Left of the Middle

Left of the Middle is the debut studio album by Australian singer Natalie Imbruglia. It was released by RCA Records on 24 November 1997 in the United Kingdom, followed by most international territories in early 1998.^[2] Primarily writing and recording the album in the UK, Imbruglia worked with a number of English producers, including Phil Thornalley, Andy Wright and Nigel Godrich, and at the final stage of the album production, she traveled to Nashville in the United States and co-wrote a song with American songwriter Matt Bronleewe. Left of the Middle is an alternative pop album which incorporates elements of electronic sound. The lead single "Torn" (1997) was a worldwide commercial success and has since been named as one of the Best Songs of 1990s by several publications, including Rolling Stone, and Pitchfork.^[3][4]

Left of the Middle
Studio album by Natalie Imbruglia
Released	24 November 1997
Recorded	1996–1997
Genre	Alternative pop[1]
Length	50:03
Label	RCA
Producer	Matt Bronleewe Mark Goldenberg Phil Thornalley Andy Wright Gareth Parton Nigel Godrich
Natalie Imbruglia chronology
Left of the Middle (1997) White Lilies Island (2001)
Alternative cover
Singles from Left of the Middle
"Torn" Released: 27 October 1997 "Big Mistake" Released: 2 March 1998 "Wishing I Was There" Released: 25 May 1998 "Smoke" Released: 5 October 1998

Commercially, Left of the Middle topped the album music chart in Australia as well as charting within the top five in the UK and top ten in the US, and has sold over seven million copies worldwide.^[5] The album won Best Australian Debut Album and Best Pop Release at the 12th ARIA Music Award in 1998 and was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 41st Annual Grammy Awards in 1999.^[6][7][8] In late 2022, Imbruglia toured the UK to celebrate 25 year anniversary of the album.^[9]

Background, writing and production

In 1996, commercial success of female alternative singers, such as Sheryl Crow at A&M and Alanis Morissette at Warner Bros. had prompted other major record labels to seek similar acts, including RCA Records. Around the same time, Phil Thornalley, who had been trying to reproduce his co-written song "Torn" for several years met Imbruglia, they finally finished the demo together, and successfully impressed Anne Barret, Imbruglia's future manager, who took and played the demo to Jeremy Marsh, BMG Executive and eventually signed Imbruglia to RCA Records. Imbruglia co-wrote all the songs on the album, except for Torn and Don’t You Think. She admitted that she was really insecure when she was making Left of the Middle, and described that prior to recording sessions, she would over-prepare by seeking inspiration from pre-written poetry excessively.^[10]

The track "Pigeons and Crumbs", written by Mark Goldenberg and Imbruglia, explores the struggles of a person in his/her early twenties living in the big city or big community. "City", written by Imbruglia and Thornalley, refers to false friends who disappeared when hardship came along. In addition to writing and recording in the UK, Imbruglia travelled to Nashville and collaborated with Matt Bronleewe and wrote "Smoke", which tells the story about a child whose needs are not being met by its parents.^[11]

Five songs on the album were mixed by Radiohead's frequent collaborator, Nigel Godrich, and seven songs on the album were produced by Phil Thornalley.^[12]

Commercial performance

In the United Kingdom, Left of the Middle debuted and peaked at number five on 6 December 1997, spending 15 weeks in the Top 10 and a total of 101 non-consecutive weeks in the Top 100 until 27 January 2001. The album eventually sold 1.2 million copies in the UK, and has been certified triple platinum by BPI.^[13][14]

In Australia, the album debuted at number three on 15 March 1998, before falling to number 18 the next week. The album slowly climbed the chart in the following weeks and reached the number one spot in August 1998, spending a total of 61 weeks in the Top 50 until 1999. The album was ranked five on the ARIA Top 100 Albums of 1998, and 68 on the ARIA Top 100 Albums of 1999. Left of the Middle has been certified five times platinum by ARIA and sold over 350,000 copies. ^[15][16]

In the United States, the album was released a week after Imbruglia’s performance on Saturday Night Live, and debuted at number ten on the Billboard 200 Album Chart on 28 March 1998. It spent 52 consecutive weeks on the chart and sold over two million copies, and was certified double platinum by RIAA.^[17][18]

Left of the Middle has sold over seven million copies worldwide.^[5]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Entertainment Weekly	C+[19]
The Guardian	[20]
Los Angeles Times	[21]
Music Week	[22]
Q	[23]
Rolling Stone	[24]
Smash Hits	[25]
The Village Voice	C+[26]

Greg Prato from AllMusic gave the album a positive review, stating that "some of the material will be seen as pop fluff by certain listeners, but fans of popular latter-day female artists like Paula Cole, Sheryl Crow, and Meredith Brooks will find Imbruglia's debut most enjoyable", and praised Imbruglia's willingness to experiment with electronic sound. Sara Scribner from the Los Angeles Times gave the album 3 out of 4 stars, saying that the album is a good pop record to break up to and Imbruglia dispels doubts with a smoky, believable voice tinged with just enough real-life ambivalence and anger.

However, Rob Sheffield from Rolling Stone gave the album a negative review, with 2 out of 5 stars, saying that on her album, too many cooks spoil the broth, adding rock guitars and industrial clank beats that have nothing to do with her fey charms. Mark Bautz from Entertainment Weekly also gave the album negative review, highlighted the lack of originality, outdated production and its sonic similarity to Rickie Lee and Alanis Morissette.

