Drastic Fantastic
| Drastic Fantastic | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by KT Tunstall | ||||
| Released |
10 September 2007 (see Release history | |||
| Recorded |
2006–2007 Rockfield Studios, Wales Eastcote Studios, London Eden Studios, London | |||
| Length | 39:50 | |||
| Label | Relentless | |||
| Producer | Steve Osborne | |||
| KT Tunstall chronology | ||||
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| Alternative cover | ||||
 Special CD/DVD Edition Cover. |
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| Singles from Drastic Fantastic | ||||
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Drastic Fantastic is the second studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall. It features some unreleased tracks she wrote before Eye to the Telescope such as new tracks she wrote in 2003. The record was released by Relentless Records on 10 September 2007 in the United Kingdom and elsewhere in Europe, on 15 September in Australia, and 18 September 2007 in the United States and Canada. However, the album was leaked on P2P networks on 3 September 2007.
Some additional tracks features other unreleased songs such as "Mothgirl", "Bad Day" and "Journey", and during the Drastic Fantastic Tour, Tunstall covered "La Vie En Rose", which is on the U.K Bonus tracks, "My Sharona", The Bangles' "Walk Like an Egyptian" and Chaka Khan's "Ain't Nobody" which features on the DVD. Also, three singles were taken from Drastic Fantastic: "Hold On", the lead single, "Saving My Face" and "If Only", which all charted in the UK Top 100.
On the US Billboard 200 chart, Drastic Fantastic debuted at number nine, selling about 50,000 copies in its first week, and sold around 225,000 copies in 2007.[2]
Artwork, packaging
According to Tunstall, the album cover is based on Suzi Quatro.[3]
Critical reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 68/100[4] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [5] |
| Robert Christgau |  [6] |
| Entertainment.ie |  [7] |
| The Guardian | [8] |
| The Observer | [9] |
| Rolling Stone | [10] |
| The Times | [11] |
| Uncut | [12] |
The album received warm, though conservative, praise by most critics. Music critics from The Observer gave Drastic Fantastic five stars, stating the album was "bursting with so many hits that Tunstall's comic-book life is about to go stratospheric".[9] Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone gave the album three-and-a-half stars out of five, and said that the album's sound was a "flashback" to 1997 by noting similarities between the songs on Drastic Fantastic and songs written 10 years earlier.[10] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic gave the album four out of five, calling Drastic Fantastic "a rare beast: a pop album with a songwriter's heart".[5]
However, some critics were less impressed, stating that the album was overproduced and lacked the "folksy" touch of her previous album Eye to the Telescope. The Guardian gave it three stars, stating "Tunstall could do better".[8]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Little Favours" | KT Tunstall | Steve Osborne | 3:09 |
| 2. | "If Only" | KT Tunstall, Jimmy Hogarth | Steve Osborne | 3:46 |
| 3. | "White Bird" | KT Tunstall | Steve Osborne | 3:13 |
| 4. | "Funnyman" | KT Tunstall, Martin Terefe | Steve Osborne | 2:56 |
| 5. | "Hold On" | KT Tunstall, Ed Case | Steve Osborne | 2:57 |
| 6. | "Hopeless" | KT Tunstall | Steve Osborne | 3:41 |
| 7. | "I Don't Want You Now" | KT Tunstall | Steve Osborne | 3:48 |
| 8. | "Saving My Face" | KT Tunstall | Steve Osborne | 3:38 |
| 9. | "The Beauty of Uncertainty" | KT Tunstall | Steve Osborne | 5:01 |
| 10. | "Someday Soon" | KT Tunstall, Jimmy Hogarth | Steve Osborne | 3:53 |
| 11. | "Paper Aeroplane" | KT Tunstall | Steve Osborne | 3:16 |
Total length: |
39:50 | |||
| Digital bonus tracks[13] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
| 12. | "Journey" | KT Tunstall | Steve Osborne | 4:39 |
| 13. | "La Vie en rose (Edith Piaf cover)" | Louis Guglielmi, Edith Piaf | Steve Osborne | 2:29 |
| UK iTunes bonus tracks[14] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
| 12. | "Bad Day" | KT Tunstall | Steve Osborne | 4:09 |
| 13. | "Suddenly I See" (Live) | KT Tunstall | Steve Osborne | 6:03 |
| Australian bonus track[15] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
| 12. | "Suddenly I See" | KT Tunstall | Steve Osborne | 3:21 |
| Japanese bonus track[16] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
| 12. | "Suddenly I See" (Live) | KT Tunstall | Steve Osborne | 6:03 |
| UK Amazon MP3 bonus tracks[17] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
| 12. | "Mothgirl" | KT Tunstall | Steve Osborne | 5:01 |
| 13. | "Bad Day" | KT Tunstall | Steve Osborne | 4:09 |
| 14. | "Suddenly I See" (Live) | KT Tunstall | Steve Osborne | 6:03 |
In addition with the Deluxe edition, a documentary DVD with the album.
