Early Winter

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For the camping equipment company, see Early Winters.
"Early Winter"
Single by Gwen Stefani
from the album The Sweet Escape
Released January 18, 2008
Format CD single, digital download
Recorded 2006; Home Recordings
(London, England)
Genre Pop rock, alternative rock
Length 4:44
Label Interscope
Writer(s) Gwen Stefani, Tim Rice-Oxley
Producer Nellee Hooper
Gwen Stefani singles chronology
"Now That You Got It"
(2007)		 "Early Winter"
(2008)

"Early Winter" is a song by American recording artist Gwen Stefani from her second studio album, The Sweet Escape (2006). Written by Stefani and Tim Rice-Oxley (pianist and main songwriter of the English band Keane), the track is a 1980s-inspired pop rock ballad. It was released as the album's fifth and final single in late 2007 and early 2008 in select European countries to moderate chart impact. "Early Winter" received positive reviews from music critics, and its opening riffs were used in a Hewlett-Packard commercial featuring Stefani. It is also the last single of Stefani's solo career.

Contents

[edit] Background and writing

Stefani called Rice-Oxley the night before she was to work with him in the studio and told him that she wanted a ballad in the vein of Billy Idol's "Eyes Without a Face", Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly with His Song", and Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time". Stefani, pleased with the song, avoided making changes to it after Rice-Oxley played it for her. She later rewrote part of it before recording the song. The song's lyrics describe lovers approaching the end of a relationship.[1] Rice-Oxley stated, "She's obviously quite an emotional person. Within 10 minutes of us sitting down, she was crying. I played her a little bit of a thing that I'd been working on just before she came in and she welled up about it."[2]

[edit] Critical reception

"Early Winter" received positive reviews from music critics. Nick Levine of Digital Spy praised the song as "the most affecting moment of Stefani's solo career to date."[3] Mark Pytlik of Pitchfork Media stated that the song "proves that Stefani still has the ability to elevate an otherwise ordinary rock song to another level."[4] The Guardian's Caroline Sullivan referred to it as "stylish",[5] and Jon Pareles of The New York Times named it one of the album's most "tuneful" tracks.[6] Quentin B. Huff from PopMatters noted it as a highlight of the album and compared the song's vulnerability to No Doubt's "Don't Speak", while calling the song "[s]omber and regretful—and with a real melody."[7] Alex Miller from the NME viewed it as "one of the few potential hits" from The Sweet Escape.[8] Entertainment Weekly's Sia Michel described it as a "majestic power ballad" on which Stefani's "Orange County-girl voice doesn't seem genuinely sad."[9] Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine compared "Early Winter" to the songs that Stefani wrote with No Doubt bassist Tony Kanal for the album, adding that the track sounded "less forced and much less self-conscious" than the other songs.[10] John Murphy from musicOMH called the song's lyrics "palatable".[11]

[edit] Chart performance

"Early Winter" made its first chart appearance on the Slovak chart in late October 2007, debuting at number ninety-five and later peaking at number six in its thirteenth week on the run.[12] In the Czech Republic, the song peaked at number nineteen, six weeks after entering the chart at number fifty-eight in mid-November 2007.[13] For the week of January 23, 2008, the single debuted on the Finnish Singles Chart at number fifteen, peaking at number fourteen the following week and spending three weeks altogether on the chart.[14] In Germany, "Early Winter" debuted and peaked at number six on the singles chart on February 8, 2008,[15] the single's highest peak position (alongside that of Slovakia); it also tied with 2006's "The Sweet Escape" as Stefani's second highest-peaking single in that country (after 2005's "Hollaback Girl").[16] Also on February 8, 2008, the single debuted at number forty-nine on the Austrian Singles Chart, and peaked at number twenty-two in its ninth week.[17] On the Billboard issue dated February 16, 2008, "Early Winter" debuted and peaked at number twenty-six on the European Hot 100 Singles, spending seven weeks on the chart.[18] The song debuted on the Swiss Singles Chart at number fifty-four for the week of February 17, 2008, peaking at number twelve four weeks later.[19]

[edit] Music video

Stefani in the music video for "Early Winter".

