''Fumbling Towards Ecstasy'' is the third studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter

Sarah McLachlan Sarah Ann McLachlan (born January 28, 1968) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. As of 2015, she had sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is ''Surfacing (album), Surfacing'' (1997), for which she won two G ...

, released on 22 October 1993 in Canada, 15 February 1994 in the United States, 24 May 1994 in Japan, and 14 August 1994 in Australia. It was produced by

Pierre Marchand Pierre Marchand (born 1958) is a Canadian songwriter, musician and record producer. Marchand is known for his ongoing collaboration with Sarah McLachlan, having produced all of her albums since '' Solace'' in 1991. He also co-wrote several of M ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

; McLachlan wrote most of the album while living in a small house near Marchand's studio. The album was an immediate hit in Canada, where McLachlan was already an established star. It was slower to become her breakthrough album internationally, however; in some countries, most notably the US, it stayed in the middle ranges of the pop charts for almost two years. As of November 2003, the album had sold 2.8 million copies in the US."Ask Billboard – FUMBLING TOWARDS SALES"
''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

''. Retrieved 28 May 2009. Some editions contain an album version of McLachlan's 1995 single used for ''

The Brothers McMullen ''The Brothers McMullen'' is a 1995 American comedy-drama film written, directed, produced by, and starring Edward Burns. It deals with the lives of the three Irish Catholic McMullen brothers from Long Island, New York, over three months, as ...

'' soundtrack, " I Will Remember You". The track's lyrics do not appear in the booklet, nor does the track's crediting information. On August 5, 2008, a three-disc 15th anniversary edition of the album was released. The set includes the original remastered album, ''

The Freedom Sessions ''The Freedom Sessions'' is an album by Sarah McLachlan which was released on 6 December 1994 on Nettwerk in Canada and on 28 March 1995 on Arista Records in the United States. The album contains previously unreleased alternative versions and rem ...

'' EP and a

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

that includes live performances, music videos and more. The album was released by

Legacy Recordings Legacy Recordings is an American record label that is a division of Sony Music. Formed in 1990 after Sony's acquisition of CBS Records, Legacy originally handled the archives of Sony Music-owned labels Columbia Records and Epic Records. In 2 ...

. In December 2023, McLachlan announced she would perform on a 30-city tour in 2024 for the 30th anniversary of ''Fumbling Towards Ecstasy'', playing the entire album in shows along with other songs.

Critical reception

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' critic Dan Kening praised ''Fumbling Towards Ecstasy'' as "a terrific album from a gifted 26-year-old Canadian who is mature beyond her years", highlighting McLachlan's "hauntingly beautiful voice" and the songs' "gorgeous arrangements". Similarly, ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

''s David Bock opined that McLachlan's songs "probe the deeper, darker aspects of the human condition with an honesty, patience, and wisdom way beyond her 26 years." Comparing the record to its predecessor ''

Solace Consolation, consolement, and solace are terms referring to psychological comfort given to someone who has suffered severe, upsetting loss, such as the death of a loved one. It is typically provided by expressing shared regret for that loss and ...

'' (1991), Elysa Gardner of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' wrote that despite its "less buoyant hooks and more muted arrangements", "there are moments of quiet radiance on ''Ecstasy'', and even the more elusive songs reveal a passionate dignity." In a retrospective review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

Andrew Leahey Andrew Leahey is an American roots and rock and roll musician, and also a music journalist. His band, Andrew Leahey & the Homestead, has released four albums and one EP. As a journalist, Leahey has written for ''Rolling Stone'', ''Spin'', AllMu ...

called ''Fumbling Towards Ecstasy'' "a softly assured album that combined the atmospheric production of Pierre Marchand... with some of McLachlan's strongest songwriting to date", adding that "McLachlan's work was rarely as raw or honest as it is on this record". Richard Skanse, writing in the 2004 ''

Rolling Stone Album Guide ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', previously known as ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Its first edition was published in 1 ...

'', said that McLachlan "truly came into her own as an artist" on the album, finding her lyrics "sharper, her trademark earnestness now carrying a formidable edge." In 2000, it was voted number 200 in

Colin Larkin Colin Larkin (born 1949) is a British music writer. He founded and was the editor-in-chief of ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music''. Along with the ten-volume encyclopedia, Larkin also wrote the book ''All Time Top 1000 Albums'', and edited th ...

's ''

All Time Top 1000 Albums ''All Time Top 1000 Albums'' is a book by Colin Larkin, creator and editor of the ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music''. The book was first published by Guinness Publishing in 1994. The list presented is the result of over 200,000 votes cast by the ...

'', and in 2022, ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' listed it as the 119th-best album of the 1990s.

Track listing

Notes: *A hidden track follows "Fumbling Towards Ecstasy" which consists of a brief outtake snippet of "Ice" and a solo piano rendition of "Possession". *Original UK and Japanese versions of the album, along with the 2016 single-disc vinyl edition, include a cover of "

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical spe ...

" by

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...

as a bonus track. These editions also do not include the hidden track appearing after "Fumbling Towards Ecstasy".

Personnel

*Sarah McLachlan – vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, piano *Bill Dillon – acoustic and electric guitars, guitorgan, bass guitar, piano *Michel Dubeau – saxophone *Kharen Hill – photography *David Kershaw – Hammond organ *

– bass guitar, piano, keyboards, fake Hammond B-3 organ, drum machine, percussion machine,

Roland 808 The Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer, commonly known as the 808, is a drum machine manufactured by Roland Corporation between 1980 and 1983. It was one of the first drum machines to allow users to program rhythms instead of using preset patterns. ...

, shaker,

found sound Found objects are sometimes used in music, often to add unusual percussive elements to a work. Their use in such contexts is as old as music itself, as the original invention of musical instruments almost certainly developed from the sounds of nat ...

Jerry Marotta Jerome David Marotta (born February 6, 1956) is an American drummer who resides in Woodstock, New York. He is the younger brother of Rick Marotta; Rick is also a drummer and composer. Career Marotta was a member of the bands Arthur, Hurley & ...

– drums, percussion *Brian Minato – bass guitar *Guy Nadon – drums *

Jane Scarpantoni Jane Scarpantoni (born 1960) is an American classically trained cello player, who has played on a number of alternative rock albums. She was a member of Hoboken, New Jersey's Tiny Lights in the mid-1980s, then went on to play with other musicians ...

– cello *Lou Shefano – drums *

Ashwin Sood Ashwin Sood (born 25 September 1967) is an English–born Canadian musician and drummer. He is best known for his musical association with his ex-wife Sarah McLachlan. Sood was born in the United Kingdom to Indian immigrant parents, and grew up ...

– drums, percussion

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

Release history

References

External links

*
The Sarah McLachlan Fumbling: The Podcast
Features Darryl DMC McDaniels, Bill Leeb, and Alan Light {{Authority control 1993 albums 2008 video albums 2008 compilation albums Sarah McLachlan albums Sarah McLachlan video albums Arista Records albums Arista Records compilation albums Arista Records live albums Arista Records video albums 1990s live video albums Music video compilation albums Nettwerk Records albums Nettwerk Records compilation albums Nettwerk Records live albums Nettwerk Records video albums Albums produced by Pierre Marchand Albums recorded at Le Studio