul behind the big voice."
Noel Gardner of the NME
gave the album a mixed review, saying that it is "a more predictable thing that you'd imagine" and felt that it was too "Scottish", in the sense that its "folkish Ford Mondeo pop upholds the nation’s legacy of pleasantly anthemic drivetime belters. Fiona Shepherd of The Scotsman
gave the album a negative review, stating that the artist "seems to take a step backwards on her second album with an anachronistic 1980s sound and predictable lyrics about the pressures of fame (An Ordinary Life), the perils of hype (Next Big Thing) and the culture of image-over-talent (This Pretty Face)."
.
on 14 March 2010 at number 4. It entered the Swiss Albums Chart
at number 1 on March 21, 2010, making it her second album to get to number 1 in Switzerland. It also peaked at number 1 in Germany
and Austria
. The album has sold 1,000,000 copies.
Spending 65 weeks on the German Albums Chart, A Curious Thing is MacDonald's second album to stay on that chart for more than a year despite a significant decrease to her debut album which spent 101 weeks on that chart with 36 weeks of them in the top 10.
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BBC Music
BBC Music is a team working in the department of Audio and Music Interactive at the BBC. Responsible for the BBC Music website - the portal site to music content across the BBC website....
gave the album a glowing review, calling it "a triumphant return" and went on to add that "it is a bold, grand statement of intent, full of songs of epic sweep that build to undeniable choruses, to be enjoyed by the largest possible audiences". He also praised Macdonald's vocal performance comparing it to the likes of Dolores O'Riordan
Dolores O'Riordan
Dolores Mary Eileen O'Riordan is an Irish musician, singer and songwriter. She led The Cranberries to worldwide success and fame for 13 years before the band took a hiatus in 2003. Her first solo album Are You Listening? was released in May 2007...
and Sinéad O'Connor
Sinéad O'Connor
Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor is an Irish singer-songwriter. She rose to fame in the late 1980s with her debut album The Lion and the Cobra and achieved worldwide success in 1990 with a cover of the song "Nothing Compares 2 U"....
. MusicOMH
MusicOMH
musicOMH is a United Kingdom-based website which publishes independent reviews, featues and interviews from across all musical genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B.-History:...
's Jenni Cole complimented Macdonald's songwriting ability, stating that her lyrics "display a maturity way beyond her years, which she marries to a wistfulness the most hardened bluesman would envy". She continued by saying that "her songwriting (in both style and substance) recalls the early days of Kirsty MacColl
Kirsty MacColl
Kirsty Anna MacColl was an English singer-songwriter.MacColl scored several pop hits from the early 1980s to the early 1990s...
, while her deeper vocals have more in common with Alison Moyet
Alison Moyet
Alison Moyet , is an English singer, songwriter and performer noted for her bluesy voice.Her UK album sales have reached a certified 2.3 million, with 800,000 singles sold, all in the UK, where all seven of her studio albums and three compilation albums have charted in the Top 40 UK Album Chart,...
. It's a match made in heaven." Ian Sime of The Press
The Press (York)
The Press is the local daily paper for a substantial area of North and East Yorkshire, based on the city of York. It is printed by the Newsquest Ltd, a subsidiary of the Newsquest Media Group....
noticed that the record "is very similar in feel and approach to its predecessor and should appeal to those who enjoyed This Is The Life
This Is the Life (Amy Macdonald album)
-Deluxe edition:After the major success of "This Is the Life" across Europe, in the end of 2008 a deluxe version of the album was released. The 2-disc-set include the standard version of the album and a bonus-CD with several bonus tracks, live and acoustic versions.-Personnel:*Amy Macdonald -...
" and that it has "an earthy rock edge comparable to Travis
Travis (band)
Travis are a post-Britpop band from Glasgow, Scotland, comprising Fran Healy , Dougie Payne , Andy Dunlop and Neil Primrose...
, Keane and The Killers." Sarah-Louise James of the Daily Star commented on Macdonald's voice: "her galloping guitar pop-rock and husky Celtic voice combo sounds richer, bigger and more confident than on her monster debut", while Simon Gage from Daily Express
Daily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
hailed the album's lead single Don't Tell Me That It's Over
Don't Tell Me That It's Over
-European CD single° / iTunes - EP:- UK CD single :-Music video:The music video shows Macdonald singing and playing the guitar in a kind of band room...
, saying that it "sets a furious pace with guitars and drums that frame her strong, slightly Irish-sounding voice" and concluded by stating that "the rest of the album follows suit with songs that stand up on their own, even without Amy’s obvious talent as a singer."
Caroline Sullivan and Neil McCormick of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
and The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
respectively, both gave the album favourable reviews, however they agreed that it doesn't really manage to stand out. Sullivan spotted that the "heartfelt, songwriterly tunes ... burrow into your consciousness but somehow fail to register on a deeper level" and McCormick felt that it is lacking "anything truly distinctive or original to lift her above the massed ranks of young singer-songwriters." The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
s Kaya Burgess did not share the other reviewers' excitement about the lyrics, saying that they "don’t quite match the striking power of Macdonald’s vocals", however he observed that "when the melodrama and crashing drums fade away on the piano-led What Happiness Means to Me we glimpse the soul behind the big voice."
Noel Gardner of the NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
gave the album a mixed review, saying that it is "a more predictable thing that you'd imagine" and felt that it was too "Scottish", in the sense that its "folkish Ford Mondeo pop upholds the nation’s legacy of pleasantly anthemic drivetime belters. Fiona Shepherd of The Scotsman
The Scotsman
The Scotsman is a British newspaper, published in Edinburgh.As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 38,423, down from about 100,000 in the 1980s....
gave the album a negative review, stating that the artist "seems to take a step backwards on her second album with an anachronistic 1980s sound and predictable lyrics about the pressures of fame (An Ordinary Life), the perils of hype (Next Big Thing) and the culture of image-over-talent (This Pretty Face)."
