Equally Cursed and Blessed

Equally Cursed and Blessed is the third studio album by Welsh band Catatonia, released in April 1999 via Blanco y Negro Records. It reached number one in the UK Album Chart, and three singles were released from it: "Dead from the Waist Down", "Londinium" and "Karaoke Queen".

Equally Cursed and Blessed
Studio album by
Catatonia
Released12 April 1999
Recorded1998–1999
StudioMonnow Valley (Monmouth, Wales)
GenrePop, rock
Length44:49
LabelBlanco y Negro
ProducerTommyD and Catatonia
Catatonia chronology
International Velvet
(1998)		 Equally Cursed and Blessed
(1999)		 The Crai-EPs 1993/1994
(1999)
Singles from Equally Cursed and Blessed
  1. "Dead from the Waist Down"
    Released: 29 March 1999
  2. "Londinium"
    Released: 12 July 1999
  3. "Karaoke Queen"
    Released: 1 November 1999
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Alternative Press3/5[2]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[3]
The Guardian[4]
The Independent[5]
NME6/10[6]
Rolling Stone[7]
Select4/5[8]
Spin5/10[9]
Uncut[10]

Recording

While touring in the United States following the success of their second studio album, International Velvet, Catatonia recorded sample demos onto a DPS12 hard disk recorder in their tour bus upon the recommendation of their producer, TommyD.[11] They returned to the Monnow Valley Studio in Monmouth, Wales,[12] where they had recorded the previous album,[13] to record Equally Cursed and Blessed.[12]

Release and promotion

The album was announced in January 1999; the title taken from a line in the song "She's a Millionaire". The first single, "Dead from the Waist Down" was released on 29 March 1999, with the album released on 12 April.[14][15] This repeated the release schedule used for International Velvet, which had been preceded by "Mulder and Scully" by the same period of time.[16]

Equally Cursed and Blessed faced competition from ABBA's 1992 compilation album Gold: Greatest Hits for the number one spot on the UK Album Chart, as the ABBA album had re-charted due to the success of the Mamma Mia! musical featuring the band's songs. But by midweek, the Catatonia album was 15,000 sales ahead and it went on to secure the top place in the chart.[17][18] At the time, all three Catatonia studio albums were in the top 40.[18] Equally Cursed and Blessed went on to be certificated platinum by the British Phonographic Industry showing at least 300,000 copies sold.[19] The American release of the album saw two tracks from International Velvet added, including "Road Rage".[20]

Singles

The album spawned one top-10 single, "Dead from the Waist Down", which reached number seven.[17] The band had intended to release "Karaoke Queen" as the follow-up, but were overruled by the record label and they were forced to release "Londinium" on 12 July 1999 instead.[21] This angered lead singer Cerys Matthews, as did the expense of the video for the single which had cost more than Equally Cursed and Blessed took to make.[22] "Londinium" failed to reach the top ten, placing at number 20. "Karaoke Queen" was released as the third single on 1 November 1999 but stalled at number 36.[17][23] "Nothing Hurts" was slated to be the fourth single release from the album but was shelved following the low chart placement of "Karaoke Queen".[24] For the release of the "Make Hay Not War: The Blanco Y Negro Years" boxset, released on Cherry Red, in 2023, the song "Karaoke Queen" was removed from the reissue of this album at the band's request.

