Eye to the Telescope explained

Eye to the Telescope
Type:	studio
Artist:	KT Tunstall
Cover:	Eyetothetelescope.jpg
Alt:	A sepia photograph of Tunstall wearing a black vest and holding her left hand against her head. Stylised in the top left corner are the words "KT Tunstall" and "Eye to the Telescope".
Recorded:	2004
Studio:	Nam Studios (Bath, England)
Length:	45:44
Label:	Relentless
Prev Title:	False Alarm EP
Prev Year:	2004
Next Title:	KT Tunstall's Acoustic Extravaganza
Next Year:	2006

Eye to the Telescope is the debut studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall, originally released on 13 December 2004 and re-released 10 January 2005 by Relentless Records. On 19 July 2005, it was nominated for the 2005 Mercury Music Prize in the United Kingdom. Tunstall promoted the album in the United States and Canada in December 2005. The album was released on 7 February 2006 in the US. Also, a special CD/DVD edition of the album was released in September 2006 in the United States, along with a different cover and a bonus track.

The album was a strong seller worldwide, and became the 50th best-selling album of the 2000s decade in the United Kingdom.^[1]

Critical reception

Reviews for Eye to the Telescope were positive. Mark A. Price of PopMatters gave the album a score of 7 out of 10, noting that it manages to sound "both new and familiar", mixing influences from artists like Melissa Etheridge and Fiona Apple, while adding some originality of her own.^[2] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic gave it three and a half stars out of five, calling it "a promising, satisfying debut". On Metacritic, Eye to the Telescope has a score of 76 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[3]

Chart performance

The album entered the UK album chart at 73 and quickly dropped out again (it originally entered the lower regions of the Top 200 in its debut week, but these placings are not officially recorded for statistical purposes). It re-entered at 66 a few weeks later, and its rise was both surprising and unique for a new album on the UK charts. It improved every week for four weeks before peaking at number 36, then dropping down as low as 63 again. It then resumed a somewhat meteoric rise, culminating in a peak of number seven before slowly shifting back down. The publicity surrounding Tunstall's Mercury Music Prize nomination sent it back up the charts to an eventual peak of No. 3, after which time it became a Top 20 mainstay for the rest of 2005. It dropped out of the Top 10 in the 61st week, and has dropped continually since, before ending its run at 72 weeks. After a several month absence, the album returned at No. 66 for a 73rd non-consecutive week in August 2006.

The singles from the album became increasingly more successful, with "Other Side of the World" spending almost five months on the chart and "Suddenly I See" remaining in the Top 40 for 10 weeks. The album's next single, "Under the Weather", entered the chart at No. 39, while the fifth and final single, "Another Place to Fall", became Tunstall's first single to miss the Top 40 after more than 1.3 million copies of the album had been sold. In total, Tunstall has spent 133 weeks so far on the British charts.

The album was certified 5× platinum by the Irish album chart selling about 75,000 copies, and shipping 1.5 million copies in the UK, certifying it 5× platinum there as well. It was also certified platinum in Canada in January 2007. Worldwide, the album has sold 2.6 million copies.^[4]

Track listing

All tracks produced by Steve Osborne, except for track 1, "Other Side of the World", which is produced by Osborne and Martin Terefe, and track 4, "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree", which is produced by Andy Green.

Notes

• The original edition of the album, released in December 2004, had a slightly different track order and did not include the studio version of "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree"; the version of the track recorded on Later... with Jools Holland was included as a "bonus live track".

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.^[5]

• KT Tunstall – vocals (tracks 1–4, 6, 8–9, 11–12, Lead: 5, 7, 10), guitar (1–11), wurlitzer (1, 10), pianet (3, 7), Shelltone horn (3), piano (2, 5, 8, 12), Doepfer bass (4, 7), chimes (8), additional percussion (4)
• Steve Osborne – shelltone horn (tracks 1–2), bass (2, 5, 11), additional guitar (2, 7, 10–11), percussion (5), moog synthesizer (7), background vocals (7, 10), audio mixing (10)
• Arnulf Lindner – double bass (tracks 1–2), bass guitar (3, 6, 8–9), baritone guitar (6, 9)
• Luke Bullen – drums (tracks 1–3, 5–12), percussion (3–4, 9–10), cajon (5–6, 9–10)
• Martin Terefe – additional keyboards (track 1)
• Ian Burdge – cello (tracks 2, 10)

