Affirmation (Savage Garden album)
1999 studio album by Savage Garden
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Affirmation is the second and final studio album by Australian pop duo Savage Garden, released on 1 November 1999 by Columbia Records. It won the 2000 ARIA Music Award for Highest Selling Album. It was nominated for Best Group and Best Pop Release.
.jpg)
63:37 (Australian edition)
| Affirmation | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Australian cover | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1 November 1999 | |||
| Recorded | 1998–1999 | |||
| Genre | Soft rock[1] | |||
| Length | 53:42 (International edition) 63:37 (Australian edition) | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producers | ||||
| Savage Garden chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Affirmation | ||||
| ||||
| Alternative cover | ||||
.jpg) International cover | ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Entertainment Weekly | C+[3] |
| PopMatters | [4] |
| Q | [5] |
| Robert Christgau |  [6] |
| Rolling Stone |  [7] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [8] |
| Sputnikmusic | [9] |
Background
The band recorded their second studio album after they recorded "The Animal Song" for the soundtrack to the film The Other Sister. The majority of the album was written by Hayes in New York in September 1999 or slightly earlier that year. The exception was 'You Can Still Be Free', a much older song that dated back to at least 1995 - a demo recording appeared on their 1995 demo tape, then titled 'Free'. The track was written in tribute to a friend of the band who died by suicide some years previously, and was revisited after said friends' family explained they loved the song and wanted to see it released on an album. Preceded by the second single "I Knew I Loved You", the album was released on 9 November 1999 to worldwide success. The album spawned a further five singles, one of which was exclusive to the Australian market ("Chained to You"), and one of which was exclusive to the British market ("The Best Thing").
Following the success of the Superstars and Cannonballs video album, the album was reissued in November 2000, containing a bonus live album, Declaration, featuring recordings from the concert at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre on 21 May 2000. Including sales of the re-issue, the album has sold more than 8 million copies worldwide, being certified platinum in a number of countries.[10] It became the band's last studio album after Daniel decided to leave in 2001.
Similarly to Savage Garden, the album's track listing varied internationally. The Australian version of the album features a bonus remix of "The Animal Song", a CD-ROM featuring video footage and bonus material, and the uncut version of "Gunning Down Romance". The International version removes the remix, CD-ROM and features a cut version of "Gunning Down Romance", due to a manufacturing error where six seconds of music are cut between 4:36 and 4:42, causing the music to stop abruptly.
Track listing
- All songs written by Darren Hayes and Daniel Jones, and produced by Walter Afanasieff.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Affirmation" | 4:56 |
| 2. | "Hold Me" | 4:50 |
| 3. | "I Knew I Loved You" | 4:10 |
| 4. | "The Best Thing" | 4:19 |
| 5. | "Crash and Burn" | 4:41 |
| 6. | "Chained to You" | 4:08 |
| 7. | "The Animal Song" | 4:39 |
| 8. | "The Lover After Me" | 4:50 |
| 9. | "Two Beds and a Coffee Machine" | 3:27 |
| 10. | "You Can Still Be Free" | 4:18 |
| 11. | "Gunning Down Romance" | 5:34 |
| 12. | "I Don't Know You Anymore" | 3:50 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 13. | "The Animal Song" (Hex Hector Club Mix) | 9:55 |
| 14. | "The Animal Song" (Making of the Video) | 3:00 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Best Thing" | 5:24 |
| 2. | "The Lover After Me" | 4:38 |
| 3. | "I Don't Know You Anymore" | 3:37 |
| 4. | "Two Beds and a Coffee Machine" | 4:46 |
| 5. | "You Can Still Be Free" | 4:58 |
| 6. | "Hold Me" | 4:52 |
| 7. | "Gunning Down Romance" | 6:36 |
| 8. | "Crash and Burn" | 5:13 |
| 9. | "Chained to You" | 6:33 |
| 10. | "I Knew I Loved You" | 8:05 |
| 11. | "Affirmation" | 6:17 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hold Me" (live at London Radio) | |
| 2. | "Crash & Burn" (live at London Radio) | |
| 3. | "I Knew I Loved You" (live at Paris Radio) | |
| 4. | "The Lover After Me" (live at Paris Radio) | |
| 5. | "I Don't Know You Anymore" (live from The Panel) | |
| 6. | "I Knew I Loved You" (Eddie¹s Rhythm Radio Mix) | |
| 7. | "Affirmation 2004" (Almighty Mix) | |
| 8. | "Chained to You" (Justin Shave Remix) | |
| 9. | "Crash & Burn" (Eddie¹s Bumped Up Dance Mix) | |
| 10. | "Hold Me 2004" (Almighty Mix) |
Credits
Savage Garden
- Darren Hayes – vocals
- Daniel Jones – additional guitars; keyboards, synthesizers, drum and rhythm programming
Additional personnel
- Walter Afanasieff – keyboards, synthesizers, drum and rhythm programming, acoustic piano on track 9
- Greg Bieck – keyboards and programming
- Michael Landau – electric guitars
- Michael Thompson – electric guitars and lead baritone guitar on track 6
- Dean Parks – acoustic guitars
- Nathan East – bass
- Steve Smith – drums
- Strings arranged and conducted by Jeremy Lubbock; contractor – Jules Chaikin
Production
- Arranged and produced by Savage Garden and Walter Afanasieff
- Recorded and engineered by Jay Healy (vocals), Kent Matcke (basic tracking), David Frazer (guitars, strings on track 9), David Reitzas (guitars) and David Gleeson (drums, Fairlight, vocals and piano)
- Assistant engineers – Brian Vibberts, Pete Krawiec, Tony Rambo, Dave Ashton, Ethan Schofer, Dave Ashton, Luis Quine, Mark Gregory, Ryan Hewitt
- Mixed by Dave Way (tracks 1–6 and 8–12) and Chris Lord-Alge (track 7)
- Mastered by Vlado Meller
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
|
Certifications and sales
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[44] | 8× Platinum | 560,000^ |
| Canada (Music Canada)[45] | 2× Platinum | 200,000^ |
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[46] | 2× Platinum | 100,000^ |
| Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[47] | Gold | 31,905[47] |
| Germany (BVMI)[48] | Gold | 150,000^ |
| Indonesia[49] | Platinum | 50,000[50] |
| Italy (FIMI)[49] | Gold | 50,000* |
| Japan (RIAJ)[51] | Gold | 100,000^ |
| Malaysia[49] | Platinum | 25,000[50] |
| Mexico (AMPROFON)[52] | Platinum+Gold | 225,000^ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[53] | Platinum | 15,000^ |
| Philippines (PARI)[49] | Platinum | 40,000* |
| Portugal (AFP)[49] | Gold | 20,000^ |
| Singapore (RIAS)[49] | Platinum | 15,000* |
| South Africa (RISA)[49] | Gold | 25,000* |
| Sweden (GLF)[54] | 2× Platinum | 160,000^ |
| Taiwan (RIT)[49] | Platinum | 50,000* |
| Thailand[49] | Platinum | 40,000[50] |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[55] | 3× Platinum | 900,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[56] | 3× Platinum | 3,000,000^ |
| Summaries | ||
| Europe (IFPI)[57] | Platinum | 1,000,000* |
|
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||