Lovesongs for Underdogs

Lovesongs for Underdogs is the solo debut album by American musician Tanya Donelly, who had formerly recorded with Throwing Muses, The Breeders, and Belly. It was released on September 8, 1997 and issued by 4AD and Sire Records.

Lovesongs for Underdogs
Studio album by Tanya Donelly
Released	September 8, 1997 (1997-09-08)
Studio	Fort Apache (Cambridge, Massachusetts) Long View Farm (North Brookfield, Massachusetts)
Genre	Alternative rock
Length	45:04
Label	4AD Sire
Producer	Tanya Donelly Wally Gagel Gary Smith
Tanya Donelly chronology
Lovesongs for Underdogs (1997) Beautysleep (2002)
Singles from Lovesongs for Underdogs
"Pretty Deep" Released: August 18, 1997 "The Bright Light" Released: November 24, 1997

Release

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Entertainment Weekly	B[2]
The Guardian	[3]
Los Angeles Times	[4]
NME	4/10[5]
Pitchfork	8.9/10[6]
Q	[7]
Rolling Stone	[8]
Select	4/5[9]
Uncut	[10]

Lovesongs for Underdogs was released by Donelly's European label 4AD on September 8, 1997,^[11] while Sire Records issued the album in the United States the following day.^[12] It peaked at number 36 on the UK Albums Chart upon its release.^[13]

Two singles were released from Lovesongs for Underdogs: "Pretty Deep" on August 18, 1997,^[14] and "The Bright Light" on November 24, 1997.^[15] Both singles were issued in CD format in two parts,^[14][15] each including two newly-released B-sides. "Pretty Deep" featured "Spaghetti", "Morna", "These Days", and "Influenza",^[16] while "The Bright Light" featured "Bury My Heart", "How Can You Sleep", "Life on Sirius", and "Moon Over Boston".^[17] "Pretty Deep" and "The Bright Light" peaked at numbers 55 and 64 respectively on the UK Singles Chart.^[18] A music video for each single was produced and aired on VH1 and MTV2. Both videos differed highly in creative and artistic direction from previous Belly videos and exclusively featured Donelly solo, in movie-like settings.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Tanya Donelly, except where noted.

1. "Pretty Deep" – 4:22
2. "The Bright Light" – 3:21
3. "Landspeed Song" – 3:34
4. "Mysteries of the Unexplained" – 4:52
5. "Lantern" – 3:10
6. "Acrobat" (Donelly, Dean Fisher) – 3:30
7. "Breathe Around You" – 2:56
8. "Bum" – 3:09
9. "Clipped" – 4:01
10. "Goat Girl" – 2:16
11. "Manna" – 5:26
12. "Swoon" – 4:27

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.^[19]

Musicians

• Tanya Donelly – vocals, guitar, keyboards, string arrangements
• Brian Clague – viola, violin
• Brother Cleve – string arrangement transcription
• Dean Fisher – bass, acoustic guitar, keyboards, accordion, percussion
• Wally Gagel – bass, keyboards, drum machine, percussion, string arrangements
• Rich Gilbert – guitar, baritone guitar, tiple, keyboards, accordion, saw
• Walter Halvorsen – cello
• Stacy Jones – drums
• David Lovering – drums
• Hilken Mancini – backing vocals
• David Narcizo – drums
• Chris Toppin – backing vocals
• Jonathan Williams – electric guitar

Production

• Tanya Donelly – production
• Matthew Ellard – engineering
• Wally Gagel – production, engineering, mixing
• Jesse Henderson – engineering (assistant)
• Suzanne Kapa – engineering (assistant)
• Dave Kirkpatrick – engineering (assistant)
• Paul Q. Kolderie – mixing
• Brian Lee – mastering
• Dan McLoughlin – engineering
• Carl Plaster – drum technician
• Sean Slade – mixing
• Gary Smith – production
• Kelly Wohlford – engineering (assistant)

Design

• Chris Bigg – design
• Andrew Catlin – photography

Charts

Chart (1997)	Peak position
Scottish Albums (OCC)[20]	54
UK Albums (OCC)[13]	36
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[21]	7
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[22]	20

References

1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Lovesongs for Underdogs – Tanya Donelly". AllMusic. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
2. Kim, Wook (September 19, 1997). "Lovesongs for Underdogs". Entertainment Weekly. No. 397. p. 85. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
3. Sullivan, Caroline (September 12, 1997). "Tanya Donelly: Lovesongs for Underdogs (4AD)". The Guardian.
4. Scribner, Sara (September 14, 1997). "Tanya Donelly, 'Lovesongs for Underdogs,' Reprise". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 10, 2015. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
5. Wirth, Jim (September 13, 1997). "Tanya Donelly – Lovesongs For Underdogs". NME. Archived from the original on July 11, 2000. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
6. Schreiber, Ryan. "Tanya Donelly: Lovesongs For Underdogs". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on April 13, 2000. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
7. Henderson, Dave (September 1997). "Tanya Donelly: Lovesongs for Underdogs". Q. No. 132.
8. Chonin, Neva (September 4, 1997). "Tanya Donelly: Lovesongs for Underdogs". Rolling Stone. No. 768. p. 68.
9. Manning, Sarra (October 1997). "Tanya Donelly: Lovesongs for Underdogs". Select. No. 88.
10. Roberts, Chris (October 1997). "Tanya Donelly: Lovesongs for Underdogs". Uncut. No. 5. p. 77.
11. Sexton, Paul (August 30, 1997). "Underdog Donelly strikes out" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 14, no. 35. p. 11. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
12. Morris, Chris (August 16, 1997). "Reprise Looks to Donelly's Past in Touting Solo Debut". Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 33. pp. 11, 89. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
13. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
14. "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. August 16, 1997. p. 35. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
15. "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. November 22, 1997. p. 37. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
16. "Tanya Donelly: 'Pretty Deep'". 4AD. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
17. "Tanya Donelly: 'The Bright Light'". 4AD. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
18. "Tanya Donelly". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
19. Lovesongs for Underdogs (liner notes). Tanya Donelly. 4AD. 1997. CAD 7008 CD.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
20. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
21. "Independent Albums" (PDF). Music Week. September 27, 1997. p. 24. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
22. "Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. September 27, 1997. Retrieved June 26, 2024.

External links

• Lovesongs for Underdogs at Discogs (list of releases)