The Family Jewels (album)
Encyclopedia
The Family Jewels received mostly positive reviews. At Metacritic
, which assigns a normalised
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average
score of 68, based on 21 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Hugh Montgomery of Q
magazine noted that the album presented a range of different styles, skipping "from glam-disco ('Shampain') and bubblegum punk ('Girls') to quavering piano laments ('Obsessions') and cabaret ditties ('Hermit The Frog')", adding that the singer's "imaginative reach" was "complemented by a winning pop savviness." However, The Independent
s Andy Gill gave the album a negative review saying it "demonstrates the inevitable workings of entropy on pop methodology" and describes "Shampain" and "Hermit the Frog" as "every bit as annoying as their punning titles, with queasy, prancing piano and synth figures labouring away methodically, Mika
-fashion, while she searches unsuccessfully for worthwhile lyrical routes".
Luke O'Neil from The Phoenix
stated that "[t]he likes of Kate Nash
and company have flitted through this piano siren/exuberant dance-diva territory, but never mind, because this gorgeous genre starts now." Lou Thomas from BBC Music
commented that "[t]he consistently diverting changes in style across the album are fine—the wonky 80s shoulder-pad pop of 'The Outsider' is nothing like anything else here, for example. But over 13 songs of Sparks
-voice and many similar staccato piano riffs listeners may feel bludgeoned by Marina and her slightly overbearing presence." Leonie Cooper from NME
rated the album nine out of ten stars and wrote, "An album with a distinct dual personality, Marina's dazzling The Family Jewels pitches the confident, MTV Awards-headlining superstar of our dreams against a more self-deprecating girl-next-door Marina who's dead set on Supertramping and vamping her way out of her fug."
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a normalised
Standard score
In statistics, a standard score indicates how many standard deviations an observation or datum is above or below the mean. It is a dimensionless quantity derived by subtracting the population mean from an individual raw score and then dividing the difference by the population standard deviation...
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average
Weighted mean
The weighted mean is similar to an arithmetic mean , where instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others...
score of 68, based on 21 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Hugh Montgomery of Q
Q (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
magazine noted that the album presented a range of different styles, skipping "from glam-disco ('Shampain') and bubblegum punk ('Girls') to quavering piano laments ('Obsessions') and cabaret ditties ('Hermit The Frog')", adding that the singer's "imaginative reach" was "complemented by a winning pop savviness." However, The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
s Andy Gill gave the album a negative review saying it "demonstrates the inevitable workings of entropy on pop methodology" and describes "Shampain" and "Hermit the Frog" as "every bit as annoying as their punning titles, with queasy, prancing piano and synth figures labouring away methodically, Mika
Mika (singer)
Mika is a British singer-songwriter.After recording his first extended play, Dodgy Holiday EP, Mika released his first full-length studio album, Life in Cartoon Motion, on Island Records in 2007. Life in Cartoon Motion sold more than 5.6 million copies worldwide and helped Mika win a Brit...
-fashion, while she searches unsuccessfully for worthwhile lyrical routes".
Luke O'Neil from The Phoenix
The Phoenix (newspaper)
The Phoenix is the name of several alternative weekly newspapers published in the United States by Phoenix Media/Communications Group of Boston, Massachusetts including the Boston Phoenix, the Providence Phoenix, the Portland Phoenix and the now-defunct Worcester Phoenix...
stated that "[t]he likes of Kate Nash
Kate Nash
Kate Marie Nash is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. She had a UK no. 2 hit "Foundations" in 2007, followed by the platinum selling UK number 1 album Made of Bricks. She was named Best Female Artist at the 2008 BRIT Awards....
and company have flitted through this piano siren/exuberant dance-diva territory, but never mind, because this gorgeous genre starts now." Lou Thomas from BBC Music
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....
commented that "[t]he consistently diverting changes in style across the album are fine—the wonky 80s shoulder-pad pop of 'The Outsider' is nothing like anything else here, for example. But over 13 songs of Sparks
Sparks (band)
Sparks is an American rock and pop band formed in Los Angeles in 1968 by brothers Ron and Russell Mael , initially under the name Halfnelson...
-voice and many similar staccato piano riffs listeners may feel bludgeoned by Marina and her slightly overbearing presence." Leonie Cooper from 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...
rated the album nine out of ten stars and wrote, "An album with a distinct dual personality, Marina's dazzling The Family Jewels pitches the confident, MTV Awards-headlining superstar of our dreams against a more self-deprecating girl-next-door Marina who's dead set on Supertramping and vamping her way out of her fug."
Singles
- "Mowgli's RoadMowgli's Road"Mowgli's Road" is a song by Marina and the Diamonds. It was originally released as a double a-side with "Obsessions" on 19 November 2008 whilst Diamandis was signed to Neon Gold Records. It was re-released on its own a year later as the lead single from her debut album, The Family Jewels, on 16...
