Set Me Free (album)

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Set Me Free
Set Me Free cover
Studio album by Marion Raven
Released Flag of Germany June 8, 2007
Flag of the United Kingdom June 18, 2007
Flag of the Netherlands June 25, 2007
Flag of the United States July 24, 2007
Recorded 2005-2007
Genre Alternative/Rock/Pop
Length 45:00
40:33 (iTunes version)
Label Eleven Seven Music/Warner Bros. Records/Townsend Records [1]
Producer Dr. Luke, Marion Raven, Max Martin, James Michael
Professional reviews
  • Soundbase-online (9 out of 12) link
  • Max.de 3/5 stars link
  • CDstarts.de 6.5/10 stars link
  • Musiqtone 4/5 stars link
  • Mix1.de (6 out of 8) link
  • Commonsense Media 4/5 stars link
Marion Raven chronology
Here I Am
(2005)		 Set Me Free
(2007)

Set Me Free is Marion Raven's North American and European debut album released under indie label Eleven Seven Music. The album incorporates a mixture of fresh tracks and previously released tracks, with some revised versions, from her Asian and Scandinavian debut album, Here I Am. Raven wrote or co-wrote every track in the album. She also played the piano, acoustic and electric guitars on the record. Set Me Free headlines Raven's inclination to harder rocking songs and a darker lyrical scope. The album has been released in Germany and the U.K. with a digital release on the Dutch and US versions of iTunes. The original album will be coming out in the US this fall.A Interscope will be releasing the album in Canada, where Raven recently performed in ten Canadian cities as the opening act on Meat Loaf's March 2007 Arena tour.

Contents

[edit] Singles

  • "Falling Away" is the first single from the album, 'Set Me Free', that was released as a single in Germany and Holland. It was also made available on iTunes Canada on April 10, 2007 together with the "Break You" single.
  • "Break You" was the first single to be released exclusively in the United Kingdom on April 16, 2007. It was previously released in Norway, Japan and Southeast Asia from the Here I Am album, where it peaked at #1 and #9 in Japan and Norway respectively. The iTunes version of the single also has "Surfing The Sun" as a bonus track. The song peaked at #12 on the HPL30 U.K. chart.[2]

[edit] Track listing

[edit] Europe Tracklisting

# Title Writer(s) Duration
1. "Set Me Free" Marion Raven, Nikki Sixx, DJ Ashba 3:52
2. "Falling Away" Marion Raven, Freddy Wexler 3:31
3. "Crawl" Marion Raven, Danielle Brisebois, Jimmy Harry 3:49
4. "Here I Am" Marion Raven, Max Martin, Rami 3:52
5. "Thank You For Loving Me" Marion Raven, DJ Ashba 4:12
6. "13 Days" Marion Raven, Chantal Kreviazuk, Raine Maida 3:07
7. "Break You" Max Martin, Dr. Luke 3:12
8. "Heads Will Roll" Marion Raven, Nikki Sixx, James Michael 3:19
9. "For You I'll Die" Marion Raven 4:53
10. "At The End Of The Day" Marion Raven, Art Alexakis 4:04
11. "All I Wanna Do Is You" Marion Raven, Keith Nelson 3:10
12. "Let Me Introduce Myself" (Acoustic) Marion Raven 3:12

[edit] US iTunes version

# Title Writer(s) Duration
1. "Set Me Free" Marion Raven, Nikki Sixx, DJ Ashba 3:52
2. "Falling Away" Marion Raven, Freddy Wexler 3:29
3. "Crawl" Marion Raven, Danielle Brisebois, Jimmy Harry 3:48
4. "Here I Am" Marion Raven, Max Martin, Rami 3:49
5. "Thank You For Loving Me" Marion Raven, DJ Ashba 4:12
6. "13 Days" Marion Raven, Chantal Kreviazuk, Raine Maida 3:06
7. "Break You" Max Martin, Dr. Luke 3:10
8. "Heads Will Roll" Marion Raven, Nikki Sixx, James Michael 3:16
9. "For You I'll Die" Marion Raven 4:49
10. "At The End Of The Day" Marion Raven, Art Alexakis 3:59
11. "All I Wanna Do Is You" Marion Raven, Keith Nelson 3:09
  • The enhanced version of the album contains the music video for the single, "Falling Away".
  • The album was made available on the US and European iTunes on June 26, 2007, but its online release was only officially announced, on Raven's MySpace, on July 28, 2007. The iTunes version of the album does not include the acoustic hidden track, "Let Me Introduce Myself".

