Beautiful Mess (Swing Out Sister album)
Encyclopedia
Beautiful Mess is the title of the ninth studio album by the British pop
-smooth jazz
group Swing Out Sister
. It was produced by group member Andy Connell
, who has been with Swing Out Sister since its inception.
label. The album has reached #5 on the Billboard
Top Contemporary Jazz Albums chart.
, Swing Out Sister has consisted primarily of Andy Connell and Corinne Drewery
. Both reprise familiar roles on this album, with Drewery on lead and backing vocals and Connell contributing musical arrangements. In addition, Connell produced this album, his first for the group, replacing longtime producer and collaborator Paul Staveley O'Duffy
. Additional musicians include Tim Cansfield on guitar, Jody Linscott
on percussion and Gina Foster and the Champagnettes on backing vocals.
reviewed the album soon after its British release in September 2008 and described the music as "(s)weet, time-warped; unmistakeable; with their brand of London Embankment sunrises and cocktail party sunsets, it's so very Swing Out Sister". The reviewer continued that "Swing Out Sister could still give Adele
, Duffy
and all the latest crop a spin in their soft top for their money." Elysa Gardner of the USA Today
chose "Time Tracks You Down" as one of her ten most intriguing tracks for the week on 18 May 2009, stating that "(r)etro-soul doesn't get much smoother or sweeter than this..." Music critic Mario Tarradell of the Dallas Morning News gave the album an "A" rating, describing it as "exquisite" and stating that the group "continue to make gorgeously lush and rhythmically jazzy albums whether stateside audiences care or not."
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
-smooth jazz
Smooth jazz
Smooth jazz is a genre of music that grew out of jazz fusion and is influenced by R&B, funk, rock, and pop music styles ....
group Swing Out Sister
Swing Out Sister
Swing Out Sister are a British "sophisti-pop" group best known worldwide for their 1986 song "Breakout". Other hits include "Surrender", "Twilight World", "Waiting Game" and a remake of "Am I the Same Girl?" Though album sales in the U.S. and Europe have levelled off since the early 1990s, the...
. It was produced by group member Andy Connell
Andy Connell
Andrew John "Andy" Connell is an English musician and composer. Along with Corinne Drewery, he is part of the duo that makes up Swing Out Sister....
, who has been with Swing Out Sister since its inception.
Release
The album was initially released in Japan in February 2008 on Avex Trax, then issued in the U.K. later in the year. Beautiful Mess was released in the U.S. in May 2009, distributed by the Shanachie RecordsShanachie Records
Shanachie Records was founded in 1976 by Richard Nevins and Dan Collins. According to Harvey Pekar , it is one of the largest independent record labels in the world, and is currently distributed by E1 Music. Starting as a label that specialized in fiddle music, they began releasing work by Celtic...
label. The album has reached #5 on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Top Contemporary Jazz Albums chart.
Musicians
Since the group's second album, Kaleidoscope WorldKaleidoscope World (Swing Out Sister album)
Kaleidoscope World is the second studio album by the British band Swing Out Sister. It was released in 1989 and features the singles "Where In The World?" , "You On My Mind" , "Forever Blue" , and "Waiting Game"...
, Swing Out Sister has consisted primarily of Andy Connell and Corinne Drewery
Corinne Drewery
Corinne Drewery is the lead singer of the pop music band, Swing Out Sister.-Early life:Drewery grew up in Nottingham and the Lincolnshire village of Authorpe and went to South Reston Primary School, then Monks' Dyke High School and King Edward VI Grammar School in nearby Louth, then Lincoln College...
. Both reprise familiar roles on this album, with Drewery on lead and backing vocals and Connell contributing musical arrangements. In addition, Connell produced this album, his first for the group, replacing longtime producer and collaborator Paul Staveley O'Duffy
Paul Staveley O'Duffy
Paul O’Duffy is a British record producer, composer, mixer. He is best known for producing Swing Out Sister's Grammy-nominated multi-platinum debut album, for his BMI nomination as 'Producer of the Year' in 1987, and work with John Barry and other film score producing...
. Additional musicians include Tim Cansfield on guitar, Jody Linscott
Jody Linscott
Jody Linscott is an American session musician and percussionist who resides in England and maintains an extended discography. She has two daughters and has written two children's books which were published by Doubleday, both edited by Jackie Onassis...
on percussion and Gina Foster and the Champagnettes on backing vocals.
Reviews
Beautiful Mess has received generally favorable reviews from music critics and journalists. Allmusic gave the album four stars out of a possible five. Daryl Easlea of the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
reviewed the album soon after its British release in September 2008 and described the music as "(s)weet, time-warped; unmistakeable; with their brand of London Embankment sunrises and cocktail party sunsets, it's so very Swing Out Sister". The reviewer continued that "Swing Out Sister could still give Adele
Adele (singer)
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins , known professionally as Adele, is an English singer-songwriter. She was the first recipient of the Brit Awards Critics' Choice and was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2008 in an annual BBC poll of music critics, Sound of 2008...
, Duffy
Duffy (singer)
Aimée Ann Duffy , known as Duffy, is a Welsh singer-songwriter. Her 2008 debut album Rockferry entered the UK Album Chart at number one. It was the best-selling album in the United Kingdom in 2008 with 1.68 million copies sold...
and all the latest crop a spin in their soft top for their money." Elysa Gardner of the USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
chose "Time Tracks You Down" as one of her ten most intriguing tracks for the week on 18 May 2009, stating that "(r)etro-soul doesn't get much smoother or sweeter than this..." Music critic Mario Tarradell of the Dallas Morning News gave the album an "A" rating, describing it as "exquisite" and stating that the group "continue to make gorgeously lush and rhythmically jazzy albums whether stateside audiences care or not."
Track listing
- "Something Every Day" (Andy Connell/Corinne Drewery/Gina Foster) (4:28)
- "Time Tracks You Down" (A. Connell/C. Drewery) (3:56)
- "Butterfly" (A. Connell/C. Drewery/G. Foster) (4:41)
- "My State of Mind" (A. Connell/C. Drewery/G. Foster) (4:27)
- "I'd Be Happy" (A. Connell/C. Drewery) (3:43)
- "Butterfly Lullaby (A. Connell/C. Drewery) (3:48)
- "Secret Love (You're Invisible)" (Hajime Uchiyama/C. Drewery) (4:26)
- "All I Say, All I Do" (A. Connell/C. Drewery) (4:26)
- "Out There" (A. Connell/C. Drewery) (4:30)
- "Beautiful Mess" (A. Connell/C. Drewery) (4:09)
- "Butterfly" (Little Wizard Mix) (A. Connell/C. Drewery/G. Foster) (3:28)
- "Something Every Day" (Little Wizard Mix) (A. Connell/C. Drewery/G. Foster) (4:25)