Whaler (album)

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Whaler
Sophie B. Hawkins - Whaler.jpg
Studio album by
Sophie B. Hawkins
ReleasedAugust 2, 1994
RecordedMarch – June 1994
GenrePop
Length47:48
LabelColumbia
ProducerStephen Lipson
Sophie B. Hawkins chronology
Tongues and Tails
(1992) 		Whaler
(1994) 		Timbre
(1999)
Singles from Whaler
  1. "Right Beside You"
    Released: July 26, 1994
  2. "Don't Don't Tell Me No"
    Released: 1994
  3. "As I Lay Me Down"
    Released: February 7, 1995
  4. "Did We Not Choose Each Other"
    Released: 1995
  5. "Only Love (The Ballad of Sleeping Beauty)"
    Released: 1996
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic4/5 stars[1]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[2]
Los Angeles Times2/4 stars[3]
Robert Christgau(dud)[4]
Rolling Stone2/5 stars[5]

Whaler is the second album by American singer-songwriter Sophie B. Hawkins, released in 1994 on Columbia Records. The release was preceded by the single "Right Beside You", which reached No. 56 on the Billboard Chart,[6] but did much better in the UK, where it peaked at No. 13.[7]

The album wasn't as commercially successful as her debut album Tongues and Tails two years earlier; however, the sales picked up after the third single, "As I Lay Me Down", released at the beginning of 1995,[1] went to No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart. Consequently, the album managed to climb to No. 65 on the Billboard Album Chart.

The critical reception was mixed. Paul Evans of Rolling Stone said that the album didn't quite live up to the standard and expectations set by her debut.[5] The LA Times review noted that Hawkins tries to knit "a crazy quilt of styles" trying to combine different influences but the experimentation doesn't pay off and "unravels at the seams", and the only tracks that do work are the mainstream ones, such as the dance-floor-ready opening track “Right Beside You” and the anguished ballad “I Need Nothing Else".[3] Other reviews were more favorable, praising the album's subdued and subtle melodies, which make the album overall more consistent than her debut outing,[1] and describing some tracks as "irresistibly catchy".[8]

Track listing[]

All songs written by Sophie B. Hawkins, except where noted.

  1. "Right Beside You" (Chertoff, Hawkins, Lerman) – 4:47
  2. "Did We Not Choose Each Other" – 4:25
  3. "Don't Don't Tell Me No" – 4:53
  4. "As I Lay Me Down" – 4:08
  5. "Swing from Limb to Limb (My Home Is in Your Jungle)" – 4:15
  6. "True Romance" – 2:23
  7. "Let Me Love You Up" – 3:26
  8. "Only Love (The Ballad of Sleeping Beauty)" – 5:05
  9. "I Need Nothing Else" – 4:17
  10. "Sometimes I See" – 4:40
  11. "Mr. Tugboat Hello" – 5:30

Personnel[]

Production[]

  • Producer: Steve Lipson
  • Engineer: Heff Moraes
  • Programming: Sophie B. Hawkins, Steve Lipson

Charts[]

Album
Year Chart Peak
position
1994 UK Albums Chart 46
1994 German Albums Chart 50
1995 US Billboard 200 65
1995 New Zealand Albums Chart 13
1995 Australian Albums Chart 31

Singles – Billboard (North America)

Year Single Chart Peak
position
1994 "Right Beside You" Billboard Hot 100 56
Top 40 Mainstream 24
1995 "As I Lay Me Down" Adult Contemporary 1
Adult Top 40 1
Billboard Hot 100 6
Top 40 Mainstream 3
1996 "Only Love (The Ballad of Sleeping Beauty)" Adult Contemporary 22
Adult Top 40 19
The Billboard Hot 100 49
Top 40 Mainstream 22

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Sophie B. Hawkins "Whaler" - AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine". AllMusic. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  2. ^ Tucker, Ken (August 5, 1994). "Whaler Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Rosenbluth, Jean (July 31, 1994). "A Crazy-Quilt of Styles Unravels at the Seams". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
  4. ^ Christgau, Robert. "CG: Sophie B. Hawkins". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b Evans, Paul (August 11, 1994). "Sophie B. Hawkins: Whaler : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on May 12, 2006. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
  6. ^ "Sophie B. Hawkins". Billboard. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  7. ^ "SOPHIE B HAWKINS | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  8. ^ Tucker, Ken (August 5, 1994). "Whaler". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 1, 2021.

External links[]

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