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Sarah McLachlan: Fumbling Towards Ecstasy

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: Arista Records
Released: 1994.02.01
Time:
 57:45
Category: Folk, Celtic
Producer(s): Pierre Marchand
Rating: ********.. (8/10)
Media type: CD
Web address: www.sarahmclachlan.com
Appears with:
Purchase date: 2001.05.09
Price in €: 6,99



 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Possession (Sarah McLachlan) - 4:39
[2] Wait (Sarah McLachlan) - 4:10
[3] Plenty (Sarah McLachlan) - 4:05
[4] Good Enough (Sarah McLachlan) - 5:01
[5] Mary (Sarah McLachlan) - 3:53
[6] Elsewhere (Sarah McLachlan) 4:42
[7] Circle (Sarah McLachlan) - 3:42
[8] Ice (Sarah McLachlan) - 3:53
[9] Hold On (Sarah McLachlan) - 4:08
[10] Ice Cream (Sarah McLachlan) - 2:45
[11] Fear (Sarah McLachlan) - 3:56
[12] Fumbling Towards Ecstasy (Pierre Marchand/Sarah McLachlan) - 4:50
[13] Blue (Joni Mitchel) - 2:47 *

* - not available on U.S. Album

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


SARAH MCLACHLAN - Acoustic Guitar, Guitar, Piano, Vocals, Paintings, Textdesign

PIERRE MARCHAND - Bass, Percussion, Piano, Drums, Keyboards, Engineer, Drum Machine
BILL DILLON - Bass, Guitar, Piano, Guitorgan
DAVE KERSHAW - Hammond B3, Photography
JERRY MAROTTA - Percussion, Drums
JANE SCARPENTONI - Cello
MICHEL DUBEAU - Saxophone
BRIAN MINATO - Bass
GUY NADON - Drums
JANE SCARPANTONI - Cello
LOU SHEFANO - Drums
ASHWIN SOOD - Drums

ROMAN KLUN - Guitar Recording Engineer on [1]
GREG CALBI - Mastering
NICK KECA - Pre-mastering, Editing
KHAREN HILL - Photography
GRAHAM GILMORE - Paintings
JOHN RUMMEN - Sleeve Design

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


1995 CD Arista 18725
1995 CD Arista 18725
1995 CS Arista 18725-4



Fumbling Towards Ecstasy finds Sarah McLachlan racing towards success as she re-teams with producer Pierre Marchand on her breakthrough release and finest offering to date. Stretching her lyrical wings and experimenting a bit more instrumentally, the radiance of her work has somehow solidified here. Ecstasy is certainly attained, though not by fumbling, for McLachlan has far too much finesse to be so awkward as that. "Possession," the track that caught people's attention and began her pop-chart ascension, is a twisted tale of love as told through the mind and heart of a stalker, although as voiced by McLachlan, many would wish to have such a problem. Two versions of "Possession" are included: the first is a fully produced, upbeat, drum-looped groove that comes off as all but happy; the second is a minimalist hidden track with just McLachlan and her piano sketching the story in a much more haunting, almost eerie fashion. From the light-hearted comparisons of love's sweetness in "Ice Cream" to the more somber experience of the impending death of a loved one in "Hold On," McLachlan never flinches, never takes the easy route of cliché and formula. This care and attention given to her art allows each song to stand strong individually, making the whole an extraordinary collection.

Kelly McCartney, All-Music Guide



Pre-Lilith Fair, McLachlan had critical acclaim and a cult following but was otherwise just another hard-working female singer/songwriter--one who wasn't blasting down doors with overt sexuality or popping along in front of a male Svengali. Similar in their emotional urgency to her more recent work but delightfully less polished, these folk-rock songs are surprising gems. If not for McLachlan's poignant vocals, lyrics like "Your love is better than ice cream" (on "Ice Cream") would sound childishly absurd (especially alongside deeper material like "Hold On"), but here they're given just as much respect as the weightier issues she explores. A great album to accompany your moments of introspection.

