Essex (album)
Encyclopedia
Essex is the title of the fourth studio album
of singer/songwriter Alison Moyet
. The album (although recorded in Liverpool
) is named after the artist's native Essex
, England
and includes the singles "Falling
" (1993), "Whispering Your Name
", "Getting into Something
" and "Ode to Boy II".
Essex was again a source of controversy for the singer. In order for the album to be released at all, her label (originally CBS
/Columbia
- as of 1988 a subsidiary label of Sony Music Entertainment
) insisted that certain Essex tracks were to be re-recorded and re-produced, and that there be additional material remixed to create a more 'commercial' package. The acoustic ballad "Whispering Your Name
" was for example turned into an upbeat dance single and released as the second single after "Falling" failed to live up to the label's expectations. The re-recording of "Ode To Boy", originally from Yazoo
's 1983 album You and Me Both
, was later given the dance remix treatment by Junior Vasquez
.
Due to prolonged litigation with Sony, this was to be Moyet's last full-length studio album for over eight years.
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
of singer/songwriter 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,...
. The album (although recorded in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
) is named after the artist's native Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and includes the singles "Falling
Falling (Alison Moyet song)
"Falling" is vocalist Alison Moyet's only single of 1993 and first single from the album Essex.The single failed to enter the UK top 40, peaking at #42 for a total of three weeks...
" (1993), "Whispering Your Name
Whispering Your Name
"Whispering Your Name" is vocalist Alison Moyet's first single of 1994 and second single from the album Essex.The single became Moyet's eighth single to enter the UK top 40 but also her last to date, peaking at #18 for a total of seven weeks...
", "Getting into Something
Getting into Something (song)
"Getting into Something" is vocalist Alison Moyet's second of three singles from 1994, appearing on the album Essex. This single was the follow-up to Moyet's first top 20 hit of seven years "Whispering Your Name"....
" and "Ode to Boy II".
Essex was again a source of controversy for the singer. In order for the album to be released at all, her label (originally CBS
CBS Records
CBS Records is a record label founded by CBS Corporation in 2006 to take advantage of music from its entertainment properties owned by CBS Television Studios. The initial label roster consisted of only three artists; rock band Señor Happy and singer/songwriters Will Dailey and P.J...
/Columbia
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
- as of 1988 a subsidiary label of Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment ' is the second-largest global recorded music company of the "big four" record companies and is controlled by Sony Corporation of America, the United States subsidiary of Japan's Sony Corporation....
) insisted that certain Essex tracks were to be re-recorded and re-produced, and that there be additional material remixed to create a more 'commercial' package. The acoustic ballad "Whispering Your Name
Whispering Your Name
"Whispering Your Name" is vocalist Alison Moyet's first single of 1994 and second single from the album Essex.The single became Moyet's eighth single to enter the UK top 40 but also her last to date, peaking at #18 for a total of seven weeks...
" was for example turned into an upbeat dance single and released as the second single after "Falling" failed to live up to the label's expectations. The re-recording of "Ode To Boy", originally from Yazoo
Yazoo (band)
Yazoo are a British synthpop duo from Basildon, Essex. They had a number of Top 10 hits in the UK charts in the early 1980s...
's 1983 album You and Me Both
You and Me Both
You and Me Both is the second, and final, album released by British synthpop duo Yazoo in 1983. As was their debut, the record was produced by Yazoo members Vince Clarke and Alison Moyet along with E.C. Radcliffe...
, was later given the dance remix treatment by Junior Vasquez
Junior Vasquez
Junior Vasquez, , is an American club DJ and remixer/producer.-Career:...
.
Due to prolonged litigation with Sony, this was to be Moyet's last full-length studio album for over eight years.
Track listing
All tracks written by Alison Moyet and Pete Glenister unless otherwise noted.- "FallingFalling (Alison Moyet song)"Falling" is vocalist Alison Moyet's only single of 1993 and first single from the album Essex.The single failed to enter the UK top 40, peaking at #42 for a total of three weeks...
" - 3:41 - "And I Know" - 3:49
- "Whispering Your NameWhispering Your Name"Whispering Your Name" is vocalist Alison Moyet's first single of 1994 and second single from the album Essex.The single became Moyet's eighth single to enter the UK top 40 but also her last to date, peaking at #18 for a total of seven weeks...
" (Jules ShearJules ShearJules Mark Shear is a US singer, songwriter, and guitarist born in Pittsburgh in 1952. Although he has had only one minor hit as a performer , he has recorded almost 20 albums to date...
) - 3:28 - "Getting into SomethingGetting into Something (song)"Getting into Something" is vocalist Alison Moyet's second of three singles from 1994, appearing on the album Essex. This single was the follow-up to Moyet's first top 20 hit of seven years "Whispering Your Name"....
" - 4:16 - "So Am I" (Broudie, Moyet) - 3:45
- "Satellite" - 4:17
- "Ode to Boy" (Moyet) - 2:53
- "Dorothy" - 3:27
- "Another Living Day" - 3:45
- "Boys Own" - 4:05
- "Take of Me" - 4:08
- "Ode to Boy II" (Moyet) - 2:58
- additional track
- "Whispering Your Name" (Single Mix) (Jules Shear) - 3:48
- additional track
Chart performance
| Chart (1994) | Peak position |
Total weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Dutch Albums Chart | 91 | 3 |
| German Albums Chart | 74 | 7 |
| Swiss Albums Chart | 50 | 1 |
| UK Albums Chart | 24 | 4 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 200 | 194 | 1 |
Personnel
- Alison Moyet - 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...
