| The Color of Silence | |
| Type: | Album |
| Artist: | Tiffany |
| Cover: | Tiffany - The Color of Silence.jpg |
| Border: | yes |
| Genre: | Pop rock |
| Length: | 62:02 |
| Label: | Eureka |
| Producer: | Tim Feehan |
| Prev Title: | Greatest Hits |
| Prev Year: | 1996 |
| Next Title: | Dust Off and Dance |
| Next Year: | 2005 |
The Color of Silence is the fifth studio album by American singer Tiffany, released on November 7, 2000. It represented a "comeback" for Tiffany, being her first studio album released in seven years, and the first released in the United States in ten years. It was released after Tiffany returned to California after living in Nashville, Tennessee for a few years attempting to develop her career as a songwriter, as well as to make a return as a country music artist. The song "Open My Eyes" was used in the film BearCity.
After the success of her first two albums Tiffany and Hold an Old Friend's Hand,[1] Tiffany decided to change her musical direction from teen-pop to R&B and new jack swing for her third album New Inside.[2] [3] Her frustration with the music business led her to develop a new, sexier image in an effort to take complete control of her work.[4] New Inside was released on September 25, 1990, by MCA Records. It received mixed reviews by critics, who disliked the "overproduced" songs and found Tiffany to be unconvincing as an R&B singer.[5] [6] The album proved to be a commercial flop; it did not chart in the US, and none of the singles appeared on the Billboard charts. However, it did attain some moderate success in Japan.[7] Her fourth album, Dreams Never Die, reverted back to pop music, but was only released on November 21, 1993, in Asia.
Struggling with alcohol and drug problems, Tiffany was convinced by her longtime bodyguard, Frank D'Amato, to take a hard look at what she wanted in life. Exhausted by her residency at the Las Vegas Hilton and aware that the industry had moved on from her, she decided to take a break to focus on her family and reconnect to herself.[8] In 1995, Tiffany moved to Nashville to work on songwriting while attempting a comeback as a country artist.[9] Tiffany started writing music with Music City professionals who saw her potential.[10] Tiffany began recording demos for country songs, although she felt that she "isn't a country kind of girl". Tiffany also stated that she was "always shy as a writer" and "didn't [knew] how to put thoughts into lyrics."[11] After a few years, she moved back to California to work on her fifth album, which gave her the most creative control she had ever had.[12]
After moving back to California, Tiffany met producer Brad Schmidt through a mutual friend. For the first three months, their working relationship struggled as Tiffany found it difficult to accept anyone's control over her career after years of self-sufficiency. Despite these issues, Tiffany managed to write several songs influenced by the works of Bonnie Raitt and Melissa Etheridge. Tiffany and Tim Feehan met and collaborated on a handful of potential tracks for the album, but Tiffany felt that they were "too adult contemporary" and chose not to use them. The first song written for the album, "Silence", survived her rocky relationship with Feehan, as they almost decided to split up due to creative differences. Tiffany stated that after this song, she felt "more confident" and that she had forged a "style" of her own through their collaboration.
After Frank D'Amato died of cancer at the age of 34, Tiffany created the melody and wrote the first two lines of the lyrics of "If Only", which was later given to Joe Brooks. Tiffany once believed that the writing of the song helped her deal with mourning over D'Amato's death. Brooks wrote "Betty" and gave it to Tiffany since he wanted her to make it her own, although she thought that the original song was fine as it was.
The Color of Silence is a reflection of Tiffany's life at the time. The main themes of the album included femme power messages and alternative angst. Recurring themes include pain, frustration, longing, and desire. The Color of Silence is a pop rock album[13] incorporated by dance, blues, gospel, and electronica music. Tiffany co-wrote seven songs on the standard edition of the album. Her most autobiographical album to date, Tiffany stated in a November 3, 2000, interview with Shawn Winstan of Herald News Service that she not only lent her voice, but also her "heart and soul" to the album by writing majority of the tracks.
"Open My Eyes" is a "guitar-etched" pop rock song that sees Tiffany telling a guy to "open [her] eyes" to move on and find a resolution of herself. Tiffany explained that it is a "very strong song for a woman". I'm Not Sleeping" is an emotional, verbal abuse song from a female's point-of-view, expressing that she "lost a big chunk of herself and regained her power", but she emancipates and "doesn't go back to try and prove anything to him." Music critic Melissa Rugglerl stated that the song is the "first indication of maturity."[14] The song includes a pop rock hook and accompanies "rocky" rhythms, African drums, guitar strums, "slow-building" basslines, and minimal keyboard effects. It features a guest rap by Krayzie Bone. According to Tiffany, the production of the song was inspired by "Voices Carry" by 'Til Tuesday. Accompanied by melancholic guitars, marching band cadence, and bagpipes, "Piss U Off" finds Tiffany being "dumped", as she "succinctly puts it, but with a twist." The lyrics compare two lovers to hateful neighbors. "I Will Not Breakdown" had Tiffany singing in a "decidedly-sassy mood", which was thrown by a "touch of diva attitude". The song tells that Tiffany refuses to breakdown her situations and circumstances, such as "[giving] in to people and their negative opinions of [her]." Regarding the song's production, Rugglerl stated that the "ghost of [<nowiki/>[[Alanis Morissette|Alanis Morrissette]]] floats through the insinuating guitars and beefy chorus".
"Keep Walking" is a "bittersweet" love song. Michael Paoletta of Billboard described the song's production as "reminiscent of an Oasis track." "If Only" is a piano-driven ballad dedicated to Tiffany's bodyguard, Frank D'Amato.[15] The first couple verses were Tiffany's reflection on how she felt on his death. "Silence" is an autobiographical rock song influenced by Middle Eastern music. It tells a story about Tiffany grappling with her past. "All the Talking" is an acoustic pop song about dreams and realities. "Good Enough For Me" is about Tiffany's call for unity and being clearly nonjudgmental. "Christening" is a funk song about female independence. "Betty" is a ballad that tells a "bittersweet tale" about a girl who committed suicide. "Cinnamon" is a downtempo, guitar-slashed track about a girl who's a "Jezebel [and] a big mess."[16] "Butterfly" finds Tiffany in her own theme of personal growth.
Originally, The Color of Silence was going to be released by Modern Records, but it was later switched to Eureka Records. The album was originally scheduled to be released on October 10, 2000, but, it was delayed for unknown reasons. It was released on November 7, 2000.
The Color of Silence received critical acclaim, becoming her best-reviewed album to date. A Billboard front-page article called it "thoughtful, intelligent, and full of grace", and said that it could be considered "Tiffany's equivalent to Alanis Morissette's landmark Jagged Little Pill." Music critic Melissa Rugglerl rated the album a "B+", praising "Piss U Off" as "clever". Peter Fawthrop of AllMusic rated the album three out of five stars, highlighting the songs "Piss U Off", "Silence", and "Betty". Fawthrop praised "Piss U Off" for having "boasting, clever lyrics" and "one of the great melodies on an album filled with hooks", and stated that the album is "extravagant and unbridled, spilling with good ideas molded into eclectic rock pieces and passionate pop songs and ballads." MTV Asia also gave the album three out of five stars, picking "Open My Eyes", "I'm Not Sleeping", "Silence", and "Good Enough For Me" as "Choice Cuts".