I'm in Love Again

This article is about the Patti LaBelle album. For the title song, see Love, Need and Want You. For the Fats Domino song, see I'm in Love Again (song).
I'm In Love Again
Studio album by Patti LaBelle
Released November 25, 1983 [1]
Recorded 1982-1983
Genre R&B, pop, Soul
Length 38:41
Label Philadelphia Int'l / CBS
Producer Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff, Bunny Sigler, Cecil Womack, Dexter Wansel, Cynthia Biggs Joseph Jefferson
Patti LaBelle chronology

The Spirit's in It
(1981)		 I'm in Love Again
(1983)		 Patti
(1985)

I'm In Love Again is the sixth solo album released by American recording artist Patti LaBelle in late 1983. Notable for LaBelle's first solo top ten hits, "If Only You Knew" and "Love, Need and Want You", it became LaBelle's first successful solo album after five previous releases and six years.

History

By 1982, Patti LaBelle released her first Philadelphia International album, The Spirit's in It, which found modest success. That year, LaBelle headed to the studio to record her second PIR album at Philadelphia's famed Sigma Sound Studios. The issue with trying to produce a hit for LaBelle was to figure out how to have her studio career mesh successfully with her live performances, as none of the songs she had released since her solo debut in 1977 had become a best-seller on either the pop or R&B charts.

Due to LaBelle's work in musical theatre, including the Broadway play, Your Arms Too Short to Box with God, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf and Working, as well as filming her role on the film, A Soldier's Story, which halted the second album's production. That same year, LaBelle had undergone plastic surgery treatment on her nose, to which she claimed, was only to "sing higher notes".

Most of LaBelle's 1982 recordings included live instrumentation and strings while 1983 recordings had producers experimenting with electronics, showcasing the lengthy year in recording. At least one song left over from the sessions of The Spirit's in It, a post-disco track titled "Body Language" would be musically overdubbed in 1983 sessions. LaBelle also experimented with jazz music, covering the standard, "Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?)" A synthpop track, "I'll Never, Never Give Up", was one of the final songs recorded for the album, and which included funk and gospel elements and a male backup vocal chorus. Another song overdubbed from initial sessions of The Spirit's in It was "Love Bankrupt", which included strong country elements.

With those exceptions, most of the songs that was featured on I'm in Love Again were mid-tempo pop/R&B songs and string-laden ballads. Going over material, the album's executive producers Gamble & Huff picked the mid-tempo, string-laden "If Only You Knew", as the "one with the most hit potential", issuing "I'll Never, Never Give Up" as its b-side to dance clubs. A notable song that was originally included on the set list but then taken off was the pop ballad, "Hero", which was recorded by LaBelle in 1982.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [2]
Rolling Stone [3]
Wilson & Alroy's Record Reviews [4]

I'm In Love Again was released in November 1983. The album received critical success and later commercial success after the album became LaBelle's first to chart the top 40 of the Billboard 200, peaking at number-forty and reaching number-four on the R&B albums chart, her highest to date at the time. With sales of over 500,000 copies, I'm in Love Again was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America by the end of 1984.

The album launched two singles - "If Only You Knew" and "Love, Need and Want You". The former track reached number-one on the R&B singles chart - LaBelle's first to do so, while also reaching the lower regions of the top 50 on the Billboard Hot 100 peaking at a respective number 46. "Love, Need and Want You" peaked at number ten on the R&B singles chart though it never crossed over to pop charts. "I'll Never, Never Give Up" was only a minor hit on the dance charts.

Track listing

  1. "I'm in Love Again" (Bunny Sigler) (5:38)
  2. "Lover Man (Oh Where Can You Be?)" (Jimmy Davis, Ram Ramirez, Jimmy Sherman) (4:05)
  3. "Love, Need and Want You" (Bunny Sigler, Kenny Gamble) (4:58)
  4. "If Only You Knew" (Dexter Wansel, Cynthia Biggs, Kenny Gamble) (4:45)
  5. "Body Language" (Harold Payne, Pete Luboff, Pat Luboff) (4:45)
  6. "I'll Never, Never Give Up" (Stephanie Huff) (5:20)
  7. "Love Bankrupt" (Cecil Womack, Linda Womack) (4:32)
  8. "When Am I Gonna Find True Love" (Charles B. Simmons, Richard Roebuck) (4:24)

References

  1. ↑ http://cocatalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v1=36&ti=1,36&SEQ=20140425203216&Search_Arg=Labelle%2C%20patti&Search_Code=NALL&CNT=25&REC=0&RD=0&RC=0&PID=kM6zQ5GrnBQJvZ8WR3-tJcKIInYj9&SID=1
  2. ↑ Elias, Jason. "I'm in Love Again - Patti LaBelle". Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-02-24.
  3. ↑ Miller, Debby (1984-03-29). "Patti LaBelle: I'm In Love Again : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2007-02-18. Retrieved 2013-01-14.
  4. ↑ "Labelle". Wilson & Alroy's Record Reviews. Retrieved 2013-01-14.