The Sea (Melanie C album)
Encyclopedia
The Sea is the fifth studio album by English
recording artist Melanie C. Made under her own independent record label Red Girl Records
, the album marks her first new material in four years, since the reunion with the Spice Girls
and giving birth to her first child.
Preceding the album's release, promotional single, and lead single on the German version, "Rock Me
" was released for digital download
worldwide (and as well as a physical single in Germany
, Austria
and Switzerland
) on 24 June 2011. The single serves as the official song of the popular German
TV Network ZDF
's media coverage of the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup. The music video for lead single "Think About It
", premiered on 15 July 2011 on her official website and was simultaneously sent to radio stations in the UK.
. Melanie talked about her inspirations and goals for this record:
, North Yorkshire
.
Cover photography is by Pip who also provides a couple of the inner location photographs. Additional booklet photography is by long-term collaborator Ray Burmiston. The sleeve is by Ian Ross who also designed Melanie's 2 previous solo albums, Beautiful Intentions and This Time.
, Guy Chambers
, and Spice
/Spiceworld producer Richard Stannard, Andy Chatterley
(both of whom have worked with artists such as Kylie Minogue
, amongst others). Melanie also worked with the Swedish Cutfather
producing team. The album has acoustic moments, as well as some rock-driven songs and upbeat dance records.
/Kelly Clarkson
-esque pop/rock anthems which prove she can still compete with those who were barely in their teens during the peak of Spicemania, while the grandiose "Get Out of Here" sounds like Muse
's cover of "Feeling Good
" crossed with a John Barry James Bond
score." Pip Elwood from the "Entertainment Focus" was also positive, rating it four out of five stars. He wrote that "The Sea is a strong release from Melanie and one that could return her to her former chart glory. (...) "The Sea is a consistent collection of pop gems that should score her another big hit." Ben Weisz from musicOMH
was more negative, rating it two out of five stars, and writing: "Mel C takes on too many forms, stretching herself too thin to be effective in any of them. One or two tracks mark out future directions worth pursuing, but they are few and far between on an album which won't rock any boats." Simon Gage wrote favorably for Express
that "This new album, her first in four years, gives that voice a real workout from power ballads and rock-outs to dancefloor fillers." OK! Magazine wrote that "The Sea is easily her most ambitious album yet, blending rock, pop and maybe the tiniest hint of electro."
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
recording artist Melanie C. Made under her own independent record label Red Girl Records
Red Girl Records
Red Girl Records is a London, UK based independent record label founded by Melanie C, after parting ways with her record label Virgin Records. All of Melanie's activities are decided upon and funded by herself, alongside her business partner and manager, Nancy Phillips.-Studio albums:*2005:...
, the album marks her first new material in four years, since the reunion with the Spice Girls
Spice Girls
The Spice Girls were a British pop girl group formed in 1994. The group consisted of Victoria Beckham , Melanie Brown, Emma Bunton, Melanie Chisholm and Geri Halliwell. They were signed to Virgin Records and released their debut single, "Wannabe" in 1996, which hit number-one in more than 30...
and giving birth to her first child.
Preceding the album's release, promotional single, and lead single on the German version, "Rock Me
Rock Me (Melanie C song)
"Rock Me" is a song by English singer-songwriter Melanie C from her fifth solo album, The Sea. It was released as the album's first single on 24 June 2011 in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Written by Melanie C, Dave Roth and David Jost, it serves as official theme song for German TV channel...
" was released for digital download
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
worldwide (and as well as a physical single in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
) on 24 June 2011. The single serves as the official song of the popular German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
TV Network ZDF
ZDF
Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen , ZDF, is a public-service German television broadcaster based in Mainz . It is run as an independent non-profit institution, which was founded by the German federal states . The ZDF is financed by television licence fees called GEZ and advertising revenues...
's media coverage of the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup. The music video for lead single "Think About It
Think About It (Melanie C song)
"Think About It" is a song by English singer-songwriter Melanie C from her fifth studio album, The Sea. It was released as the first single from the album on September 4, 2011 and was written by Adam Argyle and collaborative team Cutfather...
", premiered on 15 July 2011 on her official website and was simultaneously sent to radio stations in the UK.
