Gran Turismo (album)

Gran Turismo is the fourth studio album by Swedish band The Cardigans, released internationally on 19 October 1998 and in November 1998 in the United States. It features a darker and more moody type of music, mixing with more electronic sounds.

Gran Turismo
Studio album by
The Cardigans
Released19 October 1998
Recorded1998
GenreAlternative rock, electronic rock, post-rock
Length42:36
LabelStockholm
ProducerTore Johansson
The Cardigans chronology
First Band on the Moon
(1996)		 Gran Turismo
(1998)		 Long Gone Before Daylight
(2003)
Singles from Gran Turismo
  1. "My Favourite Game"
    Released: 5 October 1998
  2. "Erase/Rewind"
    Released: 22 February 1999
  3. "Hanging Around"
    Released: 12 July 1999
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Boston Phoenix[2]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[3]
The Guardian[4]
Los Angeles Times[5]
NME6/10[6]
Pitchfork7.0/10[7]
Q[8]
Rolling Stone[9]
USA Today[10]

In an interview in 2009, producer and sound engineer Tore Johansson commented on the dark sound of the record, which sets it apart from the warm, jammy feel of many other recordings made at Tambourine Studios: "It's a very cold and defined recording, no natural reverb or audio curtains: there's not a sound element on that disc which wasn't deliberately put there."[11]

The album and band were nominated for a total of seven awards at the 1999 Grammis—the Swedish equivalent of the Grammy Awards.[12] Gran Turismo sold more than 3 million copies worldwide.[13]

Background

The album's name is explained by the band in a track on an advanced copy of the album titled "Explain the Title of the Album Gran Turismo": "The title can be interpreted in many ways but I think we only thought of a few ones we liked," Nina says. "We talked about having like Italian or French title and Gran Turismo came up and it sort of felt really good and you know I can think of music sometimes as tourism and traveling. So to me Gran Turismo is sort of the way to describe music sometimes or spending time with music." Peter says, "and I think that also the title suits this very album extremely well because the album is pretty much about trying to find your place in the world. I think sometimes you can always compare living to being a tourist in the world," Nina finishes.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Nina Persson and Peter Svensson, except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Paralyzed" 4:54
2."Erase/Rewind" 3:35
3."Explode" 4:04
4."Starter" 3:49
5."Hanging Around" 3:40
6."Higher" 4:32
7."Marvel Hill"Persson, Magnus Sveningsson, Svensson4:16
8."My Favourite Game" 3:36
9."Do You Believe" 3:19
10."Junk of the Hearts"Persson, Sveningsson, Svensson4:07
11."Nil" (instrumental)Lars-Olof Johansson2:18

Personnel

Singles
  • "My Favourite Game" (10 October 1998, #14 UK)[14]
  • "Erase/Rewind" (28 February 1999, #7 UK)[14]
  • "Hanging Around" (17 July 1999, #17 UK)[14]
  • Gran Turismo Overdrive EP (The Cardigans remixed by Nåid) (19 November 1999, released outside the UK)

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[39] Platinum 50,000^
France (SNEP)[40] Gold 100,000*
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)[12] Gold 7,500*
Japan (RIAJ)[41] Gold 100,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[42] Gold 50,000^
Norway (IFPI Norway)[43] Platinum 50,000*
Sweden (GLF)[44] 2× Platinum 160,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[45] Platinum 520,000[46]
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[47] Platinum 1,000,000*
Worldwide — 3,000,000[13]

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

Covers and appearances in other media

Alternative metal band Deftones recorded a version of the song "Do You Believe" as an extra track for their 2010 album Diamond Eyes, as well as their covers compilation.

The album is possibly named after the racing video game series Gran Turismo; for which the song, "My Favourite Game" plays during the opening video of the Arcade disc of the racing game Gran Turismo 2. In the European version, the song was a remix. The song was also used as the song for Formula One's musical highlights at the end of the 1998 season on ITV.

"Erase/Rewind" is featured on the soundtrack of several films, including The Thirteenth Floor, Never Been Kissed and Gattaca. The song was also featured in an episode of British soap opera Hollyoaks, broadcast on 9 September 2003.

gollark: It doesn't matter too much, especially since English is basically five million languages glued together anyway.
gollark: They probably don't, but the site does!
gollark: Cool!
gollark: You can also say arcanos, again with a very broad interpretation.
gollark: Also, Arcanas is... also okay Latin, assuming we're using the accusative.

