Call Off the Search
Call off the Search is the debut studio album by Georgian-British jazz and blues singer Katie Melua, released in 2003.
Call off the Search | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 3 November 2003 | |||
Recorded | 2003 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 41:14 | |||
Label | Dramatico | |||
Producer | Mike Batt | |||
Katie Melua chronology | ||||
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Singles from Call off the Search | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Recording and release
British songwriter, producer and arranger Mike Batt signed Melua to his Dramatico recording and management label after she performed at a showcase at the Brit School for the Performing Arts in early 2003. Batt was looking for a young artist capable of "performing jazz and blues in an interesting way". Melua went into the studio soon after with Batt as the producer. She recorded songs written by Batt, John Mayall, Delores J. Silver, herself, Randy Newman, and James Shelton. Melua wrote "Faraway Voice" about singer Eva Cassidy. "Belfast (Penguins and Cats)" refers to Melua's upbringing in Belfast, Northern Ireland: "Penguins" referring to Protestants and "Cats" to Catholics.
Call off the Search was released in the United Kingdom on 3 November 2003. It became a hit, reaching number one on the UK album chart in January 2004 and the top twenty of the Australian album chart in June 2004. It spent 87 weeks in the ARIA Top 100, certified Platinum for shipments of 70,000+. First single "The Closest Thing to Crazy", written by Batt, reached the top five in Ireland, top ten in the UK, top twenty in Norway, and top fifty in Australia. The second single from the album was the title track, "Call Off the Search", which gave Melua her second UK top twenty hit. The third single, a cover of Mayall's "Crawling up a Hill", was released on 18 July as the third single in the UK. In the UK the album sold 1.8 million copies within its first five months of release, making it six times platinum.[2] It spent six weeks at the top of the UK chart.
Chart performance
In the United Kingdom, Call off the Search was the 5th best selling album of 2004 with 1,356,962 copies sold,[3] and has sold over 1.9 million copies in the UK as of January 2013.[4]
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Call off the Search" | Mike Batt | 3:24 |
2. | "Crawling Up a Hill" | John Mayall | 3:25 |
3. | "The Closest Thing to Crazy" | Batt | 4:12 |
4. | "My Aphrodisiac Is You" | Batt | 3:34 |
5. | "Learnin' the Blues" | Delores J. Silver | 3:23 |
6. | "Blame It on the Moon" | Batt | 3:47 |
7. | "Belfast (Penguins and Cats)" | Katie Melua | 3:21 |
8. | "I Think It's Going to Rain Today" | Randy Newman | 2:30 |
9. | "Mockingbird Song" | Batt | 3:06 |
10. | "Tiger in the Night" | Batt | 3:07 |
11. | "Faraway Voice" | Melua | 3:13 |
12. | "Lilac Wine" | James Shelton | 4:11 |
The Japanese release has the extra track "Deep Purple".
Personnel
- Katie Melua – guitar, vocals
- Mike Batt – organ, piano, conducting, arrangements, production
- Jim Cregan – guitar
- Tim Harries – bass
- The Irish Film Orchestra – orchestra
- Michael Kruk – drums
- Alan Smale – leader
- Chris Spedding – guitar
- Henry Spinetti – drums
- Steve Sale – engineering
- Simon Fowler – photography
- Michael Halsband – cover photo
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
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Certifications
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See also
References
- Loftus, Johnny. Call Off the Search at AllMusic
- BPI figures
- Chartwatch Annual Chart Booklets->Year 2003 Retrieved August 4, 2010.
- Barstein, Brand (15 January 2013). "The biggest selling Easy Listening albums of the millennium revealed!". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
- "Australiancharts.com – Katie Melua – Call Off the Search". Hung Medien.
- "Ultratop.be – Katie Melua – Call Off the Search" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
- "Ultratop.be – Katie Melua – Call Off the Search" (in French). Hung Medien.
- "Danishcharts.dk – Katie Melua – Call Off the Search". Hung Medien.
- "Dutchcharts.nl – Katie Melua – Call Off the Search" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
- "Lescharts.com – Katie Melua – Call Off the Search". Hung Medien.
- "Offiziellecharts.de – Katie Melua – Call Off the Search" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts.
- "Katie Melua - Call Off The Search - Music Charts". acharts.us. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
- "R[EItEUET['". ORICON STYLE.
- "Charts.nz – Katie Melua – Call Off the Search". Hung Medien.
- "Norwegiancharts.com – Katie Melua – Call Off the Search". Hung Medien.
- "Portuguesecharts.com – Katie Melua – Call Off the Search". Hung Medien.
- "Swedishcharts.com – Katie Melua – Call Off the Search". Hung Medien.
- "Swisscharts.com – Katie Melua – Call Off the Search". Hung Medien.
- "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
- "Katie Melua Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
- "Katie Melua Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard.
- "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2004 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020.
- "Danish album certifications – Katie Melua – Call Off the Search". IFPI Denmark.
- "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Katie Melua; 'Call Off the Search')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
- "Dutch album certifications – Katie Melua – Call Of the Search" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Enter Call Of the Search in the "Artiest of titel" box.
- "New Zealand album certifications – Katie Melua – Call Off the Search". Recorded Music NZ.
- Sexton, Paul (3 June 2006). "When Katie Comes To Call". Billboard. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
- "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2007" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
- "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Katie Melua; 'Call Off the Search')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
- "British album certifications – Katie Melua – Call Off the Search". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Call Off the Search in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
- "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 2005". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.