Rebecca Wallwork, Amazon.com essential recording



Since her 1988 debut Touch, 26-year-old singer/songwriter Sarah McLachlan has been writing songs with maturity and grace well beyond her years. On Fumbling Towards Ecstasy, the Halifax, Nova Scotia, native continues her growth, creating a record that rings with the wisdom of her intimate explorations of life's fears, dreams, loves, hopes and strengths. Whereas her two prior studio albums found inspiration in despair, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy focuses its revelations on lighter, sometimes more whimsical emotions ("Ice Cream"), building tension with happiness and courage, and tempered with caution rather than languishing in isolation. The songs on Fumbling Towards Ecstasy are candid pictures of genuine emotions, delivered with a sincerity that makes us feel as if it could be our anxiety or our passion that is bared for all to see. No matter how the connection is made, it is still McLachlan's sterling, multi-octave voice that sends the shiver down your spine, her chilling performances on "Good Enough," "Wait" and "Elsewhere" delivered with the sparsest of accompaniment. Other tracks, like the lead-off "Possession" and "Circle," feature an almost hip-hop beat, while "Hold On" shows a broader global concern, inspired by the documentary A Promise Kept, a story of a woman whose fiancé was dying of AIDS.

© 1978-1999 College Media, Inc. All rights reserved.



Sarah McLachlan has a gift for writing music and lyrics that resonate deep within the soul, something no more apparent than on her 1993 release, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy. Dark, intense, and introspective, the album probes such complex emotional issues as insecurity, fear, abuse, and betrayal. As McLachlan moves through these themes, she creates unforgettable atmospheres that are both beautiful and sad; her heartfelt vocals are sung with conviction and emphasized by mostly subtle arrangements of guitar, keyboards, bass, and drums. Never overpowering, the music allows the poetic, sometimes stirring lyrics to remain the focal point of each piece. "Possession," arguably McLachlan's most memorable song to date, displays a haunting melody and a slow, pulsing rhythm as the words paint a vivid portrait of an individual's addictive relationship with another human being. On "Plenty," she sings of the disloyalty of her lover over a steady beat and an otherworldly synthesized background, while on the arresting ballad "Good Enough" -- the album's most moving track -- she consoles a lifelong friend suffering from a physically abusive relationship.

McLachlan works through similarly heartrending issues until she reaches the title track; "Fumbling Towards Ecstasy" brings the album full circle as it displays a strength that could only be achieved after misstepping through a myriad of life's experiences. "All the fear has left me now / I'm not frightened anymore," she boldly sings. "… And if I shed a tear I won't cage it / I won't fear love." A hidden acoustic version of "Possession" follows, proving that McLachlan does not need elaborate arrangements to move the listener; she can do that on the strength of her lyrics and melodies alone -- something far too rare in pop music of the 1990s.

Regis D'Angiolini - January 4, 2000
Copyright © 1994-2000 CDNOW, Inc. All rights reserved.



Since her 1988 debut Touch, 26-year-old singer/songwriter Sarah McLachlan has been writing songs with maturity and grace well beyond her years. On Fumbling Towards Ecstasy, the Halifax, Nova Scotia, native continues her growth, creating a record that rings with the wisdom of her intimate explorations of life's fears, dreams, loves, hopes and strengths. Whereas her two prior studio albums found inspiration in despair, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy focuses its revelations on lighter, sometimes more whimsical emotions ("Ice Cream"), building tension with happiness and courage, and tempered with caution rather than languishing in isolation. The songs on Fumbling Towards Ecstasy are candid pictures of genuine emotions, delivered with a sincerity that makes us feel as if it could be our anxiety or our passion that is bared for all to see. No matter how the connection is made, it is still McLachlan's sterling, multi-octave voice that sends the shiver down your spine, her chilling performances on "Good Enough," "Wait" and "Elsewhere" delivered with the sparsest of accompaniment. Other tracks, like the lead-off "Possession" and "Circle," feature an almost hip-hop beat, while "Hold On" shows a broader global concern, inspired by the documentary A Promise Kept, a story of a woman whose fiancé was dying of AIDS.

