5:55 is the second album by French musician and actress Charlotte Gainsbourg. It was also her first album in twenty years. Charlotte collaborated on the album with French duo Air, English musician Jarvis Cocker, Irish singer-songwriter Neil Hannon, and Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich. "The Songs That We Sing" and "5:55" were released as singles. The album went platinum in France, selling over 500,000 copies.[7][8] In the United States, the album sold 22,000 copies. "The Songs That We Sing" was No. 78 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007.[9]
| 5:55 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 28 August 2006 | |||
| Genre | Indie pop, dream pop | |||
| Length | 42:37 | |||
| Language | English, French | |||
| Label | Because Music, Atlantic, Vice | |||
| Producer | Nigel Godrich | |||
| Charlotte Gainsbourg chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from 5:55 | ||||
| ||||
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 72/100[1] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| The Guardian | [3] |
| The Observer | [4] |
| Pitchfork Media | (5.8/10)[5] |
| The Times | [6] |
Charlotte sang most of the album in English. In France, the album received critical acclaim. Pitchfork described its erotic lyrical content as reminiscent of Serge Gainsbourg's, and Charlotte's vocal approach as similar to that of Jane Birkin.[5] Overall, the album received "generally favorable reviews" according to the review aggregator website Metacritic.[1]
The first single, "The Songs That We Sing" was also included in the soundtrack to the 2009 film The Uninvited.[10][11]
In 2012 it was awarded a platinum certification from the Independent Music Companies Association which indicated sales of at least 400,000 copies throughout Europe.[12]
Track listing
editAll music is composed by Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "5:55" |
| 4:52 |
| 2. | "AF607105" | Cocker | 4:30 |
| 3. | "The Operation" | Cocker | 3:59 |
| 4. | "Tel Que Tu Es" |
| 3:09 |
| 5. | "The Songs That We Sing" |
| 2:57 |
| 6. | "Beauty Mark" |
| 3:06 |
| 7. | "Little Monsters" | Cocker | 3:46 |
| 8. | "Jamais" | Cocker | 4:37 |
| 9. | "Night-Time Intermission" |
| 2:44 |
| 10. | "Everything I Cannot See" | Cocker | 5:45 |
| 11. | "Morning Song" |
| 3:08 |
Bonus tracks
editOn some releases one or two bonus tracks were added.
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Set Yourself on Fire" | Cocker | 4:10 |
| 13. | "Somewhere Between Waking and Sleeping" |
| 3:45 |
Personnel
edit- Charlotte Gainsbourg – vocals
- Jean-Benoît Dunckel – piano, organ, synthesizer, glockenspiel, vibraphone, backing vocals, synth drums
- Nicolas Godin – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, 12-string guitar, bass, glockenspiel, synth drums, synthesizer, tambourine, melodica, percussion
- Jarvis Cocker – lyricist
- Neil Hannon – acoustic guitar
- Jeremy Stacey – drums
- Tony Allen – drums
- The Millennia Ensemble – strings
- David Richard Campbell – string arrangements, conductor
- Joby Talbot – string arrangements
- Technical
- Nigel Godrich – production, mixing
- Bob Ludwig – mastering
- Dan Grech-Marguerat – engineering
- Darrell Thorp – engineering
- Florian Lagatta – engineering
Chart performance
editAlbum
edit| Chart (2006/2007) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| French Albums Chart[13] | 1 |
| Austrian Albums Chart[14] | 41 |
| Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[15] | 15 |
| Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[16] | 2 |
| Dutch Albums Chart[17] | 99 |
| European Billboard Top 100 Albums[18] | 14 |
| German Albums Chart[19] | 38 |
| Swedish Albums Chart[20] | 57 |
| Swiss Albums Chart[21] | 12 |
| UK Albums Chart | 78 |
| US Billboard 200[22][23] | 196 |
| US Billboard Top Heatseekers[23][24] | 9 |
| US Billboard Top Independent Albums[23][25] | 24 |
Singles
edit- "The Songs That We Sing"
| Chart (2006/2007) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| French SNEP Singles Chart[26] | 30 |
| Belgian Ultratip Chart (Flanders)[26] | 10 |
| Belgian Ultratip Chart (Wallonia)[26] | 4 |
| UK Singles Chart | 129 |
| Billboard European Hot 100 Singles[27] | 87 |
Release history
edit| Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalog | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| France | 28 August 2006 | Because Music | CD | 3116662 | |
| Enhanced CD | 3116672 | Limited edition, with bonus track "Set Yourself on Fire". Enhanced section includes a Flash version of the booklet including lyrics, pictures and credits. | |||
| 4 September 2006 | LP album | BEC5772052 | Double album. | ||
| UK | Because Music, Atlantic Records | 5051011-5911-2-9 | |||
| Europe | Because Music, Warner Music | 2564-63652-2 | |||
| Japan | 8 November 2006 | Warner Music | CD | WPCR-12431 | With bonus tracks "Set Yourself on Fire" and "Somewhere Between Waking and Sleeping" |
| US | 24 April 2007 | Vice Records | Enhanced CD | 94703-2 | With bonus tracks "Set Yourself on Fire" and "Somewhere Between Waking and Sleeping". Enhanced section includes the promotional videos of "The Songs That We Sing" and "5:55" and an interview with Gainsbourg. |
References
edit- ^ a b "5:55 by Charlotte Gainsbourg". Metacritic.