Singles
- "Don't Tell Me That It's OverDon't Tell Me That It's Over-European CD single° / iTunes - EP:- UK CD single :-Music video:The music video shows Macdonald singing and playing the guitar in a kind of band room...
" is the lead single from the album, it was released on the 26th February 2010 in Germany and 1 March 2010 in the UK. Although it only managed to peak at #48 in the UK, it has so far made the Top 10 in Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. - "SparkSpark (Amy Macdonald song)"Spark" is a song performed by Scottish singer Amy Macdonald. The song is her 2nd single released from the album A Curious Thing, and was released in the UK on the 10th May 2010.-Background:...
" is the confirmed 2nd single from the album. Amy Macdonald herself said on a gig she filmed the video the 23rd of March in Loch Lomond. The Amy Macdonald website revealed that Spark will be released on the 10th May 2010, and the video has also been released for it - "This Pretty FaceThis Pretty FaceThis Pretty Face is a 2010 single release by Scottish recording artist Amy Macdonald, released as the third single from her second studio album A Curious Thing...
" is the confirmed third single from the album, to be released on July 19, 2010. The music video for the song has been created and is available to view through Macdonald's official website and YouTube channel. - "Love LoveLove LoveLove Love is a 2010 single release by Scottish recording artist Amy Macdonald, released as the fourth single from her second studio album A Curious Thing .- Background :...
" is the confimed fourth single from the album. It was released as a digital download EP on 4 October 2010. The music video was released on September 23, 2010. - "Your Time Will ComeYour Time Will ComeYour Time Will Come is a 2010 single release by Scottish recording artist Amy Macdonald, released as the fifth single from her second studio album A Curious Thing .- Track listing :Digital download :# "Your Time Will Come" - 4:32'...
" is the confirmed fifth single from the album, which was released on 17 December 2010. The music video for the song is available through Macdonald's official website.
Standard Edition
Deluxe Edition
The Deluxe 2-disc-set includes the standard version of the album and the full live recording from Amy’s homecoming show at Glasgow Barrowlands in December 2007.Special Orchestral Edition
The Special Orchestral 2-disc-set includes the standard version of the album and plus a bonus disc containing live orchestral versions recorded on October 17, 2010. It was recorded live for Universal Music and SR1 in Esch-sur-Alzette (Luxembourg), performed with the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Orchestra, conducted by Gast WaltzingGast Waltzing
Gaston Waltzing is a Luxembourg trumpeter and composer. He has created several jazz bands including Largo and the Luxembourg National Jazz Orchestra and has composed music for films and television programmes as well as operas combining classical music with jazz and rock.-Biography:Born in...
.
Personnel
- Mixed by – Danton Supple
- Producer, arranged by – Pete Wilkinson
- Written by, vocals, guitar – Amy Macdonald
Charts and certifications
The album entered the UK Albums ChartUK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
on 14 March 2010 at number 4. It entered the Swiss Albums Chart
Swiss Music Charts
The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75...
at number 1 on March 21, 2010, making it her second album to get to number 1 in Switzerland. It also peaked at number 1 in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. The album has sold 1,000,000 copies.
Spending 65 weeks on the German Albums Chart, A Curious Thing is MacDonald's second album to stay on that chart for more than a year despite a significant decrease to her debut album which spent 101 weeks on that chart with 36 weeks of them in the top 10.
Charts
| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Albums Chart Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann... |
1 |
| Belgium (Flanders) Albums Chart Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... |
2 |
| Belgium (Wallonia) Albums Chart Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... |
4 |
| Dutch Albums Chart MegaCharts MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top... |
2 |
| Danish Albums Chart | 7 |
| European Albums Chart European Top 100 Albums The European Top 100 Albums chart is the European adaptation of the Billboard 200 albums chart. It was created in March 1984.The European Top 100 Albums, commonly referred to as Eurochart Top 100 Albums shows the sales of an act in 19 European countries based on IFPI data.The European Top 100... |
1 |
| French Albums Chart | 16 |
| German Albums Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
1 |
| Greek International Albums Chart | 2 |
| Irish Albums Chart Irish Albums Chart The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on its behalf by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured electronically... |
26 |
| Italian FIMI Albums Chart Federation of the Italian Music Industry The Federation of the Italian Music Industry is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy.... |
25 |
| Norwegian Albums Chart VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
22 |
| Polish Albums Chart Polish Music Charts The Polish Music Charts are two official album charts and seven singles charts in Poland, provided by ZPAV, the Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry . The first, the Top 100, is a monthly chart based on data received from the album companies... |
11 |
| Swedish Albums Chart Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
5 |
| Danish Albums Chart Tracklisten Tracklisten is a Danish top 40 record chart that is presented every Thursday midnight at .The weekly Danish Singles Chart also known as Track Top-40 combines the 40 best selling tracks from legal music downloads and the sales of music singles on either CD or vinyl... |
11 |
| Swiss Albums Chart Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
1 |
| Spanish Albums Chart | 13 |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
4 |
Certifications
Year-end charts
| Chart (2010) | Position |
|---|---|
| Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann... |
15 |
| Ultratop Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... |
13 & 26 |
| Dutch Albums Chart | 31 |
| European Top 100 Albums European Top 100 Albums The European Top 100 Albums chart is the European adaptation of the Billboard 200 albums chart. It was created in March 1984.The European Top 100 Albums, commonly referred to as Eurochart Top 100 Albums shows the sales of an act in 19 European countries based on IFPI data.The European Top 100... |
18 |
| German Albums Chart | 6 |
| Swiss Albums Chart | 2 |
Chart procession and succession
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