''Superior'' is the third studio album by Danish singer-songwriter

Tim Christensen Tim Christensen (born 2 July 1974 in Copenhagen) is a Danish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is known both as the singer, guitarist and songwriter of the Danish alternative rock band Dizzy Mizz Lizzy (1988–1998, 2010, 2014– ...

, released on 24 November 2008 on CD, limited edition

Digipak Optical disc packaging is the packaging that accompanies CDs, DVDs, and other formats of optical discs. Most packaging is rigid or semi-rigid and designed to protect the media from scratches and other types of exposure damage. Jewel case ...

CD/DVD which includes a 30-minute

making-of In cinema, behind-the-scenes (BTS), also known as the making-of, the set, or on the set, is a type of documentary film that features the production of a film or television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecomm ...

, and a double

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...

box set which also includes the CD and DVD, as well as an outsize poster."Press release: Superior - new CD, November 2008"
Retrieved on 28 April 2011.

Overview

''Superior'' was the first album to be released on Mermaid Records after

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...

Denmark became the label's main shareholder.

(Denmark) A/S. (2011)
"Mermaid Records"
. Retrieved on 26 April 2011. To date, it is the only studio album in Christensen's musical career without a separate

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

ese bonus release. The title song "Superior" has Christensen opening up about himself. According to the

press release A press release is an official statement delivered to members of the news media for the purpose of providing information, creating an official statement, or making an announcement directed for public release. Press releases are also considere ...

, "The song Superior pins Christensen down on a more personal level: what kind of thoughts are running through his mind? What concerns him? In the revealing lyrics, the popular songwriter stands naked. He’s brutally honest and vulnerable. (...) The song is all about refusing to let yourself be controlled by what people expect of you, but rather trusting your own gut feeling and believing that you’re good enough the way you are. Be it in your career or in love." It also refers to having to deal with the expectations people had of him since his previous album: " ring work on Superior, he’s felt the huge success of

Honeyburst ''Honeyburst'' is the second studio album by Danish singer-songwriter Tim Christensen, released on 1 September 2003 on CD and vinyl. The vinyl edition of the album was re-released through the record label Parlophone on April 19, 2014. Overview ...

as a burden pressing down on his shoulders." "Wonder of Wonders" is the first song Christensen has written on piano.Tuxen, Henrik (22 November 2008)
"Tim Christensen – ''Superior'' sang for sang"
(Tim Christensen - ''Superior'' song by song). ''

GAFFA ''Gaffa'' (stylized as ''GAFFA'') is a free Nordic music magazine with local editions in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. ''Gaffa'' is Denmark's largest and oldest music magazine. It has been published since 1983 and has 320,000 print readers an ...

''. "India" was written in his sleep; he woke up, recorded a basic version, and was back to sleep in under 20 minutes. The riff of "Follow My Lead" is played on a

baritone guitar The baritone guitar is a guitar with a longer scale length, typically a larger body, and heavier internal bracing, so it can be tuned to a lower pitch. Gretsch, Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, ESP Guitars, PRS Guitars, Music Man, Danelectro, Sc ...

, which according to Christensen is "probably the most unsexy guitar there is, but it sounds great." "Song for Shelly" was written for his former girlfriend, Michelle Djarling.Tuxen, Henrik (27 November 2008)
"Tim Christensen – Jeg tror på mit talent"
(Tim Christensen – I believe in my talent). ''

''. A song named "Sooner or Later" did not make it onto the album, but was included on the Japanese edition, to be released on 26 September 2012. On 9 November 2011, Christensen recorded this song as part of his "low key late night sessions".

Reception

It received mixed reviews, but to keep the audience from thinking it largely got bad reviews, Mermaid Records decided to cite all reviews, good ''and'' bad. This was even taken further by using some of these phrases on T-shirts, such as ''ugens flødebolle'' ("this week's cream puff). It was voted the Melodic.net best album of 2008. It took until 7 December 2009 before it was released in the Netherlands on

PIAS Recordings PIAS Recordings (formerly Play It Again Sam) is a Belgian record label founded in 1983 by Kenny Gates and Michel Lambot. Play It Again Sam expanded along with other European independent labels in the early 1980s. Play It Again Sam's prominent ea ...

. Four songs off the album were released as a single: "Superior" (2008), "Hard To Make You Mine" (2009), "India" (2009), and "Tell Me What You Really Want" (2009).

Vimeo Vimeo, Inc. () is an American video hosting, sharing, and services platform provider headquartered in New York City. Vimeo focuses on the delivery of high-definition video across a range of devices. Vimeo's business model is through software as ...

(24 December 2009)
"Tim Christensen - Tell Me What You Really Want"
The latter video was made by Paul "Yellow1" Wilson, who also did the cover art for this album.

Track listing

;Limited edition bonus DVD The disc itself is named PERFEKTIONIST_DVD, referring to the lyrics "I'm a bit of a perfectionist" in the title track of ''Superior''. Credits: Theis Molin (director, producer), Christoffer Dreyer (editor, producer), Lars Bonde (director of photography), © 2008 tmfilm.dk.

Personnel

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

, producer
''Additional instruments:''

tenor guitar The tenor guitar or four-string guitar is a slightly smaller, four-string relative of the steel-string acoustic guitar or electric guitar. The instrument was initially developed in its acoustic form by Gibson and C.F. Martin so that players of ...

, acoustic

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of ...

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

, Mellotron, Minimoog,

Wurlitzer electric piano The Wurlitzer electronic piano is an electric piano manufactured and marketed by Wurlitzer from the mid-1950s to mid-1980s. Sound is generated by striking a metal reed with a hammer, which induces an electric current in a pickup. It is concept ...

, Fender Rhodes, Fender Rhodes Piano Bass,

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, glockenspiel,

vibraphone The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist,' ...

dulcimer The word dulcimer refers to two families of musical string instruments. Hammered dulcimers The word ''dulcimer'' originally referred to a trapezoidal zither similar to a psaltery whose many strings are struck by handheld "hammers". Variants of ...

;Additional musicians * Olaf Olsen – drums (on tracks 3, 5, 6, 8, 11, and 12) *

Laust Sonne D-A-D is a Danish rock band. They were originally named Disneyland After Dark, but changed their name to avoid a lawsuit from The Walt Disney Company. History In the early 1980s in Copenhagen, D-A-D started playing together under their origi ...

– drums (on track 9) * Christoffer Møller – string

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

Prague Philharmonic Orchestra The Prague Philharmonic Orchestra was established in 1995, under the German conductor Friedemann Riehle. The orchestra has since produced many classical and film music recordings, working with labels such as Decca, EMI, Sony BMG and various in ...

– strings * Jan Chalupecky – conductor ;Production *

Nick Foss Nick may refer to: * Nick (given name) * A cricket term for a slight deviation of the ball off the edge of the bat * British slang for being arrested * British slang for a police station * British slang for stealing * Short for nickname Pla ...

–

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

Rune Nissen-Petersen Runes are the letter (alphabet), letters in a set of related alphabets known as runic alphabets native to the Germanic peoples. Runes were used to write various Germanic languages (with some exceptions) before they adopted the Latin alphabet, a ...

– producer,

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

, mixer * Nikolaj Vinten – mastering * Paul Wilson –

designer A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans. In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, products, processes, laws, games, graphics, services, or exp ...

, artwork,

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

* Helene Hasen – photography * Dan Christensen – front cover photo

Notes

{{Authority control 2008 albums Albums produced by Nick Foss Tim Christensen albums