Life in Mono
Encyclopedia
Life in Mono is the third studio album
by British
pop singer Emma Bunton
. The album was originally set for a November release in the UK, however it was later pushed back to the December 4, 2006. Life In Mono, much like her previous album, Free Me, experimented with elements of 1960s pop music
. For this particular album the musical arrangement was more directed towards the 1960s French
pop music, with some elements of British
1960s pop and Motown. The first single taken from the album was a cover
of Petula Clark
's 1964 hit single "Downtown", released on November 13. "Downtown" is the 2006 BBC
Children in Need
official charity single and reached #3 in the UK singles chart
. "All I Need to Know" was released as second single.
Bunton had been working on her third release since winter 2004. The album's title track is a cover version of the hit "Life in Mono
" by 1990s trip hop
band Mono
, best known through its usage in the 1998 film Great Expectations
. The track "Take Me to Another Town" contains a sample
from Herb Alpert
's 1965 "Green Peppers".
Due to Emma’s pregnancy all forms of promotion were canceled after a few months. Rumors of a third single surfaced through sites after Emma stated she was thinking of releasing a third single, however this never came. The songs I Wasn’t Looking (When I Found Love), Perfect Strangers and Take Me To Another Town were rumored.
Although it sold almost 13,000 copies in its first week, the album was Emma's first not to reach the UK Top10. It debuted on the UK Albums Chart at #65 on December 10, 2006 falling to #75 in its second week and dropped out of the chart the following week. On the whole, the album sold around 50,000 copies in the UK.
UK Sales: 47,800
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by British
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
pop singer Emma Bunton
Emma Bunton
Emma Lee Bunton is an English pop singer/songwriter and TV and radio presenter. She was a member of the 1990s girl group, the Spice Girls, in which she was known as Baby Spice as she was the youngest member. In 2010, she joined the judging panel on ITV's Dancing on Ice...
. The album was originally set for a November release in the UK, however it was later pushed back to the December 4, 2006. Life In Mono, much like her previous album, Free Me, experimented with elements of 1960s pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
. For this particular album the musical arrangement was more directed towards the 1960s French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
pop music, with some elements of British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
1960s pop and Motown. The first single taken from the album was a cover
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of Petula Clark
Petula Clark
Petula Clark, CBE is an English singer, actress, and composer whose career has spanned seven decades.Clark's professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio during World War II...
's 1964 hit single "Downtown", released on November 13. "Downtown" is the 2006 BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Children in Need
Children in Need
Children in Need is an annual British charity appeal organised by the BBC. Since 1980 it has raised over £500 million. The highlight of the Children in Need appeal is an annual telethon, held in November. A teddy bear named "Pudsey Bear" fronts the campaign, while Terry Wogan is a long...
official charity single and reached #3 in the UK singles chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. "All I Need to Know" was released as second single.
Bunton had been working on her third release since winter 2004. The album's title track is a cover version of the hit "Life in Mono
Life in Mono (song)
"Life in Mono" is a song by UK band Mono, which consisted of singer Siobhan de Maré and musician Martin Virgo. It was released on the band's first EP in 1996 which contained various remixes, most notably two by the Propellerheads...
" by 1990s trip hop
Trip hop
Trip hop is a music genre consisting of downtempo electronic music which originated in the early 1990s in England, especially Bristol. Deriving from "post"-acid house, the term was first used by the British music media and press as a way to describe the more experimental variant of breakbeat which...
band Mono
Mono (UK band)
Mono was a British electronic music duo which had a hit in the late 1990s with their song "Life in Mono". The group's music is often described as trip hop, based on its similarities to contemporary electronic music acts including Sneaker Pimps and Portishead...
, best known through its usage in the 1998 film Great Expectations
Great Expectations (1998 film)
Great Expectations is a 1998 contemporary film adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel of the same name, directed by Alfonso Cuarón and starring Ethan Hawke, Gwyneth Paltrow, Robert De Niro, Anne Bancroft and Chris Cooper. It is known for having moved the setting of the original novel from 1861...
. The track "Take Me to Another Town" contains a sample
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
from Herb Alpert
Herb Alpert
Herbert "Herb" Alpert is an American musician most associated with the group variously known as Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass, or TJB. He is also a recording industry executive — he is the "A" of A&M Records...
's 1965 "Green Peppers".
Due to Emma’s pregnancy all forms of promotion were canceled after a few months. Rumors of a third single surfaced through sites after Emma stated she was thinking of releasing a third single, however this never came. The songs I Wasn’t Looking (When I Found Love), Perfect Strangers and Take Me To Another Town were rumored.
Although it sold almost 13,000 copies in its first week, the album was Emma's first not to reach the UK Top10. It debuted on the UK Albums Chart at #65 on December 10, 2006 falling to #75 in its second week and dropped out of the chart the following week. On the whole, the album sold around 50,000 copies in the UK.
Track listing
| # | Title | Songwriter(s) | Producer (s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "All I Need to Know" | E. Bunton and J. Hartman | Simon Franglen | 4:18 |
| 2. | "Life in Mono Life in Mono (song) "Life in Mono" is a song by UK band Mono, which consisted of singer Siobhan de Maré and musician Martin Virgo. It was released on the band's first EP in 1996 which contained various remixes, most notably two by the Propellerheads... " |
J. Barry and M. Virgo | Simon Franglen | 3:48 |
| 3. | "Mischievous" | E. Bunton, C. Dennis and G. Kurstin | Simon Franglen | 3:41 |
| 4. | "Perfect Strangers" | E. Bunton, G. Clark and P. Sheyne | Simon Franglen | 3:31 |
| 5. | "He Loves Me Not" | E. Bunton and Y. Bondy | Simon Franglen | 3:28 |
| 6. | "I Wasn't Looking (When I Found Love)" | E. Bunton, P. Gabriel and H. Robinson | Simon Franglen | 3:31 |
| 7. | "Take Me to Another Town" | G. Clark, K. Hawkes and E. Pressly | Gary Clark and Eric Pressly | 4:08 |
| 8. | "Undressing You" | T. Kellet and K. Elsworth | Simon Franglen | 3:21 |
| 9. | "I'm Not Crying Over Yesterdays" | E. Bunton, B. MacKichan ans J. Gray | Simon Franglen | 3:23 |
| 10. | "All That You'll Be" | E. Bunton, P. Gordeno and C. Porter | Simon Franglen | 4:00 |
| 11. | "Downtown" | T. Hatch | Simon Franglen | 3:24 |
British special edition
| # | Title | Songwriter(s) | Producer (s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Something Tells Me (Something's Going to Happen)" | R. Cook and R. Greenaway | Yak Bondy | 3:41 |
| 13. | "Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps" | O. Farres and J. Davis | Simon Franglen | 2:30 |
| 14. | "Por Favor" | N. Sherman and J. Sherman | Yak Bondy | 2:35 |
Charts
| Chart (2006) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
65 |
| Billboard Hot 200 | 199 |
UK Sales: 47,800