Track Listing

1. Building A Mystery
2. I Love You
3. Sweet Surrender
4. Adia
5. Do What You Have To
6. Witness
7. Angel
8. Black And White
9. Full Of Grace
10. Last Dance

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2772 in Music
• Released on: 1998-10-05
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review
There's the requisite number of gorgeously melodic and deeply heartfelt songs in Sarah McLachlan's Surfacing--the addictive "Sweet Surrender", the Hollywood-style ballad "I Love You", the sad, profound "Angel", the flat-out spectacular "Witness". McLachlan's not prolific, but this short, bittersweet album proves again that what she and producer Pierre Marchand do release is cut from the finest cloth. --Jeff Bateman

CD Description
On her fifth album, Vancouver-based singer-songwriter SarahMcLachlan returns with a simpler collection of songs which quietly explore the darker aspects of human nature. SURFACING is a group of straightforward songs which get right to thepoint, both musically and lyrically, dealing with such heavy topics as faith, life and death in an appealingly accessible way.
McLachlan's unmistakable soaring voice displays its usual angelic tones and amazing versatility, abetted by the familiar, assured stamp of longtime producer and collaborator Pierre Marchand, making SURFACING McLachlan's most mature album yet. Right from the start, with the anthem-like poptune "Building a Mystery", McLachlan sets the tone, simultaneously shadowy and calm. SURFACING is an introspective musical landscape, a tight collection of thought-provoking songsfrom one of today's most talented artists.

Customer Reviews

Beautiful!!!
As a 22 year old male who normally listens to the likes of Cream, Led Zeppelin and The Stones this may not seem like a logical choice. However, I must say that this is probably the most beautiful and heart wrenching stuff I have ever heard. The music is gorgeous but the lyrics make the songs - they portray the love but also there appears to be a dark edge to these songs which makes it all the more enticing. In two words - 'beautiful stuff' and 'buy it'!!!!

An album to last
'Surfacing', unlike so many other CDs that I own, is one that I'm still listening to - and enjoying - two years after buying it. Sarah McLachlan's voice is beautifully showcased by the songs on this album, particularly on the transcendant 'Full of Grace' and the aching 'Adia'. It's a multi-purpose CD, in that it suits different moods; it can be both harrowingly raw, and tranquil.

I've recommended this album to all my friends, and would do so to anyone who appreciates heartfelt songs and a beautiful voice; this album is the perfect antidote to those despairing about the standards of modern music. Sarah McLachlan, like Tori Amos and Norah Jones and so many others, is proof that 'real' music is still possible.

Universally applicable
I've never been the greatest music fan. Sure there are tracks I like, singles I like, but I've never been one to follow a particular artist through thick or thin. In my first year at University in the UK I met a Canadian from Vancouver who had more CDs than I had ever seen in one place at one time. In his collection I found this album and quickly went out and bought my own. His obsession with VW cars I have forgiven, the introduction to the Onion I have elsewhere acknowledged, my lifelong addiction to this album I now admit.

I don't know what it is. Other singers have equally great voices, other musicians have similarly great ability, other lyricists make you ponder as much. There is just something about this album that I love. Whatever mood I am in, from bleak recently dumped depression to uplifting joy, I can play this album and it is appropriate. I like other tracks by Sarah McLachlan and own her other albums; tastes change and other artists come and go but no matter what I listened to last this album is suitable next.

You may be looking for a detailed analysis of musical metre, verse structure or beat arrangement. I have no idea about any of these things (and may have made at least one of these up). What I can say is that this is a superbly personal album from a female singer songwriter that has touched me from the moment I first heard it almost a decade ago, and continues to thrill, excite and sustain me to this day. Give it a try. Then buy all your friends a copy.