Biography: The Greatest Hits

Biography: The Greatest Hits
Greatest hits album by Lisa Stansfield
Released 3 February 2003 (2003-02-03)
Recorded 1989–2001
Genre
Length 120:45
Label Arista
Producer
Lisa Stansfield chronology
Face Up
(2001)		 Biography: The Greatest Hits
(2003)		 The Complete Collection
(2003)
Singles from Biography: The Greatest Hits
  1. "All Around the World (Norty Cotto Mixes)"
    Released: 28 April 2003

Biography: The Greatest Hits is the first greatest hits compilation album by British recording artist Lisa Stansfield. Released by Arista Records on 3 February 2003, it features seventeen tracks, hits and rare songs, including: "All Around the World," "This Is the Right Time," "Change," "All Woman," "The Real Thing" and "Never, Never Gonna Give You Up." The album, which garnered positive reviews from music critics, peaked at number three in the United Kingdom and was certified Gold.

Background

In June 2001, Stansfield released Face Up, her final studio album with Arista Records. The obligatory compilation, Biography: The Greatest Hits was issued in February 2003. Four months later, Arista Records remastered all of Stansfield's studio albums and re-released them with bonus tracks. The Complete Collection box set was also issued at the same time.

Content

The European edition of Biography: The Greatest Hits includes three songs from Affection ("This Is the Right Time," "All Around the World," "Live Together"), four tracks from Real Love ("Change," "All Woman," "Time to Make You Mine," "Set Your Loving Free"), three songs from So Natural ("In All the Right Places," "So Natural," "Little Bit of Heaven"), two tracks from Lisa Stansfield ("The Real Thing," "Never, Never Gonna Give You Up") and one song from Face Up ("Let's Just Call It Love"). It also contains few non-album tracks: "People Hold On" (from Coldcut's album, What's That Noise?), "Down in the Depths" (from charity compilation, Red Hot + Blue), "Someday (I'm Coming Back)" (from The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album) and "These Are the Days of Our Lives" (from charity EP, Five Live). The North American edition includes "You Can't Deny It" and "Never Gonna Fall" instead of "Little Bit of Heaven" and "Set Your Loving Free." In Europe, limited edition with bonus remix CD was also issued. Biography: The Greatest Hits was released simultaneously on DVD which includes most of Stansfield's music videos and a bonus material.

Singles

The album does not include any new recordings. Arista Records issued promotional singles with new remixes of "All Around the World" created by Norty Cotto. The single was released in the United States on 28 April 2003 and reached number thirty-four on the Billboard's Hot Dance Club Songs. A remix by Junior Vasquez was also created. In 2014, these remixes of "All Around the World" were included on the deluxe 2CD + DVD re-release of Face Up (also on The Collection 1989–2003).

Reception

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

Biography: The Greatest Hits received positive reviews from music critics. Heather Phares from AllMusic gave the album 4.5 out of 5 stars and wrote that it is a must for die-hard fans and an excellent primer for casual listeners.[1]

Commercial reception

Biography: The Greatest Hits peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart and at number four in Italy. It also reached top forty in Belgium Flanders. The album was certified Gold in the United Kingdom.[2]

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s)Producer(s) Length
1. "Change" (Edit)Lisa Stansfield, Ian Devaney, Andy MorrisDevaney, Morris 4:33
2. "Someday (I'm Coming Back)"  Stansfield, Devaney, MorrisDevaney, Morris 4:56
3. "This Is the Right Time"  Stansfield, Devaney, MorrisColdcut 4:30
4. "The Real Thing"  Stansfield, DevaneyDevaney, Peter Mokran 4:18
5. "People Hold On" (featuring Coldcut)Stansfield, Matt Black, Jonathan MoreColdcut 3:58
6. "In All the Right Places" (Edit)Stansfield, Devaney, Morris, John BarryDevaney, Morris 5:16
7. "So Natural"  Stansfield, DevaneyDevaney 5:05
8. "Time to Make You Mine" (Edit)Stansfield, Devaney, MorrisDevaney, Morris 4:10
9. "Live Together" (Edit)Stansfield, Devaney, MorrisDevaney, Morris 4:35
10. "Little Bit of Heaven"  Stansfield, DevaneyDevaney 4:27
11. "Set Your Loving Free" (Edit)Stansfield, Devaney, MorrisDevaney, Morris 4:09
12. "Let's Just Call It Love" (Edit)Stansfield, Devaney, Richard DarbyshireDevaney 3:59
13. "Never, Never Gonna Give You Up" (Edit)Barry WhiteDevaney, Mokran 3:51
14. "These Are the Days of Our Lives" (with Queen and George Michael)Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor, John DeaconGeorge Michael, Queen 4:43
15. "Down in the Depths"  Cole PorterDevaney, Morris, Stansfield 4:27
16. "All Woman"  Stansfield, Devaney, MorrisDevaney, Morris 5:16
17. "All Around the World"  Stansfield, Devaney, MorrisDevaney, Morris 4:22

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Chart (2003) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[3] 37
European Albums (Top 100)[4] 16
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[5] 46
Irish Albums (IRMA)[6] 42
Italian Albums (FIMI)[7] 4
Scottish Albums (OCC)[8] 7
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[9] 43
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[10] 58
UK Albums (OCC)[11] 3
UK R&B Albums (OCC)[12] 5

Year-end charts

Chart (2003) Position
Italian Albums (Hit Parade)[13] 70
UK Albums (OCC)[14] 123

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
United Kingdom (BPI)[15] Gold 100,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

Release history

Region Date Label Format Catalog
Europe 3 February 2003 Arista CD 74321 98954 2
2CD 82876 50222 2
North America 18 February 2003 CD 07822 10616 2
Australia 24 February 2003 74321 98954 2
Japan 26 March 2003 2CD BVCA-28003～BVCA-28004

References

  1. 1 2 Phares, Heather. "Lisa Stansfield > Biography: The Greatest Hits > Overview > Review". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2013-04-23.
  2. ↑ "British album certifications – Lisa Stansfield". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2013-09-03. Enter Lisa Stansfield in the field Search. Select Artist in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Click Search
  3. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Lisa Stansfield – Biography - The Greatest Hits" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  4. ↑ "Lisa Stansfield > Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  5. ↑ "Lisa Stansfield - Biography: The Greatest Hits" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  6. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 7, 2003". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  7. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Lisa Stansfield – Biography - The Greatest Hits". Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  8. ↑ "2003-02-09 Top 40 Scottish Albums Archive". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  9. ↑ Fernando Salaverri (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  10. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Lisa Stansfield – Biography - The Greatest Hits". Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  11. ↑ "Lisa Stansfield | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  12. ↑ "2003-02-09 Top 40 R&B Albums Archive . Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  13. ↑ "Gli album più venduti del 2003" (in Italian). Hit Parade Italia. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  14. ↑ "The Official UK Albums Chart 2003" (PDF). OCC. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  15. ↑ "British album certifications – Lisa Stansfield – Lisa Stansfield". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Lisa Stansfield 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
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, January 24, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.