Anna Calvi (album)

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Anna Calvi
Studio album by
Anna Calvi
Released14 January 2011
RecordedAutumn 2010
GenreArt rock
Length39:17
LabelDomino
ProducerRob Ellis, Anna Calvi
Anna Calvi chronology
Anna Calvi
(2011) 		One Breath
(2013)
Singles from Anna Calvi
  1. "Blackout"
    Released: 21 March 2011
  2. "Desire"
    Released: 20 June 2011
  3. "Suzanne & I"
    Released: 12 September 2011

Anna Calvi is the debut album of British singer-songwriter Anna Calvi, released on 14 January 2011, by Domino Records.[1][2] In Autumn, 2010, Calvi entered Black Box studio in France with producer Rob Ellis[3] and, using vintage analogue equipment, created "a velvet Wall of Sound that justified the hype in the buildup to its 2011 release."[4] The album peaked at No. 40 in the UK Album Charts[5] reached No. 17 in France,[6] and entered several European charts. The album has been nominated for the 2011 Barclaycard Mercury Prize.

History[edit]

The debut album's material had been written in Anna Calvi's parents' attic, using eight-track equipment. Of Rob Ellis, best known for his work with PJ Harvey, she said:

He’s old-school rock‘n roll… you know, 'Hit the drums harder!' Which I love. We both share a love of classical music...he loves the same composers as I do. So I didn’t have to explain what I meant when I said that I wanted I wanted a guitar or a shaker to sound like an orchestra. It was great to find someone who understood.[7]

Calvi herself said she was proud with the album and picked out two songs where she felt she'd got close to what she ultimately wanted to achieve: "Love Won’t Be Leaving" (noted for microscopic sound detailisation) and "The Devil". "I see music very visually. And I want the music itself to express the story as much, if not more, than the lyrics. I think I achieved that on Love Won’t Be Leaving," she commented on the former. As for the latter, "It’s a good example of how I wanted to make the guitar sound like another instrument. I wanted the middle-section to sound like the strings on a Hitchcock soundtrack. It crescendos towards an explosion, but in a real and honest way. It's not about bravado," she added.[7]

Singles[edit]

"Blackout" with the cover of Surrender (classic Neapolitan song, originally Torna a Surriento, adapted for Elvis Presley in 1961 by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, with lyrics by Claude Aveling) was released as the first single from the album on 21 March 2011[8] and was debuted on Pitchfork in the US.[9] "Desire" was the second single (backed with a reworking of Leonard Cohen's "Joan of Arc") and was released on 20 June 2011. The track was available on 7" (RUG412) and via digital download (RUG412D).[10] "Suzanne & I" (backed with the cover of the Shirelles "Baby It's You") was released as the third single from the album on 12 September 2011.

Reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.6/10[11]
Metacritic80/100[12]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Evening Standard[13]
Financial Times[14]
The Guardian[15]
The Irish Times[16]
Mojo[17]
NME9/10[18]
Pitchfork7.8/10[19]
Q[20]
Uncut[21]

Upon its release, Anna Calvi received generally positive reviews from music critics. Aggregating website AnyDecentMusic? reports a score of 7.6 based on 29 professional reviews.[11]

Reviewer Eamonn Seoige (IHeart AU), called the album "fully-formed and... an instantly engaging body of work", argued that it's "key strength is honest, raw power." Describing Calvi's songs as "poetic, free-flowing, often incorporating multiple styles that frame her distinctive and kaleidoscopic vocal range," he added: "A gifted musician, possessor of a unique voice and writer of inimitable songs, Calvi is already primed for greatness."[22] Matt James of PopMatters described Calvi as "eternally glamorous, but perennially doomed nightclub torch-song singer with a skeleton army in their closet" and her debut, never "afraid to be fantastical, striking," as "rich and strange".[23] NME called the debut "perhaps the first great record of 2011."[18] According to Jon O'Brien of AllMusic, this "ambitious and always intriguing debut... heralds the arrival of a unique and inventive addition to the plethora of U.K. female singer/songwriters."[1]

Mojo placed the album at number 8 on its list of "Top 50 albums of 2011."[24]

Track listing[edit]

All tracks are written by Anna Calvi

No.TitleLength
1."Rider to the Sea"2:40
2."No More Words"3:51
3."Desire"3:51
4."Suzanne & I"4:11
5."First We Kiss"3:05
6."The Devil"4:34
7."Blackout"4:05
8."I'll Be Your Man"3:10
9."Morning Light"4:13
10."Love Won't Be Leaving"5:37

Personnel[edit]

