Listen to the Message | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | May 24, 1988 | |||
Recorded | 1987-1988 | |||
Genre | Funk, soul | |||
Length | 41:31 | |||
Label | Warner Bros. Records 25687 | |||
Producer | Jay King [1] | |||
Club Nouveau chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [2] |
Los Angeles Times | [3] |
Orlando Sentinel | [4] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [5] |
Listen to the Message is the second studio album by the American contemporary R&B group Club Nouveau. [5] [6] It was released on May 24, 1988, on Warner Bros. Records. Listen to the Message contains darker lyrics dealing with social consciousness. Members Samuelle Prater and Thomas McElroy left the group before recording and were replaced with David Agent and Kevin Irving. [2]
The Globe and Mail called the album "an ambitious second LP that gets a D for originality, but an A - well, maybe a B+ - for execution." [1] The Orlando Sentinel wrote that "'It's a Cold, Cold World!' -- with well-focused lyrics and a rock-steady beat -- kicks as hard as its opening percussive blast." [4]
Chart (1988) | Peak position |
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Billboard Top LPs | 98 [7] |
Billboard Top Black Albums | 44 [8] |
Who's That Girl: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the first soundtrack album by American singer and songwriter Madonna. It was released on July 21, 1987, by Sire Records to promote the film of the same name. It also contains songs by her label mates Scritti Politti, Duncan Faure, Club Nouveau, Coati Mundi and Michael Davidson. The soundtrack is credited as a Madonna album, despite her only performing four of the nine tracks on the album. After the commercial success of the film Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), in which she co-starred, Madonna wanted to act in another comedy film titled Slammer, about a woman named Nikki Finn who was falsely accused of homicide. However, due to the critical and commercial failure of her adventure film Shanghai Surprise (1986), Warner Bros. was initially reluctant to greenlight the project but later agreed, after Madonna convinced them and also because they wanted to cash in on Madonna's success with soundtracks.
Club Nouveau is an American R&B group formed by record producer/performer Jay King in 1986 in Sacramento, California following the breakup of the Timex Social Club. The group's name was changed from its original incarnation, "Jet Set", to capitalize on the breakup. The group was signed by Warner Bros. Records, on which Club Nouveau released its first three albums. Club Nouveau's go-go version of Bill Withers's song "Lean on Me" won a Grammy award for Best R&B Song in 1987.
Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy are an American R&B record production and songwriting duo, releasing recordings under the names Foster & McElroy and Fmob. They have written and produced songs for musicians such as Club Nouveau, Tony! Toni! Toné!, Alexander O'Neal, Regina Belle, and Swing Out Sister. Their music has been sampled in hit songs by the Luniz, Puff Daddy, Ashanti, Jay-Z, Jennifer Lopez, LL Cool J, Jessica Simpson, and others. Foster & McElroy are best known as the founders of the group En Vogue, listed by Billboard as one of the Top 10 Girl Groups of All Time. In addition to producing music for various television shows, they are also credited for songs in numerous movie soundtracks including The Great White Hype, Lean on Me, and Who's That Girl.
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