Let It Die (album)

Let It Die is the second studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Feist. It was recorded in Paris during 2002 and 2003 and released in 2004. The album combines jazz, bossa nova and indie rock.

Let It Die
Studio album by
Feist
ReleasedMay 18, 2004 (Canada)
July 12, 2004 (UK)[1]
Length45:10
Label
ProducerRenaud Letang
Feist chronology
Monarch (Lay Your Jewelled Head Down)
(1999)		 Let It Die
(2004)		 Open Season
(2006)
Canadian cover

Background

Let It Die was welcomed as one of the best Canadian pop albums of 2004. It was nominated for three Juno Awards in 2005, and won two: Best Alternative Album and Best New Artist. A track from the album, "Inside and Out", was nominated as Single of the Year in the 2006 Juno Awards. In 2012, NOW Magazine ranked Let It Die at No. 4 on list of The 50 Best Toronto Albums Ever.[2]

Let It Die has attracted a significant international audience. The album was originally divided into original compositions on the first half and cover versions on the second, though a reissue later in 2004 added a further original composition as the penultimate track.

The single "Mushaboom" is a pun on sh-Boom as a refrain, and the Mushaboom, the Canadian coastal community east of Halifax, Nova Scotia, the province where Feist was born. The song was used in a Lacoste commercial.

Composition

Music and lyrics

Barry Walters of Rolling Stone likened Feist's vocals on the album to "the jazz tingle of Peggy Lee", and her melodicism to Tin Pan Alley.[3] Walters also believed Let It Die to draw influence from chamber pop, chill-out, postmodern folk, and Burt Bacharach, and described the album as "indie lounge pop".[3]

Let It Die contains elements of folk, bossa nova, and indie rock.[4]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
The Austin Chronicle[6]
The Boston Phoenix[7]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[8]
The Guardian[9]
The Irish Times[10]
Pitchfork8.1/10[11]
PopMatters8/10[12]
Rolling Stone[3]
Uncut8/10[13]

MacKenzie Wilson of AllMusic gave praise to the various production choices on the tracks and the vocal work over it, saying that "[S]he's playful with her design and the overall composition flows nicely. Feist has varied styles and sounds just right, and that's what makes Let It Die the secret treasure that it is."[5] Barry Walters, writing for Rolling Stone, also lauded praise for the album's eclectic genre and vocal dynamics, saying that "Feist proves she's a modern gal with a sparse yet varied sound that draws from chamber pop, chill-out, postmodern folk, Burt Bacharach and beyond."[3]

At the 2017 Polaris Music Prize, the album won the public vote for the Heritage Prize in the 1996–2005 category.[14]

