5:55

5:55
Studio album by Charlotte Gainsbourg
Released 28 August 2006
(see release history)
Genre Alternative pop
Length 42:37
Language English, French
Label Because Music, Atlantic, Vice
Producer Nigel Godrich
Charlotte Gainsbourg chronology

Charlotte for Ever
(1986)		 5:55
(2006)		 IRM
(2009)
Singles from 5:55
  1. "The Songs That We Sing"
    Released: 2006
  2. "5:55"
    Released: 2007
  3. "The Operation"
    Released: 2007
  4. "Beauty mark"
    Released: 2007
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
The Guardian [2]
The Observer [3]
Pitchfork Media (5.8/10)[4]
The Times [5]

5:55 is the second album by French musician and actress Charlotte Gainsbourg. It is also her first album release in twenty years. Charlotte collaborated on the album with French duo Air, English musician Jarvis Cocker, and Irish singer-songwriter Neil Hannon, as well as Radiohead's main producer Nigel Godrich. "The Songs That We Sing" and "5:55" were released as singles. The album went platinum in France, selling over 500,000 copies.[6][7] In the United States, the album sold a modest 22,000 copies. "The Songs That We Sing" was #78 on Rolling Stone‍ '​s list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007.[8]

In order to distance herself from her famous father and mother (Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin), Charlotte decided to sing most of the album in English (leaving only one song in French, "Tel Que Tu Es", meaning "Such As You Are"). Critics have been very positive in France, describing this effort as a total achievement from all points of view. English critics have been more mixed, saying that Charlotte's second album does not sound all that different compared with the work of her parents. Notably, Pitchfork Media's review described the album's erotic lyrical content as reminiscent of Serge Gainsbourg's, and Charlotte's vocal approach as highly similar to that of her mother.[4]

The first single, "The Songs That We Sing" was also included in the soundtrack to the 2009 film The Uninvited.[9][10]

Track listing

All music composed by Air, except where noted.

No. TitleLyricsMusic Length
1. "5:55"  Jarvis Cocker, Jean-Benoît Dunckel, Nicolas Godin  4:52
2. "AF607105"  Cocker  4:30
3. "The Operation"  Cocker  3:59
4. "Tel Que Tu Es"  Dunckel, Godin  3:09
5. "The Songs That We Sing"  Cocker, Neil Hannon  2:57
6. "Beauty Mark"  Cocker, Dunckel, Hannon, Godin  3:06
7. "Little Monsters"  Cocker  3:46
8. "Jamais"  Cocker  4:37
9. "Night-Time Intermission"  Charlotte Gainsbourg, CockerAir, Gainsbourg, Cocker 2:44
10. "Everything I Cannot See"  Cocker  5:45
11. "Morning Song"  Gainsbourg, Cocker  3:08

Bonus tracks

On some releases one or two bonus tracks were added, for details see release history.

No. TitleLyricsMusic Length
12. "Set Yourself on Fire"  Cocker  4:10
13. "Somewhere Between Waking and Sleeping"  Cocker, Hannon  3:45

Personnel

Chart performance

Album

Chart (2006/2007) Peak
position
French Albums Chart[11] 1
Austrian Albums Chart[12] 41
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[13] 15
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[14] 2
Dutch Albums Chart[15] 99
European Billboard Top 100 Albums[16] 14
German Albums Chart[17] 38
Swedish Albums Chart[18] 57
Swiss Albums Chart[19] 12
UK Albums Chart 78
US Billboard 200[20][21] 196
US Billboard Top Heatseekers[21][22] 9
US Billboard Top Independent Albums[21][23] 24

Singles

"The Songs That We Sing"
Chart (2006/2007) Peak
position
French SNEP Singles Chart[24] 30
Belgian Ultratip Chart (Flanders)[24] 10
Belgian Ultratip Chart (Wallonia)[24] 4
UK Singles Chart 129
Billboard European Hot 100 Singles[25] 87

