The Lover in Me (album)

The Lover in Me
Studio album by Sheena Easton
Released November 15, 1988 / re-released 2006
Recorded 1987-1988
Genre Funk, Soul, Pop, R&B
Length 49:43
Label MCA/Cherry Red
Producer Babyface, Kayo, L.A. Reid, Prince, Angela L. Winbush, John Jellybean Benitez
Sheena Easton chronology
No Sound But a Heart
(1987)		 The Lover in Me
(1988)		 What Comes Naturally
(1991)

The Lover in Me is the ninth studio album by Scottish singer Sheena Easton. It was released in November 1988 and was her debut for MCA. The album reached #44 on the Billboard 200 and #30 in the UK, and was certified Gold by the RIAA. This is one of Easton's best selling albums to date and returned her to the U.S. and UK charts. Significantly, in the UK it was her first charting album for over five years, with the lead single becoming her first top 20 hit in nearly eight years.

The album's title track became a major hit, reaching #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, #5 on Billboard's Hot Black Singles chart, and #15 on the UK Singles Chart. Other singles from the album include "Days Like This" (#35 on the US R&B chart, UK #43) and "101" (UK #54 US Dance #2). "101" was written for Easton by Prince. One last single was released in the US; "No Deposit, No Return", but failed to chart.

The song "Follow My Rainbow" is featured in an episode (Deliver Us From Evil) from Miami Vice in which Easton's character is singing the song minutes before her character is eliminated. The song made #16 on the Dutch and New Zealand singles chart.

The album has a more Urban/R&B sound than Easton's previous recordings due to the production by well-known acts such as L.A. Reid, Babyface and John Jellybean Benitez.

In 2006, Cherry Red Records (UK) re-released The Lover in Me, remastered and with added bonus tracks. On May 27, 2016 the album was officially released in the US for digital download on ITunes.

Track listing

Side One

  1. "No Deposit, No Return" (Babyface, Kayo, L.A. Reid, Daryl Simmons) 5:55
  2. "The Lover in Me" (Babyface, Reid, Simmons) 5:02
  3. "Follow My Rainbow" (Babyface) 4:55
  4. "Without You" (Angela Winbush) 5:37
  5. "If It's Meant to Last" (Danny Sembello, Allee Willis) 4:07

Side Two

  1. "Days Like This" (Babyface, Reid, Simmons) 5:07
  2. "One Love" (Babyface, Reid) 4:54
  3. "101" (Joey Coco) 4:06
  4. "Cool Love" (Joey Coco) 4:03
  5. "Fire and Rain" (Winbush) 5:56

2006 re-release bonus tracks

  1. "The Lover in Me" (Extended Dub Version)
  2. "Days Like This" (7' Version)
  3. "101" (The Remix)
  4. "No Deposit, No Return" (Radio Edit)

Reviews

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]

Billboard magazine, December 1988: "The Lover In Me" shows Sheena Easton taking her career in a new direction. With production by L.A. & Babyface, Angela Winbush, Jellybean Benitez, and Prince, the album is smart, sexy, and soulful.

People magazine, December 5, 1988: Anyone who likes to see Maseratis used to plow snow or filet mignon ground into hamburger may like this record, in which Easton does a convincing imitation of a fourth-rate R&B singer. Maybe she got turned around by her collaboration with Prince, in which—during the U Got the Look video—she groveled around in a fashion that would have been humiliating to the most desperate starlet, let alone to a singer of Easton's stature and talent. Prince produced two of this album's 10 tracks (with little of the distinction he often shows on his own records), and the rest were done by such dance poppers as Babyface and Jellybean Benitez. Easton just blares away, fighting a losing battle against the rhythm backgrounds on the hotter tracks and sounding nondescript on the ballads, except Without You, where she sounds so much like Streisand it seems an outright imitation. That just accentuates the revolting developments of Easton's recent career.[2]

Rolling Stone magazine, 1989: "The Lover In Me" (MCA) by Sheena Easton has got to be one of the most satisfying comeback albums this year. A new label and a clearer musical vision stretches Easton's vocal gifts considerably. Adopting a genuine R&B dance mode, the album's material overall is quite strong and is destined to garner Easton many new fans. Of the L.A. & Babyface productions on the album, the hit title track, "Days Like This" and "No Deposit, No Return" are the standouts featuring the production duo's customary style. One of our favorites is the Angela Winbush penned and produced "Fire and Rain," a sultry, soulful and very Isley-ish slow number that we hope clicks at radio.

Production

Charts and certifications

YearSingleChartPosition
1988 "The Lover in Me " US Billboard Pop #2
1988 "The Lover in Me " US Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales #1
1988 "The Lover in Me " US Hot Dance Club Play #2
1988 "The Lover in Me " US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs #5
1989 "The Lover in Me" UK Single Charts #15
1989 "Days Like This" US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs #35
1989 "Days Like This" UK Single Charts #43
1989 "101" US Hot Dance Club Play #2
1989 "101" US Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales #25
1989 "101" UK Single Charts #54
1989 "No Deposit, No Return"
1990 "Follow My Rainbow" New Zealand Singles Chart #16
Country Certification Sales
United States Gold 500,000

Notes

  1. ↑ The Lover in Me at AllMusic
  2. ↑ Picks and Pans Review: The Lover in Me. "Picks and Pans Review: The Lover in Me." People (magazine). Dec. 5, 1988.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/20/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.