Laws of Illusion

Laws of Illusion is the seventh studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan. It was released on 11 June 2010 on Arista Records in the United States and 15 June 2010 on Nettwerk in Canada. Recording for the album took place in Montreal and Vancouver and production was handled by Pierre Marchand, with whom McLachlan has frequently collaborated in the past.[2]

Laws of Illusion
Studio album by
Sarah McLachlan
Released15 June 2010
Recorded2008–2010
GenrePop, pop rock
Length49:14
LabelNettwerk (Canada)
Arista (US)
ProducerPierre Marchand
Sarah McLachlan chronology
Closer: The Best of Sarah McLachlan
(2008)		 Laws of Illusion
(2010)		 The Essential
(2013)
Singles from Laws of Illusion
  1. "Loving You is Easy"
    Released: 23 April 2010
  2. "Forgiveness"
    Released: 7 September 2010[1]
  3. "Illusions of Bliss"
    Released: 4 February 2011

According to McLachlan, her original idea for the album's title was Loss and Illusion, but she chose the final title when she proposed the original title to Marchand and he misunderstood her, hearing Laws of Illusion instead.[3]

Release

Customers who pre-ordered the album through sarahmclachlan.com were given "exclusive pre-access" to tickets to the 2010 Lilith Fair along with an instant download of McLachlan's song "One Dream", which she wrote for the Vancouver Winter Olympics.[2]

Singles

"Loving You Is Easy" was released on 23 April 2010.[4][5] McLachlan's official website announced the track listing on 14 May 2010.[6] "Loving You Is Easy" debuted at number 28 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary Songs on the week of 29 May 2010 and has risen to number 14 as of 17 July 2010.[7] The song also debuted at number 38 on the Billboard Adult Top 40 on the week of 26 June 2010.[8] "Loving You Is Easy" debuted at number 86 on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 on the week of 12 June 2010[9] It has so far peaked at number 59.

Chart performance

Laws of Illusion debuted at number 2 on the Canadian album charts, selling 22,000 copies in its first week of release.[10] The album debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200, selling 94,000 copies in its first week of release and selling an additional 38,000 copies in its second week.[11][12] The album has been less successful in the UK, debuting at #76.[13] In Australia, the album debuted at #12, making it her highest charting album there.[14]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic63/100[15]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic
Rolling Stone
SputnikMusic
Slant
Entertainment Weekly[16]
Los Angeles Times[17]
Boston Globe[18]
New York Times[19]

Laws of Illusion received generally favorable reviews from music critics. Allmusic noted that the album "furthers the fantasy by taking its cues from dated Clinton-era folk-pop. It’s an album that aims to soothe rather than startle, replete with wistful, lovelorn lyrics and McLachlan’s signature arrangements — a mix of new age atmospherics and singer/songwriter ambience — courtesy of longtime record producer Pierre Marchand."[20] Rolling Stone gave the album a negative review, stating that "Sarah McLachlan's first disc since splitting from her husband, Ashwin Sood, feels scattered: The carefree single 'Loving You Is Easy' feels out of place. The rest alternates between vulnerability and bitterness, using the same sighs and moans with which she used to convey ecstasy."[21] SputnikMusic gave the album 4 stars and praised McLachlan's musical return to the style she explored in her earlier albums, such as Surfacing, Touch and Solace.[22] Slant gave the album rather negative review noting that "Laws of Illusion sounds both effortless and effort-less."[23]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Awakenings"Sarah McLachlan4:08
2."Illusions of Bliss"McLachlan, Pierre Marchand3:53
3."Loving You Is Easy"McLachlan3:03
4."Changes"McLachlan, Marchand3:44
5."Forgiveness"McLachlan, Marchand3:49
6."Rivers of Love"McLachlan, Marchand3:54
7."Love Come"McLachlan3:33
8."Out of Tune"McLachlan, Marchand3:51
9."Heartbreak"McLachlan, Marchand4:07
10."Don't Give Up on Us"McLachlan, Marchand3:37
11."U Want Me 2"McLachlan, Marchand4:07
12."Bring On the Wonder"Susan Enan3:24
13."Love Come" (Hidden track; solo piano with strings)McLachlan4:04

"·" Tracks that feature piano versions/video on Deluxe Edition

  • Japanese Edition Includes 2 Bonus Tracks - "Loving You Is Easy" (Acoustic), "One Dream"

Personnel

Credits for Laws of Illusion adapted from Allmusic.[24]

Musicians
  • Sarah McLachlan – guitar (acoustic), piano, composer, glockenspiel, harmonium, vocals, vocals (background), wurlitzer
  • Matt Chamberlain – percussion, drums
  • Colin Cripps – guitar (acoustic), guitar (electric), vocals (background)
  • Yves Desrosiers – guitar (acoustic), guitar (electric), lap steel guitar, slide bass
  • Bill Dillon – guitar (acoustic), guitar (electric)
  • Luke Doucet – guitar (acoustic), dobro, guitar (electric), vocals (background)
  • Robbie Kuster – percussion, drums, vocals (background)
  • J.F. Lemieux – bass, vocals (background)
  • Catherine Lesaunier – cello
  • Maxime St-Pierre – trumpet, flugelhorn
  • Pierre Marchand – guitar (acoustic), bass, composer, glockenspiel, harmonium, keyboards, vocals (background), producer, engineer, mixing, tack piano
  • Michel Pepin – guitar (acoustic), guitar (electric)
Technical personnel
  • Chris Potter – engineer
  • Kharen Hill – photography, cover photo, tray photo
  • Raphael Mazzucco – photography
  • John Rummen – design
  • Pascal Shefteshy – engineer, mixing assistant
  • Adam Ayan – mastering
  • Fred Bouchard – pro-tools
  • Kharen Hill - photography for album artwork and publicity

