Ready for the weekend

Ready for the weekend
Studio album by Calvin Harris
Publication (s)	August 14, 2008 (UK) September 25, 2009 (Germany) October 6, 2009 (United States)
Label (s)	Columbia , Fly Eye
Format (s)	CD, download
Genre (s)	Synthpop , Electropop , Electro-House , Dance , Nu-Disco
Title (number)	14 + 1
running time	52:11
occupation	See below
production	Calvin Harris
Studio (s)	Earth's Core (Glasgow)
chronology I Created Disco (2007) Ready for the weekend 18 Months (2012)

Ready for the Weekend ( English for "Ready for the weekend" ) is the second studio album by Scottish singer and producer Calvin Harris . It was released worldwide in the summer and fall of 2009 and was a huge hit in the UK, where it topped the album charts and was awarded gold for sales of 100,000 copies.

Background information

Harris has been working on its successor since the release of his debut album I Created Disco , for which he recorded the first song in 2008. The new album was recorded under similar conditions. Harris saved all of the recordings on a laptop at home. The technical equipment was more modern this time. However, the laptop with the saved recordings was allegedly lost in the chaos of the reopening of the terminal at London's Heathrow Airport, so that Harris had to start over, which meant recording or singing all the songs again. However, he later admitted that he had received his luggage again shortly after it was lost. The computer was never in the luggage either. In his defense, he said, “My label wanted the album, but I only had two songs ready at the time. But it turned out really good for that ... I knew I had to somehow get people's attention. Show that I'm still alive, that my label didn't drop me and that I'm working on the second record. So I thought about this story, and my press lady at Columbia immediately thought it was great. So we put it on my Myspace blog and a lot of newspapers copied it. "

The album shows some changes in Harris' sound. Where synthesizers and Harris' vocals were used almost exclusively as instruments in the previous album, there is now an acoustic guitar like in Relax or Worst Day , but also a saxophone, which is used in The Rain , in the background music of the individual pieces. Harris said, “The songs are more diverse this time. On the last record, after two or three tracks, you knew what to expect. The range here is much wider and more interesting. My first album was almost like a concept album with one very clear goal. This time I used as many different instruments as possible. ”As with the previous album, there are several instrumentals on the album, including Burns Night and Siliconeator .

In an interview with Der Spiegel , he explained the idea behind his number one single I'm Not Alone . When asked if the line of text If I see a light flashing, could this mean that I'm coming home? If a club was about the strobe lights, he replied: "I actually had a trip in a boat on my own in mind."

reception

Professional reviews
Reviews
source	rating
According to
CDStarts
Allmusic
NME
metro
Digital spy
Metascore
65%

Critics received the album quite positively. Karim Chughtai, editor at Laut, described the album as a convincing “mixture of characteristic synthetic akkati and poppy electro basses [...] Calvin Harris naturally understands his craft. Accurately pulls a balancing act between sales-calculated pop business and dance tracks, which also work in clubs away from the mainstream [...] Due to a few slip-ups in the fields of pop monotony, the album loses its charm, although everything starts properly [...] Two No. 1 box office hits only testify to the true quality of Harris. Against the festive hedonism and the glamorous excesses of Calvin's laws, the great I'm Not Alone turns out to be the artist's thoughtful, vulnerable confession, wonderfully sung and saturated by rave synthesizers with long pop tails [...] The Calvinian concept - Dancing suitability and console art - definitely works, presents itself in a versatile instrumental way and actually sounds pretty good despite strong pop appeal. "

Matthias Reichel from CDStarts criticized the album for the lack of innovation: “If you are expecting a colorful electro-pop mix, you will unfortunately have to be disappointed. The sound of Calvin Harris is and remains very firmly rooted in the dance area and apart from a few chill-out moments the Scot does his thing to the end. Subtle borrowings from 70s disco sounds creep in, which are well interwoven with the generally quite modern sound. That should be sufficient as an incentive to buy for the target group. The pop fan, on the other hand, will not be that happy with the album. "

Track list

All songs were written and produced by Calvin Harris . Additional songwriters are listed below.

1. "The Rain" - 4:36
2. "Ready for the Weekend" - 3:37
3. "Stars Come Out" - 4:28
4. "You Used to Hold Me" - 3:51
5. "Blue" - 3:41
6. "I'm Not Alone" - 3:31
7. "Flashback" - 3:49
8. "Worst Day" (feat. Izza Kizza) (Izza Kizza) - 3:46
9. "Relax" - 3:49
10. "Limits" - 3:42
11. "Burns Night" (Mark Irving) - 2:20
12. "Yeah Yeah Yeah, La La La" - 3:17
13. "Dance wiv Me" (feat. Dizzee Rascal & Chrome) (Dylan Mills, Nick Detnon, Tyrone Paul) - 4:24
14. "5iliconeator" - 3:29

Bonus track

1. "Greatest Fear" - 6:20

Commercial win

album

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)						Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US	Dance
2009	Ready for the weekend	-	-	-	UK1 gold (27 weeks)UK	-	Dance12 (1 week) Dance	First published: August 14, 2009

Singles

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, , Placements, weeks, awards, comments)						Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US	Dance
2009	I'm not alone	-	-	-	UK1 platinum (28 weeks)UK	-	-	First published: April 6, 2009
	Ready for the weekend	-	-	-	UK3 silver (11 weeks)UK	-	-	First published: August 9, 2009
	Flashback	-	-	-	UK18 (9 weeks) UK	-	-	First published: November 2, 2009
2010	You used to hold me	-	-	-	UK27 (8 weeks) UK	-	-	First published: February 8, 2010

occupation

music Vocals, instruments, arrangements: Calvin Harris Vocals (Dance Wiv Me ): Chrome Saxophone (The Rain) : Snake Davis Guitar (Burns Night) : Mark Irving Singing (Worst Day) : Izza Kizza Background vocals (Stars Come Out, Flashback, Limits) : Ayah Marar Backing vocals (Ready For The Weekend) : Mary Pearce Rap / Vocals (Dance Wiv Me) : Dizzee Rascal

production Arrangements, production, engineering, mixing, design concept: Calvin Harris Mastering: Brian Gardner Photographs: Spiros Politis Photographs: Matthew Shave Artwork: Steve Stacey

Web links

• Official website
• Official artwork

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Gold Award (English)
2. ↑ ^{a b} intro interview ( memento of the original from October 29, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
3. ↑ NME message
4. ↑ Interview
5. ↑ OpenPR: album description
6. ↑ Spiegel interview
7. ↑ Rating loud
8. ↑ Rating CD Stars
9. ↑ Allmusic rating
10. ^ NME criticism
11. ↑ Metro rating
12. ↑ Rating Digital Spy
13. ^ Metascore
14. ↑ ^{a b} Chart sources: DE AT CH UK US US Dance Albums US Dance Singles