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{{Infobox album <!--See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Albums -->
| Name = The Meaning of Love
| Type = studio
| Artist = [[Michelle McManus]]
| Cover = Meaning_Of_Love_Michelle_McManus.jpg
| Released = 16 February 2004 (UK)
| Recorded = 2003-2004
| Genre = [[Pop music|Pop]]
| Label = [[19 Recordings|19]], [[S Records|S]], [[Bertelsmann Music Group|BMG]]
| Producer = {{hlist|[[Steve Mac]]|[[Steve Robson]]|Ronny Janssen|Lars Aass|[[Andreas Carlsson]]|Harry Sommerdahl|David Eriksen|[[Martin Sjølie]]|James McMillan|[[Stephen Lipson]]|[[Mike Peden]]}}
| This album = '''The Meaning of Love''' <br />(2004)
{{Singles
| Name = The Meaning of Love
| Type = studio
| single 1 = [[All This Time (Michelle McManus song)|All This Time]]
| single 1 date = 25 November 2003
| single 2 = [[The Meaning of Love (Michelle McManus song)|The Meaning Of Love]]
| single 2 date = 26 January 2004
}}
}}

'''''The Meaning of Love''''' is the only album by [[Scotland|Scottish]] singer and ''[[Pop Idol]]'' winner [[Michelle McManus]], issued by [[BMG Rights Management|BMG]]. Released on 16 February 2004, it debuted at #3 on the [[UK Albums Chart]] and featured two singles: the #1 [[UK Singles Chart]] entry "[[All This Time (Michelle McManus song)|All This Time]]", and the [[The Meaning of Love (Michelle McManus song)|title track]], which peaked at #16. Critics derided the record for its production values and songwriting quality; multiple reviewers also found McManus's singing voice to be unimpressive.

==Reception and legacy==
{{Album reviews
|rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
|rev1score = {{rating|2|5}}<ref name="allmusic">{{cite web|last=Mawer|first=Sharon|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-meaning-of-love-mw0000470332|title=''The Meaning of Love''|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|date=2004-02-16|accessdate=2012-05-31}}</ref>
|rev2 = [[BBC Music]]
|rev2score = (favourable)<ref name="bbc">{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/cjp2|title=The Meaning of Love|publisher=[[BBC Music]]|date=|accessdate=2012-05-31}}</ref>
|rev3 = [[BBC News]]
|rev3score = (unfavourable)<ref name="bbc2">{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/3482713.stm|title=Review: Michelle's ''The Meaning of Love''|publisher=[[BBC News]]|last=Bishop|first=Tom|date=17 February 2004|accessdate=20 February 2016}}</ref>
|rev4 = ''[[Daily Mail]]''
|rev4score = (unfavourable)<ref name="dm">{{cite web|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-113471368.html|title=New Releases|date=20 February 2004|publisher=''[[Daily Mail]]''|via=[[HighBeam Research|HighBeam]]|accessdate=1 March 2016}}</ref>
|rev5 = ''[[Daily Mirror]]''
|rev5score = (unfavourable)<ref name="mirror">{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/CD+Reviews%3A+Avoid+it+-+WAFER+THIN%3B+(BUT+THAT'S+JUST+THE+MUSIC).-a0113215191|title=CD Reviews|website=[[Daily Mirror]]|publisher=[[TheFreeDictionary.com#TheFreeLibrary.com|TheFreeLibrary.com]]|last=Martin|first=Gavin|date=13 February 2004|accessdate=2 June 2013}}</ref>
|rev6 = [[entertainment.ie]]
|rev6score = {{rating|2|5}}<ref name="ie">{{cite web|url=http://entertainment.ie/album-review/Michelle---The-Meaning-of-Love/3136.htm|title=Michelle - The Meaning of Love|publisher=[[entertainment.ie]]|date=23 February 2004|accessdate=31 May 2012}}</ref>
|rev7 = ''[[The Guardian]]''
|rev7score = {{rating|2|5}}<ref name="guardian">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2004/feb/13/popandrock.shopping6|title=Michelle, The Meaning of Love|publisher=''[[The Guardian]]''|last=Sullivan|first=Caroline|date=13 February 2004|accessdate=27 May 2013}}</ref>
|rev8 = ''[[The Herald (Glasgow)|The Herald]]''
|rev8score = {{rating|1|5}}<ref name="herald">{{cite journal|last=Pearson|first=Beth|date=14 February 2004|title=CDs|journal=[[The Herald (Glasgow)|The Herald]]|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-23557026.html|via=[[HighBeam Research|HighBeam]]|subscription=yes|publisher=[[Newsquest]]}}</ref>
|rev9 = ''[[The Scotsman]]''
|rev9score = {{rating|1|5}}<ref name="scotsman">[[HighBeam Research]] records the ''[[The Scotsman]]'' newspaper's original published score as 1/5 stars. The full review, without the star rating, can be read at Scotsman.com.
*{{cite web|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-13039649.html|title=An emotional wreck|last=Shepherd|first=Fiona|date=13 February 2004|publisher=HighBeam Research|accessdate=28 September 2016}}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/music/news-and-features/an-emotional-wreck-1-513653|title=An emotional wreck|last=Shepherd|first=Fiona|date=13 February 2004|publisher=Scotsman.com|accessdate=28 September 2016}}</ref>
|rev10 = ''[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]''
|rev10score = (unfavourable)<ref name="Telegraph">{{cite web|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandjazzmusic/3612452/CD-reviews-Viktoria-Tolstoy-and-more.html|title=CD reviews: Viktoria Tolstoy and more|publisher=''[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]''|last=Hanley|first=Lynsey|date=16 February 2004|accessdate=2 June 2013}}</ref>
}}

