Foreign Affair | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | September 13, 1989 | |||
Recorded | 1988–1989 | |||
Studio | The Hit Factory (New York, New York, US); Pathé-Marconi Studios (Paris, France) | |||
Genre | Pop rock | |||
Length | 52:16 | |||
Label | Capitol | |||
Producer |
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Tina Turner chronology | ||||
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Singles from Foreign Affair | ||||
|
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
USA Today | (favorable) [3] |
The Vancouver Sun | [4] |
Foreign Affair is the seventh solo studio album by Tina Turner, released on September 13, 1989, through Capitol Records. It was Turner's third album release after her massively successful comeback five years earlier with Private Dancer and her third and last album with the label. [5] Although the album was not a major success in Turner's native United States, it was a huge international hit, especially in Europe. The album reached number one on the UK Albums Chart, her first number one album there. Dan Hartman produced most of the tracks on the album, including the hit single "The Best", which has gone on to become one of Turner's signature songs. [6]
Foreign Affair falls under the adult contemporary genre [7] and features a diverse range of musical styles, from pop-rock anthems ("The Best", "I Don't Wanna Lose You") to bluesy tracks ("Undercover Agent for the Blues") and power ballads ("Be Tender With Me Baby"). The album features collaborations with prominent musicians, including saxophone solos by Gary Barnacle on at least three tracks and guitar work by Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler, who co-wrote Turner's hit "Private Dancer", on the title track. [8]
While Foreign Affair did not perform as well as Turner's previous albums Private Dancer and Break Every Rule in the US, where it failed to crack the Top 30 in the Billboard 200, it was a worldwide hit, selling over six million copies. [9] [10] In the UK alone the album sold over 1.5 million copies entering the UK Albums Chart at number one (Turner's first album to do so there) and staying in Top 100 for a year and a half. [11] The album also reached number one in numerous other countries including Germany and Sweden and topped the overall European Chart for four weeks.[ citation needed ]
In 2021, Foreign Affair was released as a box set, which includes a previously unreleased demo of "The Best". [12]
Six tracks from the album were released as singles, most of which became hits in various parts of Europe and, to a lesser extent, in the US. "The Best" (US No. 15; UK No. 5) was released as the first single propelling the sales of the album. [6] This was followed by "I Don't Wanna Lose You" (UK No. 8), which was released in Europe only. The album's third single (second in the US) was the opening track, "Steamy Windows" (US. No. 39; UK No. 13), which earned Turner a Grammy nomination.
Three additional singles released in various territories were the title track "Foreign Affair" (Continental Europe only), the ballad "Look Me in the Heart" (No. 8 on the US Adult Contemporary chart; UK No. 31) and the rock ballad "Be Tender with Me Baby" (UK No. 28).
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producers | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Steamy Windows" | Tony Joe White | Dan Hartman | 4:03 |
2. | "The Best" |
| 5:28 | |
3. | "You Know Who (Is Doing You Know What)" | T. White | Hartman | 3:45 |
4. | "Undercover Agent for the Blues" |
| Hartman | 5:20 |
5. | "Look Me in the Heart" | Hartman | 3:42 | |
6. | "Be Tender with Me Baby" |
| Hartman | 4:18 |
7. | "You Can't Stop Me Loving You" |
| Hartman | 4:00 |
8. | "Ask Me How I Feel" |
|
| 4:46 |
9. | "Falling Like Rain" |
| Rupert Hine | 4:03 |
10. | "I Don't Wanna Lose You" |
|
| 4:20 |