Track listing
Canadian version on Arts & Crafts
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Gatekeeper"Feist, Gonzales2:16
2."Mushaboom"Feist3:44
3."Let It Die"Feist2:55
4."One Evening"Feist3:36
5."Leisure Suite"Feist, Gonzales4:07
6."L'amour ne dure pas toujours"Françoise Hardy3:16
7."Lonely Lonely"music by Tony Scherr, lyrics by Feist4:10
8."When I Was a Young Girl"traditional, inspired by Texas Gladden3:08
9."Secret Heart"Ron Sexsmith3:49
10."Inside and Out"Barry Gibb, Maurice Gibb, Robin Gibb4:17
11."Now at Last"Bob Haymes3:16
US/UK version on Interscope
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Gatekeeper"Feist, Gonzales2:16
2."Mushaboom"Feist3:44
3."Let It Die"Feist2:55
4."One Evening"Feist3:36
5."Leisure Suite"Feist, Gonzales4:07
6."Lonely Lonely"music by Tony Scherr, lyrics by Feist4:10
7."When I Was a Young Girl"traditional, inspired by Texas Gladden3:08
8."Secret Heart"Ron Sexsmith3:49
9."Inside and Out"Barry Gibb, Maurice Gibb, Robin Gibb4:17
10."Tout doucement"Emile Jean Mercadier, Rene Albert Clausier2:31
11."Now at Last"Bob Haymes3:16
Australian version on Interscope
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Gatekeeper"Feist, Gonzales2:16
2."Mushaboom"Feist3:44
3."Let It Die"Feist2:55
4."One Evening"Feist3:36
5."Leisure Suite"Feist, Gonzales4:07
6."Lonely Lonely"music by Tony Scherr, lyrics by Feist4:10
7."When I Was a Young Girl"traditional, inspired by Texas Gladden3:08
8."Secret Heart"Ron Sexsmith3:49
9."Inside and Out"Barry Gibb, Maurice Gibb, Robin Gibb4:17
10."Tout doucement"Emile Jean Mercadier, Rene Albert Clausier2:31
11."Now at Last"Bob Haymes3:16
12."Gatekeeper" (full mix)Feist2:43
13."Lover's Spit" (live on XFM)Broken Social Scene7:35
Interscope deluxe edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Gatekeeper"Feist, Gonzales2:16
2."Mushaboom"Feist3:44
3."Let It Die"Feist2:55
4."One Evening"Feist3:36
5."Leisure Suite"Feist, Gonzales4:07
6."Lonely Lonely"music by Tony Scherr, lyrics by Feist4:10
7."When I Was a Young Girl"traditional, inspired by Texas Gladden3:08
8."Secret Heart"Ron Sexsmith3:49
9."Inside and Out"Barry Gibb, Maurice Gibb, Robin Gibb4:17
10."Tout doucement"Emile Jean Mercadier, Rene Albert Clausier2:31
11."Now at Last"Bob Haymes3:16
12."Amourissima"Gonzales, Feist, Pierre Grillet3:27
13."L'Amour ne dure pas toujours"Françoise Hardy3:19

Personnel

Charts
Chart Peak
position
Austrian Albums Chart 51
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia) 47
French Albums Chart 38
German Albums Chart 92
U.S. Billboard Top Heatseekers 36

Certifications and sales
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[15] Platinum 115,000[16]
France (SNEP)[17] Gold 100,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[18] Silver 60,000‡
United States — 190,000[16]
Summaries
Worldwide — 500,000[19]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "albums: Let It Die (2004)". hmv.com. Retrieved May 4, 2012.
  2. "The 50 Best Toronto Albums Ever". NOW Magazine. Archived from the original on January 6, 2013. Retrieved January 4, 2013.
  3. Walters, Barry (July 28, 2005). "Let It Die". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
  4. Dye, David (July 25, 2005). "Feist Takes an Eclectic Turn on Her Solo Record". NPR. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  5. Wilson, MacKenzie. "Let It Die – Feist". AllMusic. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
  6. Stevens, Darcie (May 6, 2005). "Feist: Let It Die (Cherrytree / Interscope)". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  7. Donnelly, Elisabeth (May 13–19, 2005). "Feist: Let It Die (Interscope)". The Boston Phoenix. Archived from the original on August 28, 2006. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  8. Greenblatt, Leah (May 9, 2005). "Let It Die". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 18, 2017. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  9. Simpson, Dave (July 9, 2004). "Feist: Let It Die". The Guardian. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  10. Carroll, Jim (July 30, 2004). "Feist: Let It Die (Polydor France)". The Irish Times. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  11. Pytlik, Mark (July 13, 2004). "Feist: Let It Die". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
  12. Yu, Kenneth (May 10, 2005). "Feist: Let It Die". PopMatters. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  13. Anderson, Jason (June 2017). "Feist: The Path to Pleasure". Uncut (241): 18.
  14. "Tragically Hip album makes Polaris Heritage Prize list". Toronto Star, October 25, 2017.
  15. "Canadian album certifications – Feist – Let It Die". Music Canada.
  16. Thompson, Robert (June 21, 2008). "Feist's hit album a big boost for Canadian label". Reuters. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
  17. "French album certifications – Feist – Let It Die" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  18. "British album certifications – Feist – Let It Die". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
  19. Hamard, Jonathan (November 8, 2011). "Feist : trois concerts en France en mars 2012". Charts in France. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
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