Lynsey Hanley in ''[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]'' wrote: "This whole record smacks of boil-in-the-bag songwriting and lazy, hasty production tarted up with cheesy strings." She stated that McManus's singing "lack[s] any discernible 'wow' factor" and is on par with "a karaoke regular or, at best, a provincial cabaret turn."<ref name="Telegraph"/> ''[[The Guardian|Guardian]]'' journalist Caroline Sullivan also saw McManus's vocals as lacking the "wow" factor, which, she said, "could have enlivened some of these sub-Celine Dion torchers".<ref name="guardian"/> An [[entertainment.ie]] critic said that McManus, whose vocal performances "never rise far above the level of a very average club singer", made fellow [[reality television]] music competition winners [[Will Young]] and [[Alex Parks]] "look like worldbeaters by comparison".<ref name="ie"/>

Fiona Shepherd in ''[[The Scotsman]]'' delivered a track-by-track assessment of the record in which she criticised the quality of the material and described McManus as "another chicken-in-a-basket diva" with an "unremarkable" voice. Shepherd expressed a particular loathing for the cover version of [[Nina Simone]]'s "[[Feelin' Good]]", which according to her, had "the guts ripped out of it".<ref name="scotsman"/> The track was derided by multiple reviewers;<ref name="allmusic"/><ref name="bbc2"/><ref name="herald"/> ''[[The Herald (Glasgow)|Herald]]'' journalist Beth Pearson pointed to this cover as evidence that McManus "just can't sing soulfully", which, combined with the album's "tinny production and synths imported direct from the 1980s", made for a "thoroughly boring, unambitious debut".<ref name="herald"/>

Some reviewers, while unfavourable, were more receptive to McManus's vocals. Sharon Mawer in [[AllMusic]] saw the bulk of the material as "very bland, tuneless, and unmemorable", but commended McManus's "undoubted talent". She did, however, argue that McManus gained publicity more for "her outsized weight" than her singing.<ref name="allmusic"/> ''[[Daily Mirror]]'' critic Gavin Martin stressed that she "can actually sing", but observed "some of the most horrifying material ever", with songwriting that is "drowned in cliche, seemingly knocked off with barely a thought".<ref name="mirror"/> [[BBC News]] writer Tom Bishop was impressed by McManus's "soulful" singing on ''Pop Idol'', but felt her vocals sound "muffled and restrained by pedestrian production" on this "dull" album.<ref name="bbc2"/> A ''[[Daily Mail]]'' reviewer saw McManus as a "talented cabaret singer rather than one with real potential", and said her "ultra-safe" debut record had been "rushed out in haste".<ref name="dm"/>

Deviating from critical consensus, [[BBC Music]] journalist Ruth Mitchell wrote that the album is "packed full of dreamy songs", and "surprisingly sounds like a very competent and unhurried effort indeed."<ref name="bbc"/>

''The Meaning of Love'' won "Worst British Album" at the 2005 [[Naomi Awards]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/naomi-award-winners-7259444.html|title=Naomi Award 'winners'|date=8 February 2005|website=[[London Evening Standard]]|accessdate=13 May 2014}}</ref> In a 2007 online poll, it was voted the seventh-worst album ever made by a Scottish artist.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/entertainment/music/music-news/texas-album-is-worst-scottish-record-961004|title=Texas Album is 'Worst Scottish Record'|date=23 October 2007|website=[[Daily Record (Scotland)|Daily Record]]|accessdate=13 May 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Texas+top+chart..+of+bad+CDs.-a0170149271|title=Texas top chart.. of bad CDs|date=23 October 2007|website=''[[TheFreeDictionary.com#TheFreeLibrary.com|TheFreeLibrary.com]]''|publisher=''[[Daily Mirror|Mirror]]''|accessdate=19 May 2014}}</ref>