[edit] Track information

  • The songs, "Break You", "Crawl", "Here I Am", "For You I'll Die" and the duet "At The End Of The Day" were first released in Raven's 2005 international debut album, Here I Am, while the re-recorded version of "Heads Will Roll", "13 Days", "All I Wanna Do Is You" and the acoustic version of "Let Me Introduce Myself" are tracks that preceded the album in the EP, Heads Will Roll, that was released on October 31, 2006.[3]
  • "13 Days" is the only collaborative track that has been released without any alterations in both debut albums, Here I Am and Set Me Free as well as the Heads Will Roll EP.
  • "For You I'll Die" was inspired by the love Jim Morrison shared with his long-time companion Pamela Courson, coupled with their stormy relationship, separations and reunions. Raven wrote the ballad after reading the American singer's biography:[4][5]
“ I was in this Jim Morrison period where I was listening to the box set, reading his biography and watching the movie, I was very touched by Jim's relationship with Pamela, how she would always be there for him. The song is about being willing to do that for someone, but getting nothing in return except a spot in the grave next to them. ”
  • Raven wrote the duet, "At The End Of The Day", which features a collaborative effort with Art Alexakis and Everclear, in memory of the first time she fell in love.[6]
  • The acoustic version of "Let Me Introduce Myself" is a hidden track on the album that comes 40-50 seconds after "All I Wanna Do Is You". Raven has denied that "Let Me Introduce Myself" is directed at Zac Hanson's girlfriend.[7]
  • Raven has stated that she decided on the album's tracklisting to begin with a rock song and ending with another rock number.

[edit] Reception

  • Set Me Free was made available while Raven was on tour with Meat Loaf, as an opening act, in the entire month of June 2007, with Raven being present to autograph the albums. The album was sold out when it was made available in Ottawa, Canada, while Raven was part of Meat Loaf's Canadian tour.
  • Townsend Records praised the album for being "Heated, intense and heart-felt".[8]
  • German website Soundbase-online gave the album 9 out of 12 stars, commending Raven's ability to emote her feelings through her songs.[9]
  • Max.de praised Raven for using life as an inspiration for her music, and on being a genuine pop artist.[10]
  • Mix1.de commended the mixture of heart-felt histronics of grief and of illusions on many of the album's tracks.[11]
  • BBC reviewer, Harry Holgate, praised Raven's vocal ability as being on par with Kelly Clarkson and Avril Lavigne as well as commending Raven's invective nature as better than either of them. However, Set Me Free was criticised for its long production time and the lack of a consistent band, questioning Raven's decision to leave Atlantic Records.[12]

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Townsend Records (2007). Set Me Free Record labels. Townsend Records/ Universal. Retrieved on 2007-05-24.
  2. ^ HPL30 UK chart (2007). HPL30 U.K. Charts. hpl30.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-21.
  3. ^ Marion Raven (2007). Songs in Set Me Free originally from the Heads Will Roll EP. Marion Raven. Retrieved on 2007-03-11.
  4. ^ Marion Raven (2007). Marion Raven trivia. Marion2u.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
  5. ^ Artist Direct (2007). Biography. artistdirect.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-01.
  6. ^ Marion Raven (2007). Marion Raven trivia. Marion2u.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
  7. ^ Kev The Viper 66 (2007). Set Me Free. marion-raven.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-05.
  8. ^ Townsend Records (2007). Set Me Free Release info. townsend-records.co. Retrieved on 2007-06-23.
  9. ^ Katze (2007). Marion Raven: Set Me Free. soundbase-online.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-25.
  10. ^ Markus Weiß (2007). Set Me Free: Marion Raven. Max.de. Retrieved on 2007-06-28.
  11. ^ Mix1.de (2007). Set Me Free. Mix1.de. Retrieved on 2007-07-22.
  12. ^ Harry Holgate (2007). Marion Raven, Set Me Free. BBC. Retrieved on 2007-07-22.