''Equally Cursed and Blessed'' is the third studio album by Welsh band

Catatonia Catatonia is a complex neuropsychiatric behavioral syndrome that is characterized by abnormal movements, immobility, abnormal behaviors, and withdrawal. The onset of catatonia can be acute or subtle and symptoms can wax, wane, or change during ...

, released in April 1999 via

Blanco y Negro Records Blanco y Negro Records ( Spanish: "White and Black"), a subsidiary of WEA Records Ltd., was established in 1983 by Geoff Travis of Rough Trade Records and Mike Alway of él Records. Michel Duval of Les Disques du Crépuscule was also involv ...

. It reached number one in the

UK Album Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

, and three singles were released from it: " Dead from the Waist Down", " Londinium" and " Karaoke Queen".

Recording

While touring in the United States following the success of their second studio album, '' International Velvet'',

recorded sample demos onto a DPS12

hard disk recorder A hard disk recorder (HDR) is a system that uses a high-capacity hard disk to record digital audio or digital video. Hard disk recording systems represent an alternative to reel-to-reel audio tape recording and video tape recorders, and provide ...

in their tour bus upon the recommendation of their producer,

TommyD Tommy Asher Danvers, better known by his stage name TommyD, is a British producer, songwriter, arranger, DJ, and multi-instrumentalist and co-founder of NFT marketplace, Token, , Traxx. He is best known for his work with artists such as Right ...

. They returned to the

Monnow Valley Studio Monnow Valley Studio is a recording studio in Rockfield, Monmouthshire, Wales. History In the 1970s, Monnow Valley was the rehearsal facility of the famous Rockfield Studios. It became an independent studio in the 1980s owned by Charles Ward afte ...

in Monmouth,

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, where they had recorded the previous album, to record ''Equally Cursed and Blessed''.

Release and promotion

The album was announced in January 1999; the title taken from a line in the song "She's a Millionaire". The first single, " Dead from the Waist Down" was released on 29 March 1999, with the album released on 12 April. This repeated the release schedule used for ''International Velvet'', which had been preceded by " Mulder and Scully" by the same period of time. ''Equally Cursed and Blessed'' faced competition from

ABBA ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group ...

's 1992 compilation album '' Gold: Greatest Hits'' for the number one spot on the

, as the ABBA album had re-charted due to the success of the '' Mamma Mia!'' musical featuring the band's songs. But by midweek, the Catatonia album was 15,000 sales ahead and it went on to secure the top place in the chart. At the time, all three Catatonia studio albums were in the top 40. ''Equally Cursed and Blessed'' went on to be certificated platinum by the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with ...

showing at least 300,000 copies sold. The American release of the album saw two tracks from ''International Velvet'' added, including "

Road Rage Road rage is aggressive or angry behavior exhibited by motorists. These behaviors include rude and verbal insults, yelling, physical threats or dangerous driving methods targeted at other drivers, pedestrians or cyclists in an effort to intimi ...

Singles

The album spawned one top-10 single, "Dead from the Waist Down", which reached number seven. The band had intended to release " Karaoke Queen" as the follow up, but were overruled by the record label and they were forced to release " Londinium" on 12 July 1999 instead. This angered lead singer

Cerys Matthews Cerys Matthews (; born 11 April 1969) is a Welsh singer, songwriter, author, and broadcaster. She was a founding member of Welsh rock band Catatonia and a leading figure in the " Cool Cymru" movement of the late 1990s. Matthews programmes an ...

, as did the expense of the video for the single which had cost more than ''Equally Cursed and Blessed'' took to make. "Londinium" failed to reach the top ten, placing at number 20. "Karaoke Queen" was released as the third single on 1 November 1999 but stalled at number 36. "Nothing Hurts" was slated to be the fourth single release from the album but was shelved following the low chart placement of "Karaoke Queen".

Track listing

Personnel

– vocals * Mark Roberts – guitar *

Owen Powell Owen Powell (born 1967) is a Welsh guitarist. He played in the Welsh rock band Catatonia from 1995 until the band disbanded in 2001. Career Catatonia Powell joined Catatonia in 1995 as a second guitarist. He went on to write for the band, includ ...

– guitar * Paul Jones – bass *

Aled Richards Aled Richards (born in 1969) is a Welsh drummer and was a member of the Welsh rock band Catatonia. Early life Richards started to play drums when he was young, born and living in Wales. Richards joined the band Catatonia in 1996, who were on t ...

– drums

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Notes

References

* {{Authority control Catatonia (band) albums 1999 albums Blanco y Negro Records albums