Recording and production
The album was recorded in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Melanie talked about her inspirations and goals for this record:
"I'm very excited about the record because, it's quite diverse in styles. I've worked with lots of new writers, people I haven't worked with before. There's still very much a pop element, and I've got some lovely ballads, some rock inspired tracks, some more dancey stuff, some acoustic stuff, and production wise there are some very atmospheric moments. So I really think it's going to be a diverse and stronger album. When I started working with this album, I really didn't know what I wanted to achieve, so I wanted to be ambitious and experiment, work with new people, and try on different styles of music. And through doing that I really discovered the way I wanted to express myself and the sound I wanted to create. All that has made it become quite diverse, and it's funny because I suppose my first studio album Northern Star is probably the most similar to this record in that it does have loads of different styles although it is fundamentally a pop record."
Concept and artwork
Regarding the concept of The Sea, Melanie said in a video interview on YouTube that, the album is cohesively experimental mixing many different genres/styles of music into one unified pop album with electronic undertones, therefore naming it The Sea, which ecomphases the many species who inhabit beneath the oceans surface. Mel has also described the album as being both harmonic and euphoric in feeling. The cover, which depicts Melanie standing and emerging from the sea, was photographed on location in WhitbyWhitby
Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a combined maritime, mineral and tourist heritage, and is home to the ruins of Whitby Abbey where Caedmon, the...
, North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
.
Cover photography is by Pip who also provides a couple of the inner location photographs. Additional booklet photography is by long-term collaborator Ray Burmiston. The sleeve is by Ian Ross who also designed Melanie's 2 previous solo albums, Beautiful Intentions and This Time.
Composition
Melanie stated that she worked with a lot of new writers / producers for this album, where she tended to work with the same writers for her previous records, notably Adam Argyle, whom still has co-written some material for Melanie C this record. The album was co-written /produced with the likes of Starsailor's James WalshJames Walsh (musician)
James Walsh is an English singer, songwriter, guitarist, pianist and frontman of the band, Starsailor....
, Guy Chambers
Guy Chambers
Guy Chambers is an English songwriter and record producer, perhaps best known for his long partnership with Robbie Williams.- Biography :...
, and Spice
Spice
A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, or vegetative substance used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for flavor, color, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth. It may be used to flavour a dish or to hide other flavours...
/Spiceworld producer Richard Stannard, Andy Chatterley
Andy Chatterley
Andy Chatterley is a Grammy nominated remixer, record producer, song writer, and keyboard player. He was born 8 May 1973, in Jersey, Channel Islands, and educated at Victoria College, Jersey....
(both of whom have worked with artists such as Kylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...
, amongst others). Melanie also worked with the Swedish Cutfather
Cutfather
Mich Hedin Hansen better known by his stage name Cutfather is a Danish music producer and songwriter.-Career:He is perhaps best known for his remix of "Return of the Mack" by Mark Morrison , and the song "Superstar" released internationally by Jamelia in 2003.He has worked with Danish producer...
producing team. The album has acoustic moments, as well as some rock-driven songs and upbeat dance records.
Critical reception
The album received a positive reaction from most music critics. Jon O'Brien wrote positively for Allmusic that "The Sea is still a huge leap forward from her past three efforts, and had it been released as the follow-up to Northern Star, rather than 12 years down the line, it could possibly have sustained her initial solo success." O'Brien, who rated it three-and-a-half out of five stars, went to praise the tracks "Think About It" and "Stupid Game", which he considered "bombastic Katy PerryKaty Perry
Katy Perry is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Born in Santa Barbara, California, and raised by Christian pastor parents, Perry grew up listening to only gospel music and sang in her local church as a child. After earning a GED during her first year of high school, she began to pursue a...
/Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Brianne Clarkson is an American pop rock singer-songwriter and actress. Clarkson came into prominence after becoming the winner of the inaugural season of the television series American Idol in 2002 and would later become the runner-up in the television special World Idol in 2003.In 2003,...
-esque pop/rock anthems which prove she can still compete with those who were barely in their teens during the peak of Spicemania, while the grandiose "Get Out of Here" sounds like Muse
Muse
The Muses in Greek mythology, poetry, and literature, are the goddesses who inspire the creation of literature and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge, related orally for centuries in the ancient culture, that was contained in poetic lyrics and myths...
's cover of "Feeling Good
Feeling Good
"Feeling Good" is a song written by English singer-songwriters Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse for the 1965 musical The Roar of the Greasepaint - The Smell of the Crowd starring Cy Grant, who sang the original version of the song...