- ^ Phares, Heather. "5:55 > Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 December 2009.
- ^ Petridis, Alexis (1 September 2006). "CD: Charlotte Gainsbourg, 5:55". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 December 2009.
- ^ Hussey, Andrew (13 August 2006). "CD: Charlotte Gainsbourg, 5.55". The Observer. Retrieved 12 December 2009.
- ^ a b Hogan, Marc (15 September 2006). "Pitchfork: Album Reviews: Charlotte Gainsbourg: 5:55". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 12 December 2009.
- ^ Mulvey, John (2 September 2006). "Charlotte Gainsbourg: 5.55 review". The Times. Retrieved 12 December 2009.[dead link]
- ^ Atlantic Records :: Charlotte Gainsbourg News Archived 29 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Charlotte Gainsbourg : un 5ème album en octobre 2012". pure charts. 15 December 2011. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
- ^ "The 100 Best Songs of 2007 : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. 27 December 2007. Archived from the original on 15 December 2007. Retrieved 12 December 2009.
- ^ "The Uninvited (2009/I) – Soundtracks". IMDb. Retrieved 12 December 2009.
- ^ "The Uninvited (2009) – Cast and Credits". Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved 12 December 2009.
- ^ "Aktuelles VUT: VUT - Verband unabhängiger Musikunternehmer*innen e. V."
- ^ "lescharts.com – Charlotte Gainsbourg – 5:55" (in French). Retrieved 12 December 2009.
- ^ "Charlotte Gainsbourg – 5:55 – austriancharts.at" (in German). Retrieved 12 December 2009.
- ^ "ultratop.be – Charlotte Gainsbourg – 5:55". Ultratop (in Dutch). Retrieved 12 December 2009.
- ^ "ultratop.be – Charlotte Gainsbourg – 5:55". Ultratop (in French). Retrieved 12 December 2009.
- ^ "dutchcharts.nl – Charlotte Gainsbourg – 5:55" (in Dutch). Retrieved 12 December 2009.
- ^ "5:55 – Charlotte Gainsbourg – The Visualizer – European Albums". Billboard. 4 October 2003. Retrieved 12 December 2009.
- ^ "Gainsbourg, Charlotte / Longplay" (in German). musicline.de. Archived from the original on 28 January 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
- ^ "swedishcharts.com – Charlotte Gainsbourg – 5:55". Retrieved 12 December 2009.
- ^ "Charlotte Gainsbourg – 5:55 – hitparade.ch" (in German). Retrieved 12 December 2009.
- ^ "Charlotte Gainsbourg Album & Song Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 12 December 2009.
- ^ a b c "Charlotte Gainsbourg > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 December 2009.
- ^ "Charlotte Gainsbourg Album & Song Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 12 December 2009.
- ^ "Charlotte Gainsbourg Album & Song Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 12 December 2009.
- ^ a b c "lescharts.com – Charlotte Gainsbourg – The Songs That We Sing" (in French). Retrieved 12 December 2009.
- ^ "The Songs That We Sing – Charlotte Gainsbourg". Billboard. Retrieved 12 December 2009.
External links
edit- Charlotte Gainsbourg – official website.
- 5:55 at MusicBrainz (list of releases)
- 5:55 at Discogs (list of releases)