Gran Turismo
Studio album by
The Cardigans
Released19 October 1998
Recorded1997–1998
Genre
Length42:36
LabelStockholm
ProducerTore Johansson
The Cardigans chronology
The Other Side of the Moon
(1997) 		Gran Turismo
(1998) 		Long Gone Before Daylight
(2003)
Singles from Gran Turismo
  1. "My Favourite Game"
    Released: 14 September 1998
  2. "Erase/Rewind"
    Released: 20 January 1999
  3. "Hanging Around"
    Released: 12 July 1999
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
The Boston Phoenix[6]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[1]
The Guardian[7]
Los Angeles Times[8]
NME6/10[9]
Pitchfork7.0/10[10]
Q[11]
Rolling Stone[12]
USA Today[13]

Gran Turismo is the fourth studio album by Swedish band the Cardigans, released internationally on 19 October 1998 and in November 1998 in the United States. It features a darker and more moody type of music, mixed with more electronic sounds.

In an interview in 2009, producer and sound engineer Tore Johansson commented on the dark sound of the record, which sets it apart from the warm, jammy feel of many other recordings made at Tambourine Studios: "It's a very cold and defined recording, no natural reverb or audio curtains: there's not a sound element on that disc which wasn't deliberately put there."[14]

The album and band were nominated for a total of seven awards at the 1999 Grammis—the Swedish equivalent of the Grammy Awards.[15] Gran Turismo sold more than three million copies worldwide.[16]

Background

The album's name is explained by the band in a track on an advanced copy of the album titled "Explain the Title of the Album Gran Turismo": "The title can be interpreted in many ways but I think we only thought of a few ones we liked," Nina says. "We talked about having like Italian or French title and Gran Turismo came up and it sort of felt really good and you know I can think of music sometimes as tourism and traveling. So to me Gran Turismo is sort of the way to describe music sometimes or spending time with music." Peter says, "and I think that also the title suits this very album extremely well because the album is pretty much about trying to find your place in the world. I think sometimes you can always compare living to being a tourist in the world," Nina finishes.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Nina Persson and Peter Svensson, except where noted

Gran Turismo track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Paralyzed" 4:54
2."Erase/Rewind" 3:35
3."Explode" 4:04
4."Starter" 3:49
5."Hanging Around" 3:40
6."Higher" 4:32
7."Marvel Hill"Persson, Magnus Sveningsson, Svensson4:16
8."My Favourite Game" 3:36
9."Do You Believe" 3:19
10."Junk of the Hearts"Persson, Sveningsson, Svensson4:07
11."Nil" (instrumental)Lars-Olof Johansson2:18

