Floating into the Night

Floating into the Night is the debut studio album by American singer Julee Cruise. It was released on September 12, 1989 on Warner Bros. Records, and features compositions and production by Angelo Badalamenti and film director David Lynch. Songs from the album were featured in Lynch's projects Blue Velvet (1986), Industrial Symphony No. 1 (1990), and Twin Peaks (1990–1991).

Floating into the Night
Studio album by
Julee Cruise
ReleasedSeptember 12, 1989 (1989-09-12)
StudioExcalibur Sound in New York City, New York, United States
Genre
Length47:56
LabelWarner Bros.
Producer
Julee Cruise chronology
Floating into the Night
(1989)		 The Voice of Love
(1993)
Singles from Floating into the Night
  1. "Falling"
    Released: 1990
  2. "Rockin' Back Inside My Heart"
    Released: 1990

Background

Filmmaker David Lynch and composer Angelo Badalamenti's collaboration with Cruise first came about during the scoring for Lynch's 1986 film Blue Velvet, in which a key scene was intended to feature This Mortal Coil's version of "Song to the Siren" by Tim Buckley. With the rights to the song proving prohibitively expensive, it was suggested that Badalamenti compose a pop song in the same style and recruit a vocalist with a haunting, ethereal voice. Badalamenti recommended Cruise, who had sung in a New York theater workshop Badalamenti had produced. The result was the track "Mysteries of Love". Lynch and Badalamenti were impressed with the results, and elected to record subsequent tracks with Cruise.[1]

Composition

Floating into the Night was produced and written by Badalamenti and Lynch; Badalamenti composed the music and Lynch wrote the lyrics.[2] Cruise initially regarded herself as "a Broadway belter" and had a reputation for letting "angry and aggressive emotions power her work," but Lynch "felt that Cruise had a 'soft, sad side'" and encouraged her to sing in a softer tone and in a higher register; Cruise's vocal style on Floating into the Night has been often regarded as "ethereal"[3] and drawn comparisons to Elizabeth Fraser on the earlier releases by the Cocteau Twins.[1][4] Cruise's vocals on Floating into the Night feature heavy use of digital reverb.[5] Early recording sessions were difficult until Cruise heard her vocals treated with effects, upon which she recognized that Badalamenti was creating "mood pieces," and also took to Lynch's lyrics.[1] Nonetheless, she expressed concern about the album's sound, stating that:

I wasn't quite sure how the hell we were going to pull it off. One night I played some demos for my husband's friend and his wife, and she said, "white wine Muzak." Aaaahh! I took it home for Christmas — and everyone in my family hated it. They were like, "What are you singing about?" One of my lawyers at the time said, "This is a novelty." I said, "Like Tiny Tim?"

According to Lynch, 40 songs were written for the album in total, with the final track listing including 10 tracks.[6] Badalamenti noted that "when [the album] came out, radio stations said they had no slots for it. Is it pop? Not really. Is it R&B? Certainly not. What is it? Even the more avant-garde stations found it unusual, so it was difficult getting airplay."[1] Floating into the Night has been characterized as a dream pop album,[1][7] with heavy elements of jazz and traditional jazz instrumentation;[8][9] Rolling Stone considered Floating into the Night as a definitive development of the dream pop sound, describing how the album "added depth to [the genre]" and "gave the genre its synthy sheen", particularly on the track "Mysteries of Love".[1]

Release

Floating into the Night was released on September 12, 1989 on Warner Bros. Records,[7] although the album was originally set for release in late April.[8] It was originally issued on CD, LP and cassette,[10] and it has since been reissued on several occasions. The album received a CD reissue in Europe in October 1998,[11] a 180-gram LP repressing by Plain Recordings in the United States in October 2014 and a separate 180-gram LP repressing by Music on Vinyl in Europe in February 2015.[12][13]

Two singles were released from the album: "Falling" and "Rockin' Back Inside My Heart",[14] both of which are featured in the television series Twin Peaks. In addition to the album's two singles, a number of other tracks from Floating into the Night appeared in Twin Peaks, including "Into the Night", "The Nightingale" and "The World Spins". "Mysteries of Love" had been previously featured in David Lynch's 1986 film Blue Velvet;[15] "Rockin' Back Inside My Heart", "Into the Night", "I Float Alone" and "The World Spins" were performed in the 1990 Lynch production Industrial Symphony No. 1;[16] and "The World Spins" is featured on the soundtrack to the 2003 film The Company.[17]

