I Speak Because I Can

I Speak Because I Can
Studio album by Laura Marling
Released 22 March 2010 (2010-03-22)
Recorded 2009
Genre Folk music
Length 36:58
Label Virgin Records
Producer Ethan Johns
Laura Marling chronology
Alas, I Cannot Swim
(2008)		 I Speak Because I Can
(2010)		 A Creature I Don't Know
(2011)

I Speak Because I Can is the second album by British singer-songwriter Laura Marling, released on 22 March 2010.

Produced by Ethan Johns, the album deals with "responsibility, particularly the responsibility of womanhood."[1] The album was preceded by the singles "Goodbye England (Covered in Snow)", released on iTunes in December 2009[2] and "Devil's Spoke" on 15 March 2010. The next single released was "Rambling Man", on 10 May 2010. The track "What He Wrote" was inspired by letters from a wife to her husband in the Second World War.[3] On 28 March 2010, I Speak Because I Can entered the official UK Charts at #4.[4] and has been certified Silver for sales of 60,000 in the UK. Back-up vocals are provided throughout the album by Marcus Mumford, the lead singer and guitarist of London based folk band Mumford & Sons. These are especially prevalent on the tracks "Hope in the Air" and "I Speak Because I Can".

Early radio promos of the album contained an additional four tracks that did not make the final commercial release. Two of these tracks, "Mama, How Far I've Come" and "Nature of Dust" were made available as an iTunes bonus track and b-side to the single "Rambling Man" respectively; the other two tracks, "Rebecca" and "Is A Hope" have still not seen a commercial release to date.

The album was listed at number 8 on The Guardian's Albums of 2010.[5]

Contents

Track listing

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [6]
Clash (9/10)[7]
Drowned in Sound (9/10)[8]
The Guardian [9]
The Independent [10]
Mojo [11]
NME (8/10)[12]
Pitchfork Media (8.1/10)[13]
Spin [14]
The Times [15]
Uncut [16]

All tracks by Laura Marling.

  1. "Devil's Spoke" – 3:40
  2. "Made by Maid" – 2:51
  3. "Rambling Man" – 3:16
  4. "Blackberry Stone" – 3:28
  5. "Alpha Shallows" – 3:42
  6. "Goodbye England (Covered in Snow)" – 3:45
  7. "Hope in the Air" – 4:32
  8. "What He Wrote" – 4:07
  9. "Darkness Descends" – 3:40
  10. "I Speak Because I Can" – 3:59
  11. "Nature of Dust" – 1:29 (iTunes bonus track)

Charts and certifications

Charts

Chart (2010) Peak
position
UK Albums Chart[17] 4
U.S. Folk Albums[18] 7
U.S. Top Heatseekers[19] 17

Year-end charts

Chart (2010) Position
UK Albums Chart[20] 114

Certifications

Country Certifier Certification Sales
United Kingdom BPI Gold[21] 100,000+

References

  1. ^ NME - I Speak Because I Can, First Listen
  2. ^ "Laura Marling - News". http://www.lauramarling.com. Retrieved 2009-12-13. 
  3. ^ "What He Wrote". Songfacts.com. http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=18943. Retrieved 2010-04-01. 
  4. ^ Music Week - Boyzone's Brother holds off GaGa's Fame
  5. ^ Barton, Laura (14 December 2010). "* Albums of 2010, No 8: Laura Marling – I Speak Because I Can". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2010/dec/13/albums-2010-laura-marling. Retrieved 6 January 2011. 
  6. ^ Monger, James Christopher. "Review: I Speak Because I Can". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r1735514. Retrieved 6 April 2010. 
  7. ^ "Clash review". http://www.clashmusic.com/reviews/laura-marling-i-speak-because-i-can. 
  8. ^ "Drowned in Sound review". http://drownedinsound.com/releases/15197/reviews/4139385. 
  9. ^ Simpson, Dave (18 March 2010). "The Guardian review". London. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/mar/18/laura-marling-speak-because-can. 
  10. ^ Gill, Andy (19 March 2010). "The Independent review". London. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-laura-marling-i-speak-because-i-can-virgin-1923542.html. 
  11. ^ "Mojo review". http://www.anydecentmusic.com/review/1592/I-Speak-Because-I-Can.aspx. 
  12. ^ "NME review". http://www.nme.com/reviews/laura-marling/11138. 
  13. ^ "Pitchfork Media review". http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14075-i-speak-because-i-can/. 
  14. ^ "Spin review". http://www.spin.com/reviews/laura-marling-i-speak-because-i-can-astralwerks. 
  15. ^ Paphides, Pete (19 March 2010). "The Times review". London. http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/cd_reviews/article7067200.ece. 
  16. ^ "Uncut review". http://www.anydecentmusic.com/review/1592/I-Speak-Because-I-Can.aspx. 
  17. ^ "Archive Chart". UK Albums Chart. The Official Charts Company. http://www.theofficialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/3/2010-04-03/. Retrieved 2011-08-10. 
  18. ^ "Folk Albums Archive". Billboard charts. Billboard magazine. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/laura-marling/chart-history/858203?f=1071&g=Albums. Retrieved 2011-08-21. 
  19. ^ "Heatseekers Albums Archive". Billboard charts. Billboard magazine. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/laura-marling/chart-history/858203. Retrieved 2011-08-21. 
  20. ^ "End Of Year Charts: 2010". UKChartsPlus. http://www.ukchartsplus.co.uk/UKChartsPlusYE2010.pdf. Retrieved 2011-08-10. 
  21. ^ http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/Search.aspx
Laura Marling
Studio albums
Alas, I Cannot Swim (2008)  • I Speak Because I Can (2010)  • A Creature I Don't Know (2011)
EPs
My Manic and I (2007)  • London Town (2008)  • Cross Your Fingers (2008)  • Mumford and Sons, Laura Marling and Dharohar Project (2010)
Singles
"Ghosts"  • "Cross Your Fingers"  • "Night Terror"  • "Goodbye England (Covered in Snow)"  • "Devil's Spoke"  • "Rambling Man"  • "Sophia"
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