Equally Cursed and Blessed

While touring in the United States following the success of their second studio album, International Velvet, Catatonia recorded sample demos onto a DPS12 hard disk recorder in their tour bus upon the recommendation of their producer, TommyD.{{cite news|title=TOMMY D: Recording Catatonia's 'Dead From The Waist Down'|url=http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/may99/articles/tracks.htm|access-date=15 April 2016|work=Sound on Sound|date=May 1999|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412213847/http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/may99/articles/tracks.htm|archive-date=12 April 2016}} They returned to the Monnow Valley Studio in Monmouth, Wales,{{sfn | Owens| 2000 | p=213}} where they had recorded the previous album,{{sfn | Owens| 2000 | pp=167}} to record Equally Cursed and Blessed.{{sfn | Owens| 2000 | p=213}}

The album was announced in January 1999; the title taken from a line in the song "She's a Millionaire". The first single, "Dead from the Waist Down" was released on 29 March 1999, with the album released on 12 April.{{cite magazine|title=New Releases – For Week Starting 29 March, 1999: Singles|magazine=Music Week|page=23|date=27 March 1999}}{{cite news|last1=Bychawski|first1=Adam|title=Catatonia: Kung Fu and Curses|url=https://www.nme.com/news/catatonia/1015|access-date=2 April 2016|work=NME|date=25 January 1999}} This repeated the release schedule used for International Velvet, which had been preceded by "Mulder and Scully" by the same period of time.{{sfn | Owens| 2000 | p=189}}

Equally Cursed and Blessed faced competition from ABBA's 1992 compilation album Gold: Greatest Hits for the number one spot on the UK Album Chart, as the ABBA album had re-charted due to the success of the Mamma Mia! musical featuring the band's songs. But by midweek, the Catatonia album was 15,000 sales ahead and it went on to secure the top place in the chart.{{sfn | Owens| 2000 | p=229}} At the time, all three Catatonia studio albums were in the top 40.{{sfn | Owens| 2000 | p=229}} Equally Cursed and Blessed went on to be certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry showing at least 300,000 copies sold.{{cite web|title=Certified Awards – Certification Levels |url=http://www.bpi.co.uk/certification-levels.aspx |publisher=BPI |access-date=30 July 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130124102159/http://www.bpi.co.uk/certification-levels.aspx |archive-date=24 January 2013}}

The American release of the album saw two tracks from International Velvet added, including "Road Rage".{{cite news|last1=Jenkins|first1=Mark|title=Catatonia: Time to Wake America|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-504067.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160505122258/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-504067.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 May 2016|access-date=1 April 2016|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=29 March 2000|url-access=subscription |via=HighBeam Research}}

The album spawned one top-10 single, "Dead from the Waist Down", which reached number seven.{{cite web|title=Catatonia|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/32451/catatonia/|publisher=The Official Charts Company|access-date=19 April 2016}} The band had intended to release "Karaoke Queen" as the follow-up, but were overruled by the record label and they were forced to release "Londinium" on 12 July 1999 instead.{{cite magazine|title=New Releases – For Week Starting 12 July, 1999: Singles|magazine=Music Week|page=23|date=10 July 1999}} This angered lead singer Cerys Matthews, as did the expense of the video for the single which had cost more than Equally Cursed and Blessed took to make.{{cite news|last1=Bychawski|first1=Adam|title=Cerys: We Hate 'Londinium'|url=https://www.nme.com/news/catatonia/1735|access-date=2 April 2016|work=NME|date=29 June 1999}} "Londinium" failed to reach the top ten, placing at number 20. "Karaoke Queen" was released as the third single on 1 November 1999 but stalled at number 36.{{cite magazine|title=New Releases – For Week Starting 1 November, 1999: Singles|magazine=Music Week|page=33|date=30 October 1999}} "Nothing Hurts" was slated to be the fourth single release from the album but was shelved following the low chart placement of "Karaoke Queen".{{sfn | Owens| 2000 | p=258}} For the release of the Make Hay Not War: The Blanco Y Negro Years boxset, released on Cherry Red in 2023, the song "Karaoke Queen" was removed from the reissue of this album at the band's request.

{{track listing

|title1 = Dead from the Waist Down

|writer1 = Mark Roberts, Catatonia

|length1 = 4:16

|title2 = Londinium

|writer2 = Roberts, Catatonia

|length2 = 4:36

|title3 = Post Script

|writer3 = Cerys Matthews, Roberts, Catatonia

|length3 = 4:56

|title4 = She's a Millionaire

|writer4 = Roberts, Catatonia

|length4 = 4:22

|title5 = Storm the Palace

|writer5 = Mark Roberts, Catatonia

|length5 = 2:38

|title6 = Karaoke Queen (later removed from 2023)

|writer6 = Matthews, Catatonia

|length6 = 5:06

|title7 = Bulimic Beats

|writer7 = Matthews, Catatonia

|length7 = 3:43

|title8 = Valerian

|writer8 = Matthews, Catatonia

|length8 = 4:21

|title9 = Shoot the Messenger

|writer9 = Matthews, Paul Jones, Catatonia

|length9 = 3:58

|title10 = Nothing Hurts

|writer10 = Owen Powell, Catatonia

|length10 = 3:11

|title11 = Dazed, Beautiful and Bruised

|writer11 = Powell, Catatonia

|length11 = 3:42

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = US release bonus tracks

|title12 = Road Rage

|length12 = 5:10

|title13 = Mulder and Scully

|length13 = 4:10

|title14 = Road Rage

|length14 = 4:18

|note14 = Enhanced video

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Bonus one-sided 7" included with LP release

|title1 = Nothing Hurts (live)

|length1 = 3:29

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = 2015 reissue bonus disc{{cite web|title=Equally Cursed And Blessed|url=http://www.demonmusicgroup.co.uk/catalogue/releases/equally-cursed-and-blessed/|website=Demon Music Group|access-date=7 May 2015}}

|title1 = Nothing Hurts

|length1 = 3:29

|note1 = live

|title2 = Dead from the Waist Down

|length2 = 3:40

|note2 = radio edit

|title3 = Branding a Mountain

|length3 = 1:57

|title4 = Bad Bad Boy

|length4 = 2:49

|title5 = Intercontinental Sigh

|length5 = 2:56

|title6 = Apathy Revolution

|length6 = 4:20

|title7 = Karaoke Queen

|length7 = 4:17

|note7 = remix

|title8 = Don't Wanna Talk About It

|length8 = 3:35

|title9 = Karaoke Queen

|length9 = 3:48

|note9 = remix edit

|title10 = Karaoke Queen

|length10 = 3:48

|note10 = remix edit) (karaoke version

|title11 = Dead from the Waist Down

|length11 = 3:51

|note11 = karaoke version}}

• Cerys Matthews – vocals
• Mark Roberts – guitar
• Owen Powell – guitar
• Paul Jones – bass
• Aled Richards – drums

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{{Certification Table Top}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=album|award=Platinum|artist=Catatonia|title=Equally Cursed And Blessed|relyear=1999|certyear=1999|id=2079-2241-2|accessdate=12 December 2020}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite book |last1=Owens|first1=David|title=Cerys, Catatonia and the Rise of Welsh Pop |year=2000 |publisher=Ebury Publishing |location=London|isbn=978-0-0918-7412-4}}

{{refend}}

{{Catatonia}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Catatonia (band) albums

Category:1999 albums

Category:Blanco y Negro Records albums