Always & Forever (Eternal album)

Last updated

Always & Forever
Eternalalwaysandforever.jpg
Studio album by
Released28 November 1993
Recorded1992–1993
Studio
  • Prime Time (Los Angeles)
  • Sarm West, Roundhouse (London)
  • Mad Fly Productions (New York)
Genre
Length58:32
Label
Producer
Eternal chronology
Always & Forever
(1993)
Power of a Woman
(1995)
Singles from Always & Forever
  1. "Stay"
    Released: 20 September 1993
  2. "Save Our Love"
    Released: 3 January 1994
  3. "Just a Step from Heaven"
    Released: 18 April 1994
  4. "So Good"
    Released: 8 August 1994
  5. "Oh Baby I..."
    Released: 24 October 1994
  6. "Crazy"
    Released: 12 December 1994
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Gavin Report (favorable) [2]
The Observer (negative) [3]
Smash Hits Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [4]

Always & Forever is the debut studio album by British girl group Eternal. It was released through EMI on 29 November 1993 and is the only studio album by Eternal to feature Louise Nurding, who left the group to embark on a solo career prior to the release of their follow-up album, Power of a Woman (1995). The album became a commercial success, spending 63 weeks in the top 40 of the UK Albums Chart, [5] selling over one million copies in the UK alone and yielding six hit singles. As of 1997, the album had sold over four million copies worldwide. [6] In June 2019, Always & Forever was ranked at number 15 on the Official Charts Company's Top 40 biggest girl band studio albums of the last 25 years. [7]

Contents

Single releases

Always & Forever yielded six top 20 singles, two of which reached top 5: "Stay" and "Oh Baby I...". [8] "Stay" was the first single to be released from the album, peaking at No. 4 in the UK Singles Chart. This was followed by "Save Our Love" and "Just A Step From Heaven", both of which peaked at No. 8. "So Good" was the next single, peaking at No. 13, followed by "Oh Baby I..." which reached No. 4. "Crazy" was the final single released from the album, peaking at No. 15 in the UK Singles Chart.

Commercial performance

Always & Forever was a huge success, peaking at number 2 on the UK Albums Chart, and was later certified 4× Platinum by the BPI for sales of over 1.2 million copies. The album spent over 76 weeks in the charts. After its release at the end of 1993, it slowly climbed the album chart peaking at No. 3 in May 1994 shortly after the release of the third single, "Just a Step from Heaven". The album stayed in the chart throughout 1994 becoming that year's third best-selling album in the UK, [9] before climbing to No. 2 in January 1995. The album broke records for being the first to sell over one million copies in the UK by a female group. [10] As of 2015, it is the only album by a debut act to contain six top 15 hits and the first album by a female group to be nominated for best album at the BRIT Awards. The album had an American release in March 1994, selling 81,000 copies by December 1994. [11]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Stay"
  • Bobby Khouzouri
  • Mark Steven
Nigel Lowis3:56
2."Crazy" BeBe Winans
  • Winans
  • Tim Simenon (co.)
4:02
3."Save Our Love" (West End Mix)Lowis4:21
4."Oh Baby I..."
  • Golden
  • Faragher
5:29
5."I'll Be There"
  • Geoffrey Williams
  • Simon Stirling
Lowis5:13
6."Sweet Funky Thing"
  • Golden
  • Faragher
4:46
7."Never Gonna Give You Up"
  • Maria Christanson
  • Golden
  • Faragher
  • Golden
  • Faragher
3:58
8."Just a Step from Heaven"
  • Dennis Charles
  • Ronnie Wilson
4:16
9."Let's Stay Together"
  • Charles
  • Wilson
4:38
10."This Love Is for Real"
Lowis3:44
11."So Good"Lowis3:57
12."If You Need Me Tonight"
  • Charles
  • E. Bennett
  • V. Bennett
  • Bryan
  • Nurding
  • Wilson
  • Charles
  • Wilson
4:00
13."Don't Say Goodbye"
  • Charles
  • E. Bennett
  • V. Bennett
  • Bryan
  • Nurding
  • Wilson
  • Charles
  • Wilson
4:14
14."Amazing Grace" John Newton
  • Charles
  • Wilson
1:50

Charts

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [29] Gold35,000 [11]
Germany35,000 [30]
Ireland (IRMA) [31] Gold7,500^
Japan (RIAJ) [32] Gold100,000 [11]
Netherlands (NVPI) [33] Gold50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) [34] 4× Platinum1,400,000 [30]
United States81,000 [11]
Summaries
Worldwide4,000,000 [35]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

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