Fumbling Towards Ecstasy

Fumbling Towards Ecstasy is the third studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan. It was produced by Pierre Marchand in Montreal, released on October 22, 1993 on Nettwerk in Canada and February 5, 1994 on Arista Records in the United States.

The album was an immediate hit in Canada, where McLachlan was already an established star. Over the next two years, it became her breakthrough album internationally as well. However, in some countries, most notably the United States, the album was a steady seller that stayed in the middle ranges of the pop charts for almost two years, rather than the #1 smash that McLachlan would achieve with 1997's Surfacing. As of November 2003, the album has sold 2.8 million copies in the United States.^[1]

"Possession", the album's first single, is written from the point of view of an obsessed fan. Following the album's release, a fan named Uwe Vandrei sued McLachlan for songwriting credit, claiming that his letters were used as the basis of the song. The case never made it to trial as Vandrei was found dead of apparent suicide in November 1994.

Some editions contain an album version of McLachlan's 1995 single used for The Brothers McMullen soundtrack, "I Will Remember You". The track's lyrics do not appear in the booklet, nor strangely does the track's crediting information.

August 5, 2008 saw the release of the 15th anniversary 3-disc edition the album. The set includes the original remastered album, The Freedom Sessions and a DVD that includes live performances, music videos and more. The album was released by Legacy Recordings.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Possession"	Sarah McLachlan	4:39
2.	"Wait"	McLachlan	4:09
3.	"Plenty"	McLachlan	4:05
4.	"Good Enough"	McLachlan	5:03
5.	"Mary"	McLachlan	3:55
6.	"Elsewhere"	McLachlan	4:44
7.	"Circle"	McLachlan	3:43
8.	"Ice"	McLachlan	3:54
9.	"Hold On"	McLachlan	4:09
10.	"Ice Cream"	McLachlan	2:44
11.	"Fear"	McLachlan	3:59
12.	"Fumbling Towards Ecstasy" (¹)	McLachlan, Pierre Marchand	9:49

UK and Japan Bonus Track
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Blue"	Joni Mitchell	2:50

¹ A hidden track can be found after "Fumbling Towards Ecstasy," consisting of a brief outtake snippet from "Ice" and a solo piano rendition of "Possession."

Legacy edition

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[2]
Rolling Stone	^[3]
Slant Magazine	^[4]

Disc 1: Fumbling Towards Ecstasy
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Possession"	4:39
2.	"Wait"	4:09
3.	"Plenty"	4:05
4.	"Good Enough"	5:03
5.	"Mary"	3:55
6.	"Elsewhere"	4:44
7.	"Circle"	3:43
8.	"Ice"	3:54
9.	"Hold On"	4:09
10.	"Ice Cream"	2:44
11.	"Fear"	3:59
12.	"Fumbling Towards Ecstasy"	4:56
13.	"Possession (Piano Version)"	4:30

The Freedom Sessions
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Elsewhere"	4:33
2.	"Plenty"	3:20
3.	"Mary"	3:55
4.	"Good Enough"	3:20
5.	"Hold On"	6:43
6.	"Ice Cream"	2:30
7.	"Ice"	3:58
8.	"Ol' 55" (Written by Tom Waits)	4:12
9.	"Hold On (Alternate Version)"	6:43

Fumbling Towards Ecstasy Live DVD
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Plenty"
2.	"Good Enough"
3.	"Wait"
4.	"Home"
5.	"Ice" (Live studio)
6.	"Ben's Song"
7.	"Out of the Shadows"
8.	"I Will Not Forget You"
9.	"Path of Thorns" (Live studio)
10.	"Hold On"
11.	"Possession"
12.	"Mary" (Live studio)
13.	"Ice Cream"
14.	"Fumbling Towards Ecstasy"
15.	"Ol' 55"

Charts

Chart	Peak position	Certification	Sales/shipments
Australian Albums Chart^[5]	76
Canadian Albums Chart^[6]	5	5x platinum	500,000^[7]
U.S. Billboard 200^[8]	50	3x platinum	3,000,000^[9]

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Format	Catalogue
Japan	24 May 1994	BMG Japan	CD	BVCA-638
Australia	14 August 1994	Arista Records	CD	07822-18725-2

Personnel

Sarah McLachlan: Vocals, Acoustic & Electric Guitars, Piano
Bill Dillon: Acoustic & Electric Guitars, Guitorgan, Bass, Piano
Pierre Marchand: Bass, Piano, Keyboards, Fake B-3 Organ, Drum Machine, Percussion Machine, 808, Shaker, Found Sound
Brian Minato: Bass
David Kershaw: Hammond Organ
Jane Scarpantoni: Cello
Michel Dubeau: Saxophone
Ashwin Sood: Drums, Percussion
Jerry Marotta: Drums, Percussion
Lou Shefano: Drums
Guy Nadon: Drums

References

↑ "Ask Billboard - FUMBLING TOWARDS SALES". Billboard. Retrieved 28 May 2009.
↑ Allmusic Review
↑ Rolling Stone Review
↑ Slant Magazine Review
↑ Australian Albums Chart
↑ Canadian Albums Chart
↑ CRIA
↑ U.S. Albums Chart
↑ RIAA

External links

The Sarah McLachlan Fumbling: The Podcast Features Darryl DMC McDaniels, Bill Leeb, and Alan Light

v t e Sarah McLachlan

Studio albums	Touch Solace Fumbling Towards Ecstasy Surfacing Afterglow Wintersong Laws of Illusion

Live albums	Live EP The Freedom Sessions Mirrorball Afterglow Live Mirrorball: The Complete Concert Live From Etown: 2006 Christmas Special

Other albums	Rarities, B-Sides and Other Stuff Remixed Bloom: Remix Album iTunes Originals Rarities, B-Sides and Other Stuff Volume 2 Closer: The Best of Sarah McLachlan

Singles	"Vox" "The Path of Thorns (Terms)" "Into the Fire" "Drawn to the Rhythm" "Possession" "I Will Remember You" "Building a Mystery" "Sweet Surrender" "Adia" "Angel" "Fallen" "Stupid" "World on Fire" "River" "U Want Me 2" "Loving You Is Easy" "Forgiveness" "Illusions of Bliss"

Other songs	"Silence" "Sing" "When She Loved Me" "Don't Let Go"

Collaborators	Pierre Marchand Ashwin Sood Terry McBride

Related articles	Discography Awards and nominations Lilith Fair Nettwerk Music of Canada Music of British Columbia

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