Somebody's Miracle

Somebody's Miracle is the fifth album by Liz Phair, released on October 4, 2005 (see 2005 in music) on Capitol Records. From September 2004 through April 2005, she composed fourteen tracks spanning from lo-fi guitar-driven to high-gloss produced tracks. Much like her debut album, Exile in Guyville, Somebody's Miracle was originally modeled after another canonical album, Songs in the Key of Life by Stevie Wonder, though only elements of this exist in the final product. The first single, "Everything to Me" was released to radio on August 1, 2005. Somebody's Miracle debuted at number 46 on the Billboard 200, and has sold over 83,000 copies in the U.S.

Album information
The album features a somewhat softer side of Phair, with themes of innocence, loss, and love. Many critics and fans accused Phair of having lost her edge. Phair responded to backlash by saying, "If you are an old fan and it doesn't fit what you need, don't buy the disc."

Release and promotion
Prior to the album's release, Phair embarked on an acoustic tour in the summer of 2005 in which she previewed the album's material. The tour, which had nine stops, commenced on July 26 in Boston, Massachusetts, and concluded on August 19 in San Francisco, California. To further promote the album, Phair headlined a month-long North American tour. The tour commenced on October 6 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and concluded on November 16 in San Diego, California.

Phair also performed the album's title track on the Charmed episode "Battle of the Hexes". She was also the last artist to perform on the show.

Reception
The album has a score of 54 out of 100 on Metacritic, indicating "mixed or average reviews". One critic wrote, "Miracle contains the singer's most winning melodies to date, not to mention her most confident vocals." MSNBC wrote that in comparison to her 2003 self-titled album, Somebody's Miracle was "less blatantly commercial, but still smooth, reflecting her increasing shift toward a clearer sound". Rolling Stone, however, gave the album just two stars, calling her vocals "thin and dry" and the album as a whole "plain and forgettable". The A.V. Club wrote that Phair "has grown into the role of an MOR songstress."

This was Liz Phair's last album for Capitol Records. Her next album, Funstyle, was released on the independent label Rocket Science Records.

Personnel
Credits are adapted from the liner notes of Somebody's Miracle.

Production


 * Liz Phair – writer
 * John Alagía – producer, mixing, additional production, background vocal arrangement
 * Brian Scheuble – engineering, mixing, recording
 * Jeff Robinette – assistant engineer, additional engineering
 * Dino Meneghin – producer
 * Joe Zook – co-producer, engineering, recording
 * John Shanks – writer, producer, mixing
 * Jeff Rothschild – recording, mixing
 * Lars Fox – additional engineering
 * Shari Sutcliffe – contractor/project coordinator


 * David Campbell – strings arrangement
 * Allen Sides – strings recording
 * Joel Derouin – concert master
 * Tom Lord-Alge – mixing
 * Ted Jensen – mastering
 * Mary Fagot – creative direction
 * Eric Roinestad – art direction, design
 * Dusan Reljin – photography

Instruments


 * Liz Phair – vocals, guitar, background vocals
 * Dino Meneghin – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, lap steel guitar, keyboards, guitar, drum programming, hand percussion
 * Aaron Sterling – drums, percussion
 * Oliver Kraus – cello
 * Tim Bradshaw – keyboards


 * Sean Hurley – bass
 * John Alagía – guitar, keyboards, B3 organ
 * Bill Mohler – bass, acoustic bass
 * John Shanks – bass, guitar, keyboards, background vocals
 * Jeff Rothschild – drums
 * Joe Zook – tambourine