Charts

Year-end charts

Chart (2005)	Position
European Albums (Billboard)^[7]	33
Irish Albums (IRMA)^[8]	14
UK Albums (OCC)^[9]	7

Chart (2006)	Position
European Albums (Billboard)^[10]	55
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[11]	8
UK Albums (OCC)^[12]	34
US Billboard 200^[13]	74
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)^[14]	12

Chart (2007)	Position
UK Albums (OCC)^[15]	149
US Billboard 200^[16]	137

All-time charts

Release history

Country	Release date	Label	Format	Catalogue
United Kingdom		Relentless	CD	CDREL06
			CD + LP	CDRELX06 + LPREL06
United States		Virgin	CD	507292
			CD+DVD	747292

Notes and References

1. Web site: Top Selling Albums of Decade in UK - U2 Feedback. www.u2interference.com. 28 December 2009 . 8 August 2017. 8 August 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170808233124/http://www.u2interference.com/forums/f225/top-selling-albums-of-decade-in-uk-204143.html. live.
2. Web site: . 15 March 2006 . Mark A. . Price . KT Tunstall: Eye to the Telescope > Album Review . 4 April 2006 . PopMatters . 7 January 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090107160036/http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/kt_tunstall_eye_to_the_telescope . live .
3. Web site: Metacritic: KT Tunstall – Eye to the Telescope . . 5 July 2008 . Metacritic . 19 September 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220919210111/https://www.metacritic.com/music/eye-to-the-telescope/kt-tunstall . live .
4. Web site: Undercover News: EMI Share Price Drops On Restructure Announcement . Cashmere, Paul . Paul Cashmere . 13 January 2007 . undercover.fm . 21 March 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120403043247/http://www.undercover.fm/news/1275-emi-share-price-drops-on-restructure-announcement . 3 April 2012 . dead .
5. Eye to the Telescope. KT Tunstall. Relentless. Virgin. 2006. booklet. 0946 3 50729 2 1.
6. Web site: https://archive.today/20061110190543/http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Charts/ALBUMS.html. November 10, 2006. Top 100 Albums. Jam!. usurped. December 7, 2023.
7. Year End European Top 100 Albums Chart 2005 01 - 2005 52. Billboard. https://web.archive.org/web/20060415014752/http://www.billboard.biz/bb/biz/images/pdf/YearEndEuropeanAlbums.pdf. 15 April 2006. 18 September 2021.
8. Web site: Top 20 Albums of 2005. Irish Recorded Music Association. 23 November 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101123223942/http://irma.ie/best2005.htm#albums. 23 November 2010.
9. Web site: Christie Scores Top Selling UK Single of 2005. 3 January 2006. contactmusic.com. 30 August 2018. 14 February 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210214035433/https://www.contactmusic.com/tony-christie/news/christie-scores-top-selling-uk-single-of-2005. live.
10. 2006 Year-End European Albums. Billboard. 18 September 2021. https://archive.today/20120629080425/http://login.vnuemedia.com/bbbiz/charts/yearendcharts/2006/european_top_100_albums.jsp. 29 June 2012.
11. Web site: Top Selling Albums of 2006. Recorded Music NZ. 16 October 2021. 12 January 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210112162109/https://nztop40.co.nz/chart/albums?chart=2218. live.
12. Web site: End of Year Album Chart Top 100 - 2006. Official Charts Company. 30 August 2018. 24 May 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150524011613/http://www.officialcharts.com/charts/end-of-year-artist-albums-chart/20060108/37502. live.
13. Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2006. Billboard. 23 December 2020. 1 January 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150101185138/http://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2006/top-billboard-200-albums. live.
14. Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2006. Billboard. 23 December 2020. 7 October 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201007192134/https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2006/top-rock-albums. live.
15. Web site: UK Year-End Charts 2007. Official Charts Company. ChartsPlus. 24 May 2021. 21 September 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130921055507/http://www.ukchartsplus.co.uk/ChartsPlusYE2007.pdf. live.
16. Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2007. Billboard. 23 December 2020. 28 February 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150228075828/https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2007/top-billboard-200-albums. live.
17. The Noughties' Official UK Albums Chart Top 100. Music Week. . London, England . 19 . 30 January 2010.
18. Web site: Ireland's Top 50 biggest female artist albums. The Official Charts Company . 6 March 2019. 6 March 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190306235254/https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/the-top-50-biggest-female-artist-albums-of-all-time-in-ireland__25728/.