Let's Talk About Love | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Studio album by | |
Released | June 9, 1992 |
Recorded | 1991–1992 |
Studio |
|
Genre | |
Length | 53:12 |
Label | |
Producer | |
Singles from Let's Talk About Love | |
|
Let's Talk About Love is 3rd Avenue's debut album released by SOLAR/Epic Records, and remains their sole album as a group. [1] [2] Primarily new jack swing with subtle elements of synth and funk, the album was released in the twilight years of the label, and was one of the last SOLAR albums to receive a full release. Lead single "I've Gotta Have It" remained on the Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart for seven weeks, peaking at No. 66, and the second single, a remixed version of the title track, lasted six weeks, peaking at No. 58. [2] [3]
In June 1992, the group's label debut was deemed a "priority project" by SOLAR executives in a Billboard article, and 3rd Avenue members Maurice Pearl and Eric Robinson were given the opportunity to co-write portions of the project alongside producer Dennis "Den Den" Nelson. [4]
Other than two contributions from notable Boyz II Men and SWV production team The Characters, most work on the album was completed in-house at SOLAR, with frequent SOLAR writers Tania Carmenatti, Dennis "Den Den" Nelson, Dynasty member William Shelby, The Time member Ricky Darnell "Freeze" Smith, and Johnny Thomas Jr. (among others) providing songwriting and production alongside group members Pearl and Robinson. [5]
"The Minute You Fall in Love", a record from their upcoming debut album, was placed onto the Billboard R&B Albums Chart top 10-peaking Deep Cover Soundtrack , distributed by SOLAR/Epic and released in April 1992. [6] [7]
The track listing, writing credits and other album information are courtesy of Spotify and Billboard . [5] [8]
Additionally, Robinson, Pearl, and Dennis Nelson co-wrote two outtakes from the album that appeared on an initial Wilder Brothers Recording Studio cassette pressing: "Freak Me" and "Wiggle It". [9]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "I've Gotta Have It" | The Characters | 4:47 | |
2. | "The Minute You Fall in Love" |
| The Characters | 5:29 |
3. | "Another Lover" | Dennis "Den Den" Nelson | 4:01 | |
4. | "Sneakin' in the Alley with Sally" |
| Dennis "Den-Den" Nelson | 4:45 |
5. | "Annie's Apple Pie" |
| Dennis "Den-Den" Nelson | 4:25 |
6. | "Let's Take Our Time" |
| Dennis "Den-Den" Nelson | 5:03 |
7. | "Let's Talk About Love" (remix) |
| Dennis "Den-Den" Nelson | 4:25 |
8. | "Playing the Fool" | Rickey "Freeze" Smith | 5:41 | |
9. | "Show Me" |
| Dennis "Den-Den" Nelson | 4:34 |
10. | "Love Me Just a Little Bit More" |
| Dennis "Den-Den" Nelson | 4:22 |
11. | "One Kiss" |
|
| 5:20 |
Total length: | 53:12 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
12. | "I've Gotta Have It" (12" Remix) | Taylor | The Characters | 5:37 |
13. | "I've Gotta Have It" (Smooth Characters Mix) | Taylor | The Characters | 4:53 |
14. | "I've Gotta Have It" (Go for Your Mix) | Taylor | The Characters | 3:40 |
15. | "I've Gotta Have It" (Bonus Beats) | Taylor | The Characters | 2:21 |
16. | "Let's Talk About Love" (Original Mix) |
| The Characters | 4:21 |
17. | "Let's Talk About Love" (Instrumental) |
| Dennis "Den-Den" Nelson | 4:25 |
Total length: | 78:29 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
4. | "Freak Me" |
| Dennis "Den-Den" Nelson | |
6. | "Wiggle It" |
| Dennis "Den-Den" Nelson |
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Ref | Certifications |
---|---|---|---|---|
US R&B | ||||
"I've Gotta Have It" | 1992 | 66 | [10] [11] | |
"Let's Talk About Love (Remix)" | 58 | [2] |
The album underperformed amongst a wave of successful new jack swing albums, as the label was in obvious decline and unable to provide promotional opportunities, with SOLAR losing distribution and becoming insolvent in 1994. Over the next two decades, the SOLAR catalog was purchased and sold by various companies (including label The Right Stuff Records in 1996), with Canadian independent record label Unidisc gaining control in 2009. [12] 3rd Avenue's debut album, along with the catalogs of many of their SOLAR labelmates, was re-released to various music streaming channels in January 2019 as a condition of a new shared global ownership agreement with BMG Rights Management. [13] [14] A deluxe version of Let's Talk About Love was issued, attaching all of the various mixes from both singles to the parent project for the first time. [5]
Acquiring firm Unidisc noted on their 2019 album re-release inscription that the utilization of "soft electronic samples [hearkening back to SOLAR's disco roots] is what set this album apart from other R&B projects at the time."
"I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)" is a 1965 song recorded by the Four Tops for the Motown label.
"Pledging My Love" is a blues ballad. It was written by Ferdinand Washington and Don Robey and published in 1954.
"Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)" is a song co-written by record producer Thom Bell and William Hart, lead singer of the American R&B/Soul vocal group the Delfonics. It was released by the group in 1969 on the Philly Groove record label and is regarded as a classic, winning a Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group.
SOLAR was an American record label founded in 1977 by Dick Griffey, reconstituted out of Soul Train Records only two years after it was founded with Soul Train television show host and creator Don Cornelius.