Singles

• "Torn" was released on 27 October 1997 in the United Kingdom as the lead single from the album. It debuted and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, and eventually sold over one million copies in the country alone. "Torn" also peaked at number two on Australia's ARIA Singles Chart. Following the commercial performance in the international market, "Torn" made its debut on the United States' Billboard Radio Songs Chart on 14 February 1998 and eventually reached number one on 16 May 1998. The song stayed atop the chart for 11 consecutive weeks and also topped the Billboard Adult Top 40 Chart for 14 consecutive weeks.^[27][28]
• "Big Mistake" was released on 8 March 1998 in the United Kingdom, and debuted at number two on the UK Singles Chart and number six on the ARIA Singles Chart. "Big Mistake" was not promoted in the US as "Torn" was still gaining popularity there.
• "Wishing I Was There" was released on 31 May 1998 as the third single from the album in the UK. It peaked at number 19 on the UK Singles Chart, and number 24 on the ARIA Singles Chart. The song was promoted in the United States as the second single with the release of the US version of the music video. It peaked at number 25 on the Billboard Radio Songs Chart on 26 September 1998, and at number 13 on the Billboard Adult Top 40 Chart on 19 September 1998.^[27][28]
• "Smoke" was released on 5 October 1998 in the United Kingdom as the fourth and last single from the album, peaking at number five on the UK Singles Chart, and number 42 on the ARIA Singles Chart.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Torn"	Scott Cutler Anne Preven Phil Thornalley	4:04
2.	"One More Addiction"	Natalie Imbruglia Dave Munday Thornalley	3:30
3.	"Big Mistake"	Imbruglia Mark Goldenberg	4:35
4.	"Leave Me Alone"	Imbruglia Andy Wright	4:21
5.	"Wishing I Was There"	Imbruglia Colin Campsie Thornalley	3:52
6.	"Smoke"	Imbruglia Matt Bronleewe	4:37
7.	"Pigeons and Crumbs"	Imbruglia Goldenberg	5:21
8.	"Don't You Think?"	Campsie Thornalley	3:55
9.	"Impressed"	Imbruglia Rick Palombi Nick Trevisik	4:47
10.	"Intuition"	Imbruglia Munday Thornalley	3:22
11.	"City"	Imbruglia Thornalley	4:34
12.	"Left of the Middle"	Imbruglia Steve Booker	3:46
Total length:			50:03

Australian bonus disc

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Tomorrow Morning"	Imbruglia Thornalley	3:00
2.	"Something Better"	Imbruglia Boo Hewerdine Thornalley	4:04
3.	"Frightened Child"	Imbruglia Munday Thornalley	1:56
4.	"Diving in the Deep End"	Imbruglia Thornalley	3:54
5.	"City" (Live in Barcelona)	Imbruglia Thornalley	4:04
Total length:			16:58

Japanese bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
13.	"Frightened Child"	Imbruglia Dave Munday Thornalley	1:56
14.	"Diving in the Deep End"	Trevisik Imbruglia Thornalley	3:30
Total length:			5:43

Alternative pressing^[29]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Torn"	Scott Cutler Anne Preven Phil Thornalley	4:04
2.	"One More Addiction"	Natalie Imbruglia Dave Munday Thornalley	3:30
3.	"Big Mistake"	Imbruglia Mark Goldenberg	4:35
4.	"Leave Me Alone"	Imbruglia Andy Wright	4:21
5.	"Intuition"	Imbruglia Munday Thornalley	3:22
6.	"Smoke"	Imbruglia Matt Bronleewe	4:37
7.	"Pigeons and Crumbs"	Imbruglia Goldenberg	5:21
8.	"Don't You Think?"	Campsie Thornalley	3:55
9.	"Impressed"	Imbruglia Rick Palombi Nick Trevisik	4:47
10.	"Wishing I Was There"	Imbruglia Colin Campsie Thornalley	3:52
11.	"City"	Imbruglia Thornalley	4:34
12.	"Left of the Middle"	Imbruglia Steve Booker	3:46
Total length:			50:03

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1997–2000) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[30] 1 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[31] 11 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[32] 2 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[33] 11 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[34] 9 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[35] 15 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[36] 2 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[37] 8 French Albums (SNEP)[38] 14 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[39] 4 Irish Albums (IRMA)[40] 53 Italian Albums (FIMI)[41] 2 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[42] 10 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[43] 38 Scottish Albums (OCC)[44] 7 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[45] 11 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[46] 2 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[47] 3 UK Albums (OCC)[48] 5 US Billboard 200[49] 10

Year-end charts Chart (1997) Position UK Albums (OCC)[50] 41 Chart (1998) Position Australian Albums (ARIA)[51] 5 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[52] 12 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[53] 36 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[54] 25 French Albums (SNEP)[55] 40 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[56] 22 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[57] 46 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[58] 24 UK Albums (OCC)[59] 19 US Billboard 200[60] 39 Chart (1999) Position Australian Albums (ARIA)[61] 68

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[62]	4× Platinum	280,000^
Belgium (BRMA)[63]	Platinum	50,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[64]	3× Platinum	300,000^
France (SNEP)[65]	Gold	100,000*
Japan (RIAJ)[66]	Platinum	200,000^
Mexico (AMPROFON)[67]	Gold	100,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[68]	Gold	50,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[69]	Platinum	15,000^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[70]	Platinum	100,000^
Sweden (GLF)[71]	Gold	40,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[72]	Platinum	50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[73]	3× Platinum	1,200,000[74]
United States (RIAA)[75]	2× Platinum	2,000,000^
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[76]	2× Platinum	2,000,000*
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.