Black Cherry (album)

Infobox Album
Name = Black Cherry
Type = studio
Artist = Goldfrapp


Released = 28 April 2003
Recorded = 2002 in Bath, England
Genre = Electropop, electroclash
Length = 42:57
Label = Mute
Producer = Alison Goldfrapp
Will Gregory
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|4|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:9jmsa9ugw230 link]
*"Blender" Rating|4|5 [http://www.blender.com/guide/reviews.aspx?id=753 link]
*Drowned in Sound (7/10) [http://www.drownedinsound.com/release/view/3327 link]
*"The Guardian" Rating|4|5 [http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/reviews/story/0,11712,938707,00.html link]
*Pitchfork Media (5.8/10) [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/18145-black-cherry link]
*PopMatters (positive) [http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/g/goldfrapp-black.shtml link]
*"Rolling Stone" Rating|4|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/goldfrapp/albums/album/270536/review/5946367/black_cherry link]
Last album = "Felt Mountain"
(2000)
This album = "Black Cherry"
(2003)
Next album = "Supernature"
(2005)
Misc = Singles
Name = Black Cherry
Type = studio
single 1 = Train
single 1 date = 14 April 2003
single 2 = Strict Machine
single 2 date = 21 July 2003
single 3 = Twist
single 3 date = 3 November 2003
single 4 = Black Cherry
single 4 date = 1 March 2004

"Black Cherry" is the second album by British electronic duo Goldfrapp. It was released by Mute Records on 28 April 2003 in the United Kingdom to generally positive reviews. Most critics complimented its blend of retro and modern electropop music, which was a departure from the ambient sound of their debut. [ [http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/goldfrapp/blackcherry Goldfrapp: Black Cherry (2003): Reviews] . metacritic.com. Retrieved 6 July 2007.] "Black Cherry" was a top twenty album in Goldfrapp's native United Kingdom, and its second single "Strict Machine" was a top twenty single. [http://www.mariah-charts.com/chartdata/PGoldfrapp.htm Chart Data: Goldfrapp] . mariah-charts.com. Retrieved 5 July 2007.] It earned Goldfrapp a nomination for "Best British Dance Act" at the 2004 BRIT Awards, but they lost to Basement Jaxx. [ [http://www.musicweek.com/story.asp?storyCode=6450&sectioncode=1 "Brit Awards 2004"] . "Music Week". 17 February 2004. Retrieved 29 September 2004.]

The album represented a change in Goldfrapp's musical style, and featured glam rock and synthpop music; inspirations were disco music group Baccara and techno artist Hakan Lidbo. [http://www.mutelibtech.com/goldfrapp/blackcherry.html Goldfrapp: Black Cherry (Mute)] . Mute Records. Retrieved 5 July 2007.] In August 2005, the album was certified platinum in the UK, and has sold nearly 500,000 copies worldwide. [http://www.bpi.co.uk/platinum/platinumright.asp?rq=search_plat&r_id=32291 Certified Awards for "Black Cherry"] . The BPI. August 26, 2005. Retrieved 5 July 2007.] ["EMI presses play on Goldfrapp push". "Music Week", page 1. 14 May 2005.]

Background

The duo wrote three songs while touring in support of their debut album "Felt Mountain" but instead decided to take their work in a different direction with more rhythmic music.O'Connell, Sharon. "Strange Fruit". "TimeOut London". 16 May 2003.] Goldfrapp quickly chose to record in a studio in a Bohemian area of Bath, England because they needed somewhere to put their equipment and start working. [Reid, Pat. "The girl with the golden voice". "Escape". Spring 2004.] Walsh, Madeline Virbasius. "The eyes have it". "The Sentimentalist", volume 3, issue 11. 2003.] They began working on the album in January 2002 with a list of songs they wanted to try to record, such as a disco song with only string instruments.Humberstone, Nigel. "Recording Black Cherry". "Sound on Sound". July 2003.] The studio was dark, and its walls were covered in neon lights, so Alison Goldfrapp used them to write down her song ideas. They recorded early demos and worked on pre-production using a Yamaha 02R digital mixing console. Goldfrapp held jam sessions with Mark Linkous and Adrian Utley. After they built momentum writing the album, Goldfrapp decided not to move to another studio.

