Affirmation

by Savage Garden

Overview

Savage Garden managed to slip underneath everyone's radar and go multi-platinum with their 1997 debut. The Australian duo wasn't hip enough to warrant coverage in the music press, even after they had a series of hit singles, largely because they traded in the least-respected rock genre: soft rock. Like any soft-rock group, they were a product of their times. In the early '80s, that meant adding some lite-country influences to the melodic pop base. In the late '90s, it meant adding mild dance-club beats, even on the ballads. Roxette sort of pioneered this in the late '80s, and Savage Garden really picked up the torch for this dance-inflected soft rock, whether they want to admit it or not. Unfortunately, that also means that they, like Roxette, are primarily a singles act, capable of crafting a handful of good tunes on each album, along with a bunch of pleasant filler. That was the case with the multiplatinum Savage Garden, as it is with this sequel, Affirmation. Since Savage Garden was such a success on adult-contemporary radio, it's not a surprise that Darren Hayes and Daniel Jones have decided to lean a little heavier on the ballads this time around, to the extent that even uptempo tracks like "Affirmation" and "Hold Me," or midtempo numbers like "The Lover After Me" feel like ballads. On the whole, this isn't a bad thing, since it gives the album some coherence. (Also, "Chained to You," the hardest dance song here, feels a little forced.) Plus, Savage Garden has a knack for delivering this professional, well-crafted melodic pop -- if some songs aren't as memorable as others, that's just the way the game of mainstream pop is played. There aren't any bad pieces on Affirmation (well, with the exception of the lyrically tortured "The Animal Song"), just some that aren't quite as hooky or memorable as "I Knew I Loved You" or the title track, or for those fans who like SG's piano ballads, "I Don't Know You Anymore." Like the debut, Affirmation is hardly earth-shattering, but it's well-done mainstream adult pop whose best moments are ideal for radio play. Those moments may be better heard on a greatest-hits collection someday, but this album is fine on its own terms; it is so well-constructed that the filler goes down easily. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	11/09/1999
Label:	Columbia
UPC:	0074646371121

Tracks

1. Affirmation
2. Hold Me
3. I Knew I Loved You
4. The Best Thing
5. Crash and Burn
6. Chained to You
7. The Animal Song
8. The Lover After Me
9. Two Beds and a Coffee Machine
10. You Can Still Be Free
11. Gunning Down Romance
12. I Don't Know You Anymore

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Savage Garden   Primary Artist
Nathan East   Guest Artist,Bass
Steve Smith   Guest Artist,Drums
Michael Landau   Guest Artist,Guitar (Electric)
Mari Tsumura   Violin
Daniel Jones   Keyboards,Synthesizer,Guitar (Electric)
Robert Sanov   Violin
Marilyn Baker   Viola
Larry Corbett   Cello
Armen Garabedian   Violin
Brian Leonard   Violin
Greg Bieck   Keyboards,Synthesizer
Dean Parks   Guitar (Acoustic)
Jeremy Lubbock   Conductor
Walter Afanasieff   Piano,Keyboards,Synthesizer
Michael Thompson   Guitar (Electric)
Miguel Martinez   Cello
Darren Hayes   Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Anatoly Rosinsky   Violin
Mihail Zinovyev   Viola
David Gleeson   Fairlight
Ernest Ehrhardt   Cello
Becky Bunnell   Violin

Technical Credits

Luis Quine   Assistant Engineer
Stephane Sednaoui   Photography
Pete Krawiec   Assistant Engineer
Aimee MacAuley   Artwork
Jules Chaikin   String Contractor
Ethan Schofer   Assistant Engineer
Daniel Jones   Arranger,Composer,Producer,Programming,Drum Programming
D. Jones   Composer
Kent Matcke   Track Engineer
Greg Bieck   Programming,Drum Programming,Digital Programming
Dave Reitzas   Guitar Engineer
Jeremy Lubbock   String Arrangements
Ryan Hewitt   Assistant Engineer
Walter Afanasieff   Arranger,Producer,Programming,Drum Programming,Vocal Arrangement
Tony Rambo   Assistant Engineer
Mark Gregory   Assistant Engineer
David Frazer   Vocal Engineer,Guitar Engineer,String Engineer
Darren Hayes   Arranger,Composer,Producer,Vocal Arrangement
Vladimir Meller   Mastering
Dave Way   Mixing
Dan Shea   Programming,Digital Programming
Chris Lord-Alge   Mixing
Jay Healy   Vocal Engineer
Adam Rossi   Programming,Digital Programming
Brian Vibberts   Assistant Engineer
David Gleeson   Piano Engineer,Track Engineer,Vocal Engineer,Guitar Engineer,Drum Engineering
David Ashton   Assistant Engineer
Barbara Stout   Production Coordination