Talk on Corners is the second studio album by Irish family pop rock band the Corrs. It was released on 17 October 1997 by 143, Lava and Atlantic Records. Preceded by lead single "Only When I Sleep", which became a top ten hit internationally, the album was an immediate commercial success in several territories, including Ireland, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Its commercial performance elsewhere was initially modest, however.
The Corrs' entire concert from the Royal Albert Hall was broadcast live the following year on BBC One on Saint Patrick's Day, where they were joined during their performance of "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac drummer Mick Fleetwood. This event did much to raise the band's international profile. A remixed version of "Dreams" went on to become their first top ten hit on the UK Singles Chart. The record was reissued the following month to include the song as a bonus track. This would be the first of several different editions of Talk on Corners to be released over the album's two-year-long promotional cycle.
Over this period, the band released a string of increasingly successful hit singles, culminating with a Tin Tin Out remix of "Runaway" peaking at number two in the UK. The Corrs also toured extensively to promote the record: the Talk on Corners World Tour saw them perform almost 160 concerts across twelve separate legs. The album spent ten weeks at number one in the UK. It ended its run as the highest-selling album of the year, and remains one of the best-selling albums of all time there, as well as the highest-selling album ever by an Irish act.
Background and recording
The Corrs began work on new material in California in July 1996, initially under the supervision of producerDavid Foster. Lead vocalist Andrea Corr has described the making of Talk on Corners as being "a struggle", with the band put under pressure by Atlantic Records to deliver a successful follow-up to their 1995 debut album Forgiven, Not Forgotten. Their manager John Hughes cited second album syndrome as a common source of pressure for all recording artists, but said further demands came from the label, who were concerned that none of the songs they were being presented with seemed like potential hit singles. The label disliked "What Can I Do" and "So Young", particularly the latter, and the band had to fight hard for their inclusion on the album.[1]
Additional co-writers and producers were brought in to help improve the album's hit potential, including Carole Bayer Sager, Glen Ballard, Oliver Leiber, Rick Nowels and Billy Steinberg. The use of different producers on different tracks introduced further difficulties: the band found it hard to achieve consistency throughout the entire album, although this would be remedied by the Corrs using over forty hours of studio time to record overdubs. In May 1997, the finalised album was delivered to Atlantic, who were unimpressed by the material and ordered the band to continue recording new tracks. When they refused, the label threatened to sue the band for breach of contract. This dispute was only resolved when John Hughes signed a contract guaranteeing future album sales, with the manager being held personally liable if Talk on Corners failed to yield a profit for Atlantic.[1]
The record received generally positive reviews from music critics. AllMusic writer Becky Byrkit rated it four stars out of five and praised the band for their vocal harmonies, as well as the album's consistency, writing that "each and every cut sounds wired for radio play". She highlighted their cover of "Little Wing" as being the album's "best and most spirited Celtic cut".[4] Stephen Segerman of South African music magazine Rock rated the album eight out of ten, and complimented it for incorporating a "fuller and rockier atmosphere [than Forgiven, Not Forgotten]". He also praised the record for containing "generous sprinklings of traditional Irish sounds and touches", which he said helped enhance the material.[3]
The special edition of the album received mixed reviews from the American music press. James Hunter of Rolling Stone criticised Ballard's production on "Queen of Hollywood" for "forcing an Alanis-like edge where it's unneeded", and called the David Foster-produced tracks "goofy", but said that, "otherwise, this is a high-flying reintroduction to some blue chip popsters."[5] A writer for People was critical of the re-release, as well as the remixed tracks, calling it "A collection of pretty, pop-lite tunes that could use more Celtic flavoring and less studio gloss, the album is best when harking back to the sounds of the Old Sod: reeling fiddles, soaring harmonies and the haunting tin whistle played by sister Andrea. Her lead vocals are as pretty to listen to as she and her sisters are to look at, but the string-sweetened arrangements are as bland and flat as a Dublin car park."[6]