Release history

Region Date Label Format Catalog Notes
France 28 August 2006 Because Music CD 3116662
Enhanced CD 3116672 Limited edition, with bonus track "Set Yourself on Fire". Enhanced section includes a Flash version of the booklet including lyrics, pictures and credits.
4 September 2006 LP album BEC5772052 Double album.
UK Because Music, Atlantic Records 5051011-5911-2-9
Europe Because Music, Warner Music 2564-63652-2
Japan 8 November 2006 Warner Music CD WPCR-12431 With bonus tracks "Set Yourself on Fire" and "Somewhere Between Waking and Sleeping"
US 24 April 2007 Vice Records Enhanced CD 94703-2 With bonus tracks "Set Yourself on Fire" and "Somewhere Between Waking and Sleeping". Enhanced section includes the promotional videos of "The Songs That We Sing" and "5:55" and an interview with Gainsbourg.

References

  1. ↑ Phares, Heather. "5:55 > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved 12 December 2009. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  2. ↑ Petridis, Alexis (1 September 2006). "CD: Charlotte Gainsbourg, 5:55". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 December 2009.
  3. ↑ Hussey, Andrew (13 August 2006). "CD: Charlotte Gainsbourg, 5.55". The Observer. Retrieved 12 December 2009.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Hogan, Marc (15 September 2006). "Pitchfork: Album Reviews: Charlotte Gainsbourg: 5:55". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 12 December 2009.
  5. ↑ Mulvey, John (2 September 2006). "Charlotte Gainsbourg: 5.55 review". The Times. Retrieved 12 December 2009.
  6. ↑ Atlantic Records :: Charlotte Gainsbourg News
  7. ↑ "Charlotte Gainsbourg : un 5ème album en octobre 2012". pure charts. 2011-12-15. Retrieved 2012-01-29.
  8. ↑ "The 100 Best Songs of 2007 : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. 27 December 2007. Retrieved 12 December 2009.
  9. ↑ "The Uninvited (2009/I) - Soundtracks". IMDB. Retrieved 12 December 2009.
  10. ↑ "The Uninvited (2009) - Cast and Credits". Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved 12 December 2009.
  11. ↑ "lescharts.com – Charlotte Gainsbourg – 5:55" (in French). Retrieved 12 December 2009.
  12. ↑ "Charlotte Gainsbourg – 5:55 – austriancharts.at" (in German). Retrieved 12 December 2009.
  13. ↑ "ultratop.be – Charlotte Gainsbourg – 5:55" (in Dutch). Retrieved 12 December 2009.
  14. ↑ "ultratop.be – Charlotte Gainsbourg – 5:55" (in French). Retrieved 12 December 2009.
  15. ↑ "dutchcharts.nl – Charlotte Gainsbourg – 5:55" (in Dutch). Retrieved 12 December 2009.
  16. ↑ "5:55 – Charlotte Gainsbourg – The Visualizer – European Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 12 December 2009.
  17. ↑ "Gainsbourg, Charlotte / Longplay" (in German). musicline.de. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
  18. ↑ "swedishcharts.com – Charlotte Gainsbourg – 5:55". Retrieved 12 December 2009.
  19. ↑ "Charlotte Gainsbourg – 5:55 – hitparade.ch" (in German). Retrieved 12 December 2009.
  20. ↑ "Charlotte Gainsbourg Album & Song Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 12 December 2009. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 "Charlotte Gainsbourg > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Retrieved 12 December 2009. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  22. ↑ "Charlotte Gainsbourg Album & Song Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 12 December 2009. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  23. ↑ "Charlotte Gainsbourg Album & Song Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 12 December 2009. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 "lescharts.com – Charlotte Gainsbourg – The Songs That We Sing" (in French). Retrieved 12 December 2009.
  25. ↑ "The Songs That We Sing – Charlotte Gainsbourg". Billboard. Retrieved 12 December 2009. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)

External links