Lynch's lyrics on Floating into the Night have been the subject of analysis, especially from fans and academic studies of Twin Peaks—a television series he co-created and in which several songs from the album are featured. Academic The Cinema of David Lynch: American Dreams, Nightmare Visions Richardson said that Cruise's considerable use of reverb sound as if she sings "from a distance that clearly parallels the distance between the other world that [Twin Peaks character] Laura Palmer has fallen into and the primary diegetic world of the other characters"; he considered the lyrics to "Falling"—an instrumental version of which was used as the theme song to the series—as "reinforc[ing] this impression since they can easily be understood as representing Laura's point of view".[5] Cruise, however, considers Lynch's lyrics to have been written about his then-partner, Italian actress and model Isabella Rossellini.[3]

Reception

Critical response
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
Chicago Sun-Times[18]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[19]
Orlando Sentinel[20]
Q[21]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[22]
The Village VoiceB−[23]

Upon its release Floating into the Night received widespread critical acclaim.[24] However, the album garnered a mixed review from The Village Voice editor Robert Christgau, who said that "when admirers claim [Cruise] sounds best in a dark room at three in the morning, I wonder whether she puts them to sleep too."[23] A short feature article in Spin was more positive, referring to the album as being "like a dark movie with no film footage, just a haunting voice, bizarre dialogue and vivid atmospherics" and describing Cruise's vocals as "scary" and "beautiful".[25] Q included Floating into the Night in its year-end list of the "50 Best Albums of 1990", receiving a four-out-of-five-star rating,[21] however, in the 1992 Rolling Stone Album Guide the album was received less favorably and awarded a two-out-of-five-star rating.[22]

Writing a retrospective review for AllMusic, Ned Raggett referred to Floating into the Night as "more or less [the] unofficial soundtrack [to] Twin Peaks" and added that "the combination of Cruise's sweet, light tones, Lynch's surprisingly affecting lyrics … and Angelo Badalamenti's combination of retro styles and modern ambience, is a winner throughout. The feeling is one of a 50s jukebox suddenly plunged into a time warp, dressed with extra sparkle and with a just-sleepy-enough, narcotic feeling."[7] In 2010 Pitchfork included "Falling" at number 146 on its staff list of "The Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s"; Tom Ewing said that "[the song] catches you with its dreamy, echo-drenched gentility—like Les Paul and Mary Ford inventing shoegaze in 1961—and inside is one of the decade's simplest and warmest love songs."[26] In 2013 Fact included the album at number 25 on its list of "The 100 Best Albums of the 1980s".[27]

Commercial performance

Following the breakout success of Twin Peaks, Floating into the Night peaked at number 74 on the US Billboard 200 on June 30, 1990,[28] nine months after its release. In 1991 the album placed in several international album charts, peaking at number 21 on the Australian Albums Chart[29] number 11 on the New Zealand Albums Chart and number 36 on the Swedish Albums Chart.[30][31]

Despite not placing in the United Kingdom's albums chart, Floating into the Night's lead single "Falling" reached the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 7 and spending 12 weeks in total on the chart;[32] "Falling" was also a moderate commercial success in several international territories, peaking in the Top 10 singles charts in Ireland,[33] Norway, Sweden, and reaching the number one spot in Australia.[34] In February 2012 Floating into the Night was certified Silver in the UK, with 60,000 units shipped.[35]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by David Lynch; all music is composed by Angelo Badalamenti.

No.TitleLength
1."Floating"4:51
2."Falling"5:45
3."I Remember"4:11
4."Rockin' Back Inside My Heart"5:45
5."Mysteries of Love"4:27
6."Into the Night"4:42
7."I Float Alone"4:33
8."The Nightingale"4:54
9."The Swan"2:28
10."The World Spins"6:38
Total length:47:56

Personnel

All personnel credits adapted from Floating into the Night's album notes.[2]