Charts

Release history
Date Type Label Catalog #
15 June 2010 CD (Barnes & Noble Exclusive) Arista 72629
CD RCA 55367
CD/DVD (U.S. Deluxe Edition) 71991
LP 73963
LP 8869755367
CD (Canadian Edition) Nettwerk 0670030895
CD/DVD (Canadian Deluxe Edition) 30903
21 June 2010 CD (U.K.) Arista 88697553672
CD/DVD (U.K.) 88697719912
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gollark: ++remind 6w6d23h55m prevent hypercubical tesseract undeployment; remove from time triaxilatingly
gollark: ++remind 7w remove heavpoot from time

References
  1. "Sarah McLachlan News and Blog | The Official Sarah McLachlan Site". Sarahmclachlan.com. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
  2. Kevin Richards (18 March 2010). "Sarah McLachlan Eyes Return With The Laws Of Illusion". American Songwriter. Retrieved 30 March 2010.
  3. Lederman, Marsha (11 June 2010). "Sarah McLachlan on divorce, life and her new album, Laws of Illusion". The Globe and Mail. The Woodbridge Company. Archived from the original on 14 June 2010. Retrieved 9 February 2020. [...] [McLachlan] was thinking of calling the album Loss and Illusion, touching on its two main themes. She suggested the title to her long-time songwriting collaborator and producer, Pierre Marchand, [...] He misunderstood her. Laws of Illusion, he asked? Sold.
  4. Billboard - 3 April 2010 - Page 32 "The single "Loving You Is Easy," released as a stream two weeks ago, "in particular is extremely lighthearted," she says. "I would almost go as far as to say really happy.""
  5. "New Sarah McLachlan Single On Sale Now". RTTNews. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
  6. "Laws of Illusion Tracklisting". sarahmclachlan.com. 14 May 2010. Archived from the original on 17 May 2010. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
  7. "Billboard Adult Contemporary Songs, week of July 17, 2010". billboard.com. Retrieved 12 July 2010.
  8. "Billboard Adult Pop Songs, week of June 26, 2010". billboard.com. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
  9. ""Loving You Is Easy" by Sarah McLachlan (Song History on Billboard.com)". billboard.com. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
  10. Caulfield, Keith. "Drake beats McLachlan to No. 1". 26 June 2010.
  11. Caulfield, Keith. "Drake Debuts At No. 1 on Billboard 200". billboard.com. 23 June 2010.
  12. Caulfield, Keith. "Eminem's Huge 'Recovery' Leads Big Week On Billboard 200". billboard.com. 30 June 2010.
  13. "Official UK Albums Top 100 - 3rd March 2012 | The UK Charts | Top 40 | Official Charts Company". Theofficialcharts.com. Archived from the original on 22 January 2012. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
  14. "Australia's Official Music Charts". ARIA Charts. 20 February 2012. Archived from the original on 19 April 2011. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
  15. "Laws of Illusion reviews". CBS Interactive. 15 June 2010. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  16. Jon Dolan (9 June 2010). ""Laws of Illusion" on Entertainment Weekly". ew.com. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
  17. Margaret Wappler (15 June 2010). ""Laws of Illusion" on Los Angeles Times". latimes.com. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
  18. Sarah Rodman (14 June 2010). ""Laws of Illusion" on Boston Globe". boston.com. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
  19. Jon Pareles (13 June 2010). ""Laws of Illusion" on New York Times". nytimes.com. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
  20. Andrew Leahey. ""Laws of Illusion" on AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
  21. Barry Walters. ""Laws of Illusion" on Rolling Stone Music". rollingstone.com. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
  22. Trey Spencer. ""Laws of Illusion" on SputnikMusic". sputnikmusic.com. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
  23. Jonathan Keefe. ""Laws of Illusion" on Slant Magazine". slantmagazine.com. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
  24. "Credits for "Laws of Illusion"". allmusic.com. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
  25. "Australiancharts.com – Sarah McLachlan – Laws of Illusion". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  26. "Sarah McLachlan Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  27. "Dutchcharts.nl – Sarah McLachlan – Laws of Illusion" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  28. "Offiziellecharts.de – Sarah McLachlan – Laws of Illusion" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  29. "Sarah McLachlan – Laws of Illusion". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  30. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 25, 2010". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  31. サラ・マクラクランのランキング (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  32. "Charts.nz – Sarah McLachlan – Laws of Illusion". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  33. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  34. "Swisscharts.com – Sarah McLachlan – Laws of Illusion". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  35. "Sarah McLachlan | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  36. "Sarah McLachlan Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  37. "Sarah McLachlan Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  38. "2010 Year End Charts – Canadian Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  39. "2010: Billboard 200 Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  40. "2010: Rock Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
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