Drive (Bic Runga album)

Drive is the debut solo album by New Zealand artist Bic Runga, released on 14 July 1997.[17] The album went seven times platinum in New Zealand,[18] and won the New Zealand Music Award for Album of the Year at the 32nd New Zealand Music Awards.

Drive
An image of Runga wearing a blue coat and green dress standing center-right in front of a blue backdrop. Her name and the album title are located to her left.
Studio album by
Released14 July 1997 (New Zealand)
Recorded1997
StudioRevolver, York Street (Auckland)[1] Brooklyn (Los Angeles)[1] [note 1]
GenreRock, pop
Length41:25
LabelColumbia
ProducerBic Runga
Bic Runga chronology
Drive
(1995)
Drive
(1997)
Together in Concert: Live
(2000)
Singles from Drive
  1. "Drive"
    Released: 1995
  2. "Bursting Through"
    Released: September 1996
  3. "Sway"
    Released: May 1997
  4. "Suddenly Strange"
    Released: September 1997
  5. "Roll into One"
    Released: December 1997
  6. "Hey"
    Released: 1998[2]
  7. "Sorry"
    Released: 1999
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Age[3]
AllMusic[4]
Birmingham Mail(favorable)[5]
Entertainment WeeklyB[6]
Evening Post[7]
The Guardian(favorable)[8]
Guitar Player(favorable)[9]
Malay Mail(mixed)[10]
New Straits Times(mixed)[11]
Newcastle Herald(favorable)[12]
Sydney Morning Herald[13]
The Times[14]
Waikato Times[15]
Washington Post(mixed)[16]

Track listing edit

Track listing adapted from Spotify[19] and CD liner notes.[1] All tracks are written and produced by Bic Runga.[1][19]

No.TitleLength
1."Drive"2:46
2."Sway"4:22
3."Hey"3:15
4."Bursting Through"3:42
5."Swim"4:44
6."Roll into One"3:19
7."Suddenly Strange"4:19
8."Sorry"3:22
9."Heal"3:32
10."Delight"4:00
11."Without You"4:00
Total length:41:25

Personnel edit

Credits adapted from CD liner notes.[1]

Musicians

  • Bic Runga – lead vocals (all tracks), arrangements (all tracks), guitars (tracks 1, 4, 6, 7, 9), xylophone (tracks 2, 3, 11), Mellotron (track 7), drums (track 8), backing vocals (tracks 2, 3, 7, 11)
  • Peter Asher – backing vocals (track 6)
  • Wayne Bell – drums (tracks 2-6, 9-11), percussion (track 4)
  • Sally-Anne Brown – cello (tracks 2, 7)
  • Paul Casserlysamples (tracks 9, 10)
  • Davey Fargher – bass guitar (track 7)
  • Jay Foulkes – percussion (track 8)
  • Josh Freese – drums (track 7)
  • Duncan Haynes – Rhodes piano (track 10), string arrangements (tracks 2, 4, 7)
  • Niall Macken – additional arrangement (tracks 2, 7, 11)
  • Aaron McDonald – bass (tracks 2, 3, 5, 6, 8-11)
  • Boh Runga – backing vocals (tracks 5, 6)
  • Nick Seymour – additional arrangement (tracks 2, 7, 11)
  • Malcolm Smith – keyboards (tracks 5, 9), additional samples (track 9)
  • Karl Steven – additional arrangement (track 4)
  • Andrew Thorne – guitars (tracks 2-6, 8-11), backing vocals (tracks 6, 11)
  • Gary Verberne – guitars (tracks 2, 11)
  • Kate Walshe – violin (tracks 2, 4, 7)
  • Matt Wallace – guitar (track 6), percussion (track 7), backing vocals (track 6)
  • Sarah Yates – strings (track 4)

Technical

  • Bic Runga – production (all tracks), mixing (track 1)
  • Tom Banghart – engineering assistance (track 7), mixing assistance (tracks 2-11)
  • Chris van de Geer – engineering (track 1)
  • Simon Sheridan – engineering (tracks 2-11)
  • Matt Tait – engineering assistance (tracks 2-11)
  • Matt Wallace – engineering (track 7), mastering (all tracks), mixing (tracks 2-11)

Charts and certifications edit

Weekly charts edit

Chart (1997–1998) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[20] 50
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[21] 1

Certifications edit

Region Certification Certified units/sales
New Zealand (RMNZ)[22] Platinum 15,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ All tracks except "Drive" - recorded at York Street - were recorded at Revolver. Parts of "Suddenly Strange" were also recorded at Brooklyn.

Citations edit

  1. ^ a b c d e Drive (CD liner notes). New Zealand: Columbia. 1997. 488580.2.
  2. ^ "Bic Runga – Hey (1998, CD)". Discogs. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  3. ^ Beer, Ian (10 July 1998). "CD Reviews". The Age. Melbourne. Retrieved 4 March 2024 – via ProQuest.
  4. ^ Allmusic review
  5. ^ Coleman, Andy (25 August 1998). "Album of the Week". Birmingham Evening Mail. Birmingham. Retrieved 4 March 2024 – via ProQuest.
  6. ^ Johnson, Beth (7 August 1998). "Bic Runga - Drive". Entertainment Weekly. No. 444. New York. p. 78.
  7. ^ Houlahan, Mike (14 August 1997). "Runga drives straight to top". The Evening Post. Wellington. Retrieved 4 March 2024 – via ProQuest.
  8. ^ Gallant, Doug (6 November 1998). "Bring back memories with release". The Guardian. Charlottetown. Retrieved 4 March 2024 – via Access World News.
  9. ^ Swenson, Kyle (June 1998). "Bic Runga - Drive". Guitar Player. Vol. 32, no. 6. New York. p. 140. Retrieved 4 March 2024 – via ProQuest.
  10. ^ Teo, Kris (8 March 1998). "Inspirational yield from Pearl Jam". Malay Mail. Kuala Lumpur. Retrieved 4 March 2024 – via ProQuest.
  11. ^ Martinez, Gerald (1 February 1998). "Bobby Brown - better than ever". New Straits Times. Kuala Lumpur. Retrieved 4 March 2024 – via ProQuest.
  12. ^ Watson, Chad (18 June 1998). "CD Reviews". Newcastle Herald. Newcastle. Retrieved 4 March 2024 – via ProQuest.
  13. ^ Molitorisz, Sasha (14 August 1998). "Sound bite". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney. Retrieved 4 March 2024 – via ProQuest.
  14. ^ Williamson, Nigel (5 September 1998). "New album releases". The Times. London. Retrieved 4 March 2024 – via Access World News.
  15. ^ Welham, Keri (19 August 1997). "Bic Runga - Drive". Waikato Times. Hamilton. Retrieved 4 March 2024 – via ProQuest.
  16. ^ Jenkins, Mark (31 July 1998). "Bic Runga - Drive". Washington Post. Washington. Retrieved 4 March 2024 – via ProQuest.
  17. ^ Russell, John (28 February 1998). "New Zealand's Bic Runga 'Drives' Sony Debut to Top". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  18. ^ "Bic Runga | NZ Music Hall of Fame". Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  19. ^ a b Drive by Bic Runga. Spotify. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  20. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Bic Runga – Drive". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  21. ^ "Charts.nz – Bic Runga – Drive". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  22. ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Bic Runga – Drive". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 30 September 2021.