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Sleeping with Ghosts
Studio album by Placebo
Released	24 March 2003
Recorded	Late 2002 – early 2003
Studio	The Town House and Sarm West in London, England
Genre	Alternative rock electronic rock post-punk revival
Length	46:32
Label	Virgin Hut
Producer	Jim Abbiss
Placebo chronology
Black Market Music (2000) Sleeping with Ghosts (2003) Covers (2003)
Singles from Sleeping with Ghosts
"The Bitter End" Released: 10 March 2003 "This Picture" Released: 16 June 2003 "Special Needs" Released: 15 September 2003 "English Summer Rain" Released: 24 February 2004

Sleeping with Ghosts is the fourth studio album by British alternative rock band Placebo. It was recorded from late 2002 to early 2003 and released on 1 April 2003 by record labels Virgin and Hut.

Sleeping with Ghosts reached number 11 in the UK Albums Chart, and received a generally favourable reaction from music critics.

Content

Frontman Brian Molko, who is known to be a fan of the band Sonic Youth, references lyrics from their album Sister on "Plasticine" ("Beauty lies inside the eye of another youthful dream" directly references "Beauty lies in the eyes of another's dream" from Sonic Youth's "Beauty Lies in the Eye").

The album has several songs based on a theme of relationships, such as relationships that end badly ("The Bitter End"), power struggles in relationships ("Special Needs") or the idea that some are meant to be eternal soulmates (the title track). Brian Molko told Kerrang! magazine: "I'm looking back to what's happened in my past emotional decade, trying to understand it. Trying to exorcise the ghosts and the demons of relationships past. It's the old cliché of it being therapeutic but it does work for me in that way."

Another interview has Molko explaining:

The album title's about carrying the ghosts of your relationships with you, to the point where sometimes a smell or a situation or an item of clothing they bought brings a person back. For me it's about the relationship that you have with your memories. They inhabit your dreams sometimes. There can be a lot in the future that's gonna remind you of the ghost of relationships past. So I see the album as a collection of short stories about a handful of relationships. Most of them mine. In a way writing the songs helps me to get a lot of the nasty feelings off my chest and put them in a box, and therefore have a bit more of an objective discourse with those emotions because you've done something positive with them, you've rid yourself of them.

Release

Sleeping with Ghosts was released on 1 April 2003. The CD came with the Copy Control protection system in some regions. It reached number 11 in the UK Albums Chart.

A Special Edition version of the album was released on 22 September 2003 worldwide, featuring a diverse selection of cover versions that the band had recorded in previous years. This was re-released as a download-only album in 2007 under the name Covers. This is their last album released under Hut.

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	64/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
The A.V. Club	favourable
Blender
Filter	85%
Mojo
Pitchfork	6.4/10
PopMatters	mixed
Q
Rolling Stone
Uncut	4/10

Sleeping with Ghosts received "Generally favorable reviews" from critics, and holds an approval rating of 64 out of 100 on Metacritic.

Michael Idov of Pitchfork wrote "No peaks, no gorges, just a steady oscillation between adequate and inspired. Sleeping with Ghosts is a remarkably level collection of guitar pop, simultaneously less glammy and less pungent than Placebo's earlier stuff." Mojo wrote "There's some terrific and accessible stuff here but the result is still an album that retreads old Placebo themes." Q magazine called it "spikily brilliant".

Track listing

All tracks written and performed by Placebo

Charts and certifications

Certifications and sales

Personnel

Placebo

• Brian Molko – vocals, guitar, keyboards, saxophone on "Something Rotten", drums on "English Summer Rain"
• Steve Hewitt – drums, percussion
• Stefan Olsdal – bass guitar, guitar, keyboards, piano, backing vocals

Additional personnel

• Simon Breed – harmonica on "Protect Me from What I Want"

Technical personnel

• Jim Abbiss – production
• Jean Baptiste Mondino – sleeve art direction and photography
• Jim Barny – mixing at Mayfair Studios, recording at Townhouse Studios and Sarm West Studios
• Andy Davies – engineering assistance at Sarm West Studios
• Bill Lloyd – additional recording, engineering
• Sean Magee – mastering at Abbey Road Studios
• Fergus Peterkin – engineering assistance at Mayfair Studios
• Danny Porter – engineering assistance at Townhouse Studios
• See Studio – sleeve design and art direction
• Tom Stanley – engineering assistance at Townhouse Studios

References

1. "The Boy Can't Help It". Guitarist. August 1997. Archived from the original on 8 May 2007. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
2. "Natural Born Chillers". Kerrang!. March 2003. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
3. "Placebo – Guest Program Rage". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 9 August 2003. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
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6. MacKenzie, Wilson. "Sleeping with Ghosts – Placebo | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
7. Murray, Noel (15 April 2003). "Sleeping with Ghosts | Music | MusicalWork Review | The A.V. Club". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on 12 October 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
8. Cohen, Jason (May 2003). "Placebo Sleeping with Ghosts". Blender: 123. Archived from the original on 17 April 2004.
9. "". Filter (5): 123.
10. ^ "". Mojo: 110. April 2003.
11. ^ Idov, Michael (20 April 2003). "Placebo: Sleeping with Ghosts". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 24 September 2005. Retrieved 3 July 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
12. Antrobus, David (14 May 2003). "Placebo: Sleeping with Ghosts | PopMatters". PopMatters. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
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14. "". Uncut: 90. May 2003.
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External links

• Sleeping with Ghosts at Discogs (list of releases)

• 2003 albums
• Placebo (band) albums
• Albums produced by Jim Abbiss
• Hut Records albums
• Virgin Records albums