Bed of Stone

Bed of Stone is the third studio album by Nigerian-French recording artist Aṣa. It was released on 25 August 2014 through Naive Records. Recorded in the East-Sussex area in the UK, the album was co-written and produced by Blair MacKichan, a British producer that has already worked with Sia and Lily Allen. Bed of Stone is, according to the label company an album that goes "right to the heart". It features a folk sound similar to her previous albums Beautiful Imperfection and Aṣa.

Bed of Stone
Studio album by Aṣa
Released	25 August 2014 (2014-08-25)
Recorded	2013
Genre	Acoustic rock folk
Length	47:17
Label	Naive Records
Producer	Blair MacKichan Benjamin Constant
Aṣa chronology
Beautiful Imperfection (2011) Bed of Stone (2014) Lucid (2019)
Singles from Bed of Stone
"Dead Again" Released: 23 May 2014

Its lead single, "Dead Again" was released in May, 2014, while a clip video has broadcast the same day. The song is the opening track of the record, it is a piano ballad that deals with a bitter love. The album was acclaimed by critics upon release.

Critical reception

Bed of Stone received widespread critical acclaim upon release. Pop Magazine rated the album 4 out of 5 stars, and called it "a full and rounded musical experience," as well as a more "personal" album than Aṣa's previous releases. They also praised the album's musical style, calling it "smooth" and "graceful".[1] Festus Okubor Goziem of 360Submissions also praised Bed of Stone, and deemed it a "masterful, controlled, [and] confident album." They further applauded Aṣa for her vocal delivery, and compared her to Florence and the Machine, Alabama Shakes and The Civil Wars.[2] Bellanaija acclaimed the album, stating that the album was "one of the best albums you would hear this year"; they further praised it by calling it "Grammy-winning music".[3] Udochukwu Ikwuagwu of The Breaking Times gave Bed of Stone another acclaimed review. He rated the album an 8 out of 10, and called it a "near-masterpiece"; Aṣa's vocal delivery and songwriting, as well as the album's production, were particularly acclaimed.[4] Oscar Okeke of Lo Batan gave a positive, albeit more critical, review of the album. Rating the album a B on a scale of A to F, Okeke praised the album's production and its lyrical content, but was more critical of Aṣa's vocal delivery; "Intensified vocals and a surge of instrumentals is what the album needs. It’s called a musical frisson, and Asa could have given us more of it," Okeke said in his review.[5]

Track listing

No.	Title	Music	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Dead Again"	Aṣa	Blair MacKichan	3:07
2.	"Eyo"	Asa,	MacKichan	3:16
3.	"Satan Be Gone"	Asa,	MacKichan	2:36
4.	"Bed of Stone"	Asa	Constant	4:20
5.	"Moving on"	Asa	Asa	4:16
6.	"Grateful"	Asa	MacKichan	2:45
7.	"Society"	Asa	MacKichan	3:03
8.	"How Did Love Find Me"	Asa	MacKichan	3:41
9.	"Ife"	Asa	Constant	3:46
10.	"Situation"	Asa	MacKichan	2:40
11.	"New Year"	Asa	MacKichan	3:01
12.	"The One That Never Comes"	Asa	MacKichan	4:06
Total length:				47:52

Deluxe Edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Music	Producer(s)	Length
13.	"Sometimes I Wonder"	Asa	MacKichan	2:59
14.	"Shine Your Light"	Asa	MacKichan	3:34

Chart performance

Chart	Peak Position
French Albums Chart[6]	38
French Physical Albums Chart[7]	44
French Digital Albums Chart[8]	9
Swiss Albums Chart	64

References

1. Perkins, Mai (30 August 2014). "Review: Asa - Bed Of Stone". Pop Magazine.
2. "Asa's Bed Of Stone review".
3. "Should You Bump This – Music Review: Asa – Bed of Stone".
4. "Album review: Bed of Stone - Asa".
5. "Album Review - Bed Of Stone - Asa".
6. "Asa : Bed Of Stone" (in German). Chartsinfrance. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
7. "Asa : Bed Of Stone" (in German). Chartsinfrance. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
8. "Asa : Bed Of Stone" (in German). Chartsinfrance. Retrieved 5 September 2014.