Albertine is the second album by New Zealand singer-songwriter, Brooke Fraser. It was released in New Zealand and in the Oceanic region's iTunes Store on 4 December 2006. The album was released in Australia on 31 March 2007, where it peaked at #29. The album's lead single is "Deciphering Me". The follow-up single is "Shadowfeet" – a piano-driven ballad released in January 2007. Albertine became Fraser's second #1 album, and she became only the second New Zealand artist in history to have consecutive album releases debut at the #1 position on the New Zealand album charts. The first was by Blindspott with their album End the Silence earlier in the same year.
A deluxe edition was released on 10 December; a year after the original release. The deluxe version features a bonus CD of eight live recordings (including a cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "The Sounds of Silence"), an entirely new booklet and double gatefold digipack packaging. "C.S. Lewis Song" was released as a radio single to promote this re-release.
Albertine was also Brooke's U.S. debut, released 27 May 2008 and entered the Billboard 200 at #90 on 19 July 2008. Brooke is currently on tour in Canada and the United States to promote the album release in these countries. She will appear at numerous venues across the continent.
Albertine was also picked as an “Editor’s Music Choice” on iTunes USA which helped propel the album into the Top 10.
Background [edit]
In 2005, Fraser travelled to Rwanda for World Vision. There she met Albertine, a Rwandan girl orphaned by the 1994 genocide.[1] Fraser described the girl as "tall and beautiful".[2][3]
Reception [edit]
Critical reception [edit]
Greg Prato from Allmusic said that "there's nothing all that musically groundbreaking that would make Albertine stick out from the rest of the pack. That said, as her first [United States] release, Albertine does indeed show great promise".[4] Andree Farias from Christianity Today said that "Albertine proves it is possible to strike the perfect balance between art and faith, while still remaining accessible to both sides of the Christian-mainstream divide."[7] Jesus Freak Hideout's David Goodman described Albertine as "one of the most brilliantly expressive and musically well-crafted albums of its kind." Mike Schiller from PopMatters stated that "[Fraser's] songs do have a tendency to blur [the boundary between church and popular art] together, with the occasional beautiful, touching piece that grabs hold of all of the right nerves and doesn’t let go".[6] The Southern Cross identified Albertine as "the kind of album that after repeated listening quietly creeps up on the listener with its hypnotic beauty, sense of peace and genuine soul."[8]
Commercial performance [edit]
Albertine debuted on the New Zealand Albums Chart on 11 December 2006 at number one.[9] The album was certified Platinum in its first week, selling over 15,000 copies.[10] It remained in the top ten for twenty non-consecutive weeks, seventeen of those being in the top five.[9] The album was certified four times platinum, with sales of over 60,000 copies.[11]
Albertine was released in Australia on 31 March 2007, and on 9 April 2007 it entered the Australian Albums Chart at number twenty nine. The album spent just five weeks on the chart.[12] It was certified gold, selling over 35,000 copies.[13]
In the United States, Albertine made its debut on the Billboard 200 at number ninety on the week ending 19 June 2008.This was Fraser's first appearance on the U.S Charts. The album also peaked at number three on Billboard's Christian Albums chart, number nine on the Independent Albums chart, two-hundred-and-eighteen on the Digital Albums chart, and number four on the Top Christian & Gospel Albums Chart.[14][15]
Track listing [edit]
|
| 1. |
"Shadowfeet" |
Brooke Fraser |
3:37 |
| 2. |
"Deciphering Me" |
Fraser |
4:17 |
| 3. |
"Love, Where Is Your Fire?" |
Fraser |
4:20 |
| 4. |
"Love Is Waiting" |
Fraser |
4:31 |
| 5. |
"Albertine" |
Fraser |
3:55 |
| 6. |
"C.S. Lewis Song" |
Fraser |
4:38 |
| 7. |
"Epilogue" |
Fraser |
1:13 |
| 8. |
"Faithful" |
Fraser |
4:18 |
| 9. |
"Seeds" |
Dave Bassett, Fraser |
3:56 |
| 10. |
"Hosea's Wife" |
Fraser |
4:06 |
| 11. |
"The Thief" |
Fraser, Dan Wilson |
3:21 |
| 12. |
"Hymn" |
Fraser |
3:14 |
|
|
| 13. |
"Faithful" (Demo version) |
4:00 |
| 14. |
"Hosea's Wife" (Demo version) |
4:09 |
|
|
| 1. |
"C.S. Lewis Song" (live) |
Fraser |
6:42 |
| 2. |
"Better" (live) |
Fraser |
4:26 |
| 3. |
"Seeds" (live) |
Bassett, Fraser |
3:46 |
| 4. |
"The Sound of Silence" (live) |
Paul Simon |
5:29 |
| 5. |
"Hymn" (live) |
Fraser |
3:19 |
| 6. |
"Love, Where Is Your Fire?" (live) |
Fraser |
4:23 |
| 7. |
"Arithmetic" (live) |
Fraser |
4:38 |
| 8. |
"Hosea's Wife" (live) |
Fraser |
5:24 |
Personnel [edit]
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|
- David Levita – electric guitar, balance engineering, mando-guitar, marxophone
- Scott Ligertwood – photography
- Bob Ludwig – mastering
- Kristopher Pooley – piano, Fender Rhodes piano, organ, Wurlitzer organ, synthesizer, glockenspiel, photography
- Aaron Sterling – drums, percussion
- Gareth Stuckey – live sound mixing
- Andre Upston – engineering, mixing
- Joe Zook – percussion, engineering, mixing
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- Source: CD Universe,[17] Artistdirect[18]
Release history [edit]
- Standard Edition
|
- Deluxe Edition
| Country |
Date |
Label |
| New Zealand |
4 December 2007[21] |
Sony BMG |
| Australia |
25 November 2008[22] |
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References [edit]
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| Singles |
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