This Is the Life (Amy Macdonald album)
This Is the Life | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 30 July 2007 | |||
Recorded | 2006–2007 | |||
Studio | Brookland Road Studio Soho Recording Studios (London) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 44:15 | |||
Label |
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Producer | Pete Wilkinson | |||
Amy Macdonald chronology | ||||
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Amy Macdonald studio album chronology | ||||
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Singles from This Is the Life | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
BBC | (favourable)[2] |
Blender | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Insiders' Guides | 8/10[4] |
Los Angeles Times | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Guardian | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Independent | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
TimesOnline | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Yahoo! Music | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
This Is the Life is the debut studio album by British singer-songwriter Amy Macdonald, released on 30 July 2007. It reached number one on the UK Albums Chart on 13 January 2008[10] and sold over 900,000 copies in the UK as of February 2017,[11] awarding the album a certification of 3× Platinum.
Background and recording
[edit]Macdonald sent a demo CD in response to an advertisement placed in the NME[12] by a new production company set up by songwriters Pete Wilkinson and Sarah Erasmus.[13] Wilkinson said he was "literally aghast" at her songwriting abilities when first he heard Macdonald play the songs "This Is the Life" and "Mr Rock n Roll".[13] He then spent around eight or nine months recording demos with Macdonald at his home studio with a view to securing a record deal for his new client. In 2007 she signed a contract with Vertigo when she was 18 years old.[14]
She has claimed that she feels she was "in the right place at the right time" by answering the advertisement in NME, later claiming that the subsequent success she endured to be "a weird life". Macdonald has been described as "one of the last artists" to gain a recording contract by sending a demo to record companies, with Macdonald claiming it to be "mental", citing the music industry changes since 2007. Macdonald claims that "what’s funny is even then, everyone found it bizarre that I got a record deal from sending a demo, because this was when people were being discovered on MySpace — Lily Allen, Arctic Monkeys; they were all doing it that way".[15]
Singles and other tracks
[edit]The first single from the album was "Poison Prince", a limited online release, while the debut first full single was the successful "Mr Rock & Roll", which debuted at number 12. The following singles "L.A." and "This Is the Life" were considerably less successful in the UK, although "This Is the Life" is considered her most successful song in the rest of Europe, where it peaked at number 1 in Belgium and the Netherlands, number 2 in Switzerland, number 3 in Spain, number 6 in Norway and number 8 in Denmark. It peaked at number 28 in the UK, spending 17 weeks in the top 75. After fifth single "Run", the sixth release from the album was a re-release of "Poison Prince" on 19 May 2008.[16]
Three songs of the album are cover versions: "Caledonia", originally recorded in 1979 by Dougie MacLean, "Fairytale of New York", first performed in 1987 by The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl, written by Jem Finer and Shane MacGowan, and "Mr. Brightside", cover version of a 2004 song by The Killers, written by Brandon Flowers and Dave Keuning.
United Kingdom
- "Poison Prince" (7 May 2007)
- "Mr Rock & Roll" (16 July 2007)
- "L.A." (15 October 2007)
- "This Is the Life" (10 December 2007)
- "Run" (3 March 2008)
- "Poison Prince" (19 May 2008 – re-release)
Europe
- "Mr Rock & Roll" (5 August 2008)
- "This Is the Life"
- "Run" (20 February 2009)
- "Poison Prince" (19 June 2009)
Poland
- "Poison Prince"
- "This Is the Life"
- "Mr Rock & Roll"
Canada and US
- "Mr Rock & Roll" (5 August 2008)
Chart performance
[edit]The album was particularly successful in Germany, spending 57 weeks in the top 20 of the German Albums Chart, 36 weeks in the top 10 of the German albums chart and a total of 100 weeks on the entire chart;[17] it has been certified 5× Platinum (as 2012) for over 1.000,000 copies sold in the country.[18] It also spent 57 weeks in the Dutch albums chart and 53 weeks in the Swiss albums chart.
It has also been certified Gold in Sweden. It has been certified Platinum in France for over 220,000 copies sold.[19] The album was released in the US on 19 August 2008.[20]
Track listings
[edit]All tracks were written by Amy Macdonald except where shown.