Andy Skibins - Jan 31, 1994
CMJ New Music Report Issue: 365
© 1978-1999 College Media, Inc. All rights reserved.



In der Zeit vor dem Lilith Fair Festival hatte Sarah McLachlan die Anerkennung der Kritiker und sowas wie Kultstatus, ansonsten aber war sie eine unter vielen hart arbeitenden Sänger- und Songwriterinnen, - eine, die nicht mit offen zur Schau gestellter Sexualitat alle Türen öffnete oder sich einem männlichen Rattenfänger anschloss. In ihrer emotionalen Dringlichkeit ihren jüngeren Werken sehr ähnlich, aber auf erfrischende Art nicht so "aufpoliert", sind diese Folk-Rock Songs wahre Perlen. Wäre da nicht Sarah McLachlans ergreifende Stimme -- Texte wie "Your love is sweeter than ice cream ("Ice Cream") würden kindlich absurd klingen, vor allem im Vergleich zu tiefgründigerem Material wie "Hold On"; hier aber wird ihnen genauso viel Respekt gezollt, wie den gewichtigeren Themen, die sie ergründet. Ein großartiges Album, wenn man mal in sich hineinhorchen möchte.

Rebecca Wallwork, Amazon.de



Tief schürft auch Sarah McLachlan - in Emotionen. Fumbling Towards Ecstasy paart ihre Folk-Feenstimme mit erstaunlich rockig marmorierten, erhebenden Klängen voll melodiöser Transparenz.

© Audio
 

 L y r i c s


POSSESSION

Listen as the wind blows from across the great divide
voices trapped in yearning, memories trapped in time
the night is my companion, and solitude my guide
would I spend forever here and not be satisfied?

And I would be the one
to hold you down
kiss you so hard
I'll take your breath away
and after, I'd wipe away the tears
just close your eyes dear

Through this world I've stumbled
so many times betrayed
trying to find an honest word to find
the truth enslaved
oh you speak to me in riddles
and you speak to me in rhymes
my body aches to breathe your breath
your words keep me alive

And I would be the one
to hold you down
kiss you so hard
I'll take your breath away
and after, I'd wipe away the tears
just close your eyes dear

Into this night I wander
it's morning that I dread
another day of knowing of
the path I fear to tread
oh into the sea of waking dreams
I follow without pride
nothing stands between us here
and I won't be denied

And I would be the one
to hold you down
kiss you so hard
I'll take your breath away
and after, I'd wipe away the tears
just close your eyes.


WAIT

Under a blackened sky
far beyond the glaring streetlights
sleeping on empty dreams
the vultures lie in wait
You lay down beside me then
you were with me every waking hour
so close I could feel your breath

When all we wanted was the dream
to have and to hold that precious little thing
like every generation yields
the new born hope unjaded by their years

Pressed up against the glass
I found myself wanting sympathy
but to be consumed again
oh I know would be the death of me
and there is a love that's inherently given
a kind of blindness offered to appease
and in that light of forbidden joy
oh I know I won't receive it

When all we wanted was the dream
to have and to hold that precious little thing
like every generation yields
the newborn hope unjaded by their years

You know if I leave you now
It doesn't mean that I love you any less
it's just the state I'm in
I can't be good to anyone else like this

When all we wanted was the dream
to have and to hold that precious little thing
like every generation yields
the new born hope unjaded by their years.


PLENTY

I looked into your eyes
they told me plenty
I already knew
you never felt a thing
so soon forgotten all that you do
in more than words
I tried to tell you
the more I tried I failed
I would not let myself believe
that you might stray
and I would stand by you
no matter what they'd say,
I would have thought I'd be with you

Until my dying day
Until my dying day

I used to think my life
was often empty
a lonely space to fill
you hurt me more than
I ever would have imagined
you made my world stand still
and in that stillness
there was a freedom
I never felt before
I would not let myself believe
that you might stray
and I would stand by you
no matter what they'd say,
I would have thought I'd be with you

Until my dying day
Until my dying day.


