Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree

Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree
Studio album by Diana Vickers
Released 30 April 2010 (2010-04-30)
Recorded March 2009 – January 2010
Studio LSL Studios, Strongroom, Untouchable Sound Studios
(London, England)
Genre
Length 47:10
Label RCA
Producer
Diana Vickers chronology
Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree
(2010)		 Music to Make Boys Cry
(2013)
Singles from Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree
  1. "Once"
    Released: 16 April 2010
  2. "The Boy Who Murdered Love"
    Released: 16 July 2010

Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree is the debut studio album by English singer and songwriter Diana Vickers. Originally set for a November 2009 release, the album was postponed due to Vickers' leading role in the West End play The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, and it was finally released on 3 May 2010 in the United Kingdom.[3]

Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree debuted atop the UK Albums Chart, selling 35,951 copies in its first week of release. In August 2010, the album was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). "Once" was released on 19 April 2010 as the lead single from the album, peaking at number one on the UK Singles Chart.

Background

Shortly after being eliminated from The X Factor in 2008, it was announced that Vickers had been signed to RCA Records and that she had begun working on her debut album. Recorded between April 2009 to January 2010, a five-track album sampler was leaked in January 2010. The track "Jumping Into Rivers" had previously been leaked in July 2009. The track listing and artwork was changed a number of times, causing delays.[4] The album title came from a track written by Chris Braide and Vickers called "The Boy Who Murdered Love", about which she later stated:

Basically, I co-wrote a song with Chris Braide called "The Boy Who Murdered Love" and there's a line in there about a tainted cherry tree and I found it very poetic. It painted imagery of the forbidden fruit and Adam and Eve and this boy that's absolutely beautiful and so tempting but so wrong for you!
— Vickers[5]

Braide also collaborated with Vickers on three other tracks, "Me & You", "Four Leaf Clover" and "N.U.M.B", which were recorded at the songwriter-producer's London studio.[6] The debut album saw Vickers work with an array of other writers and producers including Nerina Pallot, Andy Chatterley, Ellie Goulding, Cass Lowe, Savan Kotecha, Alexis Strum, Dev Hynes aka Lightspeed Champion, Guy Sigsworth and Starsmith.[7] Vickers's debut single, "Once", was co-penned by Cathy Dennis and Eg White,[8] and produced and mixed by Mike Spencer. Vickers also collaborated with Gary Lightbody, the frontman of the alternative rock band Snow Patrol.[5][9] The album contains a cover version of The Sugarcubes' 1992 song "Hit".

Singles

"Once" was released as the album's lead single on 19 April 2010. Upon its release it generated mainly positive reviews from critics, with the most positive coming from Nick Levine of Digital Spy who called it a "straight up brain-invader" with a "huge chorus" that is "hard to ignore".[10] The single achieved commercial success by topping the UK Singles Chart and debuting at number three on the Irish Singles Chart.

"The Boy Who Murdered Love" was confirmed as the second single by Vickers on Twitter on 7 May 2010.[11] The music video premiered on 2 June 2010 via the MSN video player. The song was officially released on 18 July 2010, reaching number 36 on the UK Singles Chart.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
BBC MusicMixed[12]
Digital Spy[13]
The IndependentNegative[1]
The Irish Times[14]
London Evening Standard[15]
musicOMH[16]
NME5/10[17]
The ObserverFairly negative[2]
Virgin Media[18]
Yahoo! Music[19]

Upon its release, Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree received mixed reviews from music critics. Mayer Nissim of Digital Spy stated that Vickers and her collaborators "have crafted an album that's drenched in accessible pop melodies while never sacrificing the charm and personality".[13] Kevin Courtney of The Irish Times commented that "[t]he blend of pop and indie works in her favour—and having a few catchy songs helps."[14] Johnny Dee of Virgin Media deemed it commercial but without sacrificing Vickers's "slightly eccentric charms" and noticed that it "works best [...] when it's mixing beats with folky whisperings", concluding that "[t]he girl's done great."[18] musicOMH's Ben Urdang stated that "Vickers manages to achieve a consistency throughout so that the album sits comfortably as a fluid piece of work". He went on to add that although the album is not "groundbreaking nor perfect", it is "a solid start to her recording career".[16] Mike Diver from BBC Music praised Vickers's voice for the ability to "stand out from any crowd" but was not astounded by the lyrics and the album as a whole, stating that the impression it leaves is "compromised by songwriting by committee" and noticed that it would have been "considerably improved" with "[a] little more compositional guile".[12]

Elizabeth Sankey of the NME faulted the album for its "telling lack of objectivity", adding that "if [Vickers had] concentrated on one genre, this might have been victorious."[17] The Independent's Simon Price opined that the album "consists mostly of forgettable dance pop and folktronica" and that it "doesn't stand out",[1] while Dan Gennoe of Yahoo! Music noted that it is "too busy trying to keep everyone happy to be anything other than indistinct and polite".[19] David Smyth from the London Evening Standard felt that Vickers's voice is "almost indistinguishable" from Ellie Goulding's and concluded by saying that "her songs are blander but the public seems open to a singer who will do more interesting work than this [the debut]".[15] Hugh Montgomery of The Observer felt that "despite employing indie-minded collaborators such as Ellie Goulding and Lightspeed Champion", the album was "given over to commercial box-ticking, matching generic electro-pop with the kind of tasteful balladry that suggests a Dido in-waiting."[2]

Commercial performance

Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, selling 35,951 copies in its first week.[20] The album was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on 27 August 2010, denoting shipments in excess of 100,000 copies in the United Kingdom.[21] In Ireland, the album debuted and peaked at number seven on the Irish Albums Chart.[22]

Promotion

To promote the album, Vickers went on a tour or the United Kingdom and Ireland throughout 2010.

