43 Minutes is the third studio album by English female singer-songwriter Sam Brown. It was released in 1993 by Brown's own label, Pod Music.
| 43 Minutes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1 March 1993[1] | |||
| Length | 43:35 | |||
| Label | Pod Music (UK, Australia) All At Once Records (Europe) | |||
| Producer | Pete Brown | |||
| Sam Brown chronology | ||||
| ||||
43 Minutes peaked at No. 132 on Australia's ARIA Charts.[2] "Fear of Life" was released as the album's only single,[1] and reached No. 135 on the ARIA Charts.[2] In 2019, a remastered edition of 43 Minutes was reissued on CD through Pod Music.[3]
Background edit
Brown began writing 43 Minutes in 1991, during which time her mother was dying of cancer.[4] Once writing was completed, Brown's label, A&M Records, provided the singer with £11,000 to demo her new material, with recording taking place in the summer of 1992.[4][5] When presented to A&M, the label raised concerns over the material not being commercial enough. They requested Brown record a cover version of a song with hit potential and include it on the album, but Brown refused and split from the label.[4] She told the Windsor Star in 1994: "I made a creative decision that I'd rather have artistic fulfillment than financial success."[6]
Brown then looked at releasing her new material independently.[7] She bought back the rights from A&M,[8] and worked some more on the existing recordings. 43 Minutes was released in 1993 through Brown's own label, Pod Music, and through All At Once Records in Europe.[4] The initial release sold 4,000 copies,[8] and Brown embarked on a 22-date UK tour in early 1993 to promote it.[5]
Speaking of the album, Brown told Staines and Ashford News in 1992: "Musically it's very different to what I have done before. It's all piano with other instruments and quite mellow."[7] She added in 2000: "43 Minutes is the first album that really represents me. It's not directly about my mother's death, but it is a whole piece and very fierce. It really homed in on what I thought, what death chucks up at you."[9]
Reception edit
Upon release, Penny Kiley of the Liverpool Echo commented: "The album is her most mature and most personal so far. Her voice is better than ever and the songs are particularly open - some obviously inspired by the death of her mother."[10] H. M. Dickenson of The Sydney Morning Herald wrote: "Her new songs show more lyrical maturity than her earlier work and sensitive arrangements for real instruments bring out new depth in Sam's voice."[11]
Track listing edit
All tracks are written by Sam Brown
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Come into My World" | 3:47 |
| 2. | "Into the Night" | 3:25 |
| 3. | "In the Rain" | 2:09 |
| 4. | "Fear of Life" | 5:13 |
| 5. | "The Morning Song" | 2:50 |
| 6. | "You Are the World" | 5:38 |
| 7. | "See This Evil" | 4:08 |
| 8. | "Your Time Is Your Own" | 4:33 |
| 9. | "One Candle" | 3:20 |
| 10. | "Letting Go" | 4:24 |
| 11. | "Sleep Like a Baby" | 3:39 |
Personnel edit
- Sam Brown – vocals, piano, organ, harpsichord on tracks 6 and 8, melotron on track 4
- Pete Brown – guitars, vocals, bass on track 5
- Herbie Flowers – bass, double bass
- Tony Newman – drums
- Jody Linscott – percussion
- Danny Schogger – piano (track 3), keyboards (tracks 2, 6, 10)
- Anne Whitnell – cello (tracks 4-6, 10)
- Julian Stringle – clarinet (tracks 5-6, 11)
- Doris Brendel – backing vocals (tracks 4, 7-10), flageolet (track 11)
- Margo Buchanan, Julie Harrington – backing vocals (tracks 4, 7–10)
- Neil Gauntlett, Mike Sheridan, Phil Middleton, Alan Garfield – backing vocals (tracks 8–9, 11)
- Joe Brown – fiddle (track 1)
- Nick Ingman – string quartet arrangement (track 8)
- Gavyn Wright, Wilfred Gibson – violin (track 8)
- Bob Smissen – voila (track 8)
- Anthony Pleeth – cello (track 8)
- Paul Bangash – acoustic guitar (track 9)
Production
- Pete Brown – producer, recording, mixing
- Robin Wynn Evans – additional engineering, mixing
- Sean De Feo, Henry Binns, Danton Supple, Adrian Moore, Simon Wall – assistant engineers
- John Dent – mastering
References edit
- ^ a b "Play it again, Sam". Reading Evening Post. 4 February 1993. Retrieved 10 November 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ a b "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 2015-07-15". imgur.com. Archived from the original on 16 July 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
- ^ "Sam Brown / 43 Minutes remastered". superdeluxeedition. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
- ^ a b c d "INTERVIEW: SAM BROWN – August 2015". 100% Rock Magazine. 18 September 2015.
- ^ a b "Sam Brown back with 43 Minutes". Aberdeen Press and Journal. 23 February 1993. Retrieved 10 November 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Floyd backup singer has her share of success". The Windsor Star. 9 July 1994. Retrieved 10 November 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Mellow Sam". Staines & Ashford News. 5 November 1992. Retrieved 10 November 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ a b "Sam Brown - Interview Part 2". Pennyblackmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
- ^ "Sam Brown Biography". Onecandle.co.uk. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
- ^ "Brown back on song in St Helens". Liverpool Echo. 12 March 1993. Retrieved 10 November 2019 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Gap Give Aways". The Sydney Morning Herald. 27 May 1993. Retrieved 10 November 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
