Groove Theory (album)

Groove Theory
Studio album by Groove Theory
Released October 24, 1995
Recorded 1994-1995
Genre
Length 59:14
Label Epic
Producer Jimmy Henchman (exec.), Amel Larrieux (exec.), Lamont Boles(exec.), Bryce Wilson
Groove Theory chronology

Groove Theory
(1995)
Singles from Groove Theory
  1. "Tell Me"
    Released: September 5, 1995
  2. "Keep Tryin'"
    Released: January 23, 1996
  3. "Baby Luv"
    Released: July 16, 1996

Groove Theory is the self-titled debut studio album from American R&B group Groove Theory, released October 24, 1995 on Epic Records.

The album peaked at number sixty-nine on the Billboard 200 chart. By October 1996, it was certified gold in sales by the RIAA, after sales exceeding 500,000 copies in the United States.

Background

"Well, I mean, inspiration was being young and green and having years and years of songs written before then, and never being in the studio before. It's a live combination of inexperience, excitement, innocence, and a lot to say, you know being years and years of writing stuff, and watching things, and I grew up at the time that the Native Tongues was really popular, that really influenced me. I think I grew up in the hey day of hip hop, the best hip hop, the late 80's, early 90's, so I had a lot of stuff to inspire musically that was going on. And it was inspirational for me as a songwriter to be able to have all my own material that I was writing, as opposed to being in a group where some things are written for you." [1]
Amel Larrieux, 2009 interview with Nu-Soul Magazine

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [2]

Stanton Swihart of Allmusic considered the effort "an exquisite, even innovative album. Not only did it (in retrospect) help to herald the progressive neo-soul movement, but its melding of decidedly hip-hop production techniques... with the emotional impulses and themes of soul was still a novel approach to making R&B at the time."[2]

The album was certified gold by October 1996.[3]

Track listing

All music by B. Wilson, A. Larrieux, and D. Brown except where noted.

No. TitleMusic Length
1. "10 Minute High"  B. Wilson, A. Larrieux, K. Deane 4:06
2. "Time Flies"  B. Wilson, A. Larrieux, L. Larrieux, I. Lee 4:15
3. "Ride"  B. Wilson, A. Larrieux, D. Brown, S. Jasper, I. Lee 5:08
4. "Come Home"    4:40
5. "Baby Luv"    4:48
6. "Tell Me"    3:56
7. "Hey U"    6:34
8. "Hello It's Me"  T. Rundgren 5:03
9. "Good 2 Me"  B. Wilson, A. Larrieux, D. Brown, L. Larrieux 4:12
10. "Angel"    3:56
11. "Keep Tryin' "  B. Wilson, A. Larrieux, L. Larrieux 4:20
12. "You're Not the 1"    4:25
13. "Didja Know"  B. Wilson, A. Larrieux, L. Larrieux 3:55
14. "Boy At the Window"    5:13

Chart history

Album

Chart (1995)[4] Peak
position
U.S. Billboard 200 69
U.S. R&B Albums 14

Singles

Year Single Peak chart positions[5]
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 U.S. Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks U.S. Rhythmic Top 40 U.S. Top 40 Mainstream
1995 "Tell Me" 5 2 3 2 21
1996 "Keep Tryin'" 64 36 24 29
"Baby Luv" 65 18 23 14

"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Personnel

Information taken from Allmusic.[6]

Notes

  1. "Nu-Soul Magazine – Amel Larrieux Interview (2009)". Nu-Soul Magazine. 2009-04-21. Retrieved 2009-04-22. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
  2. 2.0 2.1 "allmusic ((( Groove Theory > Review )))". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-05-17.
  3. "RIAA - Gold & Platinum - May 19, 2010 : Search Results - Groove Theory". RIAA. Retrieved 2010-05-19.
  4. "allmusic ((( Groove Theory > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-05-17.
  5. "allmusic ((( Groove Theory > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles )))". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-05-17.
  6. "allmusic ((( Groove Theory > Credits )))". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-05-18.

External links