What a Time to Be Alive (Tom Walker album)

What a Time to Be Alive is the debut studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter Tom Walker, released on 1 March 2019 through Relentless Records. It was preceded by the single "Leave a Light On", which reached the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart,[1] as well as "My Way" and "Angels". It also includes "Walk Alone", released as a single from Rudimental's 2019 album Toast to Our Differences, and the original acoustic version of "Just You and I", which was re-released in a different version for single release in early 2019, also reaching the top 10 in the UK.[1]

What a Time to Be Alive
Studio album by Tom Walker
Released	1 March 2019
Length	48:26
Label	Relentless
Producer	Mike Spencer Jim Abbiss Steve Mac Hight Jonathan Quarmby Rudimental Jesse Shatkin JAE5 Mark Ralph
Tom Walker chronology
Blessings (2017) What a Time to Be Alive (2019)
Singles from What a Time to Be Alive
"Just You and I (acoustic)" Released: 7 April 2017 "Blessings" Released: 19 May 2017 "Leave a Light On" Released: 13 October 2017 "My Way" Released: 22 June 2018 "Angels" Released: 7 September 2018 "Not Giving In" Released: 17 May 2019 "Now You’re Gone" Released: 31 May 2019

Background

Walker originally tweeted in July 2018 that the album would be released on 19 October 2018.[2] On its delay, he said to Idolator that he felt like he had "been sat on this album for a little while". He also spoke about the title, and how it is either interpreted as being "depressing" or "hopeful", but that he named it "because we've come so far, the human race, but also, I think we keep making the same mistakes over and over again, and not learning sometimes. It's a thought provoking title, that's why I like it."[3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Clash	7/10[4]
The Guardian	[5]
The Times	[6]

Writing for The Guardian, Alexis Petridis scored the album two out of five stars and called Walker "algorithmically designed for our times", comparing his sound to that of Ed Sheeran, in that the two share a "predilection for a percussive style of guitar playing, vaguely hip-hop beats and rap-influenced vocal cadences". Petridis also characterised the songwriting as either being "bullish assertions of Walker's own talent in the face of apathy and adversity ('I'll be dead before they change me, my guitar's the only one that ever paid me') and empathetic I'm-your-mate vignettes involving booze, drugs and lean times."[5] Reviewing the album for Clash, Malvika Padin described it as "an assured, controlled debut album" featuring "a mix of slow instrumentals and soaring vocals, that make an impact track after track", summarising it as a "perfect representation of him – cheerful, genuine, heartfelt and talented".[4] In a two-star review, Will Hodgkinson of The Times also compared Walker to Sheeran and Rag'n'Bone Man, saying that "the public appetite for earnest bearded troubadours who look as if they work in a microbrewery shows no sign of abating". Hodgkinson further noted that the album is "perfectly pleasant" but with its team of songwriters writing for mass audience appeal, "almost wilfully dull".[6]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Angels"	Thomas Walker James Eliot Emma Davidson-Dillon	Mike Spencer	3:29
2.	"Leave a Light On"	Walker Steve McCutcheon	Steve Mac	3:05
3.	"Not Giving In"	Walker	Spencer	3:48
4.	"How Can You Sleep at Night?"	Walker Samuel Romans Steve Robson	Spencer	3:36
5.	"Now You’re Gone" (featuring Zara Larsson)	Walker Chelcee Grimes McCutcheon	Mac	3:32
6.	"My Way"	Walker Fiona Bevan Timothy Deal	Spencer Hight^[b]	3:56
7.	"Blessings"	Walker Jez Ashurst Mark Vallance	Jim Abbiss	3:17
8.	"Cry Out"	Walker Paul Barry	Abbiss	3:25
9.	"Dominoes"	Walker Thomas AD Fuller	Abbiss	4:03
10.	"Fade Away"	Walker	Abbiss	4:43
11.	"Just You and I" (acoustic)	Walker	Jonathan Quarmby	3:18
12.	"The Show"	Walker Paul O'Duffy	Abbiss	4:49
13.	"Walk Alone" (Rudimental featuring Tom Walker)	Amir Izadkhah Piers Aggett Kesi Dryden Leon "DJ Locksmith" Rolle Cass Lowe Ilsey Juber Dacoury Natche Walker Jesse Shatkin Jonathan Mensah	Rudimental Spencer Shatkin JAE5^[a]	3:25
Total length:				48:26

Tidal and Spotify bonus track[7][8]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
14.	"Just You and I"	Walker	Mark Ralph	2:55

