Today marks the 20th anniversary of Amanda Marshall’s debut, eponymous album, released October 17, 1995. The album spawned seven Top 20 hits and was awarded with diamond certification for selling one million copies in Canada. The album’s biggest hit was “Birmingham” which peaked at #3 and at #43 in the United States. “Beautiful Goodbye”, #5, and “Let It Rain”, #7, attracted some attention in Britain charting within the Top 80. A track listing with weekly peak RPM chart positions is below.
Amanda Marshall
1. Let It Rain, #7
2. Birmingham, #3
3. Fall From Grace, #11
4. Dark Horse, #5
5. Beautiful Goodbye, #5
6. Sitting On Top of the World, #5
7. Last Exit to Eden
8. Trust Me This Is Love, #18
9. Let’s Get Lost
10. Promises
Amanda’s husky vocals and earthy pop-rock style were compared to the works of Bryan Adams, Melissa Ethridge, and Sheryl Crowe. The album provided a nice complement to the more alternative rock vibes of Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill released four months earlier. Songwriters on the Amanda Marshall album included some of Alannah Myles’ collaborators: Christopher Ward and David Tyson. The latter, a three-time JUNO winner, also produced the album. Canadian songwriters Dean McTaggart and Marc Jordan and the United States’ Kristen Hall lent a hand as well. The Canadian Encyclopedia writes:
“More than 2 million units were purchased worldwide, and it was certified gold in Germany, Norway, the Netherlands and Australia. Elton John was a fan of the album, and his televised endorsement on Rosie O’Donnell’s show won Marshall valuable exposure in the US. Her songs were also included on a number of top soundtracks, including those for the television program Touched by an Angel, and the movies My Best Friend’s Wedding and Tin Cup.“
Amanda Marshall was born and raised in Toronto. She released two more studio albums after her debut which did well and contributed further to an impressive array of hit singles. Amanda released a greatest hits compilation in 2003. She never won a JUNO award but was nominated 11 times. Amanda Marshall’s “Beautiful Goodbye” was one of the eight tracks by Canadian artists in the RPM Top 10 of November 25, 1996, quite possibly the most CanCon Top 10 in domestic chart history.
The Canadian Music Blog strongly recommends this superb album as an essential addition to one’s music collection. Amanda Marshall is one of the finest studio albums ever to come out of Canada. iTunes
Canadian Music Blog 
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