•
Rating: Counting Down the Days is the third album by Natalie Imbruglia.
It's been 4 long years since the release of White Lilies Island and, Counting Down the Days, took 3 years of work.
Counting Down the Days is a decidedly homogeneous work, composed of both cheerful songs and sad, melancholic ballads.
Natalie's talent for writing and composing songs (together with the producers), combined with her great vocal expression, makes the album pleasant to listen to. Natalie co-wrote and co-produced 10 of the 12 tracks on the album, including the first famous single Shiver, released on March 21, 2005.
Counting Down The Days is the long artistic journey that Natalie undertook during the wait to finish the work to return to her husband, Daniel Johns (ex-husband). The title track speaks of nostalgia for her husband and homesickness; it tells us what it feels like when you love someone and they are on the other side of the world and you count the days waiting for the end of this suffering.
The countdown begins precisely with Starting Today; where Natalie's sweet voice blends with an acoustic guitar that acts as a background to the entire track. Excellent opening for a concept album like Counting Down the Days. It continues with Shiver and Satisfied. Shiver, which we all know, immediately gets stuck in your head thanks to that typically pop chorus and Natalie's clear voice that resonates in your mind.
Finally, the title track Counting Down the Days arrives, a magnificently produced song with a distinctly fresh and romantic listening experience. The most interesting part is certainly the second verse, where the sound of a cello is paired with strange distortions that resemble a whale's song. Rushing towards the end, you are glued to two completely different tracks: When You're Sleeping and Honeycomb Child. The first mixes strings and guitar, resulting in one of the best tracks on the album. The closure of Honeycomb Child can leave one very perplexed, with a very melancholic, sad, and anxious composition that completely detaches from what the album has been in its previous 11 tracks. A music box serves as background for all 4 minutes of the song while electronic beats and the echo of Natalie's voice create that hypnotic farewell effect.
Natalie has grown as an artist. Her confidence has increased, and this is what makes Counting Down the Days a product of mature pop.
1. "Starting Today"
2. "Shiver"
3. "Satisfied"
4. "Counting Down the Days"
5. "I Won't Be Lost"
6. "Slow Down"
7. "Sanctuary"
8. "Perfectly"
9. "On the Run"
10. "Come on Home"
11. "When You're Sleeping"
12. "Honeycomb Child"
Small off topic:
Only two singles were extracted from the album, due to the lack of professionalism of Brightside Recordings which stopped promoting the album less than 5 months after its release, even though the album reached number one on the UK charts and sold 800,000 copies worldwide.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 Shiver (03:44)
I walk a mile with a smile.
I don't know I don't care where I am,
But I know it's all right.
Jump the tracks, can't get back.
I don't know anyone round here,
But I'm safe this time.
'Cause when you tell me, tell me, tell me
Stupid things like you do,
Yes I have to, have to, have to
Change the rules; I can't lose.
'Cause I shiver, I just break up.
When I'm near you it all gets out of hand.
Yes I shiver, I get bent up.
There's no way back.
I know you'll understand.
We talk and talk, round it all.
Who'd have thought we'd end up here?
But I'm feeling fine.
In a rush never trust, you'll be there
If I'd only stop and take my time.
'Cause with you I'm running, running, running
Somewhere I can't get to.
Yes I have to, have to, have to
Change the rules; I'm with you.
'Cause I shiver, I just break up.
When I'm near you it all gets out of hand.
Yes I shiver, I get bent up.
There's no way back.
I know you'll understand.
What if you get off at the next stop?
Would you just wave as I'm drifting off?
And if I never saw you again
Could I (could I) keep all (all of) of this (of this) inside?
'Cause I shiver, I just break up.
When I'm near you it all gets out of hand.
Yes I shiver, I get bent up.
There's no way back.
I know you'll understand.
(I'm running but my heart won't keep up.
This feeling that I'm feeling is too much.
There's nothing that can slow me down now.
I'm running but I'll catch you somehow.)
I shiver. I shiver.
Yes I shiver, I just break up.
When I'm near you it all gets out of hand.
Yes I shiver, I get bent up.
There's no way back.
I know you'll understand.
