Sarah McLachlan Fumbling Towards Ecstasy LP

Sarah McLachlan's third studio album, released October 1993 in Canada and throughout 1994 globally, proved to be her international breakthrough. Produced by Pierre Marchand, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy includes the songs "Possession," "Good Enough," "Hold On" and "Ice Cream" in addition to the title track. The album was voted number 200 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000). In 2022, Pitchfork ranked it number 119 on its list of the 150 Best Albums of the 1990s.

McLachlan's work was rarely as raw or honest as it is on this record, where tales of sin, lust, and love are delivered alongside piano arpeggios and electronic flourishes...Alternately dark and shimmering, intimate and ornate, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy launched McLachlan's international star power while setting a high bar for her future albums, many of which approached — but not never quite eclipsed — this career highlight.

Ecstasy is the sound of an artist's talent and vision meeting the perfect production.

So much of the album is about restraint, so that by the time she (and we) reach the album's title track she truly is on her way toward ecstasy. The trouble with the album's title, however, is that she never fumbles. Not even once.