British rock magazine NME have retrospectively been highly critical of the album, placing it at number three in their 2014 list of "25 unfathomably popular albums of the 90's".[7] The album also appeared in a 2016 article titled "8 of the all-time best-selling albums in the UK [which] have no redeeming features whatsoever".[8] In contrast, The Independent included it in their 2024 list of 20 most underrated albums ever at number 10, comparing it favourably to Come On Over (1997) by Shania Twain.[9]
Release and commercial performance
The original edition of the album was released internationally on 17 October 1997, and was an immediate commercial success in several territories. Within five months of release, Talk on Corners had sold over a million copies worldwide, and was certified sextuple platinum in their home country, as well as double platinum in Australia and Spain, platinum in Denmark and New Zealand, and gold in both Japan and Sweden.[10] Its commercial success elsewhere was initially modest, however, with the album debuting at number 23 in France and at number 56 in Germany.[11][12] In the UK, it debuted at number 7, but would fall out of the top forty there within a month of release.[13] "Only When I Sleep" and "I Never Loved You Anyway" were released as the album's first two singles, with the former becoming a top ten hit in Ireland,[14] while both songs peaked within the top forty of the Australian Singles Chart.[15] "What Can I Do" was released as the album's third single, and also went on to be a top forty hit in Ireland.[14] All three singles failed to reach the top forty of the UK Singles Chart.[13]
Fleetwood Mac drummer Mick Fleetwood joined the band at their concert in the Royal Albert Hall on 17 March 1998 during their performance of "Dreams", which the band had recently contributed to the album Legacy: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac's Rumours. The entire concert was broadcast live on BBC One as part of that organisation's coverage of Saint Patrick's Day, and the event did much to raise the band's profile.[10] The cover would become the Corrs' first top forty hit in the UK, after it peaked at number six.[13] The following month, Talk on Corners was reissued in numerous territories with "Dreams" included as a bonus track, and the album finally peaked at number one in the UK on 21 June 1998, its 35th week on the chart.[16] This edition of the album was the first to be released in the United States. It was released on 5 May,[10] and peaked at number 17 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers Albums.[17]The Corrs: Live at the Royal Albert Hall was released in August.
Talk on Corners: Special Edition
A special edition of the record was released internationally on 9 November 1998. This revised edition contained five remixed tracks, several of which were then released or re-released as singles. The previously released remix of "Dreams" by Todd Terry was included, along with a previously unreleased K-Klass remix of "So Young", as well as an alternate mix of "I Never Loved You Anyway". English electronic music duo Tin Tin Out remixed a further two tracks: "What Can I Do" (which has been released as a single) and "Runaway"—a song from their debut album. Tin Tin Out enlisted European string ensemble the Duke Quartet to provide orchestration for both tracks. The former would go on to become the Corrs' first top three hit in the UK when it was released as a single,[13] while the remix of "Runaway" became their highest-peaking single yet, after it peaked at number two behind Britney Spears' "...Baby One More Time".[18] "Dreams" and "So Young" have been certified silver by the BPI for sales in excess of 200,000 copies each, while "What Can I Do" and "Runaway" were certified gold for sales of over 400,000 copies each.[19] As of 2017, "What Can I Do" had sold 351,000 copies in the UK.[20]
This edition was the highest-selling incarnation of the album in several territories. Talk on Corners would go on to spend a total of ten weeks at number one on the UK Albums Chart. On its final week atop the chart there, on the chart dated 4 April 1999, Forgiven, Not Forgotten reached a new peak of number two.[22] It ended 1998 as the UK's highest-selling album,[23] and was also the eighth highest-selling album of 1999.[24] As of 2022, Talk on Corners has sold over 2.97 million copies in the UK,[25] and remains the highest-selling album of all time by an Irish act there,[26] as well as one of the best-selling albums of all time in the country.[27]
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Talk of Corners.[31]
Recorded at Peak Studios, Westland Studios and Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin, Ireland; Ollywood Studios in Hollywood; Chartmaker, Inc. Studio in Malibu; A&M Studios, Aerowave Studio, Mulhulland Studio, Rafelson Recording Studio and the Record Plant in Los Angeles between July 1996 and May 1997.
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
