Possession (Sarah McLachlan song)

Infobox Single
Name = Possession
Artist = Sarah McLachlan


from Album = Fumbling Towards Ecstasy
Released = 1993
Format = CD single
Recorded =
Genre = Pop
Length = 4:37
Label = Nettwerk Records
Writer = Sarah McLachlan
Producer = Pierre Marchand
Chart position =
Reviews =
Last single = "Drawn to the Rhythm"
(1992)
This single = "Possession"
(1993)
Next single = "I Will Remember You"
(1995)

"Possession" is the first single from Sarah McLachlan's album "Fumbling Towards Ecstasy". It was released in Canada 10 September 1993 by Nettwerk Records.

The song appears twice on the album as the first track and as a hidden track: a solo piano version following the last track "Fumbling Towards Ecstasy".

Lawsuit

In 1994, McLachlan was sued by Uwe Vandrei, an obsessed fan from Ottawa, Ontario, who alleged that his love letters to her had been the basis of "Possession". This lawsuit never came to trial as the plaintiff committed suicide.

The lawsuit was also challenging for the Canadian legal system; the suit was essentially a frivolous complaint by Vandrei, a self-admitted stalker, in an attempt to get close to McLachlan, and the trial was delayed significantly by discussions of how to ensure McLachlan's physical safety during the proceedings.

In an interview in "Rolling Stone" three years later, Ms. McLachlan added, "And this one person wasn't the only guy ... there were a lot of letters from other people saying the same kind of thing ... Writing the song 'Possession' was very therapeutic."

Music videos

Canadian version

The original version of the video features a remixed background track and depicts Sarah McLachlan wrapped in white cloth, as Eve, as Potiphar's wife, and other such biblical references, depicting vanity, deceit, corruption, intimacy and other taboos of conservative society. The video was directed by McLachlan herself, and features her friends and band members. It aired in Canada but was considered too controversial for American television at the time.

American version

The "watered-down" American version of the video, released in 1994 features the original album version of the song, being played by McLachlan and her band in a cathedral-style hall. It was directed by Julie Hermelin.

Tracklisting

CD: Nettwerk / W2-6319 (Canada)

# "Possession [Version 1] "
# "Possession [Version 2] "
# "Fear [Janes version] "

* Version 2 remixed by John Fryer; remix also featured on the "I Will Remember You" single.

CD: Arista / 07822-12662-2 (US)

# "Possession"
# "Fear [Janes mix] "
# "Mary [Earlier Mix] "
# "Black [Live at Harbourfront, Toronto] "

* Black taken from "Live EP"

Other versions

In addition to the two different versions of "Possession" appearing on the "Fumbling Towards Ecstasy" album, a live recording of the song is available on McLachlan's live concert album, "Mirrorball". A fourth version, the Rabbit in the Moon remix, is available on two different McLachlan remix albums: "Rarities, B-Sides and Other Stuff" and "Remixed".

Another version was recently recorded exclusively for iTunes.

External links

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6s5jquF_0Y Canadian version at YouTube]
*youtube|akjHwk9ur2Q|Possession (licensed content by Sony BMG)