Life (The Cardigans album)

Life
Studio album by
The Cardigans
Released1 March 1995
Recorded1994
StudioTambourine Studios (Malmö, Sweden)[1]
Genre
Length45:22 (Original version)
47:04 (UK)
47:59 (US)
LabelStockholm Records
ProducerTore Johansson
The Cardigans chronology
Emmerdale
(1994) 		Life
(1995) 		First Band on the Moon
(1996)
Singles from Life
  1. "Carnival"
  2. "Hey! Get Out of My Way"
  3. "Rise and Shine"
  4. "Sick & Tired"
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Alternative Press[5]
Chicago Tribune[6]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[7]
Entertainment WeeklyA[8]
NME8/10[9]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[10]
Select[11]
Sunday News8/10[12]

Life is the second studio album by Swedish pop rock band The Cardigans. It was released worldwide in 1995 and was an international success, especially in Japan, where it achieved platinum status. Outside of Sweden and Japan (where debut Emmerdale had been released in 1994), it was released as their first album: a compilation of tracks from both Emmerdale and Life. It was released in the United States under the label Minty Fresh Records.

Track listing

All music composed by Peter Svensson, except "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" by Iommi, Butler, Ward, Osbourne

Swedish edition

  1. "Carnival" (Lyrics: Nina Persson, Svensson, Sveningsson) – 3:37
  2. "Gordon's Gardenparty" (Lyrics: Persson, Svensson) – 3:22
  3. "Daddy's Car" (Lyrics: Sveningsson, Bengt Lagerberg) – 3:35
  4. "Pikebubbles" (Lyrics: Sveningsson, Svensson) – 3:05
  5. "Tomorrow" (Lyrics: Sveningsson) – 3:05
  6. "Beautiful One" (Lyrics: Sveningsson) – 3:28
  7. "Travelling with Charley" (Lyrics: Sveningsson, Svensson) – 4:09
  8. "Fine" (Lyrics: Sveningsson) – 3:11
  9. "Sunday Circus Song" (Lyrics: Sveningsson, Svensson) – 3:56
  10. "Hey! Get Out of My Way" (Lyrics: Persson, Svensson) – 3:30
  11. "Closing Time" (Lyrics: Lars-Olof Johansson, Sveningsson, Svensson) – 10:22

UK, French, Canadian and Brazilian version

  1. "Carnival" – 3:37
  2. "Gordon's Gardenparty" – 3:22
  3. "Daddy's Car" – 3:35
  4. "Sick & Tired" (Lyrics: Sveningsson) – 3:24
  5. "Tomorrow" – 3:05
  6. "Rise & Shine" (Lyrics: Sveningsson) – 3:30
  7. "Beautiful One" – 3:28
  8. "Travelling with Charley" – 4:09
  9. "Fine" – 3:11
  10. "Celia Inside" (Lyrics: Sveningsson) – 4:42
  11. "Hey! Get Out of My Way" – 3:32
  12. "After All..." (Lyrics: Sveningsson) – 2:57
  13. "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" (Lyrics: Butler) – 4:32[13]

This version omits "Pikebubbles", "Sunday Circus Song" and "Closing Time", replacing them with "Sick & Tired", "Rise & Shine", "Celia Inside", "After All..." and "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" from Emmerdale. "Celia Inside" is a longer edit, and "Rise & Shine" is a new recording, while the others are taken directly from the previous album. The omitted song "Pikebubbles" was released internationally as the B-side to the 1995 "Rise & Shine" single. Additionally, "Hey! Get Out Of My Way" is the single version.