The music video premiered on LAUNCHcast on November 15, 2007 and on MTV's Total Request Live on December 18, 2007. It opens with a black-and-white scene of Stefani lying on the ground in a long white gown, followed by her walking down the street under red street lights. In the next scene, she holds her love interest (played by dancer Steelo Vazquez, who also performed with Stefani during The Sweet Escape Tour)[20] against the wall and talk to him. The scene then changes to Stefani walking down a street and later walking into a railway station. In the next scene, Stefani is seen singing under falling red-colored feathers in a huge palace-type hall. There are intercut scenes of Stefani staring at herself in the mirror with her hair up and snow/ash falling down slowly, with the lights turning on and off intermittently. Stefani is also sitting on the ground and singing while crying. She is then seen on the railway station walking besides a moving train. The video ends with Stefani running out of the hall. During a few scenes towards the end of the video, Stefani wore a green Dolce & Gabbana gown, as seen on the single cover.[21]

Sophie Muller shot the video in three cities of the European Union: Milan, Italy; Budapest, Hungary; and Prague, Czech Republic, during the European leg of Stefani's The Sweet Escape Tour in October 2007. In Milan she shot some parts at a church and a hotel. In Hungary she chose one of the railway stations of Budapest, the Nyugati railway station.

[edit] Track listings

  • European CD single/iTunes single
  1. "Early Winter" (Album Version) – 4:45
  2. "Early Winter" (Live) – 6:53 †
  • iTunes EP
  1. "Early Winter" (Album Version) – 4:44
  2. "Early Winter" (Live) – 6:51 †
  3. "Early Winter" (Instrumental) – 4:47

† Recorded live in San Diego, California

[edit] Personnel

[edit] Charts

[edit] Weekly charts

Chart (2008) Peak
position
Austrian Singles Chart[17] 22
Belgian Tip Chart (Flanders)[22] 10
Czech Airplay Chart[13] 19
European Hot 100 Singles[18] 26
Finnish Singles Chart[14] 14
German Singles Chart[15] 6
Hungarian Airplay Chart[23] 17
Romanian Top 100[24] 40
Slovak Airplay Chart[12] 6
Swiss Singles Chart[19] 12

[edit] Year-end charts

Chart (2008) Position
German Singles Chart[25] 66
Hungarian Airplay Chart[26] 75
Swiss Singles Chart[27] 74