References
  1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Gran Turismo – The Cardigans". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  2. Pappademas, Alex (2 November 1998). "The Cardigans: Gran Turismo (Mercury)". The Boston Phoenix. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  3. Brunner, Rob (6 November 1998). "Gran Tourismo". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  4. Sullivan, Caroline (23 October 1998). "The Cardigans: Gran Turismo (Stockholm)". The Guardian.
  5. Holdship, Bill (8 November 1998). "The Cardigans, 'Gran Turismo,' Mercury". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  6. Long, April (16 October 1998). "The Cardigans – Gran Turismo". NME. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  7. Wisdom, James P. "Cardigans: Gran Turismo". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 12 March 2008. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  8. "The Cardigans: Gran Turismo". Q (159): 115. December 1999.
  9. Kot, Greg (29 October 1998). "The Cardigans: Gran Turismo". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 14 November 2007. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  10. Gundersen, Edna (10 November 1998). "The Cardigans, Gran Turismo". USA Today.
  11. http://sweden.kcomposite.com/cardigans/
  12. "Artists & Music | Stockholm Records". Billboard. 111 (7): 20. 13 February 1999. ISSN 0006-2510.
  13. "GT sales". Retrieved 19 February 2012.
  14. "Cardigans | full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  15. "Austriancharts.at – The Cardigans – Gran Turismo" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  16. "Ultratop.be – The Cardigans – Gran Turismo" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  17. "Ultratop.be – The Cardigans – Gran Turismo" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  18. "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 68, No. 9: Nov 23, 1998". RPM. RPM Library and Archives. 23 November 1998. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  19. "Hits Of The World - Gran Turismo - Denmark". Billboard. 111 (19): 47. 8 May 1999. ISSN 0006-2510.
  20. "Dutchcharts.nl – The Cardigans – Gran Turismo" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  21. "Hits Of The World - Gran Turismo - Eurochart & Ireland". Billboard. 111 (12): 57. 20 March 1999. ISSN 0006-2510.
  22. "The Cardigans: Gran Turismo" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  23. "Lescharts.com – The Cardigans – Gran Turismo". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  24. "Offiziellecharts.de – The Cardigans – Gran Turismo" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  25. "Hits Of The World - Gran Turismo - Italy". Billboard. 111 (16): 62. 17 April 1999. ISSN 0006-2510.
  26. "Hits Of The World - Gran Turismo - Japan". Billboard. 110 (43): 60. 28 October 1998. ISSN 0006-2510.
  27. "Charts.nz – The Cardigans – Gran Turismo". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  28. "Norwegiancharts.com – The Cardigans – Gran Turismo". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  29. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 8480486392.
  30. "Swedishcharts.com – The Cardigans – Gran Turismo". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  31. "Cardigans | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  32. "The Cardigans Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  33. "Sverigetopplistan > Sök Alla Listar > Årlistar (inkl samlingar) > Album > 1998 > Visa!". Sverigetopplistan (in Swedish). Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  34. "Jaaroverzichten 1999". Ultratop (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  35. "Rapports annuels 1999". Ultratop (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  36. "Top Annuali Album: 1999" (in Italian). Federation of the Italian Music Industry. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  37. "Sverigetopplistan > Sök Alla Listar > Årlistar (inkl samlingar) > Album > 1999 > Visa!". Sverigetopplistan (in Swedish). Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  38. "End of Year Album Charts - 1999". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  39. "Cardigans Platinumskiva för 50000 sålda skivor av 'Gran Turismo' 1998". Lauritz.com (in Swedish). Retrieved March 17, 2013.
  40. "French album certifications – The Cardigans – Gran Turismo" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
  41. "有料音楽配信認定" [Recording Industry Association of Japan - Statistics - Certified Awards]. 日本レコード協会 (in Japanese). Retrieved 7 June 2017. Note: User must enter "カーディガンズ" ("The Cardigans") in "アーティスト" ("Artist") field.
  42. "Dutch album certifications – The Cardigans – Gran Turismo" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Enter Gran Turismo in the "Artiest of titel" box.
  43. "IFPI Norsk platebransje". IFPI Norway. Archived from the original on 26 June 2006. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  44. "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1999" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden.
  45. "British album certifications – The Cardigans – Gran Turismo". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Gran Turismo in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  46. Copsey, Rob (19 June 2018). "The Cardigans announce UK tour to celebrate 20th anniversary of Gran Turismo album". Official Charts. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  47. "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 1999". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
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