The album cover is a collage made by Mat Maitland of photographs taken by Polly Borland. [Farrelly, Liz. "Graphics: Big, active, and sexy". "Design Week", volume 20, issue 10, page 18. 10 March 2005.] It shows Alison Goldfrapp with two wolves, and artwork in the liner notes also has a wolf motif, including women with wolf heads. Goldfrapp explained that the wolves are a representation of might and mysticism and that she was "interested in the idea of metamorphosis and humans wanting to be like animals and animals wanting to be like humans." [Pham, Sheila. "Not just a pretty face". "Vibewire". 5 September 2003.]

Composition

After touring in support of "Felt Mountain", Alison Goldfrapp stated that she felt performing slow torch songs "really claustrophobic." During their jam sessions, improvisation became a major part of the group's approach to recording "Black Cherry". The album focuses more heavily on dance music and glam rock inspired synthesisers than its predecessor.Hermann, Andy. [http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/g/goldfrapp-black.shtml "Goldfrapp: Black Cherry"] . "PopMatters". 2 May 2003. Retrieved 11 October 2008.] Goldfrapp commented that the album differs from "Felt Mountain" because the band "wanted to put more kind of 'oomph' in it." [ [http://goldfrapp.free.fr/php/home.php?N=2&id=814&year=03 "Beats & Lust"] . "New Beats". April 2003. Retrieved 15 June 2007.] She stated that the lyrics are "a lot more direct and…less ambiguous." [Drever, Andrew. [http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/07/18/1058035189277.html "Felt volcano"] . "The Age". 18 July 2003. Retrieved 30 September 2008.] The songs on "Black Cherry" are more forthright in describing sexuality than those on "Felt Mountain". [Hermann, Andy. [http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/g/goldfrapp-black.shtml "Goldfrapp: Black Cherry"] . PopMatters. 2 May 2003. Retrieved 30 September 2008.]

Critical reception

"Black Cherry" generally received positive reviews from music critics. Alexis Petridis of "The Guardian" called it "a laudable, challenging and immensely enjoyable album." [Petridis, Alexis. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2003/apr/18/popandrock.artsfeatures1 "Goldfrapp: Black Cherry"] . "The Guardian". 18 April 2003. Retrieved 11 October 2008.] Michael Idov's review for Pitchfork Media referred to Goldfrapp as "ambulance chasers" for switching to electro music, and described "Black Cherry" as "a soundtrack to excruciatingly banal seduction." [Idov, Michael. [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/18145-black-cherry "Black Cherry"] . Pitchfork Media. 12 May 2003. Retrieved 11 October 2008.] "Rolling Stone"'s Pat Blashill disagreed, arguing that "tons of bands imitate the sounds of the early Eighties, but Goldfrapp use New Wave as a way to evoke a long history of shiny Euro-lounge music." [Blashill, Pat. [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/goldfrapp/albums/album/270536/review/5946367/black_cherry "Goldfrapp: Black Cherry"] . "Rolling Stone", issue 922. 15 May 2003. Retrieved 11 October 2008.] In a review for "Blender" magazine, Dorian Lynskey wrote that on "Black Cherry", "Goldfrapp sound right at home." [Lynskey, Dorian. [http://www.blender.com/guide/reviews.aspx?id=753 "Goldfrapp : "Black Cherry" Review"] . "Blender". Retrieved 11 October 2008.] Heather Phares of Allmusic commended Goldfrapp for "their artistic risk-taking" but noted that the album "sounds unbalanced, swinging between delicate, deceptively icy ballads and heavier, dance-inspired numbers without finding much of a happy medium between them." [Phares, Heather. [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:hpfwxq8ald0e~T1 "Black Cherry > Review"] . Allmusic. Retrieved 11 October 2008.] Andy Hermann wrote for "PopMatters" that "Black Cherry" was "a weird, edgy album, the work of two doggedly maverick talents chasing their muses wherever they take them".