, backing vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
(trks: 1-2, 4-11), tambourineTambourineThe tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
(track: 7) - Ian BroudieIan BroudieIan Broudie is a British singer-songwriter, musician and record producer from Liverpool, England. After emerging from the post punk scene in Liverpool in the late 1970s as a member of Big in Japan, Broudie went on to form the short-lived groups Original Mirrors and Care in the early 1980s as well...
- 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...
s (tracks: 1-5, 8, 10) - Pete Glenister - guitars (tracks: 6, 7, 9, 11)
- Simon Rogers - guitars (tracks: 1 & 2), programming (tracks: 1-5, 8, 10), 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...
(track: 8) - Steve Cradock - guitars (track: 6), backing vocals (tracks: 4 & 9)
- Christian Marsac - guitars (track: 7)
- Simon Fowler - backing vocals (tracks: 4 & 9)
- Alan Dunn - accordionAccordionThe accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
(track: 8) - Chris Haigh - fiddleFiddleThe term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
(track: 8) - John McKenzie - bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
(tracks: 6, 9) - Alan Taylor - 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...
(track: 6) - Electra Strings - stringsString instrumentA string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
(track: 6) - Dave Ruffy - 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 ....
(tracks: 6 & 9) - Pandit Dinesh - percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
(track: 9) - Phil Overhead - percussion (track: 6)
- David Ballard - bongosBongo drumBongo or bongos are a Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of single-headed, open-ended drums attached to each other. The drums are of different size: the larger drum is called in Spanish the hembra and the smaller the macho...
(track: 7)
Production
- Ian Broudie - 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...
(tracks: 1-5, 8, 10, 13), sound mixing (tracks: 2-5, 8-10) - Pete Glenister - producer (tracks: 6, 7, 9, 11, 12)
- Pete Davis - additional production and remix (track: 12)
- Adrian Bushby - additional production and remix (track: 12)
- Steve Rocket - additional production and remix (track: 13)
- Johnny Nitrate - additional production and remix (track: 13)
- Alison Moyet - arrangerArrangerIn investment banking, an arranger is a provider of funds in the syndication of a debt. They are entitled to syndicate the loan or bond issue, and may be referred to as the "lead underwriter". This is because this entity bears the risk of being able to sell the underlying securities/debt or the...
backing vocals - Cenzo Townshend - sound engineer (tracks: 1-5, 8-10)
- Neil Brockbank - sound engineer (tracks: 6, 7, 9, 11)
- Victor van VugtVictor Van VugtVictor Van Vugt is an award-winning music producer, mixer and engineer. An Australian based in New York, he has had a long association with the careers of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Beth Orton. He has also worked with the likes of P.J...
- sound engineer (tracks: 7 & 9) - David Leonard - sound mixing (track: 1)
- Alan WinstanleyAlan WinstanleyAlan Kenneth Winstanley is a British record producer active from the mid-1970s onwards. He usually works with Clive Langer.-Notable studio albums produced by Alan Winstanley and Clive Langer:* One Step Beyond... – Madness...
- sound mixing (tracks: 6 & 7) - Phil Legg - sound mixing (tracks: 11)
- Graham Dickson - sound mixing (track: 13)
Non-album tracks, the Essex era
- "Falling" (Infinite Dub) - 8:07
- "It Won't Be Long" (Acoustic) - 4:01
- "Whispering Your Name" (Extended Remix) - 4:57
- "Whispering Your Name" (A Remix a.k.a. Vince ClarkeVince ClarkeVince Clarke is an English synthpop musician and songwriter. Clarke has been involved with a number of successful groups, including Depeche Mode, Yazoo, The Assembly and Erasure....
Mix) - 3:41 - "Wishing You Were Here" (Live at Mead Fiddler, April 3, 1992) - 3:45
- "Rise" (Live at Mead Fiddler, April 3, 1992) - 3:05
- "Rock and RollRock and Roll (Led Zeppelin song)"Rock and Roll" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, which was first released as the second track from the band's fourth album in 1971, with a guest appearance by The Rolling Stones pianist Ian Stewart.-Overview:...
" (Live at Mead Fiddler, April 3, 1992) - 2:24 - "F.O.S." - 4:16
- "Getting into Something" (Single Mix) - 4:14
- "Getting Into Something" (Midnight Mix) - 4:25
- "Dorothy" (Acoustic) 3:12
- "Ne Me Quitte Pas" (Acoustic) - 3:43
- "Never Too Late" (Remix) - 3:49
- "Never Too Late" (Remix) - 11:05
- "Ode to Boy II" (FactoryJunior VasquezJunior Vasquez, , is an American club DJ and remixer/producer.-Career:...
Mix) - 10:00 - "Ode to Boy II" (NY-LA Mix) - 3:30
- "Ode to Boy II" (NY-LA Dub)
- "Ode to Boy II" (Factory Dub)
- "Life in a Hole" - 3:46
- "Sunderland Glynn" - 2:50