US edition

  1. "Carnival" – 3:36
  2. "Daddy's Car" – 3:35
  3. "Fine" – 3:09
  4. "Rise & Shine" – 3:28
  5. "Our Space" – 3:29
  6. "Celia Inside" – 4:40
  7. "Over the Water" – 2:13
  8. "Tomorrow" – 3:03
  9. "Sick & Tired" – 3:23
  10. "Beautiful One" – 3:27
  11. "Gordon's Gardenparty" – 3:19
  12. "Hey! Get Out of My Way" – 3:30
  13. "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" – 4:30[13]
  14. "Happy Meal" – 2:36

This version omits "Pikebubbles", "Travelling with Charley", "Sunday Circus Song" and "Closing Time", replacing them with "Rise & Shine", "Our Space", "Celia Inside", "Over the Water", "Sick & Tired" and "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" from Emmerdale and exclusive US bonus track "Happy Meal". The four omitted tracks were included as a bonus disc with the US version of Emmerdale, released in 1997.

Personnel

Other appearances

Singles

Continental Europe/UK

  • "Sick & Tired" (March 1995, #96 UK)
  • "Carnival" (10 June 1995, #72 UK)
  • "Sick & Tired" (re-release, 23 September 1995, #34 UK)
  • "Carnival" (re-release, 25 November 1995, #35 UK)
  • "Rise & Shine" (10 February 1996, #29 UK)

Japan/Sweden

  • "Carnival"
  • "Hey! Get Out of My Way"
  • "Rise & Shine" (Japan only re-release)

Charts

Chart (1995–96)
  • Peak
  • position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[14] 50
Icelandic Albums (Plötur og Diskar)[15] 1
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[16] 13
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[17] 20
UK Albums (OCC)[18] 51

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Japan (RIAJ)[20] 2× Platinum 500,000[19]
Sweden (GLF)[22] Platinum 191,000[21]
United Kingdom (BPI)[23] Gold 100,000*
Summaries
Worldwide — 1,500,000[19]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ Sillitoe, Sue (March 1999). "Tore Johansson: Recording The Cardigans 'My Favourite Game'". Sound On Sound. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  2. ^ a b Bush, John. "Life – The Cardigans". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  3. ^ Lewis, Justin (2003). "The Cardigans". In Buckley, Peter (ed.). The Rough Guide to Rock (3rd ed.). London: Rough Guides. pp. 173–174. ISBN 978-1-84353-105-0.
  4. ^ a b Freedom du Lac, Josh (1 January 1998). "The Cardigans". In Knopper, Steve (ed.). MusicHound Lounge: The Essential Album Guide. Detroit: Visible Ink Press. p. 77.
  5. ^ DeMarco, Laura (May 1996). "Music Reviews". Alternative Press. Vol. 10, no. 94. pp. 69–70.
  6. ^ Kot, Greg (6 June 1996). "The Cardigans: Life (Minty Fresh)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  7. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Cardigans". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 9780857125958.
  8. ^ Smith, Ethan (23 February 1996). "Life". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  9. ^ Beaumont, Mark (8 July 1995). "Long Play". NME. p. 47. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  10. ^ Randall, Mac (2004). "The Cardigans". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 137–38. ISBN 9780743201698.
  11. ^ Wilkinson, Roy (August 1995). "New Albums". Select. p. 95. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  12. ^ Phillips, Antony (25 February 1996). "Albums". Sunday News.
  13. ^ a b Originally performed by Black Sabbath
  14. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – The Cardigans – Life" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  15. ^ Island plötur og diskar (in Icelandic). Dagblaðið Vísir. 24 April 1996. p. 40. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  16. ^ カーディガンズのランキング [The Cardigans album sales ranking] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on 12 January 2013. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  17. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – The Cardigans – Emmerdale". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  18. ^ "Cardigans | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  19. ^ a b Craig Rosen (21 September 1996). "Sweden's Cardigans Wrap Up U.S." Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 38. pp. 9, 89. ISSN 0006-2510.
  20. ^ "Japanese album certifications – カーディガンズ – ライフ" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Select 1997年4月 on the drop-down menu
  21. ^ David Sinclair (23 December 1995). "Global Music Pulse | The Latest Music News From Around The Planet | APRIL". Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 50. p. 65. ISSN 0006-2510.
  22. ^ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  23. ^ "British album certifications – The Cardigans – Life". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 3 March 2017.