Intensive Ground

Intensive Ground was the comeback and second album from pop singer Ana Simpson. The album contains songs written by super star Alesha, Elice Claire and Logan Cross.

Overview
Intensive Ground original name was supposed to be Turnaround, as this was Ana Simpson's comeback album and a turnaround for her as well, however due to Simpson's battle with cancer and struggles she came up with the title Intensive Ground, which she then asked singer Logan Cross if he could write a song with that title. Logan Cross has been a major help for the album, the singer was the first act to help Ana out with the album. He wrote two songs, one called "Intensive Ground" and another called "Stained". Singer/songwriter Alesha was also a major help for Simpson, she wrote the first single "Love Is A Game" and help produce the album. Indigo Peak was also supposed to be one of the writers, but due to a busy schedule the band was not able to write Simpson anything, but they did help produce the album. Elice Claire also helped write and produce the album, the singer wrote the songs "Turnaround", "My Final Mission" and a track called "Tenderness" did not make the final cut, but it was released as a B-side to the album's second single "Turnaround".

Promotion
To promote the album Ana Simpson is set to perform some of the songs of her album on the 2009 T4 On The Beach which airs on July 19. Simpson will also sing songs of her album on Party In The Park on the 26 July 2009. On 12 July it was announced that Ana Simpson would be the supporting act for Luke Ramada's first ever headlining tour. Simpson's label Wired Records planned to do a mini mall tour on the week of release with signings on record stores, but it never ended up happening. Ana Simpson also released the album in United States, Brazil, Australia, Japan, and in parts areas of Europe.

Release and reception
Critical response to the album has been generally favorable. NME gave the album an 8/10 stars saying "a second effort that's all over the map—and works". Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B+ saying her second album is slightly better than her debut album when it comes to sound, but when it comes to the lyrics this is a more favorable album. Allmusic gave the album a 3/5 stars saying "The second release by American beauty Ana Simpson, was fueled and inspired by a central event that occurred with the star: her battle with breast cancer and the struggles of remission.", The site goes to compare the album with something Esmeralda Dimuzio would do and praising the tracks "Turnaround" and "Unconventional World". Simpson's fans were surprised at the album's lack of upbeat fun songs, calling it a bit too dull compared to her debut effort. Fans however praise songs like "Love Is a Game", "Summer Nights" and the old style Jazz-inspired track "A Song For A Rainy Afternoon".

Standard Edition

 * 1) Intensive Ground
 * 2) Unconventional World
 * 3) Love Is A Game
 * 4) Perfectly Fine (With Amy Hargreaves)
 * 5) Summer Nights
 * 6) Your Guardian
 * 7) Naive
 * 8) Turnaround
 * 9) Stained
 * 10) Walking Shoe
 * 11) A Song For A Rainy Afternoon
 * 12) My Final Mission

Limited Special Edition

 * 1) Intensive Ground
 * 2) Unconventional World
 * 3) Love Is A Game
 * 4) Perfectly Fine (Radio Mix With Amy Hargreaves)+
 * 5) Summer Nights (Summer Anthem Remix)+
 * 6) Your Guardian
 * 7) Naive (Orchestral Version)+
 * 8) Turnaround (Indigo Peak Radio Mix)+
 * 9) Stained
 * 10) Walking Shoe
 * 11) A Song For A Rainy Afternoon
 * 12) My Final Mission
 * 13) Win Or Lose*
 * 14) Alone (My Final Mission Tour Studio Version)*
 * 15) Turnaround (Live)*


 * * New bonus
 * + New versions

Sales and impact
The album entered the album charts at number 1 selling a total of 78,386 copies in its first week. The album sold over 1,400,000 copies and was certified Diamond.

Covered songs

 * Love is a Game was covered by Latin pop singer Esmeralda Dimuzio, for her single War Within Our Hearts.
 * Turnaround was covered by dance group Aftershock for their album Dark Knights.

North America

 * [Jun 2009] "Love Is A Game"
 * [Sep 2009] "Turnaround"
 * [Jan 2010] "Your Guardian"

UK

 * [Jul 2009] "Love Is A Game/Your Guardian"
 * [Sep 2009] "Turnaround"
 * [Nov 2009] "Perfectly Fine" (Airplay + Digital Only)
 * [Mar 2010] "My Final Mission" c/w "Defeated"

Latin America

 * [Aug 2009] "Love Is A Game"
 * [Nov 2009] "Your Guardian"
 * [Feb 2010] "Turnaround"

Australia

 * [Aug 2009] "Love Is A Game"
 * [Nov 2009] "Summer Nights"
 * [Jan 2010] "Tunaround"
 * [Apr 2010] "My Final Mission" (Digital Only)

Brazil

 * [Jul 2009] "Love Is A Game"
 * [Sep 2009] "Your Guardian"
 * [Nov 2009] "Summer Nights"
 * [Feb 2010] "Turnaround"

Japan

 * [Dec 2009] "Love Is A Game/Turnaround"
 * [Mar 2010] "Your Guardian/My Final Mission"