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The Burdens of Being Upright

The Burdens of Being Upright is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Tracy Bonham, released on March 19, 1996, by Island Records.[2][3]

Content

The Burdens of Being Upright was recorded in the summer of 1995 at Fort Apache Studios in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[4] Referencing this album, in 2015 Bonham said,

That whole album was my experiment with getting a guitar. I was rebelling. It was just raw. I was like, ‘Just get out and do it; get behind a microphone and just scream.’ Twenty years ago I had more doubts; I thought, ‘I can’t just stand there and do that’ — which is when I knew I had to do it.[5]

The album cover (a reference to German photographer August Sander's work "The Bricklayer") was photographed by George DuBose, who was the in-house photographer at the hip hop label Cold Chillin' Records.

Commercial performance

The Burdens of Being Upright debuted at number 136 on the Billboard 200 chart dated April 27, 1996,[6] and later reached its peak position of number 54 on the chart on June 15, 1996.[7] It remained on the chart for 25 weeks.[8] On November 12, 1996, the album was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), signifying the shipment of 500,000 copies of the album.[9]

Critical reception

Rolling Stone noted that the album "tells a coherent, largely autobiographical story about a girl getting even with the obnoxious people who piss her off and underestimate her... With music ranging from laid-back Liz Phair-style storytelling to hard-edge alternative arena rock, she blasts ex-boyfriends ('Navy Bean', 'The One'), ridicules rock stars ('Kisses') and makes a pre-emptive strike at critics who might be tempted to label her ('One Hit Wonder')."[17]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Tracy Bonham

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[18]

Charts

Certifications

Awards

Grammy Award Nominations

References

  1. ^ "Tracy Bonham: Mother Mother" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1136. March 8, 1996. p. 78. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
  2. ^ Dawn, Randee (April 1996). "Reviews". CMJ New Music Monthly (32). CMJ Network, Inc.: 28. ISSN 1074-6978.
  3. ^ Borzillo, Carrie (May 11, 1996). "Island's Bonham Hits". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 19. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. pp. 1, 74. ISSN 0006-2510.
  4. ^ Fritz, J. (March 2, 1996). "Tracy Bonham – The Burdens of Being Upright – Interview | Lollipop Magazine". Lollipop. Archived from the original on February 18, 2023. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  5. ^ Laban, Linda (August 27, 2015). "Tracy Bonham: From 'Mother, Mother' to Exploring Motherhood on 'Wax and Gold'". The Village Voice. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  6. ^ Anon. (April 27, 1996). "The Billboard 200". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 17. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 97. ISSN 0006-2510.
  7. ^ a b Anon. (June 15, 1996). "The Billboard 200". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 24. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 92. ISSN 0006-2510.
  8. ^ Chinen, Nate (July 11, 2010). "Foot in the City and Cowboy Boot In the Country". The New York Times: AR19 – via ProQuest.
  9. ^ "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  10. ^ AllMusic Review
  11. ^ Larkin, Colin, ed. (1998). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 1. MUZE Inc. p. 658. ISBN 0-333-74134-X.
  12. ^ Flaherty, Mike (March 15, 1996). "The Burdens of Being Upright". EW.com. Archived from the original on February 18, 2023. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
  13. ^ Elliott, Paul (June 8, 1996). "Albums". Kerrang!. No. 600. EMAP. p. 45.
  14. ^ Knopper, Steve (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. p. 141 – via Internet Archive.
  15. ^ Morgan, Emma (June 7, 1996). "NME.COM - TRACY BONHAM - The Burdens Of Being Upright - 6/7/1996". NME. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
  16. ^ Anon. (April 1996). "Music Reviews". Seventeen: 128 – via WayBack Machine.
  17. ^ Lieb, Kristin (March 21, 1996). "Tracy Bonham enjoys her winning streak: Simply the best". Rolling Stone. No. 730. p. 28.
  18. ^ The Burdens of Being Upright (booklet). Tracy Bonham. Island. 1996. 314-524 187-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  19. ^ a b c d e "norwegiancharts.com - Tracy Bonham - The Burdens Of Being Upright". norwegiancharts.com. Archived from the original on February 18, 2023. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
  20. ^ Anon. (April 27, 1996). "Billboard's Heatseekers Albums Chart". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 17. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 18.
  21. ^ "American album certifications – Tracy Bonham – The Burdens of Being Upright". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved February 18, 2023.

External links