When I Was a Boy

For the 1993 short film, see When I Was a Boy (film).

Not to be confused with the songs by The Who, Electric Light Orchestra and Dar Williams.

When I Was a Boy
Studio album by Jane Siberry
Released	August 3, 1993
Recorded	June 1991–January 1993 Mushroom Studios, Vancouver Reaction Studios, Toronto Westside Studios, London
Genre	Ambient[1] Synthpop[1] Downtempo[1]
Length	66:23
Label	Reprise/Warner Bros. Records 26824
Producer	Jane Siberry, Brian Eno (tracks 1 and 4), Michael Brook (track 3)
Jane Siberry chronology
Bound by the Beauty (1989) When I Was a Boy (1993) Maria (1995)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Chicago Tribune	[3]
The Philadelphia Inquirer	[4]
Q	[5]
Rolling Stone	[6]
The Village Voice	B−[7]

When I Was a Boy is a 1993 album by Jane Siberry. Internationally, it is her most famous album. In Siberry's native Canada, however, the album was commercially successful but not as big a hit as her 1985 album The Speckless Sky.

The album includes Siberry's most famous song, "Calling All Angels", a duet with k.d. lang which appeared on two movie soundtracks, Until the End of the World in 1991 and Pay It Forward in 2000. The song was also sung by cast members of Six Feet Under in a scene from the episode "The Rainbow of Her Reasons." "Sail Across the Water" and "Temple" were the other singles from the album.

Several songs included electronic textures; "Temple" was Siberry's first song that was popular in dance clubs. The album was also Siberry's first to explore more spiritual themes, which would become a hallmark of her later music.[8]

On The Tragically Hip's 1997 live album Live Between Us, Gordon Downie sings the chorus from "Temple" in that album's track "Nautical Disaster".

Track listing

All songs written by Jane Siberry, except where indicated.

1. "Temple" – 4:45
2. "Calling All Angels" – 5:17
3. "Love Is Everything" – 5:50
4. "Sail Across the Water" – 5:22
5. "All the Candles in the World" – 3:49
6. "Sweet Incarnadine" (Siberry, Erdal Kızılçay, Ken Myhr) – 6:46
7. "The Gospel According to Darkness" – 4:51
8. "An Angel Stepped Down (And Slowly Looked Around)" – 5:50
9. "The Vigil (The Sea)" – 9:23
10. "Bells" – 1:19
11. "At the Beginning of Time" – 8:20
12. "Love Is Everything" (Harmony Version) – 5:51

Personnel

• Jane Siberry – guitar, piano, keyboards, organ, vocals, backing vocals
• Ken Myhr – guitar, vocals on 7 8, percussion on 11

Additional personnel

• Brian Eno – shaker on 1, oboe on 1, synthesizer on 4
• Teddy Borowiecki – piano on 2
• Glenn Milchem – drums on 1
• David Ramsden – vocals on 1 7 8 11
• James Pinker – drums on 1 4
• Bryant Didier – bass on 1
• Jamie West-Oram – guitar on 1
• k.d. lang – vocals on 2
• Ben Mink – viola on 2
• Michael Brook – guitar on 3, infinite guitar on 3
• Sid Wells – drum loops on 5 8
• Robert Ahwai – bass on 5 7 8
• Erdal Kızılçay – piano on 6
• Holly Cole – vocals on 7 8
• Rebecca Jenkins – vocals on 7 8 9
• Michael Phillip-Wojewoda – vocals on 7 8, percussion on 11
• Anne Bourne – cello on 7 8 9
• Graham Dickson – drum loops on 7
• Rebecca Campbell – vocals on 8
• Andy Stochansky – vocals on 11
• John Switzer – bass on 9
• Paul Douglas – vocals on 9

Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Peak position	Weeks on the chart
1993	RPM Top 100 Albums	46[9]	13

Singles

Song	Year	Chart	Peak position
"Calling All Angels"	1992	RPM Adult Contemporary	9[10]
"Sail Across the Water"	1993	RPM Top 100 Singles	66[11]

Other Appearances in Popular Media

The song "All the Candles in the World", is featured in the 2000 movie Final Destination.

The final track, "Love Is Everything (Harmony Version)" is featured as the closing track of the episode titled "Loud and Proud" (S02E11) of Showtime series The L Word.

"Calling All Angels" is featured on the season one finale, "Déjà Vu All Over Again", of The WB series Charmed.

References

1. "When I Was a Boy". Discogs.
2. Parisien, Roch. "When I Was a Boy – Jane Siberry". AllMusic. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
3. McCormick, Moira (November 25, 1993). "Celestial Standout". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
4. Wood, Sam (August 31, 1993). "Jane Siberry sings angelic love songs, guitarists celebrate Wes Montgomery". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
5. "Jane Siberry: When I Was a Boy". Q. No. 83. August 1993. p. 100.
6. Walls, Richard C. (November 25, 1993). "Jane Siberry: When I Was a Boy". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on April 18, 2003. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
7. Christgau, Robert (April 5, 1994). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
8. Scott Gray, "Sing a Little Sweeter" Archived 2009-02-08 at the Wayback Machine. Ascent.
9. Top Albums/CDs - Volume 58, No. 8, September 04 1993
10. Adult Contemporary - Volume 55, No. 25, June 20 1992
11. Top Singles - Volume 58, No. 9, September 11 1993