Deconstruction (Meredith Brooks album)

1999 studio album by Meredith Brooks
Deconstruction
Studio album by
Meredith Brooks
ReleasedSeptember 28, 1999 (1999-09-28)
Recordedc. 1998–1999
GenreAlternative rock
Length50:14
LabelCapitol
Producer
  • David Darling
  • Meredith Brooks
  • Paul Fox
Meredith Brooks chronology
See It through My Eyes
(1997) 		Deconstruction
(1999) 		Bad Bad One
(2002)
Singles from Deconstruction
  1. "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)"
    Released: August 24, 1999[1]
  2. "Shout"
    Released: Q1 2000[2]

Deconstruction is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Meredith Brooks. It was released on September 28, 1999, by Capitol Records. Following the album's disappointing commercial reception, Brooks was dropped from the record label.

Recording

Unlike her involvement with Meredith Brooks (1986) and Blurring the Edges (1997), Brooks sought to take more control over the compositions on Deconstruction. With the exception of "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)", Brooks wrote or co-wrote and played lead guitar on every song on the album, in addition to co-producing the album with David Darling. Thematically, Brooks claims that the material on Deconstruction was a direct reaction to her experiences with the success of "Bitch". She explained: "The new album is about deconstructing everything, letting people know that I'm not just any one thing."[3]

Release and promotion

Deconstruction was released on September 28, 1999. Prior to the album's release, Brooks released rough mixes of several album tracks on her official website. There are two unreleased songs from these sessions titled Deconstruction and Strangely Erotic.[4] Fans had the opportunity to vote for their favorite songs and discuss the then-upcoming album with Brooks on the site's message board.[5]

In an effort to promote the album, Brooks opened for the Eurythmics on their Peace Tour (1999).[6]

Two singles were released from the album. The first was a cover version of Melanie's Lay Down (Candles In The Rain), which also featured Queen Latifah.

The second single, "Shout," was written by Brooks, and included references to pop culture events at the time, such as the scandal between Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky, as well as the Y2K scare. It was featured on the February 2000 in-store playlist at Abercrombie & Fitch.[7]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
Entertainment WeeklyC+[9]
Los Angeles Times[10]

Tom Demalon of AllMusic referred to the album as "another pleasant if somewhat derivative helping of adult rock [from Brooks]." Demalon highlighted "Nobody's Home" and "I Said" as the standout tracks from the album.[8] Beth Johnson of Entertainment Weekly remarked that the album starts off strong with "Shout," before delving into "sound-alikes of Sheryl Crow, late-'90s Madonna, and (oh so annoyingly) Blondie's rap."[9]

Commercial performance

In the United States, Deconstruction was considered a commercial disappointment in comparison to Brooks' previous effort, Blurring the Edges. Deconstruction failed to chart on the Billboard 200 chart and the album only sold approximately 20,000 units over two months after release.[11]

Track listing

– Standard edition[12]No.TitleWriter(s)Length1."Shout"Brooks3:542."Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)" (featuring Queen Latifah)
  • Melanie Safka
  • Queen Latifah
4:373."I Have Everything"Brooks4:054."Cosmic Woo Woo"
  • Brooks
  • Larry Dvoskin
3:365."Nobody's Home"5:126."All for Nothing"4:437."I Said It"
  • Brooks
  • Nowels
3:238."Back to Eden"
  • Brooks
  • Nowels
3:529."Bored with Myself"
  • Brooks
  • Peiken
3:4510."Careful What You Wish For"
4:2711."Sin City"Brooks4:3712."Back to Nowhere"Brooks4:03Total length:50:14
Deconstruction – Japanese edition (bonus track)[13]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Little Slice"
  • Brooks
  • Dvoskin
3:25
Total length:53:39

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of Deconstruction.[12]

Production
  • Paul Fox – producer
  • Jeff Tomei – engineering
  • Mark Needham – mixing
  • Tom Weir – engineering
  • John Bogosian – engineering
  • David Bryant – assistant engineer
  • Michael Parnell – assistant engineer
  • Chris Lord-Alge – mixing
  • Matt Silva – mixing assistant
  • Steve Genewick – mixing assistant
  • Doug Sax – mastering

Instruments
  • Meredith Brooks – guitars
  • Rob Ladd – drums
  • Paul Bushnell – drums, bass
  • Michael Parnell – keyboards
  • David Darling – percussion, keyboards, bass
  • Paul Trudeau – percussion, keyboards, piano
  • Crenshaw High School Elite Choir – background vocals
  • Mark Meadows – bass
  • Matt Laug – drums
  • David Faragher – bass
  • Arlen Shirebaum – keyboards
  • Denny Fongheiser – drums
  • Rami Jaffe – keyboards

Charts

Weekly chart performance for Deconstruction
Chart (1999) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[14] 42
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[15] 95
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[16] 30

Notes

  1. ^ "Going for Adds". Radio & Records. No. 1313. August 20, 1999. p. 112.
  2. ^ "New Releases". Radio & Records. No. 1326. November 19, 1999. p. 66.
  3. ^ Taylor, Chuck (November 6, 1999). "Brooks' New Capitol Set 'Deconstruction' Redefines the 'Edges' of Her Past Image". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 45. p. 88.
  4. ^ "Meredith Brooks Unreleased Songs". Archived from the original on August 30, 2000. Retrieved December 21, 2023.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. ^ "Brooks to Preview Songs Online". MTV News. June 2, 1999. Archived from the original on April 16, 2019. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  6. ^ "Meredith Brooks to Open for Eurythmics". MTV News. November 3, 1999. Archived from the original on September 18, 2020. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
  7. ^ "Abercrombie & Fitch: January 2000 - October 2008 Playlists". April 1, 2014. Archived from the original on April 1, 2014. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
  8. ^ a b Tom Demalon. "Deconstruction – Meredith Brooks". AllMusic. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
  9. ^ a b Johnson, Beth (October 15, 1999). "Deconstruction Review". Entertainment Weekly. No. 507. Archived from the original on June 23, 2011. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
  10. ^ Nichols, Natalie (September 26, 1999). "In Brief". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
  11. ^ Morris, Chris (November 20, 1999). "EMI Counts on Lott to Revive Capitol's Fortunes". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 47. p. 124.
  12. ^ a b Deconstruction (CD liner notes). Meredith Brooks. Capitol Records. 1999. CDP 7243 8 56207 0 6.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  13. ^ Deconstruction (CD liner notes). Meredith Brooks. Capitol Records. 1999. TOCP-65290.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  14. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Meredith Brooks – Deconstruction" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
  15. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Meredith Brooks – Deconstruction" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
  16. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Meredith Brooks – Deconstruction". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
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