Affirmation (Savage Garden album)

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Affirmation is the second and final studio album by Australian pop duo Savage Garden. The album was released on November 9, 1999.

Background

The band recording their second studio album after they recorded "The Animal Song" for the soundtrack to the film "The Other Sister". The majority of the album was written by Hayes in New York in September 1999, with the remainder being written just prior to that in Australia. Preceded by the second single "I Knew I Loved You", the album was released on November 9, 1999, to worldwide success. The album spawned a further five singles, one of which was exclusive to the Australian market ("Chained to You"), and one of which was exclusive to the British market ("The Best Thing"). Following the success of the Superstars and Cannonballs video album, the album was reissued in November 2000, containing a bonus live album, Declaration, featuring recordings from the concert at the Brisbane Entertainment on May 21, 2000. Including sales of the re-issue, the album has sold more than 13 million copies worldwide, being certified platinum in a number of countries. It became the band's last studio album after they decided to split in 2001. Similarly to Savage Garden, the album tracklisting varied internationally. The Australian version of the album features a bonus remix of "The Animal Song", a CD-rom featuring video footage and bonus material, and the uncut version of "Gunning Down Romance". The International version removes the remix, CD-rom and features a cut version of "Gunning Down Romance", due to a manufacturing error where six seconds of music are cut between 4:36 and 4:42, causing the music to skip abruptly.

Track listing

• Australia

1. "Affirmation" – 4:56
2. "Hold Me" – 4:50
3. "I Knew I Loved You" – 4:10
4. "The Best Thing" – 4:19
5. "Crash and Burn" – 4:41
6. "Chained to You" – 4:08
7. "The Animal Song" – 4:39
8. "The Lover After Me" – 4:50
9. "Two Beds and a Coffee Machine" – 3:27
10. "You Can Still Be Free" – 4:18
11. "Gunning Down Romance" – 5:34
12. "I Don't Know You Anymore" – 3:50
13. "The Animal Song" (Hex Hector Club Mix) – 9:55
14. "Bonus CD-Rom"

• International

1. "Affirmation" – 4:56
2. "Hold Me" – 4:50
3. "I Knew I Loved You" – 4:10
4. "The Best Thing" – 4:19
5. "Crash and Burn" – 4:41
6. "Chained to You" – 4:08
7. "The Animal Song" – 4:39
8. "The Lover After Me" – 4:50
9. "Two Beds and a Coffee Machine" – 3:27
10. "You Can Still Be Free" – 4:18
11. "Gunning Down Romance" (Cut) – 5:28
12. "I Don't Know You Anymore" – 3:50

• Declaration - Live Bonus Disc

1. "The Best Thing" – 5:24
2. "The Lover After Me" – 4:38
3. "I Don't Know You Anymore" – 3:37
4. "Two Beds and a Coffee Machine" – 1:46
5. "You Can Still Be Free" – 1:58
6. "Hold Me" – 4:52
7. "Gunning Down Romance" – 6:36
8. "Crash and Burn" – 5:13
9. "Chained to You" – 6:33
10. "I Knew I Loved You" – 8:05
11. "Affirmation" – 6:17

Personnel

• Darren Hayes: all vocals
• Daniel Jones: keyboards, synthesizers, drum and rhythm programming, additional guitars
• Walter Afanasieff: keyboards, synthsizers, drum and rhythm programming, acoustic piano on track 9
• Greg Bieck: keyboards and programming
• Michael Landau: electric guitars, lead baritone guitar on track 6
• Dean Parks: acoustic guitars
• Nathan East: bass
• Steve Smith: drums
• Strings arranged and conducted by Jeremy Lubbock; contractor: Jules Chaikin

Production

• Arranged and produced by Savage Garden and Walter Afanasieff
• Recorded and engineered by Jay Healy (vocals), Kent Matcke (basic tracking), David Frazer (guitars, strings on track 9), David Reitzas (guitars) and David Gleeson (drums, Fairlight, vocals and piano)
• Assistant engineers: Brian Vibberts, Pete Krawiec, Tony Rambo, Dave Ashton, Ethan Schofer, Dave Ashton, Luis Quine, Mark Gregory, Ryan Hewitt
• Mixed by Dave Way (tracks 1–6 and 8–12) and Chris Lord-Alge (track 7)
• Mastered by Vlado Meller

Affirmation World Tour

The band and crew for the Affirmation World Tour are:

Band

• Karl Lewis (drums)
• Lee Novak (bass)
• Ben Carey (guitarist)
• Jennifer Blakeman (keyboard)
• Elisa Fiorillo (backing vocals)
• Angi Bekker (backing vocals)

Crew

• Peter McFee (tour manager)
• Susie Steadman (assistant tour manager)
• Leonie Messer (PA to Darren Hayes)
• Colin Skals (stage manager)
• Colin Ellis (front of house engineer)
• Bruce Ramus (lighting director)
• Scott Pike (monitor engineer)
• Lindsay McKay (guitar technician)
• Adrian Dessent (guitar technician)
• Simon Moran (drum technician)
• Sean "Motley" Hackett (lighting operator)
• Nina De Palma (wardrobe stylist)

Chart positions

Year	Chart	Position
1999	Australian ARIA Albums Chart	1

Year	Chart	Position
1999	US Billboard 200	6