The Violin Player
The Violin Player | ||||
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Studio album by Vanessa-Mae | ||||
Released | 1995 | |||
Recorded | 1993–1994 | |||
Studio | Abbey Road Studios Whitfield Street Recording Studios (London, England) | |||
Genre |
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Length | 42:50 | |||
Label | EMI | |||
Producer |
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Vanessa-Mae chronology | ||||
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Singles from The Violin Player | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Violin Player is the first synth-pop album by classical and pop musician Vanessa-Mae, released in 1995. It is the first album Vanessa-Mae released on the EMI label. The album was produced by Mike Batt, and engineered by Gareth Cousins.
Content
The Violin Player features a varied blend of music – covers of classical music (J.S. Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor), remakes of old favourites (including American composer Mason Williams' "Classical Gas"), original compositions (seven tracks composed by British musician and songwriter Mike Batt), and one original track by Vanessa-Mae herself, co-written with Ian Wherry ("Red Hot").
Singles
Three singles were released from the album: "Toccata and Fugue", which reached number 16 in the UK Singles Chart, "Red Hot", which reached number 37 and "Classical Gas", which reached number 41.[2]
Commercial performance
The Violin Player reached number 11 in the UK Albums Chart in February 1995, and was certified Gold by the BPI in June 1995. It has sold over 1.2 million copies worldwide.[3] The album has been reissued as a multi-channel hybrid SACD by EMI Music Hong Kong.
Track listing
All tracks are written by Mike Batt, except where noted
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor" | Johann Sebastian Bach, arr: Batt | 7:47 |
2. | "Contradanza" | 3:49 | |
3. | "Classical Gas" | Mason Williams | 3:21 |
4. | "Theme from Caravans" | 5:06 | |
5. | "Warm Air" | 3:38 | |
6. | "Jazz Will Eat Itself" | 3:30 | |
7. | "Widescreen" | 3:58 | |
8. | "Tequila Mockingbird" | 3:26 | |
9. | "City Theme" | 4:32 | |
10. | "Red Hot" | Ian Wherry, Vanessa-Mae | 3:16 |
11. | "Classical Gas" (reggae version; Aswad and Vanessa-Mae (bonus track)) | ||
Total length: | 46:31 |
Personnel
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[4]
Musicians
- Vanessa-Mae – violin
- Mike Batt – keyboards (tracks 1–9)
- Gareth Cousins – synthesisers (tracks 1–9)
- Martin Bliss – guitars (track 10)
- Clem Clempson – guitars (tracks 1–9)
- Dick Morgan – oboe (track 1)
- Maurice Murphy – trumpet (track 1)
- Royal Philharmonic Orchestra – orchestra; conducted by Mike Batt
- Phil Todd – saxophones
- Vasko Vassilev – violin/viola section (track 10)
- Ian Wherry – keyboards (track 10)
Production
- Tracks 1–9 produced and arranged by Mike Batt
- Tracks 1-9 engineered by Gareth Cousins
- Track 10 produced and arranged by Ian Wherry and Vanessa-Mae
- Track 10 programmed by Ian Wherry; mix engineer: Ben Robbins
- Mastered by Ray Staff
- Music typesetting: John Zaradin
- Photography: John Paul
- Sleeve by Stuart @ Peacock Marketing Design
- Recorded and engineered by Gareth Cousins at Abbey Road Studios and Whitfield Street Recording Studios, London
Charts
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Austria (IFPI Austria)[17] | Platinum | 50,000* |
Belgium (BEA)[18] | Gold | 25,000* |
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[19] | Platinum | 54,251[19] |
Germany (BVMI)[20] | Gold | 250,000^ |
Netherlands (NVPI)[21] | Platinum | 25,000^ |
New Zealand (RMNZ)[22] | Gold | 7,500^ |
Poland (ZPAV)[23] | Platinum | 100,000* |
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[24] | Gold | 50,000^ |
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[25] | Gold | 25,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI)[26] | Gold | 100,000^ |
Summaries | ||
Europe (IFPI)[27] | Platinum | 1,000,000* |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
References
- ^ Erik Crawford. "The Violin Player - Vanessa-Mae | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
- ^ "VANESSA-MAE | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
- ^ "Who's selling where". Billboard. 17 February 1996. p. 62. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
Des'ree billboard.
- ^ The Violin Player (liner notes). Vanessa-Mae. EMI. 1995.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Steffen Hung (1995-04-30). "Australian charts portal". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
- ^ Steffen Hung. "Das österreichische Hitparaden- und Musik-Portal". Austriancharts.at. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
- ^ Steffen Hung (1997-03-22). "Dutch Charts". Dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
- ^ "Musiikkituottajat - Tilastot - Suomen virallinen lista - Artistit". Ifpi.fi. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
- ^ "Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets, Genres, Genresuche, Genrelexikon, Künstler-Suche, Musik-Suche, Track-Suche, Ticket-Suche". Musicline.de. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
- ^ "Kereső - előadó/Cím szerint - Archívum - MAHASZ - Magyar Hangfelvétel-kiadók Szövetsége". Archived from the original on September 24, 2012. Retrieved September 23, 2013.
- ^ "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart | The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Nztop40.co.nz. 1996-02-04. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
- ^ Steffen Hung. "Norwegian charts portal". Norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
- ^ Steffen Hung (1996-05-24). "Swedish Charts Portal". Swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
- ^ Steffen Hung. "Die Offizielle Schweizer Hitparade und Music Community". Hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
- ^ "VANESSA-MAE | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
- ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
- ^ "Austrian album certifications – Vanessa Mae – The Violin Player" (in German). IFPI Austria.
- ^ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 1996". Ultratop. Hung Medien.
- ^ a b "Vanessa Mae" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
- ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Vanessa Mae; 'The Violin Player')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
- ^ "Dutch jazz certifications – Vanessa Mae – The Violin Player" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Enter The Violin Player in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 1996 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
- ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Vanessa Mae – The Violin Player". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
- ^ "Wyróżnienia – Platynowe płyty CD - Archiwum - Przyznane w 1995 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry.
- ^ Salaverrie, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (PDF) (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: Fundación Autor/SGAE. p. 944. ISBN 84-8048-639-2. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
- ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('The Violin Player')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
- ^ "British album certifications – Vanessa Mae – The Violin Player". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type The Violin Player in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
- ^ "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 1997". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
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