Duncan Sheik (album)

Duncan Sheik is the first album by the American singer-songwriter Duncan Sheik, released on Atlantic Records on May 20, 1996. Three singles were released from it, "Barely Breathing", "She Runs Away" and "Reasons for Living". The album was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on August 27, 1997, denoting sales of over 500,000 copies in the United States.

Duncan Sheik
Studio album by
Duncan Sheik
ReleasedMay 20, 1996
RecordedPrécy-sur-Oise, France
Metropolis Studios
London, England
GenrePop[1]
Length52:08
LabelAtlantic
ProducerRupert Hine
Duncan Sheik chronology
Duncan Sheik
(1996)		 Humming
(1998)
Singles from Tails
  1. "Barely Breathing"
    Released: November 12, 1996
  2. "She Runs Away"
    Released: 1997
  3. "Reasons for Living"
    Released: 1997

Recording

Sheik recorded around thirty songs for this album with the producer Rupert Hine while working out a deal with Atlantic (who took over his previous contract from Immortal Records), which left around 18 tracks unheard from these sessions. The only outtake from the album which saw the light, "View from the Other Side", was released as a B-side in 1997.

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Entertainment WeeklyC+[3]
Rolling Stone[1]
USA Today[4]
The Village VoiceC[5]

Kelly McCartney of AllMusic said the album is more than just the single "Barely Breathing", praising Sheik's songwriting for being "richly melodic and thoughtful" and Hine's production for giving the stories life throughout the track listing and multiple emotions that can be interpreted by the listeners, concluding that there is "something for everybody and a great record all around".[2] James Hunter from Rolling Stone noted how Sheik's musicianship emulated UK acts like Talk Talk and The Smiths, concluding, "He may be enamored of antique pop, but Sheik is never merely retro. This [album] is a defiant debut – beautiful and benevolent of spirit."[1] The Entertainment Weekly writer Steven Mirkin felt that Sheik's vocal performance was too restraint to allow for any "real emotional commitment" for the listeners to get out of the generic lyrics.[3] Village Voice critic Robert Christgau dismissed Sheik as a second-rate "matinee idol" and "a whiner stupid enough to fall for the depressed wacko" and "stupid enough to blame it entirely on her", in reference to "Barely Breathing".[5]

Release

The album was met with commercial success and was Gold-certified. It includes the Grammy-nominated hit single "Barely Breathing", which stayed on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for a record-breaking 55 (consecutive) weeks.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Duncan Sheik, except where noted.

No.TitleLength
1."She Runs Away"3:43
2."In the Absence of Sun"5:05
3."Barely Breathing"4:15
4."Reasons for Living"4:31
5."Days Go By"4:48
6."Serena" (Fran Banish, Sheik)4:43
7."Out of Order"4:30
8."November"4:56
9."Home"4:48
10."The End of Outside"4:45
11."Little Hands" (Banish, Sheik)6:04

Personnel

Adapted credits from the liner notes of Duncan Sheik.[6]

  • Duncan Sheik - lead vocals (all tracks), harmony vocals (tracks 1, 2, 3, 6, 10), acoustic guitar (tracks 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11), electric guitar (tracks 1, 3, 6, 7, 10), 12-string guitar (track 6), nylon string guitar (track 9), EBow (track 3), keyboards (tracks 4, 11), piano (tracks 3, 4, 7), organ (tracks 6, 8), sampling (track 3), drums (track 10), percussion (track 10), drum programming (tracks 4, 5, 6, 9, 10), accordion (track 9)
  • Fran Banish - electric lead guitar (tracks 1, 6, 9, 10), slide guitar (tracks 1, 3)
  • Howard Jones - outro piano on "Reasons For Living"
  • Rupert Hine - percussion (tracks 1, 3, 6), backing vocals (tracks 3, 10), keyboards (track 9)
  • Milo DeCruz (tracks 6, 10), Pino Palladino (tracks 1, 2, 3, 7) - bass guitar
  • Jean-Michel Biger - drums (tracks 1, 2, 3, 6, 7)
  • Strings by The London Session Orchestra, led by Gavyn Wright, directed by Minnie Matt and Gavyn Wright, arranged and conducted by Simon Hale (tracks 1, 2, 5, 8, 10)
  • Ruadhri Cushnan - infinite reverbs on "Home"
  • Ruadhri Cushnan, Stephen W. Tayler, Cyrille de Smet: recording engineers
  • Stephen W. Tayler: mixing
  • Tony Cousins: mastering
  • Julian Broad: photography
  • Richard Bates: art direction
  • Allen Hori: design

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[7] Gold 500,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

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References
  1. Hunter, James (February 2, 1998). "Duncan Sheik: Duncan Sheik". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Archived from the original on December 24, 2007. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
  2. McCartney, Kelly. "Duncan Sheik - Duncan Sheik". AllMusic. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
  3. Mirkin, Steven (June 7, 1996). "Duncan Sheik". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
  4. USA Today review
  5. Christgau, Robert (April 15, 1997). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved July 3, 2020 – via robertchristgau.com.
  6. Duncan Sheik (booklet). Duncan Sheik. Atlantic. 1996. 82879-2.CS1 maint: others (link)
  7. "American album certifications – Duncan Sheik – Duncan Sheik". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
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