==Chart performance==
''The Meaning of Love'' debuted at #3 on the [[UK Albums Chart]] on the 22 February 2004.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chartstats.com/album_chart.php?week=20040228 |title=Album Chart For 28/02/2004 |publisher=Chart Stats |date=2004-02-28 |accessdate=2012-03-01|archiveurl=http://archive.is/C7T5|archivedate=2012-07-28}}</ref> It fell to #14 in its second week and lasted a further three weeks in the UK Top 40.<ref name="chartstats1">{{cite web|url=http://www.chartstats.com/albuminfo.php?id=1091 |title=Michelle McManus - The Meaning Of Love |publisher=Chart Stats |date=2004-02-28 |accessdate=2012-03-01|archiveurl=http://archive.is/MVOHk|archivedate=2013-01-19}}</ref> The record made number one on the [[Scottish Singles and Albums Charts|Scottish Albums Chart]]<ref>http://www.officialcharts.com/charts/scottish-albums-chart/20040222/40/</ref> and number 64 on the [[Irish Albums Chart]].<ref>[http://acharts.us/album/16564 Michelle McManus – The Meaning Of Love] Music Charts</ref> It went on to receive a Gold certification from the [[British Phonographic Industry]] for sales of over 200,000 in the UK.<ref>https://www.bpi.co.uk/certified-awards.aspx</ref>

==Track listing==
{{Track listing
| extra_column = Producer(s)

| writing_credits = yes

| title1 = [[All This Time (Michelle McManus song)|All This Time]]
| writer1 = {{hlist|[[Steve Mac]]|[[Wayne Hector]]|[[Ali Tennant]]}}
| extra1 = Mac
| length1 = 4:22

| title2 = [[The Meaning of Love (Michelle McManus song)|The Meaning of Love]]
| writer2 = {{hlist|[[Karen Poole]]|[[Steve Robson]]}}
| extra2 = Robson
| length2 = 4:24

| title3 = Say It Isn't So
| writer3 = {{hlist|Bottolf Lødemel|Lars Aass}}
| extra3 = {{hlist|Ronny Janssen|Lars Aass}}
| length3 = 4:30

| title4 = Emotional
| writer4 = {{hlist|[[Andreas Carlsson]]|[[Desmond Child]]|[[Chris Braide]]}}
| extra4 = {{hlist|Carlsson|Harry Sommerdahl}}
| length4 = 3:15

| title5 = When the World Is Not Enough
| writer5 = {{hlist|[[Cathy Dennis]]||Jonathan Shorten}}
| extra5 = {{hlist|David Eriksen|[[Martin Sjølie]]}}
| length5 = 3:43

| title6 = Too Fast Too Slow
| writer6 = {{hlist|Joanne Jeffries|Steve Welton-Jaimes|Juliette Jaimes}}
| extra6 = James McMillan
| length6 = 3:32

| title7 = Cast the First Stone
| writer7 = {{hlist|Ciaron Bell|Danielle Perkins|Sean Phillips}}
| extra7 = [[Stephen Lipson]]
| length7 = 3:36

| title8 = One Life
| writer8 = {{hlist|Dennis|Simon Ellis}}
| extra8 = Lipson
| length8 = 3:36

| title9 = [[Feelin' Good]]
| writer9 = {{hlist|[[Anthony Newley]]|[[Leslie Bricusse]]}}
| extra9 = McMillan
| length9 = 3:14

| title10 = How Can Sorry Ever Mend a Broken Heart
| writer10 = {{hlist|[[Steve Kipner]]|Dane DeViller|Sean Hosein}}
| extra10 = McMillan
| length10 = 3:08

| title11 = Invincible
| writer11 = [[Diane Warren]]
| extra11 = Robson
| length11 = 4:43

| title12 = I'll Never Know
| writer12 = {{hlist|[[Gary Barlow]]|[[Lucie Silvas]]}}
| extra12 = McMillan
| length12 = 4:19

| title13 = More Than Anything
| writer13 = {{hlist|Dennis|Thomas Nichols|Tim Woodcock}}
| extra13 = Lipson
| length13 = 3:25

| title14 = Once in a Lifetime
| writer14 = {{hlist|[[Lindy Robbins]]|[[Peter Gordeno (musician)|Peter Gordeno]]|Alex Cantrell|[[Mike Peden]]}}
| extra14 = Peden
| length14 = 4:06
}}

==Chart performance==

===Weekly charts===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!align="left"|Chart (2004)
!align="left"|Peak<br />position
|-
|align="left"|[[UK Albums Chart]]
| style="text-align:center;"|3<ref name="chartstats1"/>
|-
|align="left"|[[Irish Album Charts]]
| style="text-align:center;"|64<ref>{{cite web|url=http://acharts.us/album/16564 |title=Michelle Mcmanus - The Meaning Of Love - Music Charts |publisher=Acharts.us |date= |accessdate=2012-03-01}}</ref>
|-
|align="left"|[[Scotland|Scottish Album Charts]]
| style="text-align:center;"|1<ref>{{cite web|last=Walker |first=Ruth |url=http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/scotsmanmagazine/Where-are-they-now-Former.6128158.jp |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604232339/http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/scotsmanmagazine/Where-are-they-now-Former.6128158.jp |archivedate=2011-06-04 |title=Where are they now? Former Reality TV stars tell of life out of the spotlight - The Scotsman |publisher=Web.archive.org |date= |accessdate=2012-05-31}}</ref>
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Michelle McManus}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meaning Of Love, The}}
[[Category:2004 albums]]
[[Category:Michelle McManus albums]]
[[Category:19 Recordings albums]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Steve Robson]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Stephen Lipson]]
[[Category:BMG albums]]

Revision as of 08:57, 8 July 2017

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