In flight
| In flight | ||||
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| Studio album by Linda Perry | ||||
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Publication |
1996 |
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| Label (s) | Interscope Records , Kill Rock Stars , Custard Records | |||
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Format (s) |
CD |
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Title (number) |
12 |
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running time |
58 min 39 s |
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| occupation |
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Bill Bottrell, Linda Perry (co-producer) |
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Studio (s) |
Toad Hall |
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In Flight is the first solo album by Linda Perry , the former front woman of the 4 Non Blondes , from 1996.
The album
In Flight was released on September 9, 1996 at the music label Interscope Records . The album was produced by the then very successful producer Bill Bottrell, who also produced Sheryl Crow's album Sheryl Crow , which won a Grammy for best rock album in 1996. All of the songs on the album were written by Perry, who was also the co-producer of the album. On October 11, 2005, Perry re- released In Flight .
Origin and Effect
Perry wrote some of the songs, such as In My Dreams , In Flight and Knock Me Out , for the 4 Non Blondes' planned second album . Due to musical differences between Perry and the other band members, the group split up while working on their second album. Perry decided to publish the songs as a solo artist.
Even annoyed by the loud - more screamed than sung - songs of the 4 Non Blonds, Perry decided to take a different musical direction. At this point, Perry was in a very emotional mood that she herself classified as partially suicidal . Perry didn't want to release a mainstream album at any cost . Rather, she primarily wanted to express her sometimes dark feelings that she felt at the time.
The album is characterized by spherical, psychedelic rock sound with a lot of heartbreak.
The songs are largely shaped by acoustic instruments ( piano , guitar ). Violinist Lisa Germano underlines the melancholy mood of the album on some of the tracks . Perry succeeds in intensifying the emotionality of the melancholy songs through her haunting voice and the way she singing.
subjects
The themes of the songs are mainly personal: dreams , success , faith (in yourself, in God ), youthful experiences and love relationships .
Success in particular clearly shows what condition Perry was in with regard to her musical career - especially with regard to the successful project of the 4 Non Blondes and their own needs and desires and the resulting musical new beginning.
“Will success fail me? Will it make me free? What they tell me I should want? Is it what I need? "
“Will I be denied success? Will it set me free What are they telling me, should I wish for? Is that what I need? "
Elsewhere, Perry mentions that a decision was required of her.
“I had to choose. Choose between the win and lose. But what's the use? "
“I had to choose. Decide between winning and losing. But what is the benefit? "
Uninvited goes in a similar direction to Success . The main message of the song is the uncertainty of not knowing whether you are ready to see what is to come. This uncertainty can be overcome through faith. In this context, Perry raises the question of whether she really believes in Jesus and whether Jesus also believes in her.
“And I don't think I'm ready. Cause I don't think I see, that I believe in Jesus. Does Jesus believe in me? "
“And I don't think I'm ready. Because I don't believe that I know that I believe in Jesus. Does Jesus believe in me? "
The duet with Grace Slick You Knocked Me Out is a very soulful ballad that is about a love affair between two women. Grace Slick did the second person part. The song is about the difficulty of accepting the end of a relationship and the struggle for the relationship. Not being able to let the other go and the feeling of never being able to be the same person again are also contents of the song.
Fill Me Up , which was released as a single, is one of the few non-profound songs on the album. In this song, Perry deals with the subject of excessive alcohol consumption and the associated memory loss the next morning in a rather humorous way . In relation to the rapid rise of the 4 Non Blondes, however, this title also leaves room for interpretation.
Perry processes the experiences of her youth as a drug addict homeless in the songs Life In A Bottle and Fruitloop Daydream . Life In A Bottle refers to the inner conflict of the young Linda Perry, on the one hand knowing that substance abuse is destroying her life, but on the other hand feeling satisfaction with the situation and the environment. Fruitloop Daydream goes directly to the family of Perry's view of life in Balboa Park of San Diego one in which Perry spent part of her youth.
