I Am (Monrose album)
| I Am | ||||
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| Studio album by Monrose | ||||
| Released | 26 September 2008 | |||
| Recorded | 2008 | |||
| Genre | Dance-pop, electropop | |||
| Length | 50:13 | |||
| Label | Starwatch, Warner Music | |||
| Producer | Carl Björsell, T. J. Cases, Cutfather, Oscar Gorres, JoelJoel, Edwin "Lil Eddie" Serrano, Jonas Jeberg, Jiant, Roman Preylowski, Emanuel Rehwald, Snowflakers, Ryan "Alias" Tedder, Didrik Thott | |||
| Monrose chronology | ||||
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| Singles from I Am | ||||
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I Am is the third studio album by German pop trio Monrose, released by Starwatch Music and the Warner Music Group on 26 September 2008 (see 2008 in music) in German-speaking Europe and 29 September 2008 in Poland. The album features production by Jiant, Snowflakers, Guy Chambers, Edwin "Lil Eddie" Serrano, and OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder among others.[1][2]
Taking Monrose's work further into dance and electro music, the album scored a generally negative reception from music critics, with laut.de calling them "the Sugababes for discount store-fans."[3]
Production and songs
The songs on I Am were selected out of more than six hundred demo tracks.[4] The album's opening track, "Strike the Match", was penned by OneRepublic singer Ryan Tedder and Deborah Epstein. Selected out of several tracks in Tedder's repertoire, it was the first song confirmed to be appearing on the album.[2] Released as its leading single, the song reached the top ten of the German Singles Chart.[5] Second track "A Love Bizarre" is a cover version of the 1985 single by Sheila E. and Prince. Using the original instrumental as produced by Prince, the song has been described as all-time favorite by band member Guemmour.[6] "Certified" was written by longtime contributors Edwin "Lil' Eddie" Serrano and Jonas Jeberg, and has been described as "high-pitched, technical, and scratching."[7]
"Why Not Us" by Guy Chambers has been categorized as an "emotional mid-tempo ballad [...] for the wintertime."[4] Originally planned to be released as the album's second single, it was released as the third.[4] In addition, the song served as a promotional track for the We Love Otto mail order campaign. "Stolen" features background vocals by Jamie Pineda from the successful pop music project Sweetbox after Jamie had recorded the song first. Fifth track "Going Out Tonight" incorporates elements of ragga and dancehall music, including rapped verses by all three band members,[4] while "You Can Look" combines dance-pop with rock music.[7] "Teach Me How to Jump" deals with death. The song was recorded in dedication to lost ones, including Guemmour's father, who died in 1992.[6]
Reviews
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| CDStarts |   [8] |
| laut.de | [9] |
| LetMeEntertainYou | [10] |
I Am received mainly negative reviews. LetMeEntertainYou entitled the album's tracks as "sorted out material from the collection of immoral books of Timbaland," calling it also "fiddling" and "sparsely innovative." Further criticisms stated that the girls' voices had been edited into digital cawings which get dislodged from the professional but overproduced music. Although CDStarts dismissed Monrose's original R'n'B/Pop-style, it deplored their attempt to go more into electropop as doing them no favors, and suggested that it could lead to a downfall from their established position in the German music scene.[7]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Strike the Match" | Ryan Tedder, Deborah Epstein | Ryan Tedder | 2:56 |
| 2. | "A Love Bizarre" | Sheila Escovedo, Prince Rogers Nelson | Jiant, Snowflakers | 3:47 |
| 3. | "Certified" | Edwin Serrano, Eritza Laues | Jonas Jeberg, Cutfather | 3:06 |
| 4. | "Why Not Us" | Guy Chambers, Alexis Strum | Guy Chambers, Pete Kirtley | 3:29 |
| 5. | "Going Out Tonight" | Pete Kirtley, Obi Mhondera | Jiant | 2:50 |
| 6. | "You Can Look" | Nermin Harambasic, Anne Judith Wik, Ronny Svendsen, Robin Jenssen | Ronny Svendsen, Nermin Harambasic | 3:25 |
| 7. | "Tip Toe" | C. Costi, C. Ryden, Hugo Lira, Ian-Paolo Lira, Thomas Gustafsson | Jiant | 2:59 |
| 8. | "Teach Me How To Jump" | David Eriksen, Virginia McGrail | Jiant, Snowflakers | 3:31 |
| 9. | "Stolen" | Carl Björsell, Edward Steve Louis, Didrik Thott | Carl Björsell, Didrik Thott | 3:19 |
| 10. | "Electricity" | Daniel Volpe, Thomas Lipp | Roman Preylowski, Emanuel Rehwald, Jiant | 2:56 |
| 11. | "Hit 'N' Run" | JoelJoel, The Provider, Charlie Mason | JoelJoel, Oscar Gorres | 3:14 |
| 12. | "No Never" | Rob Divas, Shelly Poole | Jiant, Snowflakers | 3:45 |
| 13. | "Stained" | Andreas Romdhane, Josef Larossi, Linda Kiraly, Savan Kotecha | Jiant, Snowflakers | 3:37 |
| 14. | "What They Want" | Alex Cartana, Pete Martin, Jasmine Baird | Jiant, Snowflakers | 3:53 |
| 15. | "Don't Touch The Fader" | Karen Poole, Mathias Wollo, Jonas Quant | Jiant, Snowflakers | 3:17 |
| 16. | "Step Aside (iTunes Bonus Track)" | Edwin Serrano, Eritza Laues | Jonas Jeberg, Cutfather | 3:07 |
Release history
| Country | Date |
|---|---|
| Germany | September 26, 2008 |
| Poland | September 29, 2008 |
Charts
| Chart (2008) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Albums Chart[5] | 20 |
| European Top 100 Albums | 35 |
| German Albums Chart[5] | 9 |
| Swiss Albums Chart[5] | 14 |
References
- ↑ "Diary entry". Official fanclub. Retrieved 2008-03-10.
- 1 2 "Ryan Tedder: Konkurrenz für Top-Produzent Timbaland?". Bild-Zeitung. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
- ↑ Artur Schulz. "I Am review". laut.de. Retrieved 2008-10-18.
- 1 2 3 4 Kraus, Walter (2008-09-22). "Interview mit Monrose-Chanteuse Bahar". Beatblogger. Retrieved 2008-11-15.
- 1 2 3 4 "'Strike the Match' - song performance". A-Charts. Retrieved 2008-06-22.
- 1 2 "Unser Team ist einfach perfekt!". Woodz. 2008-10-01. Retrieved 2008-11-28.
- 1 2 3 Ranner, Albert (2008-10-01). "I Am review". CDStars. Retrieved 2008-11-20.
- ↑ CDStarts review
- ↑ laut.de review
- ↑ LetMeEntertainYou review
External links
- Monrose.de — official site