The Corrs "Talk On Corners"

Talk on Corners is the second studio album by Irish pop rock band The Corrs. It was released on 24 October 1997 by 143, Lava and Atlantic Records. Preceded by lead single "Only When I Sleep", which became a top ten hit internationally, the album was an immediate commercial success in several territories, including Ireland, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Its commercial performance elsewhere was initially modest, however.

The Corrs' entire concert from the Royal Albert Hall was broadcast live on BBC One on Saint Patrick's Day in 1998, where they were joined during their performance of "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac drummer Mick Fleetwood. This event did much to raise the band's international profile. A remixed version of "Dreams" went on to become their first top ten hit on the UK Singles Chart. The record was reissued the following month to include the song as a bonus track. This would be the first of several different editions of Talk on Corners to be released over the album's two year-long promotional cycle.

Over this period, the band released a string of increasingly successful hit singles, culminating with a Tin Tin Out remix of "Runaway" peaking at number two in the UK. The Corrs also toured extensively to promote the record: the "Talk on Corners World Tour" saw them perform almost 160 concerts across twelve separate legs. The album spent ten weeks at number one in the UK. On one of these weeks, previous album Forgiven, Not Forgotten reached a new peak of number two, making The Corrs the first act since The Beatles to simultaneously occupy the top two positions of the UK Albums Chart. It ended 1998 as the highest-selling album of the year, and remains one of the best-selling albums of all time there, as well as the highest-selling album ever by an Irish act.

The Corrs began work on new material in California in July 1996, initially under the supervision of producer David Foster. Lead vocalist Andrea Corr has described the making of Talk on Corners as being "a struggle", with the band put under pressure by Atlantic Records to deliver a successful follow-up to their 1995 debut album Forgiven, Not Forgotten. Their manager John Hughes cited second album syndrome as a common source of pressure for all recording artists, but said further demands came from the label, who were concerned that none of the songs they were being presented with seemed like potential hit singles. The label disliked "What Can I Do" and "So Young", particularly the latter, and the band had to fight hard for their inclusion on the album.

Additional co-writers and producers were brought in to help improve the album's hit potential, including Carole Bayer Sager, Glen Ballard, Oliver Leiber, Rick Nowels and Billy Steinberg. The use of different producers on different tracks introduced further difficulties: the band found it hard to achieve consistency throughout the entire album, although this would be remedied by the Corrs using over forty hours of studio time to record overdubs. In May 1997, the finalised album was delivered to Atlantic, who were unimpressed by the material and ordered the band to continue recording new tracks. When they refused, the label threatened to sue the band for breach of contract. This dispute was only resolved when John Hughes signed a contract guaranteeing future album sales, with the manager being held personally liable if Talk on Corners failed to yield a profit for Atlantic.

Talk on Corners is predominantly a pop rock album, although it also incorporates elements of Celtic and traditional Irish music. Andrea Corr was the album's primary lyricist, co-writing numerous songs with established composers and producers: she co-wrote "Queen of Hollywood" with Glen Ballard, best known for co-writing Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror" (1987), as well as for co-writing and producing the Alanis Morissette album Jagged Little Pill (1995). "Intimacy" was co-written by Pat Benatar guitarist Neil Giraldo, and Billy Steinberg—the writer of hit singles including Madonna's "Like a Virgin" (1984) and "Eternal Flame" (1989) by The Bangles. Several songs on the record were co-written and produced by Oliver Leiber, the son of composer Jerry Leiber who – alongside Mike Stoller – co-wrote some of the biggest hits of the fifties and sixties, including Elvis Presley's "Hound Dog" (1953) and "Jailhouse Rock" (1957), as well as Ben E. King's "Stand By Me" (1961). Their cover of the Jimi Hendrix song "Little Wing" features Irish folk collective The Chieftains. The album's title is derived from a lyric in the song "Queen of Hollywood".

The original edition of the album was released internationally from October 1997, and was an immediate commercial success in several territories. Within five months of release, Talk on Corners had sold over a million copies worldwide, and was certified sextuple platinum in their home country, as well as double platinum in Australia and Spain, platinum in Denmark and New Zealand, and gold in both Japan and Sweden. Its commercial success elsewhere was initially modest, however, with the album debuting at number 23 in France and at number 56 in Germany. In the UK, it debuted at number 7, but would fall out of the top forty there within a month of release. "Only When I Sleep" and "I Never Loved You Anyway" were released as the album's first two singles, with the former becoming a top ten hit in Ireland, while both songs peaked within the top forty of the Australian Singles Chart. "What Can I Do" was released as the album's third single, and also went on to be a top forty hit in Ireland. All three singles failed to reach the top forty of the UK Singles Chart.

Fleetwood Mac drummer Mick Fleetwood joined the band at their concert in the Royal Albert Hall on 17 March 1998 during their performance of "Dreams", which the band had recently contributed to the album Legacy: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac's Rumours. The entire concert was broadcast live on BBC One as part of that organisation's coverage of Saint Patrick's Day, and the event did much to raise the band's profile. The cover would become the Corrs' first top forty hit in the UK, after it peaked at number six. The following month, Talk on Corners was reissued in numerous territories with "Dreams" included as a bonus track, and the album finally peaked at number one in the UK on 21 June 1998, its 35th week on the chart. This edition of the album was the first to be released in the United States. It was released on May 5, and peaked at number 17 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers Albums. The Corrs: Live at the Royal Albert Hall was released in August.

Track listing

1. "Only When I Sleep" 4:24
2. "When He's Not Around" 4:25
3. "Dreams" (1998 re-release bonus track)  4:01
4. "What Can I Do" 4:18
5. "I Never Loved You Anyway" 4:27
6. "So Young" 3:53
7. "Don't Say You Love Me"   4:39
8. "Love Gives Love Takes" 3:42
9. "Hopelessly Addicted" 4:03
10. "Paddy McCarthy" (instrumental) 4:58
11. "Intimacy" 3:57
12. "Queen of Hollywood" 5:02
13. "No Good for Me" 4:00
14. "Little Wing" 5:08

Total length: 60:59

Recorded at Peak Studios, Westland Studios and Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin, Ireland; Ollywood Studios in Hollywood; Chartmaker, Inc. Studio in Malibu; A&M Studios, Aerowave Studio, Mulhulland Studio, Rafelson Recording Studio and the Record Plant in Los Angeles between July 1996 and May 1997.

All songs mixed by Bob Clearmountain, except: "Dreams" mixed by Rob Chiarelli and "Don't Say You Love Me" mixed by Mick Guzauski.

Mastered by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering Studios.