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9 (Damien Rice album)

9 is the second album by Irish singer-songwriter Damien Rice, released in 2006. The album was released on November 6 in the UK, and on November 14, 2006 in the US. It was followed by the single "9 Crimes," which was released on November 27, 2006. The record went gold in the UK.

Critical reaction

The record was released to mixed critical and fan reaction. NME gave the record 4/10, branding it with a rather unflattering phrase of "Ikea Rock". On the other hand, a review from Hotpress mentioned that "If Rice really was a nervous wounded-wing, there's no way he'd skirt as close to Nick Drake comparisons as he does on 'The Animals Are Gone'" and, mentioning some of the 'noise' on the first track "9 Crimes", that "there's another noise that can be made out faintly but distinctly - the sound of the Grays, LaMontagnes, Johnsons and the Blunts of this world breaking their pencil tips on their jotters in sheer envy and frustration". Both Mojo and Q gave it 4/5, with the latter branding Rice very much in the positive as "The King Of Pain" and The Sunday Times made the record their 'Album of the Week' and it was People Magazine's Critic Choice in November 2006.

Track listing

1. “9 Crimes” — 3:39
   • Contains the hidden track “9 Crimes” (Demo) in the pregap of the track. It is a rough demo of “9 Crimes” with all vocals sung by Rice.
2. “The Animals Were Gone” — 5:41
3. “Elephant” — 5:57
4. “Rootless Tree” - 4:22
5. “Dogs” — 4:11
6. “Coconut Skins” — 3:45
7. “Me, My Yoke + I” — 5:57
8. “Grey Room” — 5:43
9. “Accidental Babies” — 6:34
10. “Sleep Don’t Weep” — 21:54
    • The song ends with 16 minutes of wine glasses and a Tibetan singing bowl, an instrument with alleged healing powers, being played, with Rice whispering in Czech, “it’s over… it’s over”.^{[citation needed]}
11. “The Rat Within the Grain” [bonus track] — 2:54

Song information

• "Elephant" was originally titled "The Blower's Daughter Part 2". The original "The Blower's Daughter" is from Damien Rice's first album O.
• There are three singles from the album (so far): "9 Crimes" (November 27, 2006), "Rootless Tree" (February 5, 2007), and "Dogs" (September 17, 2007). "Elephant" and "The Animals Were Gone" are rumored to be future singles.
• "9 Crimes" appears in the computer animated motion picture Shrek The Third (2007), but not included on the accompanying soundtrack however. (FILM.com: The Music of Shrek the Third: Royal Pain)
• "Me, My Yoke + I" is a song regarding Damien himself, as an Irish-based Catholic, discovering masturbation as a teenager.
• There are similarities between "Sleep Don't Weep" from this album and "Cold Water" from Rice's first album O. When played together they sound like a four way duet. There is another similarity between "The Blower's Daughter" and "Elephant".
• 9 Crimes is also featured on Spin 1038 and Grey's Anatomy.

Charts

Source

• http://www.nme.com/news/damien-rice/24400
• http://www.damienrice.com