Deluxe Edition

The deluxe edition of the album was released on 8 November 2019[9] and features the song "Better Half of Me", released on 4 October 2019.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Just You and I"	Thomas Walker	Mark Ralph	2:54
2.	"Leave a Light On"	Walker Steve McCutcheon	Steve Mac	3:05
3.	"Better Half of Me"	Walker Joel Laslett Pott Cam Blackwood	Blackwood Ralph	3:15
4.	"Not Giving In"	Walker	Mike Spencer	3:48
5.	"How Can You Sleep at Night?"	Walker Samuel Romans Steve Robson	Spencer	3:36
6.	"Angels"	Walker James Eliot Emma Davidson-Dillon	Spencer	3:29
7.	"Now You're Gone" (featuring Zara Larsson)	Walker Chelcee Grimes McCutcheon	Mac	3:32
8.	"My Way"	Walker Fiona Bevan Timothy Deal	Spencer Hight^[b]	3:56
9.	"Blessings"	Walker Jez Ashurst Mark Vallance	Jim Abbiss	3:17
10.	"Cry Out"	Walker Paul Barry	Abbiss	3:25
11.	"Dominoes"	Walker Thomas AD Fuller	Abbiss	4:03
12.	"Fade Away"	Walker	Abbiss	4:43
13.	"Just You and I" (acoustic)	Walker	Jonathan Quarmby	3:18
14.	"The Show"	Walker Paul O'Duffy	Abbiss	4:49
15.	"Walk Alone" (Rudimental featuring Tom Walker)	Amir Izadkhah Piers Aggett Kesi Dryden Leon "DJ Locksmith" Rolle Cass Lowe Ilsey Juber Dacoury Natche Walker Jesse Shatkin Jonathan Mensah	Rudimental Spencer Shatkin JAE5^[a]	3:25
16.	"Heartbeats"	Walker Romans Thomas Barnes Peter Kelleher Benjamin Kohn	TMS	3:12
17.	"Something to Believe In"	Walker Simon Aldred	Blackwood	3:40
18.	"Be Myself"	Walker Fuller	Abbiss	4:01
19.	"All That Matters" (acoustic)	Walker Bevan Deal		3:14
20.	"Fly Away with Me"	Walker John Fortis Robert Harvey	Walker Fortis^[a]	3:31
21.	"Leave a Light On" (Sony Bravia version)	Walker McCutcheon		3:38

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2019) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[10] 18 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[11] 34 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[12] 31 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[13] 86 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[14] 18 French Albums (SNEP)[15] 35 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[16] 19 Irish Albums (IRMA)[17] 14 Italian Albums (FIMI)[18] 35 Lithuanian Albums (AGATA)[19] 60 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[20] 32 Portuguese Albums (AFP)[21] 43 Scottish Albums (OCC)[22] 1 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[23] 23 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[24] 51 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[25] 8 UK Albums (OCC)[26] 1

Year-end charts Chart (2019) Position UK Albums (OCC)[27] 8 Chart (2020) Position UK Albums (OCC)[28] 38

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[29]	Platinum	300,000
sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

References

1. "Tom Walker | full Official Chart history". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
2. "What A Time To Be Alive... my debut album is out on October 19th!! 🤘 It's already available to pre-order in some countries. To find out when it will be available in your country, sign up to my mailing list here 🙌". 31 July 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2019 – via Twitter.
3. Wass, Mike (28 February 2019). "Interview: Tom Walker On 'What A Time To Be Alive' & His Zara Larsson Duet". Idolator. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
4. Padin, Malvika (28 February 2019). "Tom Walker - What A Time To Be Alive | Reviews". Clash. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
5. Petridis, Alexis (28 February 2019). "Tom Walker: What a Time to Be Alive review – feel the algorithm". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
6. Hodgkinson, Will (1 March 2019). "Tom Walker: What a Time to Be Alive review". The Times. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
7. "What a Time To Be Alive / Tom Walker". Tidal. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
8. "What a Time to Be Alive". Spotify. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
9. https://music.apple.com/gb/album/what-a-time-to-be-alive-deluxe-edition/1481912010
10. "Australiancharts.com – Tom Walker – What a Time to Be Alive". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
11. "Austriancharts.at – Tom Walker – What a Time to Be Alive" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
12. "Ultratop.be – Tom Walker – What a Time to Be Alive" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
13. "Ultratop.be – Tom Walker – What a Time to Be Alive" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
14. "Dutchcharts.nl – Tom Walker – What a Time to Be Alive" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
15. "Lescharts.com – Tom Walker – What a Time to Be Alive". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
16. "Offiziellecharts.de – Tom Walker – What a Time to Be Alive" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
17. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Tom Walker". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
18. "Italiancharts.com – Tom Walker – What a Time to Be Alive". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
19. "Savaitės klausomiausi (TOP 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. 8 March 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
20. "Charts.nz – Tom Walker – What a Time to Be Alive". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
21. "Portuguesecharts.com – Tom Walker – What a Time to Be Alive". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
22. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
23. "Spanishcharts.com – Tom Walker – What a Time to Be Alive". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
24. "Swedishcharts.com – Tom Walker – What a Time to Be Alive". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
25. "Swisscharts.com – Tom Walker – What a Time to Be Alive". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
26. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
27. Copsey, Rob (1 January 2020). "The Official Top 40 biggest albums of 2019". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
28. "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2020". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
29. "British album certifications – Tom Walker – What a Time to Be Alive". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 14 February 2020. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type What a Time to Be Alive in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.