Personnel

Singles

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for Gran Turismo
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[42] Platinum 50,000^
France (SNEP)[43] Gold 100,000*
Japan (RIAJ)[44] Gold 100,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[45] Gold 50,000^
Norway (IFPI Norway)[46] Platinum 50,000*
Sweden (GLF)[47] 2× Platinum 160,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[49] Platinum 520,000[48]
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[50] Platinum 1,000,000*
Worldwide — 3,000,000[16]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ a b Brunner, Rob (6 November 1998). "Gran Tourismo". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  2. ^ Lambeth, Sam (October 7, 2018). "The Cardigans: Gran Turismo turns twenty". Louder Than War. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  3. ^ Davies, Lucy (2003). "The Cardigans - Long Gone Before Daylight Review". BBC Music. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  4. ^ Harrison, Quentin (October 14, 2023). "The Cardigans' 'Gran Turismo' Turns 25 - Album Anniversary". Albumism. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  5. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Gran Turismo – The Cardigans". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  6. ^ Pappademas, Alex (2 November 1998). "The Cardigans: Gran Turismo (Mercury)". The Boston Phoenix. Archived from the original on 8 April 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  7. ^ Sullivan, Caroline (23 October 1998). "The Cardigans: Gran Turismo (Stockholm)". The Guardian.
  8. ^ Holdship, Bill (8 November 1998). "The Cardigans, 'Gran Turismo,' Mercury". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  9. ^ Long, April (16 October 1998). "The Cardigans – Gran Turismo". NME. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  10. ^ Wisdom, James P. "Cardigans: Gran Turismo". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 12 March 2008. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  11. ^ "The Cardigans: Gran Turismo". Q (159): 115. December 1999.
  12. ^ Kot, Greg (29 October 1998). "The Cardigans: Gran Turismo". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 14 November 2007. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  13. ^ Gundersen, Edna (10 November 1998). "The Cardigans, Gran Turismo". USA Today.
  14. ^ "Gran Turismo Live – Snuggling with the Enemy".
  15. ^ "Artists & Music | Stockholm Records". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 7. 13 February 1999. p. 20. ISSN 0006-2510.
  16. ^ a b "GT sales". Retrieved 19 February 2012.
  17. ^ a b c "Cardigans | full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  18. ^ "Austriancharts.at – The Cardigans – Gran Turismo" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  19. ^ "Ultratop.be – The Cardigans – Gran Turismo" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  20. ^ "Ultratop.be – The Cardigans – Gran Turismo" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  21. ^ "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 68, No. 9: Nov 23, 1998". RPM. RPM Library and Archives. 23 November 1998. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  22. ^ "Hits Of The World - Gran Turismo - Denmark". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 19. 8 May 1999. p. 47. ISSN 0006-2510.
  23. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – The Cardigans – Gran Turismo" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  24. ^ a b "Hits Of The World - Gran Turismo - Eurochart & Ireland". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 12. 20 March 1999. p. 57. ISSN 0006-2510.
  25. ^ "The Cardigans: Gran Turismo" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  26. ^ "Lescharts.com – The Cardigans – Gran Turismo". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  27. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – The Cardigans – Gran Turismo" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  28. ^ "Hits Of The World - Gran Turismo - Italy". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 16. 17 April 1999. p. 62. ISSN 0006-2510.
  29. ^ "Hits Of The World - Gran Turismo - Japan". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 43. 28 October 1998. p. 60. ISSN 0006-2510.
  30. ^ "Charts.nz – The Cardigans – Gran Turismo". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  31. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – The Cardigans – Gran Turismo". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  32. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 8480486392.
  33. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – The Cardigans – Gran Turismo". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  34. ^ "Cardigans | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  35. ^ "The Cardigans Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  36. ^ "Sverigetopplistan > Sök Alla Listar > Årlistar (inkl samlingar) > Album > 1998 > Visa!". Sverigetopplistan (in Swedish). Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  37. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 1999". Ultratop (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  38. ^ "Rapports annuels 1999". Ultratop (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  39. ^ "Top Annuali Album: 1999" (in Italian). Federation of the Italian Music Industry. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  40. ^ "Sverigetopplistan > Sök Alla Listar > Årlistar (inkl samlingar) > Album > 1999 > Visa!". Sverigetopplistan (in Swedish). Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  41. ^ "End of Year Album Charts - 1999". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  42. ^ "Cardigans Platinumskiva för 50000 sålda skivor av 'Gran Turismo' 1998". Lauritz.com (in Swedish). Retrieved March 17, 2013.
  43. ^ "French album certifications – The Cardigans – Gran Turismo" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
  44. ^ "Japanese album certifications – カーディガンズ – グラン・トゥーリスモ" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Select 1998年11月 on the drop-down menu
  45. ^ "Dutch album certifications – The Cardigans – Gran Turismo" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Enter Gran Turismo in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 2002 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
  46. ^ "IFPI Norsk platebransje". IFPI Norway. Archived from the original on 26 June 2006. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  47. ^ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1999" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-17.
  48. ^ Copsey, Rob (19 June 2018). "The Cardigans announce UK tour to celebrate 20th anniversary of Gran Turismo album". Official Charts. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  49. ^ "British album certifications – The Cardigans – Gran Turismo". British Phonographic Industry.
  50. ^ "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 1999". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2 February 2020.

External links

The Cardigans
Authority control databases
Categories