" was released as the album's lead single on 13 November 2009. - "HollywoodHollywood (Marina and the Diamonds song)"Hollywood" is the second single from Marina and the Diamonds' debut studio album, The Family Jewels. It was released on 1 February 2010, followed by the album's release three weeks later on 22 February 2010.-Background:...
" was released as the album's second single and Diamandis' first major release on 1 February 2010. It reached number twelve on the UK Singles ChartUK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. - "I Am Not a RobotI Am Not a Robot"I Am Not a Robot" is a song by Marina and the Diamonds. It was the lead single from her second extended play, The Crown Jewels EP, released on 22 June 2009. It was also re-released as the third single from her debut studio album, The Family Jewels, on 26 April 2010. The single was added to BBC...
" was released as the album's third single on 26 April 2010. It reached number twenty-six on the UK Singles Chart. - "Oh No!Oh No!"Oh No!" is the fourth single by Welsh singer-songwriter Marina and the Diamonds from her debut album, The Family Jewels. It was released on 2 August 2010.-Background:"Oh No!" was added onto The Family Jewels after the album was mastered...
" was released as the album's fourth single on 2 August 2010. It reached number thirty-eight on the UK Singles Chart. - "ShampainShampain"Shampain" is a song by Welsh recording artist Marina and the Diamonds from her debut studio album, The Family Jewels. It was released on 11 October 2010 as the album's fifth single...
" was released as the album's fifth single on 11 October 2010. It reached number 141 on the UK Singles Chart.
Track listing
Notes- The US edition of the album replaces "Rootless" with "Seventeen" and features the single version of "Hollywood". The track order was also changed in the latter half of the album.
Personnel
- Marina Diamandis – vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, glockenspielGlockenspielA glockenspiel is a percussion instrument composed of a set of tuned keys arranged in the fashion of the keyboard of a piano. In this way, it is similar to the xylophone; however, the xylophone's bars are made of wood, while the glockenspiel's are metal plates or tubes, and making it a metallophone...
, casio VL-toneCasio VL-1The VL-1 was the first instrument of Casio's VL-Tone product line, and is sometimes referred to as the VL-Tone. It combined a calculator, synthesizer, and sequencer...
, organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
, producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
, additional producer - Chris Allan – celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
- Rebekah Allan – violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
- Niel Catchpole – violin
- Guy Davie – masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
- Alison Dods – violin
- Steve Durham – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Pascal GabrielPascal GabrielPascal Richard Marcel Gabriel is a Belgian-born musician based in London. His musical career began in 1977 in the punk rock band The Razors...
– producer, engineer, mixing, programmingProgramming (music)Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices, often sequencers or computer programs, to generate music. Programming is used in nearly all forms of electronic music and in most hip hop music since the 1990s. It is also frequently used in modern pop and rock...
, synthsSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
, instrumentationInstrumentation (music)In music, instrumentation refers to the particular combination of musical instruments employed in a composition, and to the properties of those instruments individually... - Liam HoweLiam HoweLiam Coverdale Howe is a London based record producer, musician and songwriter.- Musical beginnings :...
– producer, engineerAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
, mixing, programming, bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, mellotronMellotronThe Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music...
, synths, electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, additional piano, philicorda, instrumentation, spoonsSpoon (musical instrument)Spoons can be played as a makeshift percussion instrument, or more specifically, an idiophone related to the castanets. "Playing the spoons" originated in Ireland as "playing the bones," in which the convex sides of a pair of sheep rib bones were rattled in the same way.- Techniques :# A pair of...
, whistleWhistleA whistle or call is a simple aerophone, an instrument which produces sound from a stream of forced air. It may be mouth-operated, or powered by air pressure, steam, or other means...
, glockenspiel, acoustic guitarSteel-string acoustic guitarA steel-string acoustic guitar is a modern form of guitar descended from the classical guitar, but strung with steel strings for a brighter, louder sound...
, Jew's harpJew's harpThe Jew's harp, jaw harp, mouth harp, Ozark harp, trump or juice harp, is thought to be one of the oldest musical instruments in the world; a musician apparently playing it can be seen in a Chinese drawing from the 4th century BC...
, santoorSantoorThe santoor is an ancient stringed musical instrument, native to Kashmir and Iran. It is a trapezoid-shaped hammered dulcimer often made of walnut, with seventy two strings. The special-shaped mallets are lightweight and are held between the index and middle fingers...
, mandolinMandolinA mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
, recorderRecorderThe recorder is a woodwind musical instrument of the family known as fipple flutes or internal duct flutes—whistle-like instruments which include the tin whistle. The recorder is end-blown and the mouth of the instrument is constricted by a wooden plug, known as a block or fipple... - Ash Howes – producer, mixing, programming, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, additional keyboards, instrumentation - Greg KurstinGreg KurstinGregory Allen "Greg" Kurstin is an award-winning American songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. In 2009 Kurstin received a Grammy Award nomination for Producer of the Year. That same year he won three Ivor Novello awards for his work with Lily Allen, including Songwriters of the Year for "The Fear"...
