Morbid Lullabies

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Morbid Lullabies
Cover
studio album by Amy Marshall
Released December 3, 2007 (original release)
September 1, 2008 (re-release)
Genre(s) Rock
Label Wired
Producer Amy Marshall
Certification Diamond
Amy Marshall chronology
Peculiar Secret
(2006)
Morbid Lullabies
(2007)
Reincarnation
(2009)
Singles from Morbid Lullabies
  1. "Close My Eyes Forever"
    Released: November 26, 2007
  2. "Smiles Are Out Of Style"
    Released: March 10, 2008
  3. "I Lived For The Day"
    Released: July 14, 2008
  4. "Running With Scissors"
    Released: August 25, 2008
  5. "Painkiller"
    Released: November 24, 2008

Morbid Lullabies is the third studio album from New York singer-songwriter Amy Marshall. Taking on an edgier and darker tone than her past two albums, the album was released on December 3, 2007, the week after its lead single "Close My Eyes Forever" was released.

On September 1, 2008, the album was re-released with five new tracks. "Running With Scissors", co-written by Amy's wife Katrina Regalna and featuring guest vocals from her band Horrorfilm Horizon, was the re-release's lead single.

Album information[edit | edit source]

Amy started working on new material in break periods while in the process of promoting her previous album, and continued while on a break in her home state of New York. However executives at Alias met with her to discuss the status of the material and they pressured her to abandon a great deal of the songs written for the album due to "harsh and morose" content, dealing with sensitive themes such as spousal abuse and self-harm inflicted on children. Amy agreed to scrap many of these tracks, understanding that a change in direction too drastic would alienate fans of her more radio-friendly work.

Amy wanted to create an album with a darker tone than her previous two, but since many of the songs she wrote went too far, she enlisted the help of writing collaborators Damned, Innocent, Helene Schneider, and Ashley Esterwood to maintain the dark mood but try not to dig too deep into anything that could offend some ears.

The album marks the second time Amy has worked with Innocent and Esmeralda Dimuzio. Innocent were featured on "Heart Attack" from Peculiar Secret, while Esmeralda, who appears on the first single "Close My Eyes Forever", wrote "Help" and "Don't Turn Your Back" for Amy Marshall.

The album is Amy's first to bear a Parental Advisory sticker. It is also her first release with Wired Records, after severing ties with longtime label Alias following the release of "Close My Eyes Forever".

Though Morbid Lullabies is primarily a rock album, the album's re-release contains two tracks that see Amy experimenting with European electropop. The Horrorfilm Horizon collaboration "Running With Scissors" and the China-penned "Trying To Keep Sane" are highly influenced by the works of the songwriting/production teams Xenomania and Bloodshy & Avant.

"The Fainting Girl" was written about a young girl who enjoys playing the fainting game. The song was scrapped from the album because Alias bosses deemed it too controversial, but Wired bosses believed it was one of Amy's strongest works and wanted it included on the reissued version.

Reaction[edit | edit source]

The full album leaked online on November 17, 2007. Fans have praised the album on the same level as her previous album. Some critics, however, believe Amy took a misstep in being too dependent on her writing collaborators.

Chart performance[edit | edit source]

Morbid Lullabies entered the charts at #2 upon its release, just behind Esmeralda's greatest hits album. It sold 67,691 copies in its first week, slightly outselling the 60,044 it took Peculiar Secret to reach the same position.

The week after, the album succeeded Essie's album and took the #1 spot with 80,519 copies sold in its second week in stores, giving Amy her first #1 album and what was her best sales week on the album charts until the next week when it became the Christmas #1 album of 2007.

Morbid Lullabies sold a total of 1,479,016 copies, giving Amy her second diamond album and her highest selling album so far. It spent 61 weeks in the top 40, becoming a personal best for albums longevity.

Track listing[edit | edit source]

1. Leave Me Be
2. Smiles Are Out Of Style
3. Close My Eyes Forever (with Esmeralda Dimuzio)
4. I Lived For The Day
5. Ugly
6. Painkiller
7. Crash And Learn
8. Infatuation
9. Cloud Nine Is For Daydreamers
10. Ten
11. Giving It Up
12. Whisper Suicide
Special edition bonus tracks
13. Running With Scissors (with Horrorfilm Horizon)
14. Trying To Keep Myself Sane
15. Too Late To Erase
16. Pressure
17. The Fainting Girl

Alternate covers[edit | edit source]

Amy Marshall
Amy Marshall "Fading Into Nowhere" · "Immature" · "Don't Turn Your Back" · "No One/Mood Swing" "It Must Be Love"
Peculiar Secret "Teen Queens & iPod Dreams" · "Fake Smiles From Hollywood" · "Modest Machine/Love Is A Battlefield" · "I Screwed It Up"
Morbid Lullabies "Close My Eyes Forever" · "Smiles Are Out Of Style" · "I Lived For The Day" · "Running With Scissors" · "Painkiller"
Reincarnation "Bang!" · "Why I Drink" · "The Good Girl"
The Breast Of Amy Marshall "Game Over"
Broken Angel "Black Widow Sting" · "Best Friends Forever"
Amy "OOPS!" · "Ugly Duckling"
FEROCIOUS. "If This Is Love"
Other releases "Play The Game" · "Hold Fire"
Related topics Discography · Fusion Records · URAPS Idol 9
Preceded by
Greatest Hits by Esmeralda Dimuzio
Urapopstar #1 Album
December 16, 2007-December 30, 2007
Succeeded by
Songs Of A Stereotype by Ryan Dawson
Preceded by
Songs Of A Superman: The Christmas Album by Nate Brown
Urapopstar Christmas #1 album
2007
Succeeded by
Love by Jake & Yannik