Maps of Music

Oral Fixation, Vol. 2 (2005)

Where the lyrics of Oral Fixation, Vol. 2 take you, and where it was really made.

The album rebounded from number 98 to number 6 on the Billboard 200 after the reissue single Hips Don't Lie, which had not been part of the original release.

Key places

Recorded at The Warehouse Studio (2005)

Recording site Warehouse Studios — The album's recording credits list The Warehouse Studio in Vancouver as a place where tracks were recorded. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded in Nassau (2005)

Recording site Sanctuary (Nassau) — The recording credits name La Marimonda in Nassau, Bahamas. The point is placed at the city centre, not the building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Hit Factory Criteria in Miami (2005)

Recording site Criteria Studios — Hit Factory Criteria in Miami, also listed as Criteria Studios, is credited as a recording location for the album. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded in Buenos Aires (2005)

Recording site Estudio Santito (Buenos Aires) — The recording credits name Unisono in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The point is placed at the city centre, not the building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Skyline Studios in New York (2005)

Recording site Chung King Studios — Skyline Studios in New York is credited as a recording location for the album. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Church of the Epiphany in Miami (2005)

Recording site Church of the Epiphany — Church of the Epiphany in Miami is credited as a recording location for the album. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Fantasy Studios in San Francisco (2005)

Recording site Fantasy Studios — Fantasy Studios in San Francisco is credited as a recording location for the album. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at AIR Studios in London (2005)

Recording site AIR Studios — AIR Studios in London is credited as a recording location for the album. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recorded at Sony Music Studios in New York (2005)

Recording site Sony Music Studios — Sony Music Studios in New York is credited as a recording location for the album. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Oral Fixation, Vol. 2: seventh studio album and second English-language album by Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira
• Released 27 November 2005 by Epic Records
• Companion to the Spanish-language Fijación Oral, Vol. 1, released five months earlier
• Heavily influenced by Latin pop, with elements of dance-pop and pop rock
• Shakira wrote all the lyrics and wrote or co-wrote all of the music
• Reissued 28 March 2006 with a revised tracklist and two added tracks
• Packaged with Fijación Oral, Vol. 1 in the December 2006 box set Oral Fixation, Vol. 1 & 2

Background

• Follows Laundry Service, the album that brought Shakira international success
• Nearly sixty tracks were co-written for Laundry Service; she selected favorites for both Oral Fixation records
• Previous collaborators Gustavo Cerati, Lester Mendez, Luis Fernando Ochoa and Rick Rubin worked as assistant producers
• Newer partners Jerry Duplessis, Wyclef Jean, Tim Mitchell and The Matrix joined the project
• Original release underperformed, so the album was reissued with "Hips Don't Lie" added as the reissue's lead single
• The Oral Fixation Tour promoted both volumes and visited 39 countries through 2006 and 2007

Recording

• Shakira said the work was painful at times, with more than 60 songs written across two albums
• Recording took place in several cities; the studios are marked as points on the map

Cover

• Shakira designed the artwork for both Oral Fixation records, inspired by the biblical figure of Eve
• The Vol. 2 cover shows an unclothed Shakira covered by tree branches and leaves, holding an apple
• The baby from the Vol. 1 cover sits in the tree, alluding to Freud's oral stage theory
• Middle East versions covered her with leaves, leaving her standing behind a bush

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Career

• Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, born 2 February 1977 in Barranquilla, Colombia.
• Colombian singer-songwriter, dancer and record producer, known as the "Queen of Latin Music".
• Signed to Sony Music Colombia at age 13; debut album Magia (1991) was not a commercial success.
• Breakthrough with Pies Descalzos (1995) and Dónde Están los Ladrones? (1998).
• English crossover album Laundry Service (2001) sold over 15 million copies worldwide.
• Fijación Oral, Vol. 1 (2005) and Oral Fixation, Vol. 2 (2005) followed, with "Hips Don't Lie" becoming her first Billboard Hot 100 number one.
• Has written or co-written virtually all the music she has recorded.
• Holds four Grammy Awards and fifteen Latin Grammy Awards.
• Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran (2024) topped Billboard Top Latin Albums, making her the first woman with number-one albums across four decades.
• Known for blending Latin, Western and Middle Eastern influences in her music and dance.

Philanthropy

• Founded Fundación Pies Descalzos (Barefoot Foundation) in 1997 to build schools for underprivileged children in Colombia.
• Became a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 2003.
• Appointed to the President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics in 2011.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Metacritic: average score 74 from 15 reviews, indicating generally favorable reviews
• AllMusic (Stephen Thomas Erlewine): 4 stars out of 5, calling it a deadly serious, ambitious pop/rock album
• Erlewine: markedly different from Fijación Oral and from every other record in her catalog
• PopMatters (Matt Cibula): the best pop record of the year
• The Guardian (Alexis Petridis): the sound of an utterly unique voice in a uniform world
• Los Angeles Times (Agustin Gurza): stronger as a whole, with sharper edges and darker undertones
• Entertainment Weekly (David Browne): B- rating, calling the result a relatively bland dish
• Slant Magazine (Sal Cinquemani): the weakest part of some songs is the main(stream) hook
• Rolling Stone (Barry Walters): English lyrics still lack the confidence of the Spanish tracks
• Stylus Magazine (Edward Oculicz): strikes a good balance between creative audacity and filler

Records

• Debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200 with 128,000 first-week sales
• Re-entered the Billboard 200 at number six after the reissue single, selling 81,000 copies that week
• Topped the charts in Denmark and Mexico
• Peaked at number three in Spain, Switzerland and Canada
• Peaked at number four in Germany and number six in Italy
• Peaked at number twelve in the United Kingdom
• Certified platinum by the RIAA in the United States, with over 1.7 million units sold
• Certified triple-gold in Germany for 300,000 shipments
• Certified platinum in France for over 200,000 copies
• Certified double-platinum in Canada for 200,000 copies
• Ranked ninth best-selling album of 2006 worldwide

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Complex magazine ranked the cover eleventh among its sexiest album covers of all time, calling it the hottest portrayal of Eve in the Garden of Eden
• The Oral Fixation Tour live album, recorded at a show in Miami in December 2006, was released by Epic Records in November 2007
• Shakira received dancing lessons from Indian choreographer Farah Khan for her performance of Hips Don't Lie
• The album was reissued because the original release underperformed, with the reissue adding two tracks to the tracklist

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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