Bette (album)

Last updated

Bette
Bette (Bette Midler album - cover art).jpg
Studio album by
Bette Midler
ReleasedOctober 10, 2000
Length47:40
Label Warner Bros.
Producer
Bette Midler chronology
Bathhouse Betty
(1998)		Bette
(2000)		 Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook
(2003)
Singles from Bette
  1. "Nobody Else but You"
  2. "In These Shoes"

Bette is a self-titled studio album by American singer Bette Midler. It was released by Warner Bros. Records on October 10, 2000, in the United States to coincide with the premiere of her her self-titled CBS sitcom. Midler covered songs on this album written by artists like Elvis Costello and Kirsty MacColl, mixed with cover versions of classic soul and R&B songs from the 1970s, including "Shining Star", "Love T.K.O." and "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)".

Contents

Upon release, the album only reached number 69 on US Billboard 200, and Warner Bros. subsequently dropped Midler from its roster in 2001 because of declining record sales. [1] A maxi-single with several remixes of "In These Shoes" was released to promote the album. It reached number eight on the US Billboard Dance Music/Club Play Singles and number 14 on the Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales charts. [2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 73/100 [3]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [4]
Robert Christgau Scissors icon black.svg [5]
Entertainment Weekly C [6]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [8]
Wall of Sound 74/100 [9]

AllMusic editor William Ruhlmann rated the album four out of five stars and called Bette "an excellent album to tie in with the premiere of her network television show. Was seems to conceive of Midler as a kind of pre-rock, neo-Brill Building performer, frequently putting her into mid-tempo pop arrangements of old R&B ballads [...] Fans of the bawdy Bette and the bathetic Bette may be disappointed, but the rest of her followers will enjoy the balance and consistency of this collection." [4] Richard Abowitz, writing for Rolling Stone , noted that Bette "finds Midler backed by her touring band, working ballads and vamps with a distinctive style perfected over decades of performing. Midler's secret weapon has always been her ability to pick material, and Bette is no exception." [7]

Chart performance

Bette debuted and peaked at number 69 on the US Billboard 200. [10] This marked Midler's lowest-charting album by then, resulting into Warner Bros. subsequently dropping her from its roster in 2001 because of declining record sales. By October 2003, the album had sold 226,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. [1]

Track listing

Bette track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."That's How Heartaches Are Made"
 Don Was 3:08
2."In These Shoes"
Was3:41
3."God Give Me Strength"
Was6:31
4."Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)"
Was3:54
5."Love T.K.O."
Was4:47
6."Moses" Patty Griffin Was4:31
7."Nobody Else but You"
  • Was
  • Shaiman
2:53
8."Color of Roses"
Was4:41
9."Bless You Child"
  • Was
  • Nowels
4:12
10."When Your Life Was Low"
Was3:55
11."Shining Star"
Was4:49

Personnel

Additional musicians:

Charts

Chart performance for Bette
Chart (2000)Peak
position
US Billboard 200 [10] 69

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References

  1. 1 2 Caulfield, Keith (October 15, 2003). "Ask Billboard: Betting on Bette". Billboard . Archived from the original on October 4, 2014. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Bette Midler | Awards". AllMusic . Archived from the original on December 2, 2013. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
  3. ↑ "Bette by Bette Midler Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Archived from the original on May 16, 2021. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  4. 1 2 Ruhlmann, William. Bette Review at AllMusic. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  5. ↑ Christgau, Robert. "Bette Midler". Rolling Stone . Retrieved February 6, 2023.
  6. ↑ Tucker, Ken (October 27, 2000). "Bette". Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on March 10, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  7. 1 2 Abowitz, Richard (November 23, 2000). "Album Reviews: Bette". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on October 1, 2007. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
  8. ↑ Coleman, Marc; Brackett, Nathan (2004). "Bette Midler". In Brackett, Nathan; Christian, Hoard (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 540. ISBN   0-7432-0169-8.
  9. ↑ Remstein, Bob (2000). "Bette Midler: Bette". Wall of Sound . Archived from the original on December 4, 2000. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  10. 1 2 "Bette Midler Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
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