  • Anna Calvi – lead vocals, bass guitar, guitar, organ, piano, production, string arrangements, strings, violin
  • Brian Eno – piano, backing vocals (tracks 3, 4)
  • Mally Harpaz – drums, harmonium, percussion
  • Daniel Maiden-Wood – bass, drums, backing vocals
  • Dave Okumu – backing vocals (track 2)

Technical personnel

  • Peter Deimel – engineering
  • Rob Ellis – production
  • David Odlux – assistant
  • Chris Potter – mastering
  • Jimmy Robertson – engineering
  • Craig Silvey – mixing
  • Pritpal Soor – mixing, production
  • Emma Nathan - artwork

Charts[edit]

Chart (2011) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[25] 33
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[26] 9
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[27] 36
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[28] 68
French Albums (SNEP)[29] 17
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[30] 70
Irish Albums (IRMA)[31] 72
Irish Independent Albums (IRMA)[32] 7
Italian Albums (FIMI)[33] 93
Scottish Albums (OCC)[34] 66
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[35] 55
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[36] 40
UK Albums (OCC)[37] 40
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[38] 3
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[39] 42

Sales[edit]

‹See Tfd›‹See Tfd›
Region Certification Certified units/sales
France — 35,000[40]
Summaries
Worldwide 170,000[41]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c O'Brien, Jon. "Anna Calvi – Anna Calvi". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 12 October 2011. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
  2. ^ Domino Record Company, Retrieved 18 January 2011. Archived 20 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Perry, Andrew (10 January 2011). "Anna Calvi: giving voice to passion and desire". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011.
  4. ^ AllMusic biography. Archived 6 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ UK Albums Chart – Week: 23 January 2011, Retrieved 27 January 2011.
  6. ^ lescharts.com – Anna Calvi – Anna Calvi @ lescharts.com. Archived 21 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ a b Anna Calvi's profile. Domino Records. Archived 20 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ Domino | News | Anna Calvi Announces New Single 'Blackout' Archived 20 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ Pitchfork: Forkcast: Anna Calvi: Blackout. Archived 24 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ Desire to be next single. – www.annacalvi.com Archived 19 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ a b "Anna Calvi by Anna Calvi reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Archived from the original on 30 May 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
  12. ^ "Reviews for Anna Calvi by Anna Calvi". Metacritic. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  13. ^ "CDs of the week". Evening Standard. 14 January 2011. Archived from the original on 28 January 2011. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  14. ^ Hunter-Tilney, Ludovic (15 January 2011). "Anna Calvi: Anna Calvi". Financial Times. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  15. ^ Costa, Maddy (13 January 2011). "Anna Calvi: Anna Calvi – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  16. ^ Carroll, Jim (21 January 2011). "Shape shifter". The Irish Times. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  17. ^ "Anna Calvi: Anna Calvi". Mojo (208): 96. March 2011.
  18. ^ a b Cooper, Leonie (17 January 2011). "Album Review: Anna Calvi – Anna Calvi". NME. Archived from the original on 11 October 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
  19. ^ Ashurst, Hari (1 March 2011). "Anna Calvi: Anna Calvi". Pitchfork. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  20. ^ Mongredien, Phil (February 2011). "Anna Calvi: Anna Calvi". Q (295): 113.
  21. ^ "Anna Calvi: Anna Calvi". Uncut (165): 94. February 2011.
  22. ^ Anna Calvi review. IHeart AU Archived 12 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  23. ^ Matt James Anna Calvi PopMatters review. Archived 29 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  24. ^ "MOJO's Top 50 Albums Of 2011". Stereogum. 2 December 2011. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  25. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Anna Calvi – Anna Calvi" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  26. ^ "Ultratop.be – Anna Calvi – Anna Calvi" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  27. ^ "Ultratop.be – Anna Calvi – Anna Calvi" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  28. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Anna Calvi – Anna Calvi" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  29. ^ "Lescharts.com – Anna Calvi – Anna Calvi". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  30. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Anna Calvi – Anna Calvi" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  31. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Anna Calvi". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  32. ^ "Top 10 Independent Artist Albums, Week Ending 27 January 2011". Chart-Track. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  33. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Anna Calvi – Anna Calvi". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  34. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  35. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Anna Calvi – Anna Calvi". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  36. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Anna Calvi – Anna Calvi". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  37. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  38. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  39. ^ "Anna Calvi Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  40. ^ Ruelle, Yohann (6 October 2013). "Anna Calvi joue les esprits fantômes dans le clip aérien de "Sing to Me"". chartsinfrance. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  41. ^ Gibsone, Harriet (13 October 2014). "Mercury nominees 2014: Anna Calvi". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
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