[edit] Release history

Country Date Format
Australia[28] January 18, 2008 Digital single
Austria[29]
Belgium[30]
Denmark[31][32] Digital single, digital EP
Finland[33] Digital single
Germany[34]
Italy[35]
Norway[36]
Sweden[37][38] Digital single, digital EP
Switzerland[39][40]
United Kingdom[41] Digital single
Austria[42] January 25, 2008 CD single
Germany[43]
Switzerland[44]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Vineyard, Jennifer (December 4, 2006). "Baby On Board! Gwen Stefani's Son Joins Her On LP, Spring Tour". MTV News. MTV Networks. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1547038/20061204/stefani_gwen.jhtml. Retrieved August 24, 2007. 
  2. ^ Collis, Clark (November 22, 2006). "Holla Back". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc.. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1562569_4,00.html. Retrieved August 28, 2011. 
  3. ^ Levine, Nick. "Gwen Stefani: 'Early Winter'". Digital Spy. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/singlesreviews/a82297/gwen-stefani-early-winter.html. Retrieved December 30, 2007. 
  4. ^ Pytlik, Mark (December 7, 2006). "Gwen Stefani: The Sweet Escape". Pitchfork Media. http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/9703-the-sweet-escape/. Retrieved August 24, 2007. 
  5. ^ Sullivan, Caroline (December 1, 2006). "Gwen Stefani, The Sweet Escape". The Guardian. guardian.co.uk. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2006/dec/01/popandrock.gwenstefani. Retrieved August 24, 2007. 
  6. ^ Pareles, Jon (December 4, 2006). "Critics' Choice: New CDs". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/04/arts/music/04choi.html?_r=1&ex=1188100800&en=7bbf4afc3a27ce03&ei=5070. Retrieved August 24, 2007. 
  7. ^ Huff, Quentin B. (December 14, 2006). "Gwen Stefani: The Sweet Escape". PopMatters. http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/gwen-stefani-the-sweet-escape/. Retrieved August 24, 2007. 
  8. ^ Miller, Alex (December 1, 2006). "Gwen Stefani: The Sweet Escape". NME. IPC Media. http://www.nme.com/reviews/gwen-stefani/8100. Retrieved August 24, 2007. 
  9. ^ Michel, Sia (December 1, 2006). "The Sweet Escape (2006): Gwen Stefani". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc.. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1564580,00.html. Retrieved August 24, 2007. 
  10. ^ Cinquemani, Sal (December 1, 2006). "Gwen Stefani: The Sweet Escape". Slant Magazine. http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/gwen-stefani-the-sweet-escape/1013. Retrieved August 24, 2007. 
  11. ^ Murphy, John. "Gwen Stefani – The Sweet Escape". musicOMH. http://www.musicomh.com/albums/gwen-stefani-2_1206.htm. Retrieved September 4, 2007. 
  12. ^ a b "RADIO TOP100 Oficiálna – Stefani Gwen – Early Winter" (in Slovak). IFPI Slovakia. http://www.ifpicr.cz/hitparadask/index.php?a=titul&hitparada=18&titul=144717&sec=c3217f899aeca9b002c0d840e31261ab. Retrieved November 17, 2007. 
  13. ^ a b "RADIO TOP100 Oficiální – Stefani Gwen – Early Winter" (in Czech). IFPI Czech Republic. http://www.ifpicr.cz/hitparada/index.php?a=titul&hitparada=2&titul=145514&sec=0c2187f8e852a29a80c6c511ec9da832. Retrieved November 17, 2007. 
  14. ^ a b "Gwen Stefani – Early Winter". IFPI Finland. Hung Medien. http://finnishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Gwen+Stefani&titel=Early+Winter&cat=s. Retrieved October 4, 2010. 
  15. ^ a b "Stefani,Gwen: Early Winter (2-track)" (in German). Media Control. PhonoNet GmbH. http://musicline.de/de/chartverfolgung_summary/title/Stefani,Gwen/Early+Winter+%282-track%29/single. Retrieved October 4, 2010. 
  16. ^ "Chartverfolgung / Stefani,Gwen / Single" (in German). Media Control. PhonoNet GmbH. http://musicline.de/de/chartverfolgung_summary/artist/Stefani,Gwen/?type=single. Retrieved October 4, 2010. 
  17. ^ a b "Gwen Stefani – Early Winter" (in German). IFPI Austria. Hung Medien. http://austriancharts.at/showitem.asp?interpret=Gwen+Stefani&titel=Early+Winter&cat=s. Retrieved October 4, 2010. 
  18. ^ a b "Gwen Stefani Album & Song Chart History – European Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/gwen-stefani/chart-history/239085?f=349&g=Singles. Retrieved January 6, 2010. 
  19. ^ a b "Gwen Stefani – Early Winter". Media Control. Hung Medien. http://swisscharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Gwen+Stefani&titel=Early+Winter&cat=s. Retrieved October 4, 2010. 
  20. ^ "Fundraiser for Steelo Vazquez". gwenstefani.com. November 18, 2011. http://www.gwenstefani.com/news/default.aspx?nid=37224. Retrieved December 7, 2011. 