11. | "Not Enough Romance" | Hartman | Hartman | 4:04 |
12. | "Foreign Affair" | T. White |
| 4:27 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producers | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Bold and Reckless" |
| Hine | 3:48 |
2. | "Stronger Than the Wind" |
| 4:02 | |
3. | "Steel Claw" (live) | Paul Brady | Terry Britten | 4:43 |
4. | "Private Dancer" (live) | Mark Knopfler | John Carter | 4:55 |
5. | "Be Tender with Me Baby" (live) |
| Hartman | 6:50 |
6. | "The Best" (Extended Muscle Mix) |
|
| 5:28 |
7. | "Steamy Windows" (12" vocal mix) | T. White | 6:27 | |
8. | "Foreign Affair" (Heartbeat Mix) | T. White |
| 4:24 |
9. | "Look Me in the Heart" (12" remix) |
|
| 5:26 |
10. | "The Best" (Extended Mighty Mix) |
|
| 6:37 |
11. | "Steamy Windows" (12" house dub mix) | T. White | 6:51 | |
12. | "Foreign Affair" (One in a Million Club Mix) | T. White |
| 6:54 |
13. | "Steamy Windows" (12" dub mix) | T. White | 6:37 | |
14. | "Look Me in the Heart" (instrumental) |
|
| 3:39 |
15. | "Foreign Affair" (Heartbeat Instrumantal) | T. White |
| 4:25 |
16. | "The Best" (demo) |
| Rick Nowels | 4:54 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producers | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Steamy Windows" (live) | T. White | Hartman | 7:04 |
2. | "Typical Male" (live) |
| Hartman | 4:47 |
3. | "Foreign Affair" (live) | T. White |
| 4:11 |
4. | "Undercover Agent for the Blues" (live) |
| Hartman | 5:07 |
5. | "Ask Me How I Feel" (live) |
|
| 4:18 |
6. | "We Don't Need Another Hero" (live) |
| Britten | 4:42 |
7. | "Private Dancer" (live) | Knopfler | Carter | 7:20 |
8. | "Nutbush City Limits" (live) | T. Turner | Ike Turner | 4:18 |
9. | "Addicted to Love" (live) | Robert Palmer | John Hudson | 5:36 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producers | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "The Best" (live) |
|
| 5:47 |
2. | "I Don't Wanna Lose You" (live) |
|
| 5:45 |
3. | "What's Love Got to Do with It" (live) |
| Britten | 6:33 |
4. | "Let's Stay Together" (live) |
| 7:28 | |
5. | "Proud Mary" (live) | John Fogerty |
| 9:30 |
6. | "Better Be Good to Me" (live) |
| Hine | 11:28 |
7. | "Be Tender with Me Baby" (live) |
| Hartman | 7:01 |
No. | Title | Directors | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Do You Want Some Action?" (live in Barcelona 1990) | Egbert Van Hees | 100:00 |
2. | "Foreign Affair" (music video) | Paula Walker | 4:07 |
3. | "Look Me in the Heart" (music video) | Walker | 3:36 |
4. | "The Best" (music video) | Lol Creme | 4:09 |
5. | "Steamy Windows" (music video) | Andy Morahan | 4:02 |
6. | "Be Tender with Me Baby" (music video) | Nick Frye | 4:32 |
7. | "I Don't Wanna Lose You" (music video) | Dominic Sena | 4:15 |
Notes
Musicians
Production
Technical
Studios
Other credits
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [51] | Platinum | 70,000^ |
Austria (IFPI Austria) [52] | 3× Platinum | 150,000* |
Canada (Music Canada) [53] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [54] | 2× Platinum | 200,000 [54] |
Finland (Musiikkituottajat) [55] | Platinum | 86,895 [55] |
France (SNEP) [56] | 2× Gold | 200,000* |
Germany (BVMI) [57] | 2× Platinum | 1,200,000 [58] |
Italy (FIMI) [59] | 2× Platinum | 500,000 [59] |
Netherlands (NVPI) [60] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
New Zealand (RMNZ) [61] | Gold | 7,500^ |
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [62] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
Sweden (GLF) [63] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) [64] | 4× Platinum | 200,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [65] | 5× Platinum | 1,500,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [66] | Gold | 500,000^ |
Summaries | ||
Worldwide | — | 6,000,000 [9] |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
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