Hooverphonic — The Magnificent Tree (2000)
Release: The Magnificent Tree is the third studio album by Belgian band Hooverphonic, released on 26 September 2000 through Epic Records.
Genre: Dream pop / Trip hop / Downtempo / Pop influenced.
Producers: Alex Callier & Roland Herrington.
Tracklist
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Autoharp
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Mad About You
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Waves
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Jackie Cane
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The Magnificent Tree
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Vinegar & Salt
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Frosted Flake Wood
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Every Time We Live Together We Die a Bit More
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Out of Sight
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Pink Fluffy Dinosaurs
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L’Odeur Animale
(U.S. release includes “Renaissance Affair” as a bonus track)
Album Credits
Hooverphonic Members
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Geike Arnaert – Vocals
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Alex Callier – Keyboards, bass, programming, arrangements
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Raymond Geerts – Guitars
(Additional musicians on strings, cello and theremin on select tracks)
Production
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Produced by Alex Callier & Roland Herrington.
Commercial Performance & Ratings
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Sold ~265,000 copies worldwide by 2002, including ~85,000 in Belgium.
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In Belgium the album achieved double‑platinum certification (~100,000 sales).
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Charted strongly in Belgium: high positions in Ultratop Flanders & Wallonia.
Critic Reviews:
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Mixed reviews — Metacritic score ~57/100 (average).
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User score tends to be more positive (~74/100).
Key Singles
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Mad About You – internationally popular and widely broadcast.
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Vinegar & Salt, Out of Sight, Jackie Cane also released as singles.
Fun Facts & Trivia
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The album’s production was notably expensive and ambitious for a Belgian record at the time, with early sessions scrapped before the final direction was found.
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The song Mad About You has been used widely in TV and film contexts internationally.
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The album stayed in the Flemish Ultratop 50 for over 100 weeks, reflecting its long‑lasting local popularity.
Cover Art Description
The cover depicts the three members of Hooverphonic standing in front of a large, leafless tree in the town of Kieldrecht, Belgium, giving a moody, organic visual that contrasts with the band’s polished, atmospheric sound.
