Quixotic is the debut album by English singer-songwriter Martina Topley-Bird. The album spans several musical styles including trip hop, electronic and rock. It was co-written and produced by Topley-Bird and received positive reviews from music critics upon its release and was shortlisted for the 2003 Mercury Music Prize. Quixotic also includes a collaboration with musician Tricky, with whom Topley-Bird collaborated prior to her solo work.

Quixotic
Studio album by
Released14 July 2003
GenreTrip hop, electronic, indie rock
Length51:11
LabelIndependiente
Producer
Martina Topley-Bird chronology
Quixotic
(2003)
The Blue God
(2008)
Singles from Quixotic
  1. "Need One"
    Released: 2 June 2003
  2. "Anything"
    Released: 1 September 2003
  3. "I Still Feel (promo)"
  4. "Soul Food"
Alternative cover
Anything cover art
Quixotic
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
entertainment.ie[2]
The Guardian[3]
Hot Press[4]
The Independent[5]
Muzik[6]
Pitchfork Media5.9/10[7]
The Times[8]
Uncut[9]
Anything
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[10]
Robert Christgau(2-star Honorable Mention)(2-star Honorable Mention)[11]
Rolling Stone[12]
Tiny Mix Tapes4/5[13]

Quixotic was released in the United States one year later, in 2004. Licensed to the Palm Pictures label, the album was retitled Anything and the track list was altered – including the omission of three tracks originally found on Quixotic. Additionally, the song mixes differ, and the "Intro" track was moved to the end of the album, retitled "Outro".[14]

Track listing

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Quixotic

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No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Intro"
  • Topley-Bird
1:11
2."Need One"
  • Topley-Bird
  • Amp 9
3:55
3."Anything"
  • Nick Bird
  • Steve Crittall
4:25
4."Soul Food"
  • Topley-Bird
  • Amp 9
5:32
5."Lullaby"
  • Topley-Bird
  • Amp 9
4:23
6."Too Tough to Die"
3:58
7."Sandpaper Kisses"
  • Topley-Bird
  • Amp 9
3:52
8."Ragga"
3:15
9."Lying"
  • Topley-Bird
4:14
10."I Wanna Be There"
  • Topley-Bird
  • Amp 9
1:54
11."I Still Feel"
  • Topley-Bird
  • Amp 9
5:21
12."Ilya"
  • Topley-Bird
4:38
13."Stevie's (Day's of a Gun)"
  • Topley-Bird
  • Amp 9
4:32
French edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
14."Skyscraper"4:28
15."I Wanna Be There" (live at Bush Hall)2:05
16."Too Tough to Die" (Hot to Tape remix)4:16

Anything

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  1. "Anything"
  2. "Ragga"
  3. "Need One"
  4. "Soul Food"
  5. "Ilya"
  6. "I Still Feel"
  7. "Sandpaper Kisses"
  8. "Too Tough to Die"
  9. "Lullaby"
  10. "Outro"

Guest appearances

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  • Mark Lanegan performs additional vocals and Josh Homme plays additional guitar on "Need One"
  • David Holmes co-wrote and produced "Too Tough to Die" and mixed "I Wanna Be There"
  • Tricky produced, co-wrote music/lyrics and his vocals are featured on "Ragga". He also did some producing and additional programming on a few more tracks.
  • David Arnold co-produced and arranged strings on "Stevie's (Day's of a Gun)"
  • Cath Coffey performed backing vocals on some of the tracks

Singles

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  • "Need One"
  • "Anything"
  • "I Still Feel"
  • "Soul Food"

Charts

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Chart (2003) Peak
position[15]
UK Albums Chart 70
French Albums Chart 58

Appearances in media

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  • "Lullaby" was used in the campaign for juice powder Clight (in Brazil), later used in advertisements for Kenzo's fragrance Flower.
  • "Sandpaper Kisses" is featured on the soundtrack of the video game Fahrenheit (known as Indigo Prophecy in North America).
  • "Need One" appears on the CSI: Miami soundtrack (released in 2004) after the song was used in the episode "Blood Brothers".
  • "I Only Have Eyes for You" and "Soulfood" (Charles Webster's Banging House Dub) were featured on The O.C.
  • Samples of "Sandpaper Kisses" are prominently featured in Stephen Marley's "You're Gonna Leave" from his 2007 release Mind Control. It is also featured in Canadian artist the Weeknd's second 2011 mixtape, Thursday, on "The Birds Part 2".
  • "Too Tough to Die" was used as the opening theme song of the Thandie Newton series, Rogue, during its first season.

References

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  1. ^ Tim DiGravina. "Quixotic > Overview". Allmusic. Retrieved 24 October 2009.
  2. ^ entertainment.ie review
  3. ^ Maddy Costa (11 July 2003). "CD: Martina Topley Bird: Quixotic". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 October 2009.
  4. ^ Hot Press review
  5. ^ "Album: Martina Topley-Bird - Reviews, Music". The Independent. 11 July 2003. Retrieved 24 October 2009.[dead link]
  6. ^ McKeown, Tom (August 2003). "Martina Topley Bird: Quixotic (Independiente)" (PDF). Muzik. No. 99. p. 74. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  7. ^ Mark Pytlik (1 March 2004). "Album Reviews: Martina Tople-Bird: Quixotic". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 24 October 2009.
  8. ^ David Sinclair (4 July 2003). "Martina Topley-Bird: Quixotic review". The Times. Retrieved 24 October 2009.[dead link]
  9. ^ "Martina Topley-Bird - Quixotic - Review". Uncut. Retrieved 24 October 2009.
  10. ^ Dave Thompson. "Anyting > Overview". Allmusic. Retrieved 24 October 2009.
  11. ^ Christgau, Robert (n.d.). "CG: Martina Topley-Bird". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  12. ^ James Hunter (19 August 2004). "Martina Topley-Bird: Anything : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 11 June 2008. Retrieved 24 October 2009.
  13. ^ Alan Ranta. "Martina Topley-Bird - Anything". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved 24 October 2009.[permanent dead link]
  14. ^ "Anything - Martina Topley-Bird | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  15. ^ Martina Topley Bird – Quixotic – Music Charts
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