– producer, engineer, mixing, programming, keyboards, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Oli Langford – violaViolaThe viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
, violin - Stephen Large – string arrangementsString sectionThe string section is the largest body of the standard orchestra and consists of bowed string instruments of the violin family.It normally comprises five sections: the first violins, the second violins, the violas, the cellos, and the double basses...
, piano, Hammond organHammond organThe Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
- Dougal Lott – assistant engineer, Pro ToolsPro ToolsPro Tools is a digital audio workstation platform for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, developed and manufactured by Avid Technology. It is widely used by professionals throughout the audio industries for recording and editing in music production, film scoring, film, and television...
- Alex Mackenzie – harpsichordHarpsichordA harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
, drums, additional piano, mandolin - Mat MaitlandMat MaitlandMat Maitland is an English art director and visual artist who lives in London.-Career:Born in St Albans, Hertfordshire, he studied design in his home town and then at Croydon College. He started his career at WEA in the early 1990s as a designer...
– sleeve artRecord sleeveA record sleeve is the outer covering of a vinyl recording. The sleeve is technically the paper covering that is closest in contact to the surface of the recording, as in "dust sleeve", "liner" and "album liner". The term has come to be synonymous with "record jacket" and "album jacket", which is... - Calina de la Mere – violin
- Anna Mowat – cello
- Anna PhoebeAnna PhoebeAnna Phoebe , is a London-based violinist, who is known for her proficiency in many musical genres, including rock, folk, jazz, Celtic, and Middle Eastern music.-Biography:...
– violin - Luke Potashnick – guitar
- Rankin – portraitsPortrait photographyPortrait photography or portraiture is the capture by means of photography of the likeness of a person or a small group of people , in which the face and expression is predominant. The objective is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the subject...
- Raymond67 (Freesound ProjectThe Freesound ProjectThe Freesound Project is a repository of Creative Commons licensed audio samples. Sounds uploaded to the website by its users cover a wide range of subjects, from field recordings to synthesized sound effects. All audio content in the repository is released under the Creative Commons Sampling Plus...
) – mechanical monkey - Rachel Robson – viola
- Sandyrb (Freesound Project) – human monkey
- Lucy Shaw – string arrangements, double bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
- Richard "Biff" Stannard – producer, mixing, programming, additional producer, keyboards, additional keyboards, drums, instrumentation
- StarsmithStarsmithStarsmith is a songwriter, producer, remixer and DJ. He studied a classical music degree at the University of Surrey majoring in performance on saxophone...
– original producer - Dave Turner – mastering
- David WestlakeDavid WestlakeDavid Westlake is a British singer/songwriter. What few people who know and love Westlake and his tiny catologue of terrific tunes usually come from one of three associations...
– drums - Richard Wilkinson – engineer
- Chris Worsey – cello
Weekly charts
| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
79 |
| Austrian Albums Chart | 18 |
| 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... |
88 |
| 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... |
20 |
| French Albums Chart Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... |
132 |
| 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... |
12 |
| Greek International Albums Chart IFPI Greece International Federation of the Phonographic Industry Greece or IFPI Greece is the Greek branch of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and is the official charts provider and recording sales certification body for Greece. Currently two charts are compiled, one for sales of... |
7 |
| 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... |
9 |
| 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... |
100 |
| 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... |
5 |
| US Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
138 |
| US Rock Albums | 49 |
| US Heatseekers Albums Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical... |
2 |
Certifications
| Country | Certification |
|---|---|
| Ireland Irish Recorded Music Association Irish Recorded Music Association is the Irish record industry association. IRMA is a non-profit association set up to manage and control the music industry in the Republic of Ireland.-Goals and activities:... |
Gold |
| United Kingdom British Phonographic Industry The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies... |
Gold |
Year-end charts
| Chart (2010) | Position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart | 87 |
Release history
| Country | Date | Label | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ireland | 15 February 2010 | 679 Recordings, Atlantic Records Atlantic Records Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz... |
CD Compact Disc The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,... , digital download Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment... |
| United Kingdom | 22 February 2010 | ||
| Scandinavia | 24 February 2010 | Warner Music Warner Music Group Warner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies... |
|
| Australia | 26 February 2010 | ||
| France | 1 March 2010 | ||
| Japan | 21 April 2010 | ||
| Germany | 14 May 2010 | ||
| Canada | 25 May 2010 | CD, LP LP record The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry... , digital download |
|
| United States | Chop Shop Records Chop Shop Records Chop Shop Records is a record label with a partnership under the Atlantic Records group in South Pasadena, California. The label was started by Alexandra Patsavas, who also started Chop Shop Music Supervision, which works with TV soundtracks on shows including Roswell, Boston Public, Grey's... , Atlantic Records |
||
| Argentina | 19 August 2010 | Warner Music | CD |