" crossed with a John Barry James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
score." Pip Elwood from the "Entertainment Focus" was also positive, rating it four out of five stars. He wrote that "The Sea is a strong release from Melanie and one that could return her to her former chart glory. (...) "The Sea is a consistent collection of pop gems that should score her another big hit." Ben Weisz from musicOMH
MusicOMH
musicOMH is a United Kingdom-based website which publishes independent reviews, featues and interviews from across all musical genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B.-History:...
was more negative, rating it two out of five stars, and writing: "Mel C takes on too many forms, stretching herself too thin to be effective in any of them. One or two tracks mark out future directions worth pursuing, but they are few and far between on an album which won't rock any boats." Simon Gage wrote favorably for Express
Daily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
that "This new album, her first in four years, gives that voice a real workout from power ballads and rock-outs to dancefloor fillers." OK! Magazine wrote that "The Sea is easily her most ambitious album yet, blending rock, pop and maybe the tiniest hint of electro."
UK Edition/Worldwide Edition
German Edition
B-sides
| Title | Single |
|---|---|
| "Stop This Train" | "Rock Me" – German CD, digital download |
| "Cruel Intentions" | "Think About It" – UK CD, German CD, digital download |
| "Stronger" | "Weak" – UK CD, digital download / "Let There Be Love" – German CD, digital download |
Singles
- "Rock MeRock Me (Melanie C song)"Rock Me" is a song by English singer-songwriter Melanie C from her fifth solo album, The Sea. It was released as the album's first single on 24 June 2011 in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Written by Melanie C, Dave Roth and David Jost, it serves as official theme song for German TV channel...
" was released for digital downloadMusic downloadA music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
worldwide on 24 June 2011. The single (not officially released as a single in the UK) serves as the official song of the popular German channel ZDFZDFZweites Deutsches Fernsehen , ZDF, is a public-service German television broadcaster based in Mainz . It is run as an independent non-profit institution, which was founded by the German federal states . The ZDF is financed by television licence fees called GEZ and advertising revenues...
's coverage of the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup. The music video for "Rock Me" premiered on Melanie C's YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
channel on 7 June 2011. The single reached the Top 40 on the German Single's Chart and featured in the UK as a B Side on the "Think About ItThink About It (Melanie C song)"Think About It" is a song by English singer-songwriter Melanie C from her fifth studio album, The Sea. It was released as the first single from the album on September 4, 2011 and was written by Adam Argyle and collaborative team Cutfather...
" CD Single. - The lead International single "Think About ItThink About It (Melanie C song)"Think About It" is a song by English singer-songwriter Melanie C from her fifth studio album, The Sea. It was released as the first single from the album on September 4, 2011 and was written by Adam Argyle and collaborative team Cutfather...
" premiered in the form of a music video premiere held on MelanieC.net on 15 July 2011. The single was released on 4 September and charted within the Top 100 of the UK Singles chart at No: 95. The track also went Top 10 on the Canadian Physical Singles chart (No: 6) and Top 40 in both Austria and Switzerland. - In the UK, "Weak" was released as the albums official second single and was released on November 6th. Whilst it failed to chart within the UK top 100, it did peak at number 29 on the UK Indie Singles Chart and at #50 on UK Airplay Chart, her highest appearance on the chart since her 2003 single "Melt".
- In Germany, Switzerland and Austria, Warner Music is releasing "Let There Be Love" on December 2nd.
Charts
| Charts (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Indie Albums Chart | 6 |
| Swiss Albums Chart | 13 |
| German Albums Chart | 16 |
| UK Digital Albums Chart | 29 |
| Austrian Albums Chart | 38 |
| 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... |
45 |
Release history
| Region | Date | Label |
|---|---|---|
| Austria | 2 September 2011 | Warner Music/313 Music |
| Croatia | ||
| Czech Republic | ||
| Germany | ||
| Serbia | ||
| Slovakia | ||
| Slovenia | ||
| Switzerland | ||
| Denmark | 5 September 2011 | Warner Music |
| Finland | ||
| Norway | ||
| Sweden | ||
| United Kingdom | Red Girl Records Red Girl Records Red Girl Records is a London, UK based independent record label founded by Melanie C, after parting ways with her record label Virgin Records. All of Melanie's activities are decided upon and funded by herself, alongside her business partner and manager, Nancy Phillips.-Studio albums:*2005:... |
|
| United States digitally | ||
| Poland | 31 October 2011 | Warner Music |