Sarah McLachlan – The Path Of Thorns (Terms)
Label: Nettwerk – 4JW-3056
Format: Cassette, Single
Country: Canada
Released: 1991
Genre: Rock
Style: Folk Rock
Sarah Ann McLachlan (born January 28, 1968) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, ranked in the top echelon of Canadian musicians. As of 2025, she has sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album is Surfacing (1997), for which she won two Grammy Awards (out of four nominations) and four Juno Awards. She has won three Grammy and twelve Juno Awards in total, and is a member of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame.
McLachlan was born on January 28, 1968, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and was raised as the youngest of three adopted children by Dorice McLachlan and her husband Jack, a marine biologist. She began playing the ukulele at age four then, for 12 years, studied classical guitar, piano, voice and opera at the Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts.
After taking nearly two years to build a repertoire, McLachlan recorded her first album, 1987's Touch. The album received both critical and commercial success. During this period she also contributed to an album by Moev, provided vocals on Manufacture's "As the End Draws Near", and embarked on her first national concert tour as an opening act for another Nettwerk band, The Grapes of Wrath.
McLachlan's 1991 album, Solace, was her mainstream breakthrough in Canada, spawning the hit singles "The Path of Thorns (Terms)" and "Into the Fire.” Solace also marked the beginning of her partnership with producer Pierre Marchand, who has been her collaborator ever since. The album was certified double platinum in Canada, and gold in the US.
1993–2002: Fumbling Towards Ecstasy, The Freedom Sessions, Surfacing, Mirrorball
McLachlan at a 1993 benefit for Clayoquot Sound
1993's Fumbling Towards Ecstasy was an immediate hit in Canada. The song "Possession" was included on the first Due South soundtrack in 1996. Over the next two years, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy became McLachlan's international breakthrough as well, scaling the charts in a number of countries. Nettwerk was innovative; it was the first record label to have a website, which made McLachlan much more accessible. It was also the first label to release Enhanced CDs. In 1994, McLachlan released The Freedom Sessions, which was alternative versions of the songs from Fumbling Towards Ecstasy. It became the first Enhanced CD to debut on the Billboard 200 and then be certified gold.
