Deconstruction is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Meredith Brooks. It was released on September 28, 1999, by Capitol Records. Following the album's disappointing commercial reception, Brooks was dropped from the record label. Recording Unlike her involvement with Meredith Brooks (1986) and Blurring the Edges (1997), Brooks sought to take more control over the compositions on Deconstruction. With the exception of "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)", Brooks wrote or co-wrote and played lead guitar on every song on the album, in addition to co-producing the album with David Darling. Thematically, Brooks claims that the material on Deconstruction was a direct reaction to her experiences with the success of "Bitch". She explained: "The new album is about deconstructing everything, letting people know that I'm not just any one thing." Release and promotion Deconstruction was released on September 28, 1999. Prior to the album's release, Brooks released rough mixes of several album tracks on her official website. Fans had the opportunity to vote for their favorite songs and discuss the then-upcoming album with Brooks on the site's message board. In an effort to promote the album, Brooks opened for the Eurythmics on their Peace Tour (1999). Critical reception Tom Demalon of AllMusic referred to the album as "another pleasant if somewhat derivative helping of adult rock [from Brooks]." Demalon highlighted "Nobody's Home" and "I Said" as the standout tracks from the album. Beth Johnson of Entertainment Weekly remarked that the album starts off strong with "Shout," before delving into "sound-alikes of Sheryl Crow, late-'90s Madonna, and (oh so annoyingly) Blondie's rap." Commercial performance In the United States, Deconstruction was considered a commercial disappointment in comparison to Brooks' previous effort, Blurring the Edges. Deconstruction failed to chart on the Billboard 200 chart and the album only sold approximately 20,000 units over two months after release. Track listing Personnel Credits are adapted from the liner notes of Deconstruction. Production Meredith Brooks – vocals, writer, producer David Darling – producer, programming Melanie Safka – writer Queen Latifah – vocals, writer Larry Dvoskin – writer Shelly Peiken – writer Rick Nowels – writer Adam Gorgoni – writer Brian Reeves – engineering Scott Humphries – mixing Paul Fox – producer Jeff Tomei – engineering Mark Needham – mixing Tom Weir – engineering John Bogosian – engineering David Bryant – assistant engineer Michael Parnell – assistant engineer Chris Lord-Alge – mixing Matt Silva – mixing assistant