Released 12 April 1999 Producer Tommy D and Catatonia Release date 12 April 1999 Genres Rock music, Pop music | Length 44:49 Artist Catatonia Label Blanco y Negro Records | |
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Recorded 1998–1999, Monnow Valley Studio in Monmouth, Wales Equally Cursed and Blessed
(1999) Paper Scissors Stone
(2001) Similar International Velvet, Paper Scissors Stone, Way Beyond Blue, Catatonia Greatest Hits, The Sublime Magic of | ||
Catatonia equally cursed and blessed full album
Equally Cursed and Blessed is the third studio album by Welsh band Catatonia, released in April 1999 via Blanco y Negro Records. It reached number one in the UK Album Chart, and three singles were released from it; "Dead from the Waist Down", "Londinium" and "Karaoke Queen".
Contents
Recording
While touring in the United States following the success of their first studio album, International Velvet, Catatonia recorded sample demos onto a DPS12 hard disk recorder in their tour bus upon the recommendation of their producer, TommyD. They returned to the Monnow Valley Studio in Monmouth, Wales, where they had recorded the previous album, to record Equally Cursed and Blessed.
Release and promotion
The album was announced in January 1999; the title taken from a line in the song "She's a Millionaire". The first single, "Dead from the Waist Down" was released on 22 March, with the album released two weeks later on 12 April. This repeated the release schedule used for International Velvet, which had been preceded by "Mulder and Scully" by the same period of time.
Equally Cursed and Blessed faced competition from ABBA's 1992 compilation album Gold: Greatest Hits for the number one spot on the UK Album Chart, as the ABBA album had re-charted due to the success of the Mamma Mia! musical featuring the band's songs. But by midweek, the Catatonia album was 15,000 sales ahead and it went on to secure the top place in the chart. At the time, all three Catatonia studio albums were in the top 40. Equally Cursed and Blessed went on to be certificated platinum by the British Phonographic Industry showing at least 300,000 copies sold. The American release of the album saw two tracks from International Velvet added, including "Road Rage".
Singles
The album spawned one Top 10 single, "Dead from the Waist Down", which reached number seven. The band had intended to release "Karaoke Queen" as the follow up, but were overruled by the record label and they were forced to release "Londinium" instead. This angered lead singer Cerys Matthews, as did the expense of the video for the single which had cost more than Equally Cursed and Blessed took to make. "Londinium" failed to reach the top ten, placing at number 20. "Karaoke Queen" was released as the third single, but only entered the top 40 at number 36. "Nothing Hurts" was slated to be the fourth single release from the album but was shelved following the low chart placement of "Karaoke Queen".
Songs
1Dead From the Waist Down4:14
2Londinium4:36
3Post Script4:56