  21. ^ "Early Winter". No Doubt Web. http://nodoubtweb.com/p2539/. Retrieved December 30, 2007. 
  22. ^ "Gwen Stefani – Early Winter" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. http://www.ultratop.be/nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Gwen+Stefani&titel=Early+Winter&cat=s. Retrieved October 4, 2010. 
  23. ^ "Rádiós Top 40 játszási lista – 2008. 18. hét" (in Hungarian). Mahasz. http://www.mahasz.hu/?menu=slagerlistak&menu2=archivum&lista=radios&ev=2008&het=18&submit_=Keres%E9s. Retrieved February 27, 2008. 
  24. ^ "Romanian Top 100 – 7/2008" (in Romanian). Vento Consultanta SRL. Archived from the original on February 28, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080228221149/http://www.rt100.ro/top-100-edition.html. Retrieved February 25, 2008. 
  25. ^ "VIVA Single Jahrescharts 2008" (in German). Media Control. Viva. January 20, 2011. http://www.viva.tv/charts/viva-single-jahrescharts-2008-2008-271/?start=60. Retrieved July 31, 2011. 
  26. ^ "MAHASZ Rádiós TOP 100 2008" (in Hungarian). Mahasz. http://www.mahasz.hu/?menu=slagerlistak&menu2=eves_osszesitett_listak&id=radios&ev=2008. Retrieved April 17, 2010. 
  27. ^ "Swiss Year-End Charts 2008". Media Control. Hung Medien. http://www.swisscharts.com/year.asp?key=2008. Retrieved April 17, 2010. 
  28. ^ "Early Winter – Single by Gwen Stefani". iTunes Store Australia. Apple Inc.. http://itunes.apple.com/au/album/early-winter-single/id271791946. Retrieved October 5, 2010. 
  29. ^ "Early Winter – Single von Gwen Stefani" (in German). iTunes Store Austria. Apple Inc.. http://itunes.apple.com/at/album/early-winter-single/id271791946. Retrieved October 5, 2010. 
  30. ^ "Early Winter – Single by Gwen Stefani". iTunes Store Belgium. Apple Inc.. http://itunes.apple.com/be/album/early-winter-single/id271791946. Retrieved October 5, 2010. 
  31. ^ "Early Winter – Single by Gwen Stefani". iTunes Store Denmark. Apple Inc.. http://itunes.apple.com/dk/album/early-winter-single/id271791946. Retrieved October 5, 2010. 
  32. ^ "Early Winter – EP by Gwen Stefani". iTunes Store Denmark. Apple Inc.. http://itunes.apple.com/dk/album/early-winter-ep/id271636372. Retrieved October 5, 2010. 
  33. ^ "Early Winter – Single by Gwen Stefani". iTunes Store Finland. Apple Inc.. http://itunes.apple.com/fi/album/early-winter-single/id271791946. Retrieved October 5, 2010. 
  34. ^ "Early Winter – Single von Gwen Stefani" (in German). iTunes Store Germany. Apple Inc.. http://itunes.apple.com/de/album/early-winter-single/id271791946. Retrieved October 5, 2010. 
  35. ^ "Early Winter – Single di Gwen Stefani" (in Italian). iTunes Store Italy. Apple Inc.. http://itunes.apple.com/it/album/early-winter-single/id271791946. Retrieved October 5, 2010. 
  36. ^ "Early Winter – Single by Gwen Stefani". iTunes Store Norway. Apple Inc.. http://itunes.apple.com/no/album/early-winter-single/id271791946. Retrieved October 5, 2010. 
  37. ^ "Early Winter – Single by Gwen Stefani". iTunes Store Sweden. Apple Inc.. http://itunes.apple.com/se/album/early-winter-single/id271791946. Retrieved October 5, 2010. 
  38. ^ "Early Winter – EP by Gwen Stefani". iTunes Store Sweden. Apple Inc.. http://itunes.apple.com/se/album/early-winter-ep/id271636372. Retrieved October 5, 2010. 
  39. ^ "Early Winter – Single von Gwen Stefani" (in German). iTunes Store Switzerland. Apple Inc.. http://itunes.apple.com/ch/album/early-winter-single/id271791946. Retrieved October 5, 2010. 
  40. ^ "Early Winter – EP von Gwen Stefani" (in German). iTunes Store Switzerland. Apple Inc.. http://itunes.apple.com/ch/album/early-winter-ep/id271636372. Retrieved October 5, 2010. 
  41. ^ "Early Winter – Single by Gwen Stefani". iTunes Store UK. Apple Inc.. http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/early-winter-single/id271791946. Retrieved October 5, 2010. 
  42. ^ "Gwen Stefani – Diskographie" (in German). Universal Music Austria. http://www.universalmusic.at/pop/contributor/254566/discography/Gwen+Stefani. Retrieved October 5, 2010. 
  43. ^ "Gwen Stefani – Early Winter (2-Track)" (in German). Universal Music Germany. http://www.universal-music.de/musik/gwen-stefani/detail/product/101915/0/early-winter--2-track-/. Retrieved October 5, 2010. 
  44. ^ "Early Winter (2-Track) von Gwen Stefani" (in German). Stauffacher. http://www.stauffacher.ch/shop/home/artikeldetails/early_winter_2_track/EAN0602517601260/ID15165066.html. Retrieved October 5, 2010. 

[edit] External links

Gwen Stefani
Studio albums and singles
Love. Angel. Music. Baby.
The Sweet Escape
Featured singles
Video albums
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