New Edition (album)

New Edition
Studio album by New Edition
Released July 6, 1984
Recorded 1983–1984
Genre R&B, soul
Length 43:13
Label MCA
Producer Vincent Brantley & Rick Timas, Ray Parker, Jr., Richard Rudolph & Michael Sembello, Richard James Burgess, Peter Bunetta & Rick Chudacoff
New Edition chronology

Candy Girl
(1983)		 New Edition
(1984)		 All for Love
(1985)
Singles from New Edition
  1. "Cool It Now"
    Released: June 30, 1984
  2. "Mr. Telephone Man"
    Released: November 28, 1984
  3. "Lost in Love"
    Released: February 7, 1985
  4. "Kind of Girls We Like"
    Released: May 16, 1985
  5. "My Secret (Didja Get It Yet?)"
    Released: August 3, 1985
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
Robert Christgau B+[2]

New Edition is the second studio album released by American quintet New Edition on July 6, 1984 in North America. It was their first album on MCA Records. It was also their first album without Maurice Starr who would depart from the group during the making of the album after the group accused him of stealing their monetary earnings from their platinum debut. The album was produced by Vincent Brantley & Rick Timas, Grammy-nominated producer Michael Sembello & Richard Rudolph, Ray Parker, Jr. and Peter Bunetta and Rick Chudacoff. The album reached #6 on the Billboard 200 and #1 on the R&B/Hip Hop Albums Chart (where it peaked for five weeks).

Background

Little over a year after their first album, New Edition were a million-selling pop act by the time of this release. They had also gone through a nasty court battle with their former mentor and producer Maurice Starr. Around the time of the making of this album, the group and Starr argued over monetary earnings that the group felt that had been given to them and then taken away by Starr, who has to this day steadfastly denied taking the boys' earnings from them. The dispute came after the group members received their checks in their mailboxes only to discover that they were only given $1.87 despite the success of their debut album, Candy Girl and their accompanying US tour. Angered, New Edition filed a lawsuit against Starr and demanded out of their contract. Starr relented and gave the boys the freedom to leave. The bitter split eventually led to Starr's creating "the white New Edition": New Kids on the Block. Meanwhile, the boys left Starr's label Streetwise Records and signed a new contract with MCA.[3] Being given a bevy of producers including R&B mainstay Ray Parker, Jr. and writer-producer Mike Sembello of "Maniac" fame among them, the group released their self-titled second album in the summer of 1984 to huge success.

Release and reaction

Thanks to more thorough promotion, and music tailored for more of a mainstream audience, New Edition won new fans upon the release of this album. The lead off singles: “Cool It Now” and “Mr. Telephone Man” both became top twenty pop hits, and also hit number one on the R&B singles chart. The album peaked at number six on the Billboard 200 and number one on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop album chart. It later spawned another top forty pop hit, the ballad “Lost in Love” and subsequent modest hits “Kinda Girls We Like” (which was written by the group themselves), and the uptempo top forty R&B single, “My Secret (Didja Get It Yet?)”. New Edition eventually was certified double-platinum—making New Edition the most acclaimed teen pop attraction of the middle 1980s. This album was also promoted under a more clean-cut pop image for the group, much different from the streetwise persona they had during their first album, a marketing decision that various group members would later admit that they weren’t thrilled about at the time.

Track listing

  1. "Cool It Now" (Vincent Brantley, Rick Timas) (6:00)
  2. "Mr. Telephone Man" (Ray Parker, Jr.) (3:58)
  3. "I'm Leaving You Again" (Ricky Bell, Ralph Tresvant) (4:15)
  4. "Baby Love" (Richard Rudolph, Danny Sembello, Michael Sembello) (4:36)
  5. "Delicious" (David Batteau, Danny Sembello) (4:32)
  6. "My Secret (Didja Get It Yet?)" (Dick Eastman, Bobby Hart) (4:09)
  7. "Hide & Seek" (Gary Bell, Anne Dudley) (3:45)
  8. "Lost in Love" (Russell Kramer) (4:12)
  9. "Kind of Girls We Like" (New Edition) (4:10)
  10. "Maryann" (Rick Chudacoff, Steve Goodman, Arno Lucas) (3:36)

Also An Unreleased Track Was On A 7-inch Record "Lost In Love"

Side B "Gold Mine" (Dick Eastman, Bobby Hart) (3:01)

Credits

Personnel

References

  1. ↑ Wynn, Ron. "New Edition - New Edition". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Review. Retrieved 2012-03-03.
  2. ↑ Christgau, Robert (September 27, 1983). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 2012-03-03.
  3. ↑ Adams, Dart. "Where It All Started: 25th Anniversary Retrospective Of Bobby Brown’s “Don’t Be Cruel” & New Edition’s “Heart Break”". theurbandaily.com. The Urban Daily. Retrieved 2014-12-29.