Begin to Hope

Begin to Hope
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 13, 2006
RecordedSummer 2005
StudioSeeSquaredStudio and New York Noise Studios, NYC
Genre
Length47:15
LabelSire 9362-44112-2
ProducerDavid Kahne, Regina Spektor
Regina Spektor chronology
Mary Ann Meets the Gravediggers and Other Short Stories
(2006)
Begin to Hope
(2006)
Live in California 2006 EP
(2007)
Singles from Begin to Hope
  1. "On the Radio"
    Released: May 30, 2006
  2. "Fidelity"
    Released: September 25, 2006
  3. "Better"
    Released: July 2007
  4. "Summer in the City"
    Released: December 2007
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic80/100
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic
The A.V. ClubA−
Entertainment WeeklyB+
The Guardian
Mojo
NME8/10
Pitchfork7.5/10
Rolling Stone
Spin
Uncut

Begin to Hope is the fourth album by Soviet-born American singer-songwriter Regina Spektor. It was released June 13, 2006. The album debuted at number 70 on the Billboard 200, but due to the popularity of the single "Fidelity", it peaked at number 20 and was labeled a "pace setter" by Billboard. Rolling Stone named it the 21st-best album of 2006. The album was certified Gold by the RIAA for shipments to U.S. retailers of 500,000 units.

The album was nominated for the 2006 Shortlist Music Prize.

Peter Gabriel recorded a cover of "Après Moi" on his orchestral album Scratch My Back, released in 2010.

Track listing

All songs written by Regina Spektor.

  1. "Fidelity" – 3:47
  2. "Better" – 3:22
  3. "Samson" – 3:10
  4. "On the Radio" – 3:22
  5. "Field Below" – 5:18
  6. "Hotel Song" – 3:29
  7. "Après Moi" – 5:08
  8. "20 Years of Snow" – 3:31
  9. "That Time" – 2:39
  10. "Edit" – 4:53
  11. "Lady" – 4:45
  12. "Summer in the City" – 3:50
Deluxe Edition bonus disc
  1. "Another Town" – 4:07
  2. "Uh-Merica" – 3:16
  3. "Baobabs" – 2:02
  4. "Düsseldorf" – 3:09
  5. "Music Box" – 2:11
iTunes Store/Amazon MP3 bonus tracks
  1. "Hero" – 3:44
  2. "Bartender" – 3:12
Vinyl edition disc 2, side A
  1. "Another Town" – 4:10
  2. "Uh-Merica" – 3:19
  3. "Baobabs" – 2:04
  4. "Düsseldorf" – 3:12
  5. "Music Box" – 2:07
Vinyl edition disc 2, side B
  1. "Better" (Piano and Voice) – 3:09
  2. "Better" (Radio Recut) – 3:12
  3. "Hero" – 3:45
  4. "Bartender" – 3:12
Vinyl 10th Anniversary edition disc 2, side B Bonus Track
  1. "Baby Jesus" – 2:43

Personnel

  • Regina Spektor – piano, vocals, guitar, percussion
  • Nick Valensi – guitar on "Better"
  • David Kahne – bass on "Better"
  • Zhao Gang – erhu on "Field Below"
  • Ralph U. Williams – saxophone on "Lady"
  • Shawn Pelton – drums on "Fidelity", "Better", "On the Radio", "Hotel Song", "Après Moi" & "That Time"
  • Rachel Beth Egenhoefer – album design
  • David Kahne – mainstream pop producer

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) Gold 35,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ) Gold 7,500^
United Kingdom (BPI) Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA) Gold 600,000
Summaries
Worldwide 1,000,000

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Single success

In 2006, Regina Spektor's first single, "Fidelity", premiered on VH1. Soon after, VH1 included her among "You Oughta Know: Artists on the Rise".

Spektor performed "Fidelity" on Late Night with Conan O'Brien in July 2006 and on ABC's Good Morning America in April 2007. She also performed "On The Radio" on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in November 2006. She performed the song again on Late Show with David Letterman in April 2007, and on the Australian Rove McManus show in 2007.

"Better" was released to US radio in late July 2007.

Even though it was not released as a single, "Hotel Song" has reached No. 11 in the Irish music download charts and No. 16 in the Irish Top 50 Singles Chart as of May 2007.

"Samson" is a new recording of a song originally released on 2002's Songs. Gwen Stefani used the song for her Season 9 battle between Korin Bukowski and Chase Kerby on The Voice.

"Après Moi" was covered by Peter Gabriel on his 2010 album Scratch My Back.

In popular culture

Sales

  • In New Zealand, the album was certified Gold for sales of more than 7,500.
  • In Australia, the album was certified Gold for sales of more than 35,000.
  • In the United States, the album was certified Gold for shipments of over 500,000 copies. Its sales have since surpassed 600,000 according to Nielsen/Soundscan.

This page was last updated at 2024-03-04 06:09 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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