Fruitloop Daydream and Freeway , which was also released as a single, are reminiscent of the hippie movement in terms of both sound and lyrics . Both songs represent a contrast to the rest of the titles, as they are about joie de vivre and happy togetherness, while most of the other titles have a melancholy mood.
meaning
With the album, Perry was unable to build on the success she had with the 4 Non Blondes in the early 90s . The album only sold about 18,000 times.
For Perry himself, the album represents a kind of emotional release. At the end of the career of the 4 Non Blondes, Perry was annoyed, stressed and excited. Perry describes In Flight as a long breath that calmed her.
"Finally you're sitting somewhere where you're comfortable"
"In the end you are somewhere where you feel comfortable"
“I needed to do that for myself. Is it a great record? I'm not too sure. But I love it. Do I feel successful from it? Absolutely ”
“I had to do it for myself. Is it a great album? I am not too sure. But i love it. Do I find it successful? Absolutely!"
The album marks the beginning of Perry's development into a successful music producer . During the recording of In Flight , Perry's interest in the work of a music producer increased. In Flight is the first album that Perry was officially involved in as a co-producer. Today she calls the producer of the album Bill Bottrell her mentor , from whom she ultimately learned everything she knows about music production .
Republication
In 2005 Perry signed a contract with Kill Rock Stars and released In Flight on October 11, 2005 again in collaboration with her own label Custard Records . As a reason for the re-release of the album, Perry stated that she had no new ambitions regarding a solo career or wanted to capitalize on her current reputation as a producer, but that she just wanted to give people the opportunity to listen to the album.
After the bad sales of the first release of the album, Perry believed he had released a bad album that no one wanted to hear and fell into deep depression. Convinced that the album hadn't gotten a fair chance in 1996 due to the lack of support / marketing by Interscope, Perry asked Interscope to release the master . Since Perry had in the meantime worked successfully as a producer with artists who were under contract with Interscope (e.g. Gwen Stefani ), Interscope agreed.
“But I just needed to find out if people would think this album sucked or not. I need closure. "
“But I just have to find out if people think the album sucks or not. I need a degree. "
This version of the album also contains the videos for the two singles Fill Me Up and Freeway .
Since Perry did not market the album on a large scale either and only completed a small tour with 10 appearances, In Flight could not place itself successfully in the music charts in 2005 either .
The track Knock Me Out , which Perry recorded with Grace Slick, can be found on the soundtrack of The Crow: City of Angels , which was also released in 1996.
Track list
- In My Dreams (5:25)
- Freeway (5:54)
- Uninvited (4:25)
- Success (5:25)
- Life In A Bottle (4:21)
- Fill Me Up (5:01)
- Knock Me Out (6:50)
- Too Deep (5:36)
- Taken (3:38)
- Fruitloop Daydream (2:50)
- Machine Man (3:45)
- In Flight (5:03)
Single releases
- Fill me up
- Freeway
Reviews
In Flight received mixed reviews. While Laut.de speaks from today's perspective of a “great and neglected piece of music history” ( laut.de :), the criticism at Yahoo Music is rather bad due to the melancholy mood of the album.
"But, like most hangovers, In Flight just leaves a bad taste in your mouth."
"But, like most hangovers, In Flight leaves a bad taste in the mouth."
Reviews from buyers of the CD are predominantly characterized by positive ratings.
Web links
- In Flight at Allmusic (English)
- Review at Yahoo Music
- Review at Satan Stole My Teddybear
- Review at Time Out New York
- Review at Schallplattenmann.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Interview on rocknworld.com (07.14.2006)
- ↑ a b laut.de: biography
- ↑ Review at tonspion.de
- ↑ a b Text from Success at LyricWiki
- ↑ Text from Uninvited at LyricWiki
- ↑ www.signonsandiego.com From odd duck to golden swan , October 20, 2005
- ↑ a b Interview on San Francisco Bay Guardian
- ↑ Interview on The Art Of Music Production (July 31, 2004)
- ↑ Anthony DeCurtis: After Her 15 Minutes of Fame, Rocker Thrives as a Producer. in the New York Times , October 10, 2005
- ↑ Entertainment Weekly's EW.COM (September 30, 2005)
- ^ Review at Yahoo Music