Write a Review
Critic's Review
Kelly McCartney, All Music Guide
Fumbling Towards Ecstasy finds Sarah McLachlan racing toward success as she reteams with producer Pierre Marchand on her breakthrough release and finest offering to date. Stretching her lyrical wings and experimenting a bit more instrumentally, the radiance of her work has somehow solidified here. Ecstasy is certainly attained, though not by fumbling, for McLachlan has far too much finesse to be so awkward as that. "Possession," the track that caught people's attention and began her pop chart ascension, is a twisted tale of love as told through the mind and heart of a stalker, although as voiced by McLachlan, many would wish to have such a problem. Two versions of "Possession" are included: the first is a fully produced, upbeat, drum-looped groove that comes off as all but happy; the second is a minimalist hidden track with just McLachlan and her piano sketching the story in a much more haunting, almost eerie fashion. From the lighthearted comparisons of love's sweetness in "Ice Cream" to the more somber experience of the impending death of a loved one in "Hold On," McLachlan never flinches, never takes the easy route of cliché and formula. This care and attention given to her art allows each song to stand strong individually, making the whole an extraordinary collection. [The Japanese edition also includes the B-side "Blue."]
