Dear Love is the third studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Suzie McNeil, released on July 24, 2012 through 604 Records. It has spawned four singles, including the top 10 Canada AC hit "Merry Go Round" and the Faber Drive duet "Love Can't Save Us Now". According to McNeil, the album "tells the story of [her] journey into love [and] loss,"[1] and lyrically, the songs revolve around the themes of heartbreak and recovery.
| Dear Love | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 24, 2012 | |||
| Genre | Pop rock | |||
| Length | 38:28 | |||
| Label | 604 Records | |||
| Producer |
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| Suzie McNeil chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Dear Love | ||||
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Critical reception
editThe Calgary Herald's review gave the album three stars out of five, with critic Eric Volmers explaining that "Dear Love works because it has all of the trappings of a shameless, radio-grabbing pop album. Immaculate production, airplay-friendly hooks, semi-cool ’80s cover (The Eurythmics’ Here Comes the Rain Again) and even some celeb musical guests... is the formula here."[2] On McNeil herself, Volmers elaborated that she "has a powerful voice and a nice way of surrounding her hooks with memorable melodies."
In a similar vein, Real Style Network's review felt that "on paper, [McNeil] has everything you need, but there is something missing on the album. It is well done, but forgettable." Despite indicating that McNeil was "playing it safe" on the album, the review praised her "versatile" vocals which "[allow] her to be sweet as sugar or edgy and tough," and deemed the song's generally "catchy, sometimes being reminiscent of a more subtle Katy Perry."[3]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Intro" | Suzie McNeil, Zubin Thakkar | 0:52 | |
| 2. | "Dear Love" | Kara DioGuardi, Marti Frederiksen | Frederiksen | 3:55 |
| 3. | "Heartbeat" | McNeil, Marti Dodson, Thakkar | Thakkar | 3:05 |
| 4. | "Drama Queen" | McNeil, Josh Ramsay | Ramsay | 2:52 |
| 5. | "Merry Go Round" | McNeil, Ryan Stewart, Thakkar | Thomas "Tawgs" Salter | 3:33 |
| 6. | "Love Can't Save Us Now" (featuring Faber Drive) | Dodson, Mats Valentin | Salter | 3:07 |
| 7. | "One Foot in Front of the Other" | McNeil, Justin Forsley | Salter | 3:25 |
| 8. | "Interlude" | McNeil | 0:16 | |
| 9. | "Here Comes the Rain Again" | Annie Lennox, David A. Stewart | Salter | 3:28 |
| 10. | "Tough Love" (featuring Anami Vice) | McNeil, Ramsay | Ramsay | 3:35 |
| 11. | "In Luv Tonight" | McNeil, R. Stewart | Salter | 3:29 |
| 12. | "Blessing in Disguise" | McNeil, Salter | Salter | 3:13 |
| 13. | "Merry Go Round" (Acoustic) | McNeil, R. Stewart | Thakkar | 3:11 |
| Total length: | 38:28 | |||
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 14. | "Stay" | 3:23 |
| Total length: | 41:53 | |
Chart performance
editSingles
edit| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN [4] |
CAN AC [5] |
CAN Hot AC [6] | |||
| 2011 | "Drama Queen" | 96 | — | 23 | |
| "Merry Go Round" | 75 | 8 | 38 | ||
| 2012 | "Tough Love" | — | 25 | 38 | |
| "Love Can't Save Us Now" | — | 15 | — | ||
Release history
edit| Country | Date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Worldwide[7] | July 24, 2012 | CD | 604 Records |
| Canada[8] | August 7, 2012 | Digital download | |
| United States[9] |
References
edit- ^ McNeil, Suzie. ""Dear Love" Released TODAY!!". Archived from the original on 7 December 2013. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
- ^ Volmers, Eric. "Now Hear This: Reviews of new albums". The Calgary Herald. Retrieved 21 September 2012.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Suzie McNeil - Dear Love Review". Real Style Network. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
- ^ "Chart Search". Billboard Canadian Hot 100 for Suzie McNeil. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- ^ Canada AC peak positions:
- For "Merry Go Round": "BDSRadio Charts (Canada AC National Airplay)". BDS Radio. Nielsen N.V. Archived from the original on 12 October 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- For "Tough Love": "BDSRadio Charts (Canada AC National Airplay)". BDS Radio. Nielsen N.V. Archived from the original on 21 July 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- For "Love Can't Save Us Now": "Chart Search". Billboard Canada AC for Suzie McNeil. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- ^
Canada Hot AC peak positions:
- For "Drama Queen": "BDSRadio Charts (Canada Hot AC National Airplay)". BDS Radio. Nielsen N.V. Archived from the original on 23 May 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- For "Merry Go Round": "BDSRadio Charts (Canada Hot AC National Airplay)". BDS Radio. Nielsen N.V. Archived from the original on 12 October 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- For "Tough Love": "BDSRadio Charts (Canada Hot AC National Airplay)". BDS Radio. Nielsen N.V. Archived from the original on 6 June 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- ^ "Dear Love - Suzie McNeil". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- ^ "Dear Love by Suzie McNeil". iTunes Store (CA). Apple Inc. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- ^ "Dear Love by Suzie McNeil". iTunes Store (US). Apple Inc. Retrieved 1 January 2015.