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Dead from the Waist Down"Mark Roberts, Catatonia4:16
2."Londinium"Roberts, Catatonia4:36
3."Post Script"Cerys Matthews, Roberts, Catatonia4:56
4."She's a Millionaire"Roberts, Catatonia4:22
5."Storm the Palace"Mark Roberts, Catatonia2:38
6."Karaoke Queen (later removed from 2023)"Matthews, Catatonia5:06
7."Bulimic Beats"Matthews, Catatonia3:43
8."Valerian"Matthews, Catatonia4:21
9."Shoot the Messenger"Matthews, Paul Jones, Catatonia3:58
10."Nothing Hurts"Owen Powell, Catatonia3:11
11."Dazed, Beautiful and Bruised"Powell, Catatonia3:42
US release bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
12."Road Rage"5:10
13."Mulder and Scully"4:10
14."Road Rage" (Enhanced video)4:18
Bonus one-sided 7" included with LP release
No.TitleLength
1."Nothing Hurts (live)"3:29
2015 reissue bonus disc[25]
No.TitleLength
1."Nothing Hurts" (live)3:29
2."Dead from the Waist Down" (radio edit)3:40
3."Branding a Mountain"1:57
4."Bad Bad Boy"2:49
5."Intercontinental Sigh"2:56
6."Apathy Revolution"4:20
7."Karaoke Queen" (remix)4:17
8."Don't Wanna Talk About It"3:35
9."Karaoke Queen" (remix edit)3:48
10."Karaoke Queen" (remix edit) (karaoke version)3:48
11."Dead from the Waist Down" (karaoke version)3:51

Personnel

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[31] Platinum 300,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Notes
  1. Damas, Jason. "Equally Cursed and Blessed – Catatonia". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 July 2009.
  2. "Catatonia: Equally Cursed and Blessed". Alternative Press (142): 80. May 2000.
  3. Brunner, Rob (31 March 2000). "Equally Cursed and Blessed". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
  4. Sullivan, Caroline (9 April 1999). "Catatonia: Equally Cursed and Blessed (Blanco Y Negro)". The Guardian. p. 19.
  5. Perry, Tim (17 April 1999). "Pop: Album Reviews". The Independent. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  6. Beaumont, Mark (8 April 1999). "Catatonia – Equally Cursed And Blessed". NME. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  7. Lechner, Ernesto (13 April 2000). "Catatonia: Equally Cursed and Blessed". Rolling Stone. p. 124. Archived from the original on 26 December 2007. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  8. Perry, Andrew (May 1999). "Beyond good and evil". Select (107): 80.
  9. Wolk, Douglas (May 2000). "Catatonia: Equally Cursed and Blessed / Broadcast: The Noise Made by People". Spin. 16 (5): 160–62. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  10. Stephen, Dalton (May 1999). "What's new, pussycat?". Uncut. No. 24. p. 78.
  11. "TOMMY D: Recording Catatonia's 'Dead From The Waist Down'". Sound on Sound. May 1999. Archived from the original on 12 April 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  12. Owens 2000, p. 213.
  13. Owens 2000, pp. 167.
  14. "New Releases – For Week Starting 29 March, 1999: Singles". Music Week. 27 March 1999. p. 23.
  15. Bychawski, Adam (25 January 1999). "Catatonia: Kung Fu and Curses". NME. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
  16. Owens 2000, p. 189.
  17. "Catatonia". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  18. Owens 2000, p. 229.
  19. "Certified Awards – Certification Levels". BPI. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  20. Jenkins, Mark (29 March 2000). "Catatonia: Time to Wake America". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 5 May 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2016 – via HighBeam Research.
  21. "New Releases – For Week Starting 12 July, 1999: Singles". Music Week. 10 July 1999. p. 23.
  22. Bychawski, Adam (29 June 1999). "Cerys: We Hate 'Londinium'". NME. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
  23. "New Releases – For Week Starting 1 November, 1999: Singles". Music Week. 30 October 1999. p. 33.
  24. Owens 2000, p. 258.
  25. "Equally Cursed And Blessed". Demon Music Group. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  26. "Australiancharts.com – Catatonia – Equally Cursed And Blessed". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  27. "Charts.nz – Catatonia – Equally Cursed And Blessed". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  28. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  29. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  30. "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 1999". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  31. "British album certifications – Catatonia – Equally Cursed And Blessed". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 12 December 2020.

References
  • Owens, David (2000). Cerys, Catatonia and the Rise of Welsh Pop. London: Ebury Publishing. ISBN 978-0-0918-7412-4.
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