Most songs on Drastic Fantastic are not new songs. An acoustic version of "Little Favours" and "Paper Aeroplane" appeared on the 2000 demo album Tracks in July. "Little Favours" also appeared as the B-side to "Under the Weather". "If Only", "Funnyman", and "Saving My Face" appeared on the demo album Toons March '03. Finally, Tunstall mentioned writing two new songs, "Hopeless" and "White Bird", in a blog entry from 2003.
Singles
- "Hold On" was released as the album's lead single on 16 July 2007 in the United States, and on 27 August in the United Kingdom.
- "Saving My Face" was chosen as the second single; it was released on 12 November 2007.
- "If Only" was released on 3 March 2008.
- A video for the song "Little Favours" was released in many music channels of Brazil (such as MTV Brasil & Multishow).[18] The video is directed by Chris Bran, did not feature KT and only shows a KT Tunstall fan and ex-teacher Mr. Fritte with a puppet with strings, that he calls The Tunstallator.[19]
The song is featured on the Brazilian soap opera Três Irmãs.[1]
"Someday Soon" is available as a single on Internet music stores such as iTunes and Rhapsody. It was featured in the film The Women in a montage featuring Annette Bening and Meg Ryan.
Personnel
- KT Tunstall – vocals, guitar, piano
- Luke Bullen – drums, percussion
- Sam Lewis – backing guitar
- Steve Osborne – bass, backing guitar, keyboards
- Arnulf Lindner – bass, double bass
- Kenny Dickenson – piano, keyboards
- Cat Sforza – backing vocals
- Gita Harcourt – backing vocals
Charts and certifications
Chart positions
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Certifications
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Release history
| Region | Date |
|---|---|
| Europe | 10 September 2007 |
| Australia | 15 September 2007 |
| Canada | 18 September 2007 |
| United States |
References
- 1 2 "Som Livre". Som Livre. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
- ↑ Katie Hasty, "Reba Outmuscles Kanye, 50 To Score First No. 1", Billboard.com, 26 September 2007.
- ↑ "andPOP Interviews KT Tunstall - ANDPOP.com". www.andpop.com. Thornhill, Ontario, Canada: andPOP. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
- ↑ "Album Review". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
- 1 2 "Drastic Fantastic". Allmusic. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
- ↑ http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=5913&name=KT+Tunstall
- ↑ http://entertainment.ie/reviews/review.asp?ID=5163&subcat=CD
- 1 2 Clarke, Betty (7 September 2007). "CD: KT Tunstall, Drastic Fantastic". The Guardian. London.
- 1 2 Raphael, Amy (12 August 2007). "CD: K T Tunstall, Drastic Fantastic". The Guardian. London.
- 1 2 Sheffield, Rob (7 September 2007). "KT Tunstall - Drastic Fantastic". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 15 September 2007. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
- ↑ Asthana, Anushka. "CD: K T Tunstall, Drastic Fantastic". The Times. London.
- ↑ http://www.uncut.co.uk/music/kt_tunstall/reviews/10222
- ↑ "Drastic Fantastic – AllMusic". Retrieved 22 January 2013.
- ↑ "iTunes – Music – Drastic Fantastic by KT Tunstall". Retrieved 22 January 2013.
- ↑ "KT Tunstall – Drastic Fantastic (CD, Album) at Discogs". Retrieved 22 January 2013.
- ↑ "Music: Amazon.com: Drastic Fantastic". Retrieved 22 January 2013.
- ↑ "Drastic Fantastic: KT Tunstall: Amazon.co.uk: MP3 Downloads". Retrieved 15 November 2013.
- ↑ . "Little Favours – KT Tunstall (Letra e Vídeo) no Kboing". Letras.kboing.com.br. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
- ↑ "KT Tunstall – Little Favours – The Tunstallator". YouTube. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
- ↑ "KT Tunstall - Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
- ↑ "KT Tunstall - Chart History (Billboard Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
- ↑ "KT Tunstall - Chart History (Billboard Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
- ↑ "KT Tunstall - Chart History (Billboard Digital Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
- ↑ "KT Tunstall - Drastic Fantastic". Official Charts. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
- ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
- ↑ KT Tunstall – Drastic Fantastic. IRMA. Accessed 14 September 2007
- ↑ Nielsen SoundScan JAM! Music Charts – Top 100 Albums: Accessed 27 September 2007
- ↑ Megacharts – Accessed 17 September 2007
- ↑ French Albums Chart – acharts.us Accessed 20 September 2007
- ↑ German Top 100 Albums Chart – Accessed 26 September 2007
- ↑ Austrian Top 75 Albums Chart – Accessed 20 February 2008
- ↑ Italian Albums Chart – Accessed 20 September 2007
- ↑ Oricon. "ＫＴ タンストール". oricon.com. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
- ↑ New Zealand Albums Top 40 – acharts.us Accessed 20 September 2007
- ↑ Top 50 Albums Chart – Australian Record Industry Association
- ↑ "British album certifications – KT Tunstall – Drastic Fantastic". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Drastic Fantastic in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
- ↑ "American album certifications – KT Tunstall – Drastic Fantastic". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH