Safe Trip Home is the third studio album by Dido. It was released in the United Kingdom on 17 November 2008.[3] The album features collaborations and production with Jon Brion, her brother Rollo Armstrong, Brian Eno, Mick Fleetwood, Citizen Cope and Questlove.[1] The album was the 44th best-selling album worldwide of 2008, according to IFPI.[4]
The album's cover artwork and track listing were revealed by Dido's official website on 5 September 2008.[6] The album was originally due to be released on 3 November,[7][8] but was delayed for two weeks due to manufacturing delays.[3] In the UK, the album launch was heralded with a special listening party, which fans could win an invitation to through the Nectar loyalty card points scheme.[9]
The album cover features a photograph of astronaut Bruce McCandless II during a spacewalk, as part of the 1984 Space Shuttle mission STS-41-B. McCandless later sued Dido, Sony Music Entertainment and Getty Images over violating his publicity rights.[10] The case was settled under undisclosed terms on 14 January 2011.[11]
On 27 October 2008, it was announced that eleven short films were being produced to accompany the tracks on the album, based around the theme of home.[citation needed]
The album received very positive reviews. Metacritic rates the album at 74 out of a 100.[12] Stephanie Merritt from The Guardian wrote "This album is a mature and thoughtful collection of songs and a fine memorial to her father, who would have been right to be proud."[17] While Chris Willman from Entertainment Weekly said "The emotion in these sad, subtle songs seems inherent enough, though you may still find yourself wishing she'd allowed the slightest hint of it to creep into her voice."[15] Will Hermes of Rolling Stone said: "Dido's voice is so comforting, you almost miss the blues it conceals."[19]
Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine gave a more critical review: "The album might be Dido's least adventurous to date, [with] her brand of vanilla soul going down like a warm cup of milk on tracks like the lead single "Don't Believe in Love" and "Quiet Times", the lyrics of which pretty much capture her overall state of mind: "My home is home and I'm settled now/I've made it through the restless phase." Though he noted that there was a "timeless quality to the songwriting and production."[20] Elizabeth Goodman of Blender was also more critical. "The songs are ostensibly sad but [they are] as pleasant as a pile of warm, unfolded laundry. ...Dido should let her socks go unsorted for a while; genuine sorrow sounds good on her."[23] Regardless of the album's late release in the year, it was ranked No. 50 in Q's 50 Best Albums of the Year 2008.[24] In 2010, the album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical.
Singles
Two singles were released from the album. On 22 August 2008, the day that the album's title was announced, the track "Look No Further" was released as a free digital download through her official website.[7] The first official single from Safe Trip Home, "Don't Believe in Love", was released on 27 October 2008. It was also made available on iTunes stores internationally from 29 October.[8] The second single, "Quiet Times", was released in February 2009.[citation needed]
^Anderson, Stacey (16 November 2008). "Dido, 'Safe Trip Home' (Arista)". Spin. SpinMedia. Retrieved 21 December 2014. Dido's third solo album reveals an unyielding fear of intimacy, her mellow trip-pop (coproduced by Jon Brion) buckling underneath sadness and alienation
^McCandless v. Sony Music Entertainment et al., Case No. CV10-7323-RGK (C.D. Cal.) (Docket No. 4 [Notice of Settlement And Dismissal With Prejudice], filed 14 Jan. 2011
^Lucky, then she's so musically warm and, like its predecessors, Safe Trip Home takes comfort in a sound that almost masks her unrest. Almost. [Dec 2008, p.127]
