Liz Phair (album)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
Liz Phair
Liz Phair cover
Studio album by Liz Phair
Released June 24, 2003
Genre Pop rock, Alternative rock
Length 50:14
Label Capitol
CDP 7243 5 22084 0 1
Producer The Matrix
Michael Penn
Liz Phair
R. Walt Vincent
Professional reviews
Liz Phair chronology
whitechocolate
spaceegg
(1998)		 Liz Phair
(2003)		 Comeandgetit
(2003)

Liz Phair is the eponymous fourth album by American singer-songwriter Liz Phair, released June 24, 2003. "Why Can't I?" and "Extraordinary" were released as singles. Phair began production on the album with Michael Penn, but some of his work was scrapped for that of songwriting hitmakers The Matrix, who contributed four tracks. With this album, Phair appeared to be making a bid for commercial success, but its sales (about 429,000 copies) were similar to that of its predecessors.

Contents

[edit] Production

Initially, Phair worked on tracks for the album with songwriter Michael Penn as the producer, but the finished album received a lukewarm reception from Capitol, her label. Having already exhausted the recording budget, label president Andy Slater offered Phair more money to record if Phair agreed to work on possible singles with the production team known as The Matrix. The Matrix was known primarily for producing glossy hits for female singers such as Avril Lavigne, Britney Spears, and Hilary Duff. Phair ultimately collaborated with The Matrix on four songs: "Why Can't I?", "Extraordinary", "Favorite", and "Rock Me".

[edit] Critical reception

Though her eponymous album took her higher in the charts than she had ever been previously, and introduced her to a mainstream audience for the first time, success brought about a strong backlash from critics and disappointed fans of her earlier work. Many decried her for "selling out", and she became a "piñata for critics."[1] The New York Times' Meghan O'Rourke titled her review of the album "Liz Phair's Exile in Avril-ville", and complained that Phair "gushes like a teenager" and had "committed an embarrassing form of career suicide."[2]

[edit] Track listing

All songs by Liz Phair, unless otherwise noted.

  1. "Extraordinary" (Phair, Christy, Edwards, Spock) – 3:25
  2. "Red Light Fever" (Phair, Gary Clark) – 4:52
  3. "Why Can't I?" (Phair, Christy, Edwards, Spock) – 3:28
  4. "It's Sweet" – 2:55
  5. "Rock Me" (Phair, Christy, Edwards, Spock) – 3:21
  6. "Take a Look" – 3:29
  7. "Little Digger" – 3:36
  8. "Firewalker" – 4:29
  9. "Favorite" (Phair, Christy, Edwards, Spock) – 3:24
  10. "Love/Hate" – 3:43
  11. "H.W.C." – 2:56 (not included on the clean version of the album)
  12. "My Bionic Eyes" – 3:52
  13. "Friend of Mine" – 3:44
  14. "Good Love Never Dies" – 3:00

[edit] Samples
"Why Can't I"
"Why Can't I" by Liz Phair
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

[edit] Personnel

[edit] Production

  • Producers: The Matrix, Michael Penn, R. Walt Vincent
  • Engineers: Doug Boehm, Ryan Freeland, The Matrix, Michael Penn, R. Walt Vincent, Howard Willing
  • Assistant engineer: Kevin Meeker
  • Mixing: Serban Ghenea, Tom Lord-Alge
  • Mastering: Ted Jensen, Eddy Schreyer
  • Assistant: Mike Glines, Andrew Nast
  • Arranger: The Matrix
  • Drum Recordings: Krish Sharma
  • Design: Eric Roinestad
  • Art Direction: Eric Roinestad
  • Photography: Phil Poynter

[edit] Charts

Album

Year Chart Position
2003 The Billboard 200 27
Top Internet Albums 27

Singles

Year Single Chart Position
2003 "Why Can't I?" Adult Top 40 7
2004 The Billboard Hot 100 32
Top 40 Adult Recurrents 1
Top 40 Mainstream 10
Top 40 Tracks 15
New Zealand Charts 37
"Extraordinary" Adult Top 40 14
Top 40 Mainstream 28

[edit] References

  1. ^ David Carr, The New York Times, August 2, 2005, http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/02/arts/music/02phai.html
  2. ^ Meghan O'Rourke, The New York Times, June 22, 2003, http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/22/arts/music/22OROU.html
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liz_Phair_(album)"
Personal tools