Phantom Power is the sixth studio album by the Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip. The album was released in 1998. It won the 1999 Juno Awards for Best Rock Album and Best Album Design.[1]
| Phantom Power | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 14, 1998 | |||
| Studio | The Bathouse, Bath, Ontario | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock | |||
| Length | 50:26 | |||
| Label | Universal | |||
| Producer |
| |||
| The Tragically Hip chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Phantom Power | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   link |
| NME | (4/10) link |
| Pitchfork Media | (7.3/10) link |
Songs
editThe album's first single, "Poets", reached #1 on RPM's alternative chart, and stayed #1 for 12 weeks straight,[2] longer than any other song in the history of that chart.
"Bobcaygeon" was also released as a single, and won the Juno Award for Single of the Year in 2000.[3] It has since become recognized as one of the band's most enduring and beloved signature songs.[4]
The song "Escape Is at Hand for the Travellin' Man" is a tribute to Jim Ellison of Material Issue.[5] The band recorded the song "Something On" while stuck in the studio during the ice storm of 1998.
Commercial performance
editPhantom Power debuted at No. 1 on the Canadian Albums Chart with 108,000 units sold.[6] The album has been certified triple platinum in Canada.[7] By February 1999, the album had sold more than 400,000 copies in Canada.[8] Between 1996 and 2016, Phantom Power was the seventh best-selling album by a Canadian band in Canada.[9]
Reissue
editIn August 2023, the band announced the release of a 25th anniversary box set edition of the album, set for November 23, 2023.[10] Along with remastered versions of the original album's songs, the anniversary edition will also feature a two-disc live set performed at the Metropol in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1998, five outtakes not included on the original album, and seven alternate versions of songs on the album.[11]
Track listing
editAll songs were written by The Tragically Hip.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Poets" | 3:59 |
| 2. | "Something On" | 3:21 |
| 3. | "Save the Planet" | 3:38 |
| 4. | "Bobcaygeon" | 4:55 |
| 5. | "Thompson Girl" | 3:32 |
| 6. | "Membership" | 4:40 |
| 7. | "Fireworks" | 3:56 |
| 8. | "Vapour Trails" | 4:29 |
| 9. | "The Rules" | 3:46 |
| 10. | "Chagrin Falls" | 4:10 |
| 11. | "Escape Is at Hand for the Travellin' Man" | 5:52 |
| 12. | "Emperor Penguin" | 4:08 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Bumblebee" | |
| 2. | "Insomniacs" | |
| 3. | "Songwriters Cabal" | |
| 4. | "Vegas Strip" | |
| 5. | "Mystery" | |
| 6. | "Super Farmer Nano Baby" | |
| 7. | "Something On" | |
| 8. | "Chagrin Falls" | |
| 9. | "Fireworks" | |
| 10. | "Thompson Girl" | |
| 11. | "Escape Is at Hand for the Travelin' Man" | |
| 12. | "Bobcaygeon" |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Save the Planet" | |
| 2. | "Twist My Arm" | |
| 3. | "Poets" | |
| 4. | "Gift Shop" | |
| 5. | "Bobcaygeon" | |
| 6. | "Nautical Disaster" | |
| 7. | "Ahead by a Century" | |
| 8. | "The Luxury" | |
| 9. | "Fireworks" | |
| 10. | "Springtime in Vienna" | |
| 11. | "Chagrin Falls" | |
| 12. | "New Orleans Is Sinking" | |
| 13. | "Grace, Too" | |
| 14. | "Escape Is at Hand for the Travelin' Man" | |
| 15. | "At the Hundredth Meridian" |
Personnel
editCredits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[12]
The Tragically Hip
- Gord Downie – lead vocals
- Rob Baker – lead guitar
- Paul Langlois – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
- Gord Sinclair – bass guitar, backing vocals
- Johnny Fay – drums
Additional musicians
- Steve Berlin - keyboards, flute, percussion
- Bob Egan - lap steel, pedal steel, mandolin
Production
- Steve Berlin - Producer
- Mark Vreeken - Recording, Mixing
- Don Smith - Mixing
- Jim Rondinelli - Mixing
- Stephen Marcussen - Mastering
- Andrew McLachlan and Brock Ostrom - Art direction
- Bernard Clark and David Ajax - Photography
Year-end charts
edit| Chart (2002) | Position |
|---|---|
| Canadian Alternative Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[13] | 193 |
References
edit- ^ "1999 Juno Awards". MetroLeap Media. Archived from the original on 2009-02-07. Retrieved 29 December 2009.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "The Tragically Hip - Poets Rock/Alternative positions". RPM. Archived from the original on 2016-08-17. Retrieved 2016-07-25.
- ^ Foley, Doug (2000-03-13). "Super Celebration; Junos are a crowd pleaser for TV and music fans alike". The Spectator. Hamilton. Archived from the original (Pay-per-view) on November 2, 2012. Retrieved 2010-05-11.
- ^ "Searching for the Tragically Hip’s mythical Bobcaygeon". Maclean's, July 15, 2016.
- ^ "The Tragically Hip". Thehip.com. Archived from the original on 4 February 2012. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
- ^ Tragically Hip Shows 'Power' In U.S. Billboard. 8 August 1998. Retrieved June 2, 2014.
- ^ "Gold Platinum Database: Phantom Power". Canadian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
- ^ "Hip Power play". Archived from the original on October 10, 2004. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
- ^ "NIELSEN MUSIC & BILLBOARD PRESENT CANADA 150 CHARTS" (PDF). bdsradio.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 2, 2020. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
- ^ Mark Daniell, "Tragically Hip announce 25th anniversary edition of 'Phantom Power'". Toronto Sun, August 31, 2023.
- ^ Alex Hudson, "The Tragically Hip Expand 'Phantom Power' for 25th Anniversary Box Set, Share Outtake". Exclaim!, August 31, 2023.
- ^ Phantom Power (CD liner notes). The Tragically Hip. Universal Music Group. 1998. UMSSD-81083.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ "Canada's Top 200 Alternative albums of 2002". Jam!. Archived from the original on September 2, 2004. Retrieved March 28, 2022.