Chart performance and sales

"Black Cherry" debuted on the UK albums chart on 10 May 2003 at number nineteen. [ [http://acharts.us/uk_albums_top_75/2003/19 UK Albums Top 75 (May 10, 2003)] . acharts.us. Retrieved 6 July 2007.] The album remained on the chart for twenty-six weeks and has sold 256,703 copies. [http://acharts.us/album/16321 Goldfrapp - Black Cherry - Charts] . acharts.us. Retrieved 6 July 2007.] [ [http://www.musicweek.com/story.asp?storyCode=15222 "Oasis score eighth number one hit single"] . "Music Week", page 32. 3 September 2005. Retrieved 30 September 2008.] In August 2005, "Black Cherry" was certified platinum in the UK. The album reached the top thirty in Ireland, Norway and the top fifty in Belgium, Germany and Switzerland.

"Black Cherry" became Goldfrapp's first album release to chart in the United States. It reached number four on the Top Electronic Albums chart and number twenty-seven Top Independent Albums chart. [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.chartFormatGroupName=Albums&model.vnuArtistId=408637&model.vnuAlbumId=741463 Artist Chart History] . Billboard.com. Retrieved 5 July 2007.] The album has sold 52,000 copies in the U.S. since its release in March 2006. [Keith Caulfield. [http://billboard.com/bbcom/ask_bb/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002950226 Ask Billboard] . Billboard.com. 3 August 2006. Retrieved 5 July 2007. ]

Track listing

All songs were written by Goldfrapp and Gregory, except where noted.
#"Crystalline Green" – 4:28
#"Train" – 4:11
#"Black Cherry" – 4:56
#"Tiptoe" – 5:10
#"Deep Honey" – 4:01
#"Hairy Trees" – 4:37
#"Twist" – 3:32
#"Strict Machine" (Nick Batt, Goldfrapp, Gregory) – 3:51
#"Forever" – 4:14
#"Slippage" – 3:57

Bonus tracks

All bonus tracks appear on the Japanese edition of "Black Cherry".
#

"Big Black Cloud, Little White Lie" ("Tiptoe" revisited) – 3:07
# "Train" (Village Hall mix) – 5:28
# "Train" (Ewan Pearson 6/8 Vocal) – 7:34
# "Train" (T.Raumschmiere RMX) – 5:52

Dutch special edition

All tracks appear on the bonus disc of the Dutch special edition of "Black Cherry".
#"Strict Machine" (Benny Benassi Sfaction edit) – 3:27
#"Train" (Ewan Pearson dub) – 7:46
#"Deep Honey" (Live at London ULU 2003) – 4:41
#"Hairy Trees" (Live at London ULU 2003) – 6:47
#"Yes Sir" – 3:58
#"El Train" (T.Raumschmiere RMX) – 5:52
#"Strict Machine" (Benny Benassi Sfaction extended mix) – 6:53

Personnel

The following people contributed to "Black Cherry" ["Black Cherry" (CD liner notes). Mute Records. April 2003.] :

*Alison Goldfrapp – lead vocals, backing vocals, synthesizer, mixing, engineering
*Will Gregory – synthesizer, mixing, engineering
*Nick Batt – synthesizer
*Adrian Utley – guitar, bass
*Andy Davis – guitar
*Charlie Jones – bass
*Mark Linkous – Casio
*Rowen Oliver – drums, percussion
*Damon Reece – drums
*Nick Batt – programming, engineering
*Nick Ingman – string conductor
*Dave Bascombe, Tom Elmhirst, Steve Orchard – mixing
*Bruno Ellingham – digital editing
*Mike Marsh – mastering

Release history

Charts

Notes