Fumbling Towards Ecstasy (Legacy Edition/+DVD) [Digipak] - Sarah McLachlan

Advantages: good voice, lovely songs
Disadvantages: none

...I think Sarah McLachlan is Canadian and is mainly a star over there and the US. I first heard her music as it was used quite a bit on the soundtrack of the first series of Due South . The best songs are 'possession' and ' fumbling towards ecstasy', I always have it on in the car. The style of songs is quite similar though and the three main songs are on it in different versions (and quite long) but they are all great songs , quite 'orchestral' and I particularly likethe piano backing. There is nobody else out there like her and I'm glad I have heard, and bought her music. I would recommend anyone that likes moody, atmospheric, meaningful music to give it a go.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Beautiful Lyrics, Lovely Voice, Meaningful Songs
Disadvantages: None unless you dislike deep emotion

...Fumbling Towards Ectasy is one of my very favorite albums. It's something I can listen to when I'm feeling good, down in the dumps, or just for the sake of hearing something comfortingly familiar. I've memorized the lyrics to every song on this album. It is a collection of very meaningful songs that will always be special to me. Sarah McLachlan has only become widely recognized in the U.S. during the last 3 years. She is a brilliant artist who wears her emotions on her sleeve. It is clear that she is no stranger to love, to loss, or to hurt. The opening and closing track (each in a slightly different version) is Possession. This tune was written about Sarah McLachlan's experience with an admirer turned stalker. It seems very beautiful at first, but by taking a deeper look, one realizes how frightening the correspondence she... Read review

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Advantages: Lush production; "I Love You"; "Sweet Surrender"; "Full of Grace".
Disadvantages: McLachlan's most conventional, unexciting, uninspired, monotonous, dangerously anesthetizing disc; lyric-less booklet.

...I hate to downrate anything by Canadian songstress Sarah McLachlan, but "Surfacing" (1997) simply pales against the rest of her impressive discography. Might she have been submerged for far too long before coming up for air to record this? "Surfacing" feels as if it's stuck in one deep, long groove, and "Suffocating" might have been a more apt title. Despite what producer Pierre Marchand and Sarah say about "Solace" (an album of "unfinished" songs), that sophomore effort from 1991 far outstrips this later one in terms of novelty, excitement and inspiration. While the lush production values equal those of "Fumbling Towards Ecstasy" ("FTE", 1993), "Surfacing" lacks FTE's originality and diversity. To top it all, one cut was already out there before "Surfacing", having been released on the (mostly) wonderful Canadian "Rarities, B... Read review

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