Born on January 28th, 1968, Sarah McLachlan has reached a level of artistic maturity that most artists take years to attain. Since releasing " Touch" in the late 1980s, the Halifax, Nova Scotia native has explored her own unique musical interests, indifferent to current trends and fads. McLachlan's intimate vocals and moody, evocative songs convey a passionate honesty rarely found in most of today's music.

McLachlan studied classical guitar, piano and voice as a child, and at the age of 17 was discovered by Nettwerk Records at her first performance as part of a New Wave band. Reluctant parents kept McLachlan from signing her first record deal for two years. After relocating to Vancouver, McLachlan began writing music for her first album, " Touch" . The album went gold in Canada and McLachlan was suddenly rocketed to stardom and hailed as that year's most exciting and important new artist.

After an extensive tour with her first band, McLachlan returned to the studio to record "Solace", which was released in 1992. It succeeded both critically and commercially and catapulted McLachlan to international prominence.

The release of " Solace" was followed by an exhaustive 16-month tour after which McLachlan returned to Vancouver to begin writing songs for her album," Fumbling Towards Ecstasy"

The (American) hit single from that album, "Hold On," was inspired by the documentary "A Promise Kept", about a woman whose fiancé discovers he has AIDS. Overwhelmed by the woman's strength and selflessness, McLachlan wrote the song in a single day. It is an unsentimental portrait of a woman's courage in the face of adversity. "Hold On" appeared on the "No Alternative" compilation album, the proceeds of which go to support AIDS research.

During 1997 McLachlan released her fourth album, " Surfacing", which contained the hit "Aida". She also took time out to organize and headline the acclaimed Lilith Fair, which focused on women singer-songwriters such as Jewel, Shawn Colvin, Patti Griffin, Indigo Girls, Sheryl Crow and Emmylou Harris. It became the most successful tour of the summer of 1997. She spent the summer of '98 back on the road with the second Lilith Fair tour.

 

In June 1999 she released " Mirrorball" , a live album which received a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Album.

 

The "Remixed" CD came next in 2001. This brought together some of her songs given the remix treatment by well known mixers like DJ Tiesto, William Orbit and BT.

 

In the UK Sarah is probably best known for her vocals on the chart hit "Silence" by Delerium.

 

Her latest studio album in November 2003 was "Afterglow" followed a year later in November 2004 with the live CD/DVD "Afterglow".

 

In September 2005, a second remix album called "Bloom" was released.

Now 7 years after the release of "Mirrorball", a new expanded version hit the racks in October 2006. "Mirrorball - The complete concert" A 2 CD release featuring the full gig recorded in Portland, Oregon.

Also new for 2006 is the Holiday album "Wintersong" Sarah's first-ever holiday album. Twelve new classics including "I'll Be Home For Christmas", "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas", "Silent Night", and "Christmas Time Is Here" 

The latest release (2008) is "Closer - The best of Sarah McLachlan", which is released as a standard version, and also a deluxe version. The deluxe is a double album which also includes some new material.

Discography

Touch

(Arista 1989)

 

 

Solace

(Arista 1991)

 

 

Fumbling Towards Ecstacy

(Arista 1994)

 

 

The Freedom Sessions

(Arista 1995)

 

 

Rarities, B sides and Other Stuff

(Netwerk 1996)

 

 

Surfacing

(Arista 1997)

 

 

Mirrorball

(Arista 1999)

 

 

Remixed

(Nettwerk 2001)

 

Afterglow

(Nettwerk / Arista 2003)

 

Afterglow (Live)

CD and DVD double Set

(Arista 2004)

 

Bloom

(Arista 2005)

 

Mirrorball The complete Concert

(Nettwerk 2006)

 

 

Wintersong

(Nettwerk 2006)

 

Closer: The Best Of Sarah Maclachlan

(Netwerk 2008)

This page last updated Sunday 26th July 2009 © A S Mackness 2009