Dynasty was an American band, based in Los Angeles, California, created by producer and SOLAR Records label head Dick Griffey, and record producer Leon Sylvers III. The band was known for their dance/pop numbers during the late 1970s and 1980s. Keyboardist Kevin Spencer and vocalists Nidra Beard and Linda Carriere originally comprised the group.
"Mountain of Love" is a song written by Harold Dorman. Dorman released his version as a single in 1960. It was originally recorded in late 1959 at the Royal Recording Studios in Memphis before the backing vocals were overdubbed. It performed well, spending 19 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 21 in May 1960, while reaching No. 7 on the Billboard Hot R&B Sides chart, and No. 25 on Canada's "CHUM Hit Parade". The song was his only top forty hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and was the highest-charting single of his career.
"Let 'Em In" is a song by Wings from their 1976 album Wings at the Speed of Sound. It was written and sung by Paul McCartney and reached the top 3 in the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada. It was a No. 2 hit in the UK; in the U.S. it was a No. 3 pop hit and No. 1 easy listening hit. In Canada, the song was No. 3 for three weeks on the pop chart and No. 1 for three weeks on the MOR chart of RPM magazine. The single was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales of over one million copies. It can also be found on McCartney's 1987 compilation album, All the Best! A demo of the song, featuring Denny Laine on lead vocal, was included as a bonus track on the Archive Collection reissue of Wings at the Speed of Sound.
Slow Dance is a song by R. Kelly with Public Announcement from the album Born into the 90's (1992). It was released as a single by Jive Records in August 1992.
"Honey Love" a song by American R&B singer R. Kelly and his group Public Announcement from Kelly's debut studio album Born into the 90's (1992). It was released as the album's second single on Jive Records in April 1992.
"(Now and Then There's) A Fool Such as I" is a popular song written by Bill Trader and published in 1952. Recorded as a single by Hank Snow it peaked at number four on the US country charts early in 1953.
"Who Loves You" is the title song of a 1975 album by The Four Seasons. It was composed by Bob Gaudio and Judy Parker and produced by Gaudio. It reached number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1975.
"Make It with You" is a song written by David Gates and originally recorded by American pop-rock group Bread, of which Gates was a member. Gates and drummer Mike Botts are the only members of the group to appear on the recording, which was Bread's only No.1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
"Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)" is a song written by the premier Motown songwriting/production team of the 1960s Holland–Dozier–Holland. The first hit recording was sung by Kim Weston in 1965. It was most popular in 1975 when it was recorded by the Doobie Brothers.
Ronald Dyson was an American soul and R&B singer and actor.
"Let Me Talk" is a song by American band Earth, Wind & Fire, released in August 1980 by ARC/Columbia Records as the first single from their tenth album, Faces (1980). It reached No. 8 on the US Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart and No. 29 on the UK Pop Singles chart.
Mitty Lene Collier is an American church pastor, gospel singer and former rhythm and blues singer. She had a number of successful records in the 1960s, of which probably the best known is "I Had A Talk With My Man".
The singles discography of Elvis Presley began in 1954 with the release of his first commercial single, "That's All Right". Following his regional success with Sun Records, Presley was signed to RCA Victor on November 20, 1955. Presley's first single with RCA, "Heartbreak Hotel", was a worldwide hit, reaching the No. 1 position in four countries and the top 10 in many other countries. Other hit singles from the 1950s include "Don't Be Cruel", "Hound Dog", "Love Me Tender", "Too Much", "All Shook Up", "(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear", "Jailhouse Rock", "Don't", "Hard Headed Woman" and "A Big Hunk o' Love". On March 24, 1958, Presley entered the United States Army at Memphis, Tennessee, and was stationed in Germany. He left active duty on March 5, 1960.
Andy Williams recorded 43 studio albums, 17 of which received Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America for selling 500,000 units. Andy Williams has sold over 11 million records in the US alone. Three of those recipients went on to reach one million in sales, for which they were awarded Platinum certification. Between studio, Christmas, and compilation albums he had 37 entries on the pop albums chart in Billboard magazine with 12 of those making the top 10. One of those 12, his 1963 album Days of Wine and Roses and Other TV Requests, spent 16 weeks at number one and comes in at number five on the list of the top albums released in the 1960s in terms of Billboard chart performance. During the 1960s and early 1970s two of his Platinum LPs, The Andy Williams Christmas Album and Merry Christmas, made annual appearances on the magazine's Christmas Albums chart, where they each reached the number one position in multiple holiday seasons. In a ranking of the top album artists of the 1960s in terms of Billboard chart performance, he comes in at number eight.
Reddy is the eleventh studio album release by Australian-American pop singer Helen Reddy. Between 1971 and 1978, Reddy had ten studio albums released by Capitol Records, the label also having issued her Greatest Hits album and a concert album: Live in London, the latter issued in December 1978 - which same month Reddy filed suit claiming Capitol Records had shortchanged her $1,793,000, the suit being an apparent bid to win release from the label. However Reddy, issued in June 1979, would be released by Capitol Records, Reddy's tenure with the label extending to include her twelfth studio album: Take What You Find, issued in 1980.
3rd Avenue, composed of Maurice "Moe-P" Pearl, Eric Jason Robinson, and Brad Nelson, were an American trio of R&B vocalists signed to SOLAR Records, a Los Angeles-based label built from the existing roster of the former Soul Train Records founded by Don Cornelius.