Liz Phair (album)
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| Liz Phair | |||||
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| Studio album by Liz Phair | |||||
| Released | June 24, 2003 | ||||
| Genre | Pop, Rock | ||||
| Length | 50:14 | ||||
| Label | Capitol CDP 7243 5 22084 0 1 |
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| Producer | The Matrix Michael Penn Liz Phair R. Walt Vincent |
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| Liz Phair chronology | |||||
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Liz Phair is the 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.
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[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 pop 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.
- "Extraordinary" (Phair, Christy, Edwards, Spock) – 3:25
- "Red Light Fever" (Phair, Clark) – 4:52
- "Why Can't I?" (Phair, Christy, Edwards, Spock) – 3:28
- "It's Sweet" – 2:55
- "Rock Me" (Phair, Christy, Edwards, Spock) – 3:21
- "Take a Look" – 3:29
- "Little Digger" – 3:36
- "Firewalker" – 4:29
- "Favorite" (Phair, Christy, Edwards, Spock) – 3:24
- "Love/Hate" – 3:43
- "H.W.C." – 2:56
- "My Bionic Eyes" – 3:52
- "Friend of Mine" – 3:44
- "Good Love Never Dies" – 3:00
[edit] Samples
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"Why Can't I" "Why Can't I" by Liz Phair - Problems playing the files? See media help.
[edit] Personnel
- Liz Phair - guitar, vocals, sampling
- Jebin Bruni - keyboards
- Mario Calire - drums
- Lenny Castro - percussion
- Matt Chamberlain - drums
- Alison Clark - background vocals
- Mike Elizondo - bass
- Victor Indrizzo - drums
- Corky James - guitar, bass
- Buddy Judge - guitar, electric guitar, background vocals
- Abe Laboriel Jr. - drums
- The Matrix - vocals
- Wendy Melvoin - bass, guitar
- Michael Penn - bass, guitar, background vocals, sampling
- John Sands - drums
- David Sutton - bass
- R. Walt Vincent - bass, guitar, harmonica, electric guitar, background vocals, Wurlitzer
- Patrick Warren - piano, keyboards
- The Wizardz of Oz - vocals
- Pete Yorn - guitar, drums
[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 |
| 2003 | Top Internet Albums | 27 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | "Extraordinary" | Adult Top 40 | 14 |
| 2004 | "Extraordinary" | Top 40 Mainstream | 28 |
| 2003 | "Why Can't I?" | Adult Top 40 | 7 |
| 2004 | "Why Can't I?" | The Billboard Hot 100 | 32 |
| 2004 | "Why Can't I?" | Top 40 Adult Recurrents | 1 |
| 2004 | "Why Can't I?" | Top 40 Mainstream | 10 |
| 2004 | "Why Can't I?" | Top 40 Tracks | 15 |
| 2004 | "Why Can't I?" | New Zealand Charts | 37 |
[edit] Chart trajectories
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| Week | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | ||||||||||||||||
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[edit] References
- ^ David Carr, The New York Times, August 2, 2005, http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/02/arts/music/02phai.html
- ^ Meghan O'Rourke, The New York Times, June 22, 2003, http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/22/arts/music/22OROU.html
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