GOOD ENOUGH

Hey your glass is empty
it's a hell of a long way home
why don't you let me take you
it's no good to go alone
I never would have opened up
but you seemed so real to me
after all the bullshit I've heard
it's refreshing not to see
I don't have to pretend
she doesn't expect it from me

Don't tell me I haven't been good to you
don't tell me I have never been there for you
don't tell me why
nothing is good enough

Hey little girl would you like some candy
your momma said that it's OK
The door is open come on outside
no I can't come out today
it's not the wind that cracked your shoulder
and threw you to the ground
who's there that makes you so afraid
you're shaken to the bone
and I don't understand
you deserve so much more than this

So don't tell me why
he's never been good to you
don't tell me why
he's never been there for you
don't you know that why
is simply not good enough

So just let me try
and I will be good to you
just let me try
and I will be there for you
I'll show you why
you're so much more than good enough.


MARY

Mary walks
down to the water's edge
and there she hangs her head
to find herself faded
a shadow of what she once was
She said "How long have I been sleeping
and why do I feel so old
why do I feel so cold
my heart is saying one thing but my body won't let go
With trembling hands she reaches up
a stranger's flesh is offered
and I would be the last to know
I would be the last the let it show
I would be the last to go
Take her hand
she will lead you through the fire
give you back hope
and hope that you won't take too much
respecting what is left
she cradled us
she held us in her arms
unselfish in her suffering she could not understand
that no one seemed to have the time
to cherish what was given
and I would be the last to know
and I would be the last to let it show
I would be the last to go...
Mary walks.


ELSEWHERE

I love the time and in between
the calm inside me
in the space where I can breathe
I believe there is a
distance I have wandered
to touch upon the years of
reaching out and reaching in
holding out holding in

I believe
this is heaven to no one else but me
and I'll defend it as long as I can be
left here to linger in silence
if I choose to
would you try to understand

I know this love is passing time
passing through like liquid
I am drunk in my desire...
but I love the way you smile at me
I love the way your hands reach out and hold me near...

I believe...
I believe
this is heaven to no one else but me
and I'll defend it as long as
I can be left here to linger in silence
if I choose to
would you try to understand

Oh the quiet child awaits the day when she can break free
the mold that clings like desperation
Mother can't you see I've got
to live my life the way I feel is right for me
might not be right for you but it's right for me...

I believe...
I believe
this is heaven to no one else but me
and I'll defend it as long as
I can be left here to linger in silence
if I choose to
would you try to understand it
I would like to linger here in silence
if I choose to
would you understand it
would you try to understand.


CIRCLE

There are two of us talking in circles
and one of us who wants to leave
in a world created for only us
an empty cage that has no key
don't you know we're working with flesh and blood
carving out of jealousy
Crawling into each other it's smothering
every little part of me
What kind of love is this that keeps me
hanging on
despite everything it's doing to me
what is this love that keeps me coming
back for more
when it will only end in misery
I know too many people unhappy
in a life from which they'd love to flee
watching others get everything offered
they're wanton for discovery
Oh my brother my sister my mother
you're loosing your identity
can't you see that it's you in the window
shining with intensity
What kind of love is this that keeps me
hanging on
despite everything it's doing to me
what is this love that keeps me coming
back for more
when it will only end in misery.


