Whaler is the second album by American singer-songwriter Sophie B. Hawkins, released in 1994 on Columbia Records. The release was preceded by the single "Right Beside You", which reached No. 56 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart,[9] but did much better in the UK, where it peaked at No. 13.[10]
| Whaler | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 2, 1994 | |||
| Recorded | March – June 1994 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 47:48 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | Stephen Lipson | |||
| Sophie B. Hawkins chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Whaler | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Robert Christgau |  [2] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [3] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+[4] |
| Knoxville News Sentinel | [5] |
| Los Angeles Times | [6] |
| People Magazine | (mixed)[7] |
| Rolling Stone | [8] |
The album was not as commercially successful as her debut album Tongues and Tails two years earlier; however, the sales picked up after the third single, "As I Lay Me Down", released at the beginning of 1995,[1] went to No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart. Consequently, the album managed to climb to No. 65 on the Billboard 200 chart.
Critical reception
editThe critical reception was mixed. Paul Evans of Rolling Stone said that the album did not quite live up to the standard and expectations set by her debut.[8] The Los Angeles Times review noted that Hawkins tries to knit "a crazy quilt of styles" trying to combine different influences but the experimentation does not pay off and "unravels at the seams", and the only tracks that do work are the mainstream ones, such as the "dance-floor-friendly" opening track "Right Beside You" and the "anguished" ballad "I Need Nothing Else".[6] Other reviews were more favorable, praising the album's subdued and subtle melodies, which make the album overall more consistent than her debut outing,[1] and describing some tracks as "irresistibly catchy".[11]
Track listing
editAll songs written by Sophie B. Hawkins, except where noted.
- "Right Beside You" (Chertoff, Hawkins, Lerman) – 4:47
- "Did We Not Choose Each Other" – 4:25
- "Don't Don't Tell Me No" – 4:53
- "As I Lay Me Down" – 4:08
- "Swing from Limb to Limb (My Home Is in Your Jungle)" – 4:15
- "True Romance" – 2:23
- "Let Me Love You Up" – 3:26
- "Only Love (The Ballad of Sleeping Beauty)" – 5:05
- "I Need Nothing Else" – 4:17
- "Sometimes I See" – 4:40
- "Mr. Tugboat Hello" – 5:30
Personnel
editMusicians
edit- Sophie B. Hawkins – percussion, keyboards, vocals
- Neil Conti – drums
- Luís Jardim – percussion
- Stephen Lipson – bass
- Peter-John Vettese – keyboards
Production
edit- Producer: Steve Lipson
- Engineer: Heff Moraes
- Programming: Sophie B. Hawkins, Steve Lipson
Charts
editAlbum
edit| Chart (1994–1995) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[12] | 31 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[13] | 56 |
| European Top 100 Albums (Music & Media)[14] | 93 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[15] | 50 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[16] | 13 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[17] | 43 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[18] | 46 |
| US Billboard 200[19] | 65 |
| US Cash Box Top 100 Pop Albums[20] | 60 |
Singles
edit| Year | Single | Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | "Right Beside You" | Billboard Hot 100 | 56 |
| Top 40 Mainstream | 24 | ||
| 1995 | "As I Lay Me Down" | Adult Contemporary | 1 |
| Adult Top 40 | 1 | ||
| Billboard Hot 100 | 6 | ||
| Top 40 Mainstream | 3 | ||
| 1996 | "Only Love (The Ballad of Sleeping Beauty)" | Adult Contemporary | 22 |
| Adult Top 40 | 19 | ||
| The Billboard Hot 100 | 49 | ||
| Top 40 Mainstream | 22 |
Sales
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Germany | — | 55,000[21] |
References
edit- ^ a b c "Sophie B. Hawkins "Whaler" - AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine". AllMusic. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
- ^ Christgau, Robert. "CG: Sophie B. Hawkins". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press.
- ^ Tucker, Ken (August 5, 1994). "Whaler Review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on August 29, 2008. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
- ^ Campbell, Chuck (July 29, 1994). "Hawkins Has Little Bait For 'Whaler'". Knoxville News Sentinel.
- ^ a b Rosenbluth, Jean (July 31, 1994). "A Crazy-Quilt of Styles Unravels at the Seams". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
- ^ "Picks and Pans Review: Whaler". People Magazine. August 15, 1994.
- ^ a b Evans, Paul (August 11, 1994). "Sophie B. Hawkins: Whaler : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on May 12, 2006. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
- ^ "Sophie B. Hawkins". Billboard. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
- ^ "SOPHIE B HAWKINS | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
- ^ Tucker, Ken (August 5, 1994). "Whaler". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
- ^ "Australiancharts.com – Sophie B. Hawkins – Whaler". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Sophie B. Hawkins – Whaler" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
- ^ "European Top 100 Albums". Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 37. September 10, 1994. p. 16. OCLC 29800226.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Sophie B. Hawkins – Whaler" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
- ^ "Charts.nz – Sophie B. Hawkins – Whaler". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Sophie B. Hawkins – Whaler". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
- ^ "Sophie B Hawkins Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
- ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Pop Albums". Cash Box. Vol. 59, no. 10. November 4, 1995. p. 8. ISSN 0008-7289.
- ^ Duffy, Thom (December 24, 1994). "Young U.S. Acts Turn Abroad To Drive Their Careers Home". Billboard. p. 53. Retrieved February 23, 2024.