Maps of Music

In This Skin (2003)

Where the lyrics of In This Skin take you, and where it was really made.

The album debuted at number 10 on the Billboard 200 and sold slowly at first, but a March 2004 reissue sent it up to number two.

Key places

Recorded at Cove City Sound Studios (2003)

Recording site Cove City Sound — The album's recording sessions included Cove City Sound Studios in Glen Cove, New York. The point is set at city-center level, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Big Baby Studios (2003)

Recording site Record Plant Studios — Big Baby Studios in New York City is listed among the studios where the album was recorded. The point is set at city-center level, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at The Enterprise, Burbank (2003)

Recording site The Enterprise (Burbank) — The Enterprise in Burbank, California is listed among the studios where the album was recorded. The point is set at city-center level, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Stella Studios, London (2003)

Recording site Wild Bunch Studios (London) — Stella Studios in London, England is listed among the studios where the album was recorded. The point is set at city-center level, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Stonewall Sound, Malibu (2003)

Recording site Bob Dylan's garage studio (Malibu) — Stonewall Sound in Malibu, California is listed among the studios where the album was recorded. The point is set at city-center level, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Chartmaker Studios, Los Angeles (2003)

Recording site Motown Recording Studios — Chartmaker Studios in Los Angeles is listed among the studios where the album was recorded. The point is set at city-center level, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• In This Skin: third studio album by American recording artist Jessica Simpson
• Released 19 August 2003 by Columbia Records
• Reissued 2 March 2004 with three new songs
• Simpson co-wrote 10 of the 14 tracks
• Moved away from the teen pop of Sweet Kisses (1999) and Irresistible (2001)
• Includes elements of Middle Eastern music, dance, acoustic and pop rock
• Lyrics address more mature subject matter

Background

• After Irresistible, Simpson said she wanted to write songs for her third record
• October 2002 MTV interview: then-husband Nick Lachey said she was in the studio working on a new record
• Lachey described the new record as more organic, with all live instrumentation
• March 2003: Simpson revealed the third album would be called In This Skin

Recording

• Originally planned to be produced mainly by Missy Elliott, with Nick Lachey as the only featured guest
• Neither Elliott's nor Lachey's contributions made the final album
• A&R executive Teresa LaBarbera Whites proposed a songwriting camp
• In the camp Simpson moved from room to room with one songwriter after another, writing and recording songs quickly
• Much of the album was recorded in Nashville and Los Angeles with established writers and producers

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Career

• Born July 10, 1980 in Abilene, Texas; grew up in a strict evangelical household and sang in a Baptist church choir as a child.
• Signed with Columbia Records in 1997 at age seventeen after an earlier Christian label deal stalled.
• Debut album Sweet Kisses (1999) sold over two million copies in the United States; the single "I Wanna Love You Forever" reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100.
• Irresistible (2001) adopted a more mature image; its title track became a top-20 Hot 100 hit.
• In This Skin (2003) sold three million copies in the United States after its 2004 reissue.
• Gained wider fame through her marriage to Nick Lachey and the MTV reality series Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica (2003–2005).
• Film debut as Daisy Duke in The Dukes of Hazzard (2005); her cover of "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" reached the top 20.
• Turned to country music with Do You Know (2008); has sold over 30 million albums worldwide.
• Built The Jessica Simpson Collection into a fashion brand with $1 billion in annual retail sales; regained full ownership in 2021.
• Memoir Open Book (2020) topped The New York Times Best Seller list.
• Returned to music in 2025 with the EPs Nashville Canyon, Part 1 and Part 2.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Initial critical response to the album was mixed
• Slant Magazine: Sal Cinquemani gave 2.5 stars and criticized the album as glossy and slightly over-produced, weighed down by soggy, overwrought pop ballads
• AllMusic: Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave 2.5 stars and wrote that the album's heart is in the mature middle of the road but its sound is still pitched too young
• Rolling Stone: Jon Caramanica gave 2 stars and criticized Simpson's lack of vocal subtlety

Records

• Debuted at number 10 on the Billboard 200 with 64,000 copies sold
• Sold 565,000 copies within five months of release
• After the March 2004 reissue, it jumped from number 16 to number two, selling 160,000 copies that week
• Certified triple platinum by the RIAA in December 2004 for shipments of three million copies
• Charted on the Billboard 200 for 75 consecutive weeks in total
• Ranked number 153 on Billboard's list of top-selling albums of the 2000s
• Ranked 35th best-selling album globally in 2004 by the IFPI
• Australia: Platinum from ARIA; UK: Silver from BPI; Canada: Gold from CRIA
• Sold 7 million copies worldwide as of 2020

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The first single, "Sweetest Sin," was written by Diane Warren
• The Berlin cover "Take My Breath Away" became Simpson and Lachey's love theme, because it was playing the first time Lachey kissed her
• The Chinese release of the album omits "Sweetest Sin"
• To promote the album, Simpson's second headlining tour, the Reality Tour, used a seven-piece band with no dancers or choreography
• Simpson sang a Spanglish duet of "Angels" with Spanish singer David Bisbal at the 2004 Latin Grammy Awards

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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