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Once"  
Mike Spencer3:11
2."Remake Me + You"  
Sigsworth3:35
3."The Boy Who Murdered Love"  
Braide3:21
4."Four Leaf Clover"  
  • Vickers
  • Braide
Sigsworth4:11
5."Put It Back Together"  Nerina Pallot
4:04
6."You'll Never Get to Heaven"  
Starsmith4:02
7."Me & You"  
3:05
8."My Hip"  
Spencer3:24
9."N.U.M.B"  
  • Vickers
  • Braide
Braide3:59
10."Hit"  
Sigsworth3:09
11."Notice"  
  • Vickers
  • Goulding
  • Sigsworth
Sigsworth3:34
12."Jumping Into Rivers"  
  • Vickers
  • Goulding
  • Sigsworth
Sigsworth3:37
13."Chasing You"  
  • Vickers
  • Boucher
  • Sigsworth
Sigsworth4:07
Notes

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2010) Peak
position
European Albums (Billboard)[23] 4
Irish Albums (IRMA)[22] 7
Scottish Albums (OCC)[24] 2
South Korean International Albums (Gaon)[25] 60
UK Albums (OCC)[26] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (2010) Position
UK Albums (OCC)[27] 142

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[21] Gold 100,000^

Release history

Region Date Format Label Ref.
Ireland 30 April 2010
RCA [28]
United Kingdom 3 May 2010 [29]
Poland 5 July 2010 CD Sony [30]
Germany 6 August 2010
  • CD
  • digital download
 [31]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Price, Simon (1 May 2010). "Album: Diana Vickers, Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree (RCA)". The Independent. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 Montgomery, Hugh (2 May 2010). "Diana Vickers: Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree (RCA)". The Observer. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  3. ↑ Thrills, Adrian (30 April 2010). "How the Marmite girl, Diana Vickers became the toast of British pop". dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-07-03.
  4. ↑ Nissim, Mayer (29 January 2009). "Vickers, Quigg sign to RCA". Digital Spy. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  5. 1 2 Bazley, Lewis (20 April 2010). "Diana Vickers – Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree". inthenews.co.uk. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
  6. ↑ Bouwman, Kimbel (30 August 2010). "Interview with Chris Braide". hitquarters.com. HitQuarters. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
  7. ↑ Moreno, Chino (16 December 2008). "Lightspeed Champion working with 'X Factor' contestant - exclusive". NME. Time Inc. UK. Retrieved 20 July 2009.
  8. ↑ Levine, Nick (22 December 2009). "Diana Vickers single details revealed". digitalspy.co.uk. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  9. ↑ Savage, Mark (31 March 2010). "Talking Shop: Diana Vickers". BBC News. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
  10. ↑ Levine, Nick (30 March 2010). "Diana Vickers: 'Once'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  11. ↑ Copsey, Robert (7 May 2010). "Diana Vickers announces new single - Music News". Digital Spy. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  12. 1 2 Diver, Mike (22 April 2010). "Review of Diana Vickers – Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree". BBC Music. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
  13. 1 2 Nissim, Mayer (23 April 2010). "Diana Vickers: 'Songs From The Tainted Cherry Tree'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  14. 1 2 Courtney, Kevin (23 April 2010). "Diana Vickers: Songs From The Tainted Cherry Tree". The Irish Times. Retrieved 24 April 2010.
  15. 1 2 Smyth, David (30 April 2010). "CDs of the week: Hole and Diana Vickers". London Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
  16. 1 2 Urdang, Ben (2010). "Diana Vickers – Songs From The Tainted Cherry Tree". musicOMH.
  17. 1 2 Sankey, Elizabeth (7 May 2010). "Album Review: Diana Vickers – 'Songs From The Tainted Cherry Tree' (Sony)". NME. Time Inc. UK.
  18. 1 2 Dee, Johnny. "Diana Vickers: Songs From The Tainted Cherry Tree Diana Vickers". Virgin Media. Archived from the original on 26 September 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
  19. 1 2 Gennoe, Dan (6 May 2010). "Diana Vickers – Songs From The Tainted Cherry Tree". Yahoo! Music. Archived from the original on 13 June 2011. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
  20. ↑ Jones, Alan (23 September 2013). "Official Charts Analysis: Arctic Monkeys beat Avicii to No.1 on albums chart". Music Week. Intent Media. Retrieved 26 May 2016. (subscription required (help)).
  21. 1 2 "British album certifications – Diana Vickers – Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree". British Phonographic Industry. 27 August 2010. Enter Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
  22. 1 2 "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 18, 2010". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  23. ↑ "European Albums – Week of May 22, 2010". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on 21 January 2011. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  24. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  25. ↑ "2010년 36주차 Album Chart" (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  26. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  27. ↑ "Official Album Chart – 2010" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. p. 7. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
  28. ↑ "Songs from the Tainted Cherry – Diana Vickers (CD)". HMV Ireland. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  29. ↑ "Songs From The Tainted Cherry Tree". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  30. ↑ "Songs From The Tainted Cherry Tree" (in Polish). Sony Music Entertainment Poland. Archived from the original on 7 July 2010.
  31. ↑ "Diana Vickers – Songs From The Tainted Cherry Tree" (in German). Sony Music Entertainment Germany. Archived from the original on 11 August 2010. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
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