ICE

The ice is thin come on dive in
underneath my lucid skin
the cold is lost, forgotten
Hours pass days pass time stands still
light gets dark and darkness fills
my secret heart forbidden...
I think you worried for me then
the subtle ways that I'd give in but I know
you liked the show
tied down to this bed of shame
you tried to move around the pain but oh
your soul is anchored
The only comfort is the moving of the river
You enter into me, a lie upon your lips
offer what you can, I'll take all that I can get
only a fool's here...
I don't like your tragic sighs
as if your god has passed you by well hey fool
that's your deception
your angels speak with jilted tongues
the serpent's tale has come undone you have no
strength to squander
The only comfort is the moving of the river
You enter into me, a lie upon your lips
offer what you can, I'll take all that I can get
only a fool's here to stay
only a fool's here to stay
only a fool's here.


HOLD ON

Hold on
Hold on to yourself
for this is gonna hurt like hell
Hold on
Hold on to yourself
you know that only time will tell
What is it in me that refuses to believe
this isn't easier than the real thing
My love
you know that you're my best friend
you know I'd do anything for you
My love
let nothing come between us
My love for you is strong and true
Am I in heaven here or am I...
at the crossroads I am standing
So now you're sleeping peaceful
I lie awake and pray
that you'll be strong tomorrow and we'll
see another day and we will praise it
and love the light that brings a smile
across your face
Oh god if you're out there won't you hear me
I know that we've never talked before
oh god the man I love is leaving
won't you take him when he comes to your door
Am I in heaven here or am I in hell
at the crossroads I am standing
So now you're sleeping peaceful
I lie awake and pray
that you'll be strong tomorrow and we'll
see another day and we will praise it
and love the light that brings a smile
across your face...
Hold on
hold on to yourself
for this is gonna hurt like hell.


ICE CREAM

Your love is better than ice cream
better than anything else that I've tried
and your love is better than ice cream
everyone here know how to fight
and it's a long way down
it's a long way down
it's a long way down to the place
where we started from
Your love is better than chocolate
better than anything else that I've tried
oh love is better than chocolate
everyone here knows how to cry
it's a long way down
it's a long way down
it's a long way down to the place
where we started from...


FEAR

Morning smiles
like the face of a newborn child
innocent unknowing
Winter's end
promises of a long lost friend
speaks to me of comfort
but I fear
I have nothing to give
I have so much to lose
here in this lonely place
tangled up in our embrace
there's nothing I'd like
better than to fall
but I fear I have nothing to give
Wind in time
rapes the flower trembling on the vine
nothing yields to shelter it
from above
they say temptation will destroy our love
the never ending hunger
but I fear
I have nothing to give
I have so much to lose
here in this lonely place
tangled up in our embrace
there's nothing I'd like
better than to fall
but I fear
I have nothing to give
I have so much to lose
I have nothing to give
We have so much to lose.


FUMBLING TOWARDS ECSTASY

All the fear has left me now
I'm not frightened anymore
It's my heart that pounds beneath my flesh
it's my mouth that pushes out this breath
and if I shed a tear I won't cage it
I won't fear love
and if I feel a rage I won't deny it
I won't fear love
Companion to our demons
they will dance, and we will play
With chairs, candles, and cloth
making darkness in the day
It will be easy to look in or out
upstream or down without a thought
and if I shed a tear I won't cage it
I won't fear love
and if I feel a rage I won't deny it
I won't fear love
Peace in the struggle
to find peace
comfort on the way
to comfort
and if I shed a tear I won't cage it
I won't fear love
and if I feel a rage I won't deny it

I won't fear love
I won't fear love
I won't fear love.


BLUE

Blue, songs are like tattoos
You know I've been to sea betore
Crown and anchor me
Or let me sail away
Hey Blue, here is a song for you
Ink on a pin
Underneath the skin
An empty space to fill in
Well there're so many sinking now
You've got to keep thinking
You can make it thru these waves
Acid, booze, and ass
Needles, guns, and grass
Lots of laughs, lots of laughs
Everybody's saying that hell's the hippest way to go
Well I don't think so
But I'm gonna take a look around it though
Blue, I love you

Blue, here is a shell for you
Inside you'll hear a sigh
A foggy lullaby
There is your song from me

 M P 3   S a m p l e s


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