03 Satisfied (03:30)
In summertime I have no fury
No chance of sinking sailing ships
If time stood still
I’d take aim and fire for you
For every ocean there must be shore
On which I’ll stand with restless toes
When everything I look for in myself
Is in you
I feel a little more than empty
But I wanna feel more than full
It’s a pity all I have
Is just enough to keep you satisfied
This knot could come undone
No matter how we try to keep it tied
Inside this bottle there’s a message
You may be drinking way too much
If I had the strength to take the weight off you
I would
I feel a little more than empty
But I wanna feel more than full
It’s a pity all I have
Is just enough to keep you satisfied
This knot could come undone
No matter how we try to keep it tied
Something higher keeps me here
Something that keeps us together
Within the storm I fail to hear
You keep me dry despite the weather
I don’t need to feel this way for you
But I do and I feel satisfied
It’s a pity all I have
Is just enough to keep you satisfied
This knot could come undone
No matter how we try to keep it tied
It’s a pity all I have
Is just enough to keep you satisfied
This knot could come undone
No matter how we try to keep it tied
It’s a pity all I have
Is just enough to keep you satisfied
This knot could come undone
No matter how we try to keep it tied
07 Sanctuary (03:09)
Sit down
Wait a minute
I thought we were special
This town and everyone in it
Moves a little faster than the underground
No time and time is money
Feeling like a piece of machiner
Let down when I say you tumble
Falling over pieces of me
I wanna be your sanctuary
Set you free
Set you free
I wanna be your sanctuary
Set you free
Set you free
Foot down
Turn it around
Don't even know where I wanna go
No sound and tunnel vision
All I need is you on the radio
No time and time is money
Weaving through the traffic to cross the street
Blues skies
Now you're talking
Gotta get the shoes off my feet
I wanna be your sanctuary
Set you free
Set you free
I wanna be your sanctuary
Set you free
Set you free
I wanna lead you and follow you
I wanna hold you and keep it true
So many things that I wanna do with you
Last night under the light
I thought we were special
Your smile danced for a while
I'm here to help you to keep it
To keep it
To keep it
Cause I wanna be your sanctuary
Set you free
Set you free
I wanna be your sanctuary
Set you free
Set you free
I wanna be your sanctuary
Set you free
Set you free
I wanna be your sanctuary
Set you free
Set you free
I wanna lead you and follow you
I wanna hold you and keep it true
So many things that I wanna do with you
Ooh
08 Perfectly (03:24)
When I say it doesn't matter
It matters most of all
You're not up for conversation
So I'm blinded by it all
The further away you push me
The closer I feel to you
Every fall
Every crash
Everything that was never meant to be
All the perfect little things I can't release
All the nights
Everytime we were just about to leave
Now makes no sense to me
But it seems that when we fall
That's when we land
Perfectly
Can't see what's before me
And I cannot feel the ground
This place that we exist in
Is the sweetest thing I've found
The further away you push me
The closer I feel to you
Every fall
Every crash
Everything that was never meant to be
All the perfect little things I can't release
All the nights
Everytime we were just about to leave
Now makes no sense to me
But it seems that when we fall
That's when we land
Perfectly
The further away you push me
The closer I feel to you
Every fall
Every crash
Everything that was never meant to be
All the perfect little things I can't release
All the nights
Everytime we were just about to leave
Now makes no sense to me
But it seems that when we fall
That's when we land
Perfectly
Perfectly
Perfectly
09 On the Run (03:38)
I'm looking for a way
To calm these voices in my head
With all this mad confusion
I don't wanna leave this bed
I'm on the run
I'm on the run again
And I don't know which way is left
And there's no point in not being right
So I'll hold my breath till the morning 'till I see the light
I'm on the run
I'm on the run again
From me
I'm drowning in these feelings
And it's scaring me to death
Staring at the ceiling
So many things I could have said
I'm on the run
I'm on the run again
And I don't know which way is left
And there's no point in not being right
So I'll hold my breath 'till the morning
'Till I see the light
So, so many times
So many signs
You're out there waiting
I should have known you're out there waiting ooh
And I don't know which way is left
And there's no point in not being right
So I'll hold my breath 'till the morning
'Till I see the light
I'm on the run
I'm on the run again
From me
11 When You're Sleeping (03:07)
The sun came up
Desperate, desperate
The stars above
Held you back once again
Half way here
Half way here
They whisper
You talk so much sense
When you're sleeping
When you're sleeping
And you share all the secrets
And the mystery when you're sleeping
I saw your tears
Violet, violet
And it's been years
The skies been crying for you
I found out beautiful things about you
You talk so much sense
When you're sleeping
When you're sleeping
And you share all the secrets
And the mystery
When you're sleeping
So you go and wonder
Where you wander
Lose yourself to
Take us higher
And I'll be waiting
For you when you're down
You talk so much sense
When you're sleeping
When you're sleeping
And you share all the secrets
And the mystery
When you're sleeping
You talk so much sense
When you're sleeping
When you're sleeping
And you share all the secrets
And the mystery
When you're sleeping
Loading comments slowly
