Call Off the Search
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Template:Album infobox Call Off the Search is the debut album by UK jazz and blues singer Katie Melua, released in 2003 (see 2003 in music).
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Making of the album
British songwriter, producer and arranger signed Katie Melua to his Dramatico recording and management label after she performed at a showcase at the Brit School for the Perfoming 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 by herself, Batt, John Mayall, Randy Newman and James Shelton's "Lilac Wine". "Faraway Voice", one of Melua's compositions was written about Eva Cassidy who many people have compared Melua to.
Chart Success
Call Off the Search was released in the UK on November 3, 2003. It became an immediate hit reaching #1 on the UK album chart in January 2004 and the top 20 of the Australian album charts in June 2004. The first single "The Closest Thing to Crazy" written by Batt has reached top 5 in Ireland, top 10 in the UK, Top 20 in Norway, top 30 in a composite European chart and top 50 in Australia. The second single, a cover of Mayall's "Crawling Up A Hill", was top 20 on a composite world jazz tracks chart as of early July and was released on 18 July, 2004 as the second single in the UK. In the UK, the album had sold 1.2 million copies within its first five months of release making it 4X platinum and spending 6 weeks at the top of the charts.
Track listing
- "Call Off the Search" (Mike Batt) - 3:24
- "Crawling Up a Hill" (John Mayall) - 3:25
- "The Closest Thing to Crazy" (Batt) - 4:12
- "My Aphrodisiac Is You" (Batt) - 3:34
- "Learnin' the Blues" (Delores J. Silver) - 3:23
- "Blame It on the Moon" (Batt) - 3:47
- "Belfast (Penguins and Cats)" (Katie Melua) - 3:21
- "I Think It's Going to Rain Today" (Randy Newman) - 2:30
- "Mockingbird Song" (Batt) - 3:06
- "Tiger in the Night" (Batt) - 3:07
- "Faraway Voice" (Melua) - 3:13
- "Lilac Wine" (James Alan Shelton) - 6:42
Personnel
- Katie Melua - guitar, vocals
- Mike Batt - organ, piano, conductor
- Jim Cregan - guitar
- Tim Harries - bass
- Irish Film Orchestra - orchestra
- Michael Kruk - drums
- Alan Smale - leader
- Chris Spedding - guitar
- Henry Spinetti - drums
Production
- Producer: Mike Batt
- Engineer: Steve Sale
- Arranger: Mike Batt
- Photography: Simon Fowler
- Cover photo: Michael Halsband
Charts
Album - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Top Contemporary Jazz | 3 |
External links
- Katie Melua web site (http://www.katiemelua.com/)