Charts and certifications

References
  1. Grow, Kory (July 25, 2014). "Dream Team: The Semi-Mysterious Story Behind the Music of 'Twin Peaks'". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
  2. Floating into the Night (Album notes). Julee Cruise. Warner Bros. Records. 1989. 925 859-1.CS1 maint: others (link)
  3. Olson, Greg (2008). David Lynch: Beautiful Dark. Plymouth: Scarecrow Press. p. 586. ISBN 978-0-8108-5917-3.
  4. McKenna, Kristine (August 20, 1989). "A Real Multi-Media Kind of Guy: David Lynch, artist in many forms, tells his tales of Hollywood after 'Blue Velvet'". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Publishing. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
  5. Richardson, John (2004). "Laura and Twin Peaks: Postmodern Paraody and the Musical Reconstruction of the Absent Femme Fatale". In Sheen, Erica; Davison, Annette (eds.). The Cinema of David Lynch: American Dreams, Nightmare Visions. London: Wallflower Press. pp. 88–89. ISBN 978-1-9033-6485-7.
  6. Barney, Richard A.; Lynch, David (2009). David Lynch: Interviews. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi. p. 122. ISBN 978-1-6047-3236-8.
  7. Raggett, Ned. "Floating into the Night – Julee Cruise | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved September 19, 2012.
  8. Staff writer(s) (April 1989). "Talking All That Jazz". Spin. Camouflage Associates. p. 24.
  9. Robins, Ira A., ed. (1991). The Trouser Press Album Guide (4th ed.). Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. p. 160. ISBN 978-0-0203-6361-3.
  10. "Floating into the Night – Julee Cruise | Releases". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
  11. Floating into the Night (Album notes). Julee Cruise. Warner Bros. Records. 1998. 7599-25859-2.CS1 maint: others (link)
  12. Staff writer(s) (November 10, 2014). "Julee Cruise's Angelo Badalamenti and David Lynch-produced Floating into the Night reissued on vinyl". Fact. The Vinyl Factory. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
  13. "Julee Cruise – Floating into the Night – Catalog". Music on Vinyl. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
  14. "Julee Cruise | Discography". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  15. Lynch, David; Rodley, Chris (2005). Lynch on Lynch (Revised ed.). New York: Faber and Faber. p. 132. ISBN 978-0-5712-2018-2.
  16. Badalamenti, Angelo; Lynch, David (1990). Industrial Symphony No. 1 (VHS). Warner Reprise Video. 38179-3.
  17. "The Company [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  18. McLeese, Don (September 25, 1989). "Julee Cruise, 'Floating into the Night' (Warner Bros.)". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on March 12, 2017. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
  19. Larkin, Colin (2009). "Cruise, Julee". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-199-72636-3. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
  20. Henderson, Bill (October 5, 1990). "Angelo Badalamenti, Julee Cruise". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
  21. Staff writer(s) (January 1991). "The 50 Best Albums of 1990". Q. EMAP.
  22. DeCurtis, Anthony; Henke, James; George-Warren, Holly, eds. (1992). The Rolling Stone Album Guide: The Definitive Guide to the Best of Rock, Pop, Rap, Jazz, Blues, Country, Soul, Folk & Gospel (3rd ed.). Ann Arbor: Random House. p. 171. ISBN 978-0-6797-3729-2.
  23. Christgau, Robert (November 28, 1989). "Consumer Guide: Turkey Shoot". The Village Voice. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  24. Jones, Dylan (2012). The Biographical Dictionary of Popular Music: From Adele to Ziggy, the Real A to Z of Rock and Roll. London: Bedford Square Books. p. 202. ISBN 978-1-4804-4872-8.
  25. Cohen, Scott (November 1989). "A Stranger Calling". Spin. Camouflage Associates. p. 16.
  26. Ewing, Tom (August 31, 2010). "Staff Lists: The Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s: 150-101 | Features". Pitchfork. Condé Nast. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  27. Lea, Tom; Morpurgo, Joseph; Kelly, Chris; et al. (June 24, 2013). "The 100 Best Albums of the 1980s". Fact. The Vinyl Factory. Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  28. "Julee Cruise – Chart history". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on March 18, 2015. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  29. "Julee Cruise – Floating Into the Night". australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  30. "Julee Cruise – Floating Into the Night". charts.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  31. "Julee Cruise – Floating Into the Night". swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  32. "Julee Cruise | Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
  33. "Search the charts". irishcharts.ie. Irish Recorded Music Association. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved August 6, 2016. N.B. User must define search parameters. Enter either "Julee Cruise" into Search by Artist and click search, or enter "Falling" into Search by Song Title and click search.
  34. "Julee Cruise – Falling (Theme from Twin Peaks)". Hitparade (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
  35. "Certified Awards". British Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original on February 6, 2013. Retrieved February 18, 2012. N.B. User must define search parameters. Enter "Floating into the Night" into Keywords, select "Title" from Search by and click Go. For more accurate results check Exact match.
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