Standard edition
[edit]No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Mr Rock & Roll" | 3:35 | |
2. | "This Is the Life" | 3:05 | |
3. | "Poison Prince" | 3:28 | |
4. | "Youth of Today" | 4:00 | |
5. | "Run" | 3:50 | |
6. | "Let's Start a Band" | 4:05 | |
7. | "Barrowland Ballroom" | 3:58 | |
8. | "L.A." | Amy Macdonald, Pete Wilkinson | 4:06 |
9. | "A Wish for Something More" | 3:46 | |
10. | "Footballer's Wife" | 5:06 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
11. | "The Road to Home" | 2:20 | |
12. | "Caledonia" (hidden track) | Dougie MacLean | 2:00 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
11. | "The Road to Home" | 2:20 | |
12. | "Caledonia" (hidden track) | Dougie MacLean | 2:00 |
13. | "Mr. Brightside" (live from King Tuts) | 4:14 | |
14. | "Mr Rock & Roll" (live from King Tuts) | 3:28 | |
15. | "Rock Bottom" | 3:45 |
Deluxe edition
[edit]After the major success of "This Is the Life" across Europe, near the end of 2008 a deluxe version of the album was released. The two-disc set include the standard version of the album and a bonus CD with several bonus tracks, live and acoustic versions.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Mr Rock & Roll" | 3:35 | |
2. | "This Is the Life" | 3:05 | |
3. | "Poison Prince" | 3:28 | |
4. | "Youth of Today" | 4:00 | |
5. | "Run" | 3:50 | |
6. | "Let's Start a Band" | 4:05 | |
7. | "Barrowland Ballroom" | 3:58 | |
8. | "L.A." | Amy Macdonald, Pete Wilkinson | 4:06 |
9. | "A Wish for Something More" | 3:46 | |
10. | "Footballer's Wife" | 5:06 |
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "This Is the Life" (acoustic live version) | 3:19 |
2. | "This Much Is True" | 2:44 |
3. | "Somebody New" | 3:29 |
4. | "Footballer's Wife" (live from Glasgow Barrowlands) | 5:02 |
5. | "Fairy Tale of New York" (live from Glasgow Barrowlands, originally performed by The Pogues & Kirsty MacColl) | 5:50 |
6. | "Mr. Brightside" (live from Glasgow Barrowlands, originally performed by The Killers) | 4:05 |
7. | "Mr Rock & Roll" (live from Glasgow Barrowlands) | 3:28 |
8. | "Rock Bottom" | 3:46 |
9. | "The Road to Home" | 2:21 |
10. | "Caledonia" (hidden track) | 2:06 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
11. | "What Is Love" | 3:42 |
Personnel
[edit]- Amy Macdonald – vocals, acoustic guitar
- Pete Wilkinson – producer, manager
- Seton Daunt – guitar
- Jolyon Dixon – guitar, mixing
- Jamie Sefton – bass
- Adam Falkner – drums, percussion
- Johnny Dyke – keyboards
- Phillip Read Mason – bagpipes
- Audrey Riley – cello, conductor
- Richard George – violin
- Jonathan Hill – violin
- Laura Melhuish – violin
- Susan Dench – viola
- Joe Fields – engineer
- Paul Adam & His Mayfair Music – executive producer
- Guy Katsav – assistant engineer
- Bob Clearmountain – mixing
- Danton Supple - mixing on tracks 3,4,5
- Valerie Phillips – cover design, photography
Charts
[edit]
Weekly charts[edit]
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Year-end charts[edit]
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Certifications
[edit]Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Austria (IFPI Austria)[54] | 2× Platinum | 40,000* |
Belgium (BEA)[55] | 2× Platinum | 60,000* |
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[56] | Platinum | 30,000^ |
France (SNEP)[57] | Gold | 75,000* |
Germany (BVMI)[58] | 5× Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
Greece (IFPI Greece)[59] | Gold | 7,500^ |
Ireland (IRMA)[60] | Gold | 7,500^ |
Italy (FIMI)[61] | Gold | 40,000* |
Netherlands (NVPI)[62] | 2× Platinum | 140,000^ |
Norway (IFPI Norway)[63] | Gold | 20,000* |
Poland (ZPAV)[64] | Gold | 10,000* |
Russia (NFPF)[65] | Gold | 10,000* |
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[66] | Gold | 40,000^ |
Sweden (GLF)[67] | Gold | 20,000^ |
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[68] | 4× Platinum | 120,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI)[69] | 3× Platinum | 900,000^ |
Summaries | ||
Europe (IFPI)[70] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000* |
Worldwide | — | 3,000,000[71] |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
References
[edit]- ^ This Is the Life at AllMusic
- ^ "Music - Review of Amy MacDonald - This Is The Life". BBC. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
- ^ [1] Archived 6 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ [2] Archived 13 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "New CDs: Staind, Amy Macdonald". Los Angeles Times. 19 August 2008.
- ^ Sullivan, Caroline (27 July 2007). "CD: Amy Macdonald, This Is the Life". The Guardian. London.
- ^ [3] Archived 1 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Bremner, Charles. "Amy Macdonald : This Is The Life". The Times. London.
- ^ 22 mins ago (20 April 2011). "Yahoo! UK & Ireland omg! - Celebrity Gossip | News | Photos | Videos". Uk.launch.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on 13 June 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
{{cite web}}
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- ^ a b "Interview With Manager Pete Wilkinson" Archived 6 June 2019 at the Wayback Machine, HitQuarters, 15 June 2009.
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- ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
- ^ "Årslista Album – År 2008" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
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- ^ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2008". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
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- ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Amy Macdonald; 'This Is the Life')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
- ^ "Ελληνικό Chart – Top 50 Ξένων Aλμπουμ" (in Greek). IFPI Greece.
- ^ "The Irish Charts - 2007 Certification Awards - Gold". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
- ^ "Italian album certifications – Amy Macdonald – This Is the Life" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Select "Tutti gli anni" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Type "This Is the Life" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Album e Compilation" under "Sezione".
- ^ "Dutch album certifications – Amy Macdonald – This Is the Life" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 15 October 2021. Enter This Is the Life in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 2008 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
- ^ "IFPI Norsk platebransje Trofeer 1993–2011" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
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- ^ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2008" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2011.
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- ^ Lacey, Hester (23 January 2021). "Amy Macdonald: 'I dislike people who need to be the centre of attention'". Financial Times. Retrieved 25 February 2024.