I’ve been sassing Calvin Harris’ 18 Months since the day it was released. It has always hit me as a modicum lesson in modern EDM, the sort of stuff you listen to in passing, catch on the PA systems at Beyonce gigs, but essentially, it isn’t good enough to stick with you.
Every week I write up the UK charts, and everyday a Clavis Harris song is somewhere up there, but except for that one with Florence and that other one with Ellie I can’t say I’ve noticed him too much. Sure, “I Found Love” was a biggie, but everything else was always in the “C+” range.
So imagine my shock in discovering that 18 Months had garnered a record breaking nine top ten songs in the UK. On Sunday, Calvin tweeted “Made a bit of chart history today! Thinking About You went Top 10 in UK…the first time anyone has had 9 top 10 singles from one album! :D”
That is pretty maing but think of this: none of them stayed on the charts that long because if they had, Calvin would never have had the opportunity to release that many from the album.
That is not to make light of the achievement either. I went back and gave the spin and as an album it is a little too bland, it is one dance track plus guest star after another and it gets tedious, but when you pull it apart track by track it makes much more sense. The Kelis track sounds especially good out of contact and the Rihanna song is obviously a world beater. Florence is a little bland but Example sound better with Calvin than they do solo.
This all feels a little futuristic, a little different way of doing business, sorta the reverse where you release four songs before the actual album. And it has been very successful. Another world record.