Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful

Background

During her time at college, Faith worked in a pub where the manager asked her to front his band, which they later called Paloma and the Penetrators. During a performance with the band at a cabaret show, Faith was scouted by an A&R man from Epic Records, who invited Faith to sing for the manager of the label. Twenty minutes into the audition, Faith asked the manager to turn his phone off and when he refused, she walked out. Epic A&R Joanna Charrington told HitQuarters "When she played a showcase for us it was clear that she was a star but the material was a bit generic. She didn't have the hit songs". The label executives decided not to pursue it any further at that stage.

Charrington continued to regularly check Faith's MySpace page "to see if she had something that had a special direction or sound." After several months her attention was eventually piqued by "Broken Doll", which she thought was a well-crafted song with a "fantastic chorus and brilliant lyrics." Charrington told Epic managing director Nick Raphael "I think we should get this girl back in. She sounds like she is getting it now. We can help her get the songs." Faith revealed in an interview that the manager called her and offered her a contract saying he had seen many acts since and none had been as memorable as her.

Critical reception

In a BBC Music review Mike Diver stated, "Faith's voice is the first element of these sumptuous arrangements to strike, its idiosyncratic ticks and sharp inflections separating her from the pack in the same way as Duffy – but while the Welsh star's vocals can lack a sincere conveyance of the emotions behind a song, Faith's sentiments are never in doubt, even on the surprisingly underwhelming (in context) singles 'Stone Cold Sober' and 'New York'. The former sounds designed to soundtrack an advertisement – successfully, as it turns out – and the latter's lamenting loses some of its edge when one's unsure if the New York in question is a rival lover or, literally, the city that never sleeps. Whichever it is, it's stolen our protagonist's lover away".

Andy Gill of The Independent said: "In the case of this impressive debut album, that might refer to her fabricated Amy Winehouse persona, which is a touch too smoothly effected to ring entirely true. It's there right from the off with the Amy/Duffy retro-soul stylings of 'Stone Cold Sober'; while her claim in 'Broken Doll' that she's "damaged goods" seems that bit too eager to echo Amy's admission "I told you I was trouble". But Paloma deals in similarly grand, melodramatic emotions in songs such as 'Smoke And Mirrors', 'New York' and the title-track, wheeling out Spectorian tubular bells and keening string glissandi to evoke the depths of her emotional catastrophe". Robyn Burrows of Contact Music concluded "Musically diverse and well produced; it is a polished diamond. Faith's captivating vocals and huge range keep you hooked throughout and encourage you to press repeat as soon as the album ends." He only found fault in the shortness of the album. Maddy Costa of The Guardian gave an overwhelmingly negative review, contrasting Faith's image to her "conventional" music: "her protestations of otherness ring hollow when her music is so specious and bland".

Commercial performance

Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful? peaked at number 9 in the UK. In just under 2 months of the album being released, it received a Gold certification with sales over 100,000, later being certified as Platinum. The album stayed in the UK top 100 albums chart for 62 weeks, in its 63rd week it fell out the top 100 albums to no. 110, however the week after charted back into the top 100. On 9 January 2011, the album made number 41, and has spent a total of 73 weeks on the chart. On 1 March 2013, the album was certified double-platinum, denoting sales of over 600,000 copies.

The album had moderate success elsewhere, it charted within the top 30 in Ireland, where it charted at 26. Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful? charted at number 3 in Scotland. In Switzerland the album charted again, within the top 40, where it charted at number 39. In the Netherlands the album also charted at number 50. In Finland, the album charted at number 46 and in Poland the album charted at number 39.

Singles

"Stone Cold Sober" was released on 15 June 2009 and entered the UK chart at number 17. The accompanying video was directed by the English music video director Sophie Muller. This song is featured in the Rimmel London commercial for the MAX lashes product, and in Castle promo on SBS 6. "New York" was released on 13 September 2009. The song features a sweeping gospel chorus by the London-based Souls of Prophecy Gospel Choir. Digital Spy gave the song 3/5 stars and a less positive rating than "Stone Cold Sober". "New York" debuted on the UK Singles Chart at 21, the next week it fell to 31 and was expected to fall quickly out of the charts by most, but the next week it rose 16 places to 15, which became its peak position. It is Paloma Faith's most successful single to date, peaking within the top ten in two countries, within the top 20 in 4 countries and within the top 100 in 8 countries! "Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?", the title track to the album, was released on 21 December 2009. Digital Spy gave the song 4/5. The single began to receive increased radio airplay throughout December 2009, and throughout January 2010. As such, the single began to receive increasing amounts of digital downloads, and after lingering in the Top 100 on the UK iTunes Chart for a matter of weeks, the song finally entered the UK Singles Chart on 2 January 2010 at number 90. The song peaked at number 64.

"Upside Down" was released on 15 March 2010, as the album's third single. The accompanying video was directed by Chris Sweeney who directed the video for her previous single, "Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?". Before the single was released, the British entertainment and media website Digital Spy said that "Upside Down backs up Faith's claim to have absorbed influences from the pre-rock 'n' roll era, mixing up a '50s dance hall vibe with her ever-present soul croon". Charles Decant of Ozap called the single "the more playful title on the album". On 14 March 2010, "Upside Down" debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number 89, on downloads alone. The following week, the single climbed to number 58, which was followed by a further climb of 3 on 28 March 2010 to its current peak at number 55. A new version of "New York" featuring rapper Ghostface Killah was released on 1 August. It peaked at number 44 on the UK Singles Chart and received mixed responses. "Smoke & Mirrors", was the 5th and final single from the album. During an interview on Something for the Weekend on 15 August 2010, Faith confirmed "Smoke & Mirrors" would be the final single from the album, and that she would be filming the video "very soon". At Hylands Park, as part of the 2010 V Festival, she announced that filming for the video has been completed. The video premiered on 11 September, on Faith's official Facebook page. It was released on 31 October 2010, added to Radio 1's B Playlis, and peaked at number 140 in the UK.

Tour

Paloma Faith went on her first major tour in 2010. The UK leg of the tour was confirmed on 4 November 2009, when Faith announced that she would visit the UK and Ireland starting on 17 March 2010. The album will feature songs from Paloma Faith's Platinum album, Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?. In April 2010, Faith extended her tour for throughout October and November, where she will visit a number of different venues. She was supported by Eliza Doolittle, Bashy, Josh Weller, LA Shark and Alan Pownell.

B-sides

The following tracks were not released on the album, but have been released as a single B-side.

Personnel

Adapted from AllMusic.