Alexander O'Neal (album)

Alexander O'Neal
Studio album by Alexander O'Neal
Released 1985
Studio
Genre
Length 42:39
Label
Producer
Alexander O'Neal chronology
Alexander O'Neal
(1985)		 Hearsay
(1987)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Robert ChristgauB [2]

Alexander O'Neal is the debut solo studio album by American recording artist Alexander O'Neal. It was originally released in 1985 by Tabu and Epic. The songs were largely recorded during 1984 to 1985 in sessions that took place at Creation Audio in Minnesota, and Larrabee Sound in Los Angeles, California, assisted by R&B songwriting and record production team Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.

On release, the album was received favourably by the majority of music critics. One of O'Neal's most commercially successful solo albums, it went on to peak at #92 on the Billboard 200 and reached #21 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.[3] The album launched four charting singles in the UK. "If You Were Here Tonight" peaked at #13 on the UK Singles Chart; "A Broken Heart Can Mend" peaked at #53; "What's Missing" at #90; "You Were Meant to Be My Lady (Not My Girl)" at #98.[4] In the UK, the album sold more than 100,000 copies and was certified Gold by the BPI.[5]

The album was re-released on 8 April 2013 on Tabu's new Re-born imprint featuring rare bonus content. The reissue is a 2-CD set with the original album digitally remastered from the original 1/2" mix tapes; the bonus content consists of associated 7", and 12" mixes.

Release history

Label Cat. No. Format Date
Tabu FZ 39331 US CD, Vinyl 1985
Tabu TBU 26485 UK CD, Vinyl 1985
Tabu, The Right Stuff 72435-42424-2-7, CDVUS 230 EU CD 2002
Solid CDSOL-5201 JP CD 24 July 2013
Tabu TABU2001 UK CD 8 April 2013

Critical reception

Alexander O'Neal was well received by most critics. In his consumer guide for The Village Voice, Robert Christgau gave the album a B and commented that "From the Timexes who gave the world the new improved S.O.S. Band, a new improved black matinee idol. They start one side with a can't-miss post-vulnerable ballad, the other with a can't-miss dance song deceptively entitled "Innocent." and he adds that "The rest they leave to craft. Is this any way to serve a new improved matinee idol? Probably."[2]

Today, the album is still viewed in a positive light by critics some three decades later. Alex Henderson of AllMusic gave the album four and a half out of five stars and wrote that "Creatively and commercially, the soul man hit the ground running with this impressive debut album." adding that "Excellent from start to finish, Alexander O'Neal is the singer's most essential album."[1]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by James Harris and Terry Lewis, except where noted.

Side one

  1. "A Broken Heart Can Mend" - 3:45
  2. "If You Were Here Tonight" (Monte Moir) - 6:11
  3. "Do You Wanna Like I Do" (Monte Moir) - 4:50
  4. "Look At Us Now" (Monte Moir) - 5:07

Side two

  1. Medley: "Innocent"/"Alex 9000"/"Innocent II" - 10:32
  2. "What's Missing" - 5:43
  3. "You Were Meant To Be My Lady (Not My Girl)" - 6:31

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[6]

Additional personnel

Charts

Peak positions

Original release
Chart Peak
Position		 Total
weeks
Dutch Albums Chart[7] 72 1
UK Albums Chart[8] 19 18
US Billboard Chart[9] 92 ?
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[9] 21 ?

Sales and certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
United Kingdom (BPI)[10] Gold 100,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. 1 2 Henderson, Alex. "Alexander O'Neal – Alexander O'Neal". AllMusic. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
  2. 1 2 Christgau, Robert. "Alexander O'Neal - Alexander O'Neal". Robert Christgau. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
  3. ↑ Hearsay Chart & awards at AllMusic
  4. ↑ Roberts, David (2002). Guinness World Records British Hit Singles (15th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Ltd. ISBN 0-85112-187-X., p.360
  5. ↑ "UK Certified Awards Search > Alexander O'Neal". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2012-05-26.
  6. ↑ Alexander O'Neal liner notes. Tabu Records. 1985.
  7. ↑ "NL Charts > Alexander O'Neal". MegaCharts. Retrieved 2012-05-26.
  8. ↑ "UK Charts > Alexander O'Neal". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2012-05-26.
  9. 1 2 "US Albums Charts > Alexander O'Neal". Billboard. Retrieved 2012-05-26.
  10. ↑ "British album certifications – Alexander O'Neal – Alexander O'Neal". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 16 April 2015. Enter Alexander O'Neal in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search

External links

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