Listen to the Message

Last updated
Listen to the Message
Listen to the Message (Club Nouveau album).jpeg
Studio album by
ReleasedMay 24, 1988
Recorded1987-1988
Genre Funk, soul
Length41:31
Label Warner Bros. Records
25687
Producer Jay King [1]
Club Nouveau chronology
Life, Love & Pain
(1986)
Listen to the Message
(1988)
Under a Nouveau Groove
(1989)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [2]
Los Angeles Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Orlando Sentinel Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [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]

Contents

Critical reception

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]

Track listing

  1. "It's a Cold, Cold World!" — 4:35
  2. "Listen to the Message" — 5:05
  3. "Dancin' to Be Free" — 4:35
  4. "Why Is It That?" — 5:14
  5. "For the Love of Francis" — 3:35
  6. "Envious" — 4:29
  7. "What's Going 'Round" — 4:23
  8. "Only the Strong Survive" — 4:57
  9. "Better Way" — 4:27

Charts

Chart (1988)Peak
position
Billboard Top LPs 98 [7]
Billboard Top Black Albums 44 [8]

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References

  1. 1 2 Dafoe, Chris (16 June 1988). "INSIDE THE SLEEVE POP Listen to the Message Club Nouveau". The Globe and Mail: C3.
  2. 1 2 Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 2. MUZE. p. 431.
  3. Johnson, Connie (19 June 1988). "Club Downbeat". Los Angeles Times: 66.
  4. 1 2 Fields, Curt (10 July 1988). "CLUB NOUVEAU". Orlando Sentinel: 10.
  5. 1 2 The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. pp. 144–145.
  6. "WILL ONE OF THESE BE THE BLOCKBUSTER OF '88?". The Sacramento Bee: EN6. May 15, 1988.
  7. "Chart History Club Nouveau". Billboard. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  8. "Chart History Club Nouveau". Billboard. Retrieved 26 March 2021.