This Time (Al Jarreau album)

This Time
Studio album by Al Jarreau
Released	1980
Genre	Jazz R&B
Length	42:19
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer	Jay Graydon
Al Jarreau chronology
All Fly Home (1978)All Fly Home1978 This Time (1980) Breakin' Away (1981)Breakin' Away1981

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

This Time is the fourth studio album by Jazz vocalist Al Jarreau, released in 1980 on Warner Bros. Records. The release marked a change in Jarreau's sound to a more R&B-oriented flavor. As a result, the album achieved more success on the mainstream charts than his previous works, while also topping the Jazz Charts. It also reached #6 on the R&B charts and #27 on the Billboard 200.^[2]"

This Time marked Jarreau's first foray into the top 40 on the Hot 200 or top ten on the R&B charts, as well as his first #1 on the Jazz charts.^[3] His next album would prove even more successful, topping both the Jazz and R&B charts.

Track listing

1. "Never Givin' Up" (Tom Canning, Jarreau) – 3:56
2. "Gimme What You Got" (Tom Canning, Jarreau) – 3:43
3. "Love Is Real" (Tom Canning, Jarreau, Tom Kellock) – 4:23
4. "Alonzo" (Jarreau) – 5:25
5. "(If I Could Only) Change Your Mind" (Tom Canning, Allee Willis) – 4:16
6. "Spain (I Can Recall)" (Chick Corea, Jarreau, Artie Maren) – 6:31
7. "Distracted" (Jarreau) – 5:51
8. "Your Sweet Love" (Tom Canning, Jarreau, Tom Kellock) – 4:13
9. "(A Rhyme) This Time" (Jarreau, Earl Klugh) – 3:42

Charts & Awards

"Never Givin' Up" peaked at #26 R&B, while "Distracted" and Gimme What You Got" peaked at #61 and #63 on the R&B charts.^[4]

"Never Givin' Up" received a Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male in 1981, Jarreau's first nomination in the R&B field. It lost to Jarreau's Warner Bros. labelmate George Benson for the Give Me the Night album,^[5] who had recently undergone a similar change in sound.^[6]

Personnel

• Al Jarreau – lead vocals, background vocals (tracks 1, 2, 3, 5, 7), vocal percussion (1, 4), rhythm arrangements (1-4, 7, 8, 9)
• Greg Mathieson – rhythm arrangements (1), acoustic piano (1), string synthesizer (1, 3, 4, 5)
• Tom Canning – rhythm arrangements (1, 2, 5, 8), Fender Rhodes (2, 4, 5, 8), acoustic piano (3, 5, 8), bells (8)
• David Foster – acoustic piano (2), Fender Rhodes (3, 9)
• Michael Omartian – string synthesizer (2, 8)
• Larry Williams – synthesizer (3, 6, 8), Fender Rhodes (6)
• Steve George – synthesizer (7)
• George Duke – Fender Rhodes (8)
• Jay Graydon – synthesizer programming (1, 2, 3, 5, 8), electric guitar (1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8), rhythm arrangements (2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9)
• Oscar Castro-Neves – acoustic guitar (1)
• Dean Parks – electric guitar (3, 5)
• Earl Klugh – acoustic guitar (9), rhythm arrangements (9)
• Abraham Laboriel – bass guitar (1-9)
• Ralph Humphrey – drums (1, 4, 5, 9), percussion (4)
• Carlos Vega – drums (2, 3)
• Steve Gadd – drums (6, 7, 8)
• Earl Lon Price – saxophone (7)
• Jerry Hey – horn arrangements (1, 3, 7), flugelhorn (1, 2, 7, 8), trumpet (3, 7)
• Chuck Findley – trumpet (3, 7)
• Bill Reichenbach Jr. – trombone (3, 7)
• Tom Kellock – rhythm arrangements (3)
• Les Thompson – harmonica solo (5)

Production

• Producer – Jay Graydon
• Engineers – Joe Bogan and Jay Graydon
• Second Engineer – Debbie Thompson
• Recorded at Dawnbreaker Studios (San Fernando, CA).
• Remixed and Overdubbed at Garden Rake Studios (Sherman Oaks, CA).
• Mastered by Bernie Grundman at A&M Mastering Studios (Los Angeles, CA).
• Art Direction – Richard Seireeni
• Cover Photography – Richard Avedon
• Sleeve Photography – Michael Rice and Susan Jarreau
• Still Life – Harry Mittman

References