| Amanda Leigh | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Mandy Moore | ||||||||||
| Released | May 26, 2009 (US) June 28, 2010 (Brazil)[1] November, 2011 (Argentina) |
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| Recorded | 2008-2009 | |||||||||
| Genre | Folk, pop | |||||||||
| Length | 37:57 | |||||||||
| Label | Storefront/RED Distribution | |||||||||
| Producer | Mike Viola | |||||||||
| Mandy Moore chronology | ||||||||||
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Amanda Leigh is the sixth studio album by American singer and songwriter Mandy Moore, released on May 26, 2009 through Storefront Recordings and RED Distribution. The album is named after the singer's full name, Amanda Leigh Moore.
Contents |
In October 2008, Moore posted on her website blog live videos of three new songs she had been working on, along with singer-songwriter, pianist and guitarist Mike Viola. It was at first expected to a be a duo album between the two, but then in January 2009, it was revealed it would be a solo album with a collaboration with him, slated for release in May 2009.
Recording sessions for the album took place around December 2008 in Boston, Massachusetts.[2]
It was announced in February 2009 that the new album was to be released in May on the label Storefront Recordings. This label was founded by Moore's long time manager John Leshay. Confirmed tracks for the album are "Everblue", "Nothing/Everything", "Love To Love Me Back", "I Could Break Your Heart Any Day of the Week", and "Song About Home". Moore worked with Lori McKenna on the album once again.
The album's music variously channels Todd Rundgren, Joni Mitchell, and Paul McCartney. According to Moore, "The music is all a reflection of me now, not somebody else's choices."[3]
For the promotion of the album, Moore will be performing an exclusive concert for the winning town of the "Love at First Sniff" competition on Gain's official site. The town that has the most stories placed on the website wins the competition and gets the concert hosted there.[4]
Moore visited many talk shows including The Ellen DeGeneres Show[5] and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.[6] On both shows she performed her new single "I Could Break Your Heart Any Day of the Week" to promote the album. On May 26, 2009, she performed her new songs at Amoeba Music in Hollywood, together with Mike Viola, the day her new album set to be released under her new label Storefront Records.[7][8]
On March 17, 2009, her first single for the record "I Could Break Your Heart Any Day of the Week" was released for digital download on iTunes. This was the date of the pre-ordering for the album.[9]
On March 17, Moore's official website shared clips from all the songs from the standard edition of the album.[10] New songs, "Fern Dell" and "Love To Love Me Back," were made available for streaming at her Myspace page a few days after.
According to a post in her blogpost in her website , it will be released digitally globally on September 29, a little more than four months after its initial release.[11]
The album was released in Brazil on June 28, 2010.
The album was released in Argentina on November, 2011.
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | link |
| Associated Press | (positive) link |
| The Boston Globe | (positive) link |
| The Dallas Morning News | B+ link |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+ link |
| The Hartford Courant | (positive) link |
| IGN | (7.4/10) link |
| Metromix | Link |
| Rolling Stone | link |
| Slant Magazine | link |
At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received a score of 70, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[26]
Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B+, stating that it was "much more fun" than Wild Hope and praised the songs "Merrimack River", "Pocket Philosopher", and "Song About Home."[12] The album topped the website's Must List the week it was released.[13]
Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic wrote the album is a "clean, classy collection of AAA pop."[14]
IGN wrote, "With Amanda Leigh, Moore has succeeded in crafting a personal record that is entertaining, even compelling at times, but isn't weighed down by heavy themes, misguided irony, or complex arrangements."[15]
The Dallas Morning News noted that "Amanda Leigh turns more compelling with each listen...How great that she left the Britney Spears factory behind."[16]
All songs written by Mandy Moore and Mike Viola, except where noted.
| Original Track listing | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | ||||||
| 1. | "Merrimack River" | 4:24 | |||||||
| 2. | "Fern Dell" | 3:01 | |||||||
| 3. | "I Could Break Your Heart Any Day of the Week" | 2:49 | |||||||
| 4. | "Pocket Philosopher" | 3:15 | |||||||
| 5. | "Song About Home" | Inara George, Mandy Moore, Mike Viola | 3:54 | ||||||
| 6. | "Everblue" | Moore, Lori McKenna | 4:13 | ||||||
| 7. | "Merrimack River (Reprise)" | Viola | 0:59 | ||||||
| 8. | "Love to Love Me Back" | George, Moore, Viola | 4:12 | ||||||
| 9. | "Indian Summer" | George, Moore, Viola | 2:20 | ||||||
| 10. | "Nothing Everything" | 4:21 | |||||||
| 11. | "Bug" | 2:16 | |||||||
| Argentina Bonus Track | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length | |||||||
| 12. | "Fern Dell (Original Demo)" | 2:13 | |||||||
| Target Bonus Tracks | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | ||||||
| 13. | "Fern Dell (Original Demo)" | 2:13 | |||||||
| 14. | "Love to Love Me Back (Original Demo)" | George, Moore, Viola | 3:38 | ||||||
| iTunes Bonus Tracks | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | ||||||
| 15. | "I Could Break Your Heart Any Day of the Week (Living Room Demo)" | 2:51 | |||||||
| 16. | "Audio Track by Track" | 11:24 | |||||||
| WalMart Bonus Tracks | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | ||||||
| 17. | "Merrimack River (Original Demo)[18]" | 4:45 | |||||||
Amanda Leigh debuted at number 25 in Billboard 200 selling 15,657 copies in its first week of release. This is her third highest peaking album to date.[19] It quickly fell to #121 the week after.[20]
The album was released in Brazil and has sold more than 1,000 so far, though it has not charted in any official chart of the country.
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
Copies sold |
|---|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 | 25 | 30,000+[21] |
| U.S. Billboard Top Independent Albums | 4[22] | |
| U.S. Billboard Top Digital Albums | 12[23] | 5,000+ |
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