Life in a Beautiful Light

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Life in a Beautiful Light
Amy Macdonald - Life in a Beautiful Light.jpg
Studio album by Amy Macdonald
Released 11 June 2012 (2012-06-11)
Genre Pop rock, soft rock
Label Melodramatic, Mercury, Vertigo
Producer Pete Wilkinson
Amy Macdonald chronology
A Curious Thing
(2010)A Curious Thing2010
Life in a Beautiful Light
(2012)
Singles from Life in a Beautiful Light
  1. "Slow It Down"
    Released: 20 April 2012
  2. "Pride"
    Released: 13 August 2012
  3. "4th of July"
    Released: 22 October 2012
Deluxe version cover

Life in a Beautiful Light is the third album by Scottish singer-songwriter Amy Macdonald, released on 11 June 2012.[1] The lead single is "Slow It Down" and was released on 20 April 2012. Macdonald's official website confirmed the album for release on 13 April 2012. The track listing was confirmed on Universal Music's store on the same day.[2]

Background

Macdonald began to write Life in a Beautiful Light after having a "lovely year off" following touring in support of A Curious Thing. Macdonald had no time to write songs on her second album as she was touring with This Is the Life. However, Macdonald said she felt that the creation of Life in a Beautiful Light was a more natural process.[3] Two songs from Life in a Beautiful Light were begun before Macdonald's break. "In the End" was written with Macdonald questioning herself whether being a musician was a worthwhile occupation.[3]

Macdonald wrote "Human Spirit" inspired by the Chilean miners' rescue.[3]

Reception

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 60/100[4]
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 3/5 stars[5]
Daily Express 3/5 stars[6]
Hot Press 3/5 stars[7]
musicOMH 3/5 stars[8]
Sputnikmusic 3/5 stars[9]
The Scotsman 2/5 stars[10]
The Tech 4/5 stars[11]

The album up to now has gathered mixed reviews, earning a collective score of 5.1 out of 10 at AnyDecentMusic?.[12] The Upcoming described the album as a "strong return from Macdonald, interweaving her distinctive voice with splashing cymbals and burbling electronica, but still intermittently flirting with folky affectations".[13] The album received 60/100 on Metacritic, a review aggregator website, signifying "mixed or average reviews".[4]

Chart performance

On 14 June 2012 Life in a Beautiful Light entered the Irish Albums Chart at number 5, making it her highest charting album in Ireland. On 17 June 2012 the album entered the UK Albums Chart at number 2, making it the second highest charting album that week, only beaten by Gary Barlow's album Sing. Only 1,000 copies separated the top three albums.[14] The album fared better in Scotland, where it debuted at number one.

Singles

  • "Slow It Down" was released as the lead single from the album on 20 April 2012. The song was a modest hit in Europe, charting at forty-five in the UK, fifty-six in Austria, fifty in Switzerland and forty in Germany.
  • "Pride" was released as the second single from the album on 13 August 2012.
  • "4th of July" was released as the third single from the album on 22 October 2012.

Track listings

All songs written by Amy Macdonald

Standard edition

No. Title Length
1. "4th of July"   3:48
2. "Pride"   3:22
3. "Slow It Down"   3:52
4. "The Furthest Star"   3:29
5. "The Game"   4:24
6. "Across the Nile"   3:19
7. "The Days of Being Young and Free"   4:09
8. "Left That Body Long Ago"   4:49
9. "Life in a Beautiful Light"   4:35
10. "Human Spirit"   2:06
11. "The Green and the Blue"   3:53
12. "In the End / Two Worlds" (hidden track) 8:05

Deluxe edition

No. Title Length
1. "4th of July"   3:48
2. "Pride"   3:22
3. "Slow It Down"   3:52
4. "The Furthest Star"   3:29
5. "The Game"   4:24
6. "Across the Nile"   3:19
7. "The Days of Being Young and Free"   4:09
8. "Left That Body Long Ago"   4:49
9. "Life in a Beautiful Light"   4:35
10. "Human Spirit"   2:06
11. "The Green and the Blue"   3:53
12. "In the End"   3:52
13. "Slow It Down" (acoustic version) 3:46
14. "The Furthest Star" (acoustic version) 3:07
15. "The Green and the Blue" (acoustic version) 2:50
16. "Across the Nile" (acoustic version; iTunes exclusive) 3:10
17. "4th of July" (acoustic version) 3:03
18. "Slow It Down" (singalong instrumental version) 3:56
19. "4th of July" (singalong instrumental version) 3:48
20. "Pride" (singalong instrumental version) 3:24
21. "Two Worlds" (hidden track) 3:52

Super deluxe box set

A super deluxe box set was also released that contains:[2]

  • Standard edition of the album
  • Bonus CD: A selection of acoustic versions, and singalong instrumentals
  • DVD-5 acoustic versions live
  • 2 litho artwork numbered prints
  • Sheet music for "Slow It Down"

Charts and certifications

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Germany (BVMI)[35] Platinum 200,000
Poland (ZPAV)[36] Gold 10,000
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[37] Platinum 30,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[38] Gold 100,000

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

References

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  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Biography — Amy Macdonald
  4. 4.0 4.1 Life in a Beautiful Light Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More - Metacritic
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  13. Album review: Amy Macdonald — Life In A Beautiful Light | The Upcoming
  14. Gary Barlow pips Amy MacDonald and Usher to Number 1 in albums chart race. Official Charts Company
  15. Saturn - Musik-Download
  16. Life In A Beautiful Light by Amy Macdonald on Spotify
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  33. 33.0 33.1 ultratop.be - ULTRATOP BELGIAN CHARTS
  34. http://hitparade.ch/year.asp?key=2012
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External links