Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville USA

Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville USA
Studio album by Boyz II Men
Released	November 13, 2007
Recorded	2007
Genre	R&B
Length	54:56
Label	Decca, UMTV
Producer	Randy Jackson Boyz II Men
Boyz II Men chronology
The Remedy (2006) Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville USA (2007) Love (2009)
Singles from Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville USA
"The Tracks of My Tears" Released: 2007 "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)" Released: 2008 "War" Released: 2008 "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" Released: 2008

Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville USA is the tenth studio album by Boyz II Men. It was released on November 13, 2007 by Decca Records. The album was produced by American Idol 's Randy Jackson and Boyz II Men. David Simone and Winston Simone were Executive Producers for the album. The album is a tribute to some of Motown's classic songs, including "Just My Imagination" by The Temptations, "The Tracks of My Tears" by The Miracles and "Reach Out I'll Be There" by The Four Tops. The first single off the album is "The Tracks of My Tears".

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	(59/100) [1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]
Billboard	(favorable) [3]
Boston.com	(favorable) [4]
Entertainment Weekly	C− [5]
Vibe	[1]
The Village Voice	(unfavorable) [6]

The album debuted at #8 in the UK Albums Chart. On the US Billboard 200 chart, it debuted at #27, selling about 42,000 copies in its first week. ^[7] The album received two nominations for the 51st Annual Grammy Awards (Best R&B Album and Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals for 'Ribbon In The Sky'.)

Vibe writes: "The trio's confident take on DeBarge's timeless 'All This Love' proves the song deserves a place next to its more celebrated counterparts... Their lush signature harmonies remain intact." ^[8]

Track listing

International edition

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Original artist(s)	Length
1.	"Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)"	Norman Whitfield Barrett Strong	The Temptations	4:25
2.	"It's the Same Old Song/Reach Out I'll Be There"	Brian Holland Lamont Dozier Eddie Holland	The Four Tops	3:55
3.	"Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)"	Marvin Gaye	Marvin Gaye	3:12
4.	"The Tracks of My Tears"	Marvin Tarplin Warren Moore Smokey Robinson	The Miracles	3:24
5.	"Money (That's What I Want)"	Janie Bradford Berry Gordy, Jr.	Barrett Strong	2:54
6.	"Easy"	Lionel Richie	The Commodores	5:26
7.	"I Was Made to Love Her"	Henry Cosby Lula Mae Hardaway Sylvia Moy Stevie Wonder	Stevie Wonder	3:32
8.	"All This Love"	Eldra DeBarge	DeBarge	5:34
9.	"Ribbon in the Sky" (A Capella)	Stevie Wonder	Stevie Wonder	2:51
10.	"Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" (featuring Patti LaBelle)	Nickolas Ashford Valerie Simpson	Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell	2:51
11.	"There'll Never Be" (International bonus track)	Bobby DeBarge	Switch	4:58
12.	"Got to Be There"	Elliot Willensky	Michael Jackson	3:32
13.	"War"	Norman Whitfield Barrett Strong	Edwin Starr	4:20
14.	"End of the Road" (A Capella) (featuring Brian McKnight)	Babyface Antonio "L.A." Reid Daryl Simmons	Boyz II Men	3:57

2008 Japan tour edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Original artist(s)	Length
15.	"Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)" (Acoustic version)	Norman Whitfield Barrett Strong	The Temptations	4:12
16.	"Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" (Acoustic version)	Marvin Gaye	Marvin Gaye	3:07
17.	"Easy" (Acoustic version)	Lionel Richie	The Commodores	4:45

Personnel

Musicians

• Rob Bacon – guitar (6, 11, 12), acoustic guitar (7, 8), electric guitar (8)
• Vinnie Colaiuta – drums (1-5, 10, 12, 13)
• Luis Conte – percussion (1-5, 7, 10, 12, 13)
• Kenneth Crouch – piano (1, 2, 5, 8, 12), keyboards (5-7, 11-13, 17), B3 (5, 12), Fender Rhodes (3, 4, 10), Wurlitzer (4), clavinet (13)
• James Gamble – drums (6-8, 11)
• Larry Gold – string arrangements (1-3, 6, 8, 10, 12, 15-17)
• Dave Guy – trumpet (2, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13)
• Ian Hendrickson-Smith – baritone saxophone (2, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13), flute (2, 8, 10)
• Randy Jackson – bass (10, 11)
• Aaron Johnson – trombone (2, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13)
• Cornelius Mims – bass (1-8, 12, 13)
• Neal Sugarman – tenor saxophone (2, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13)
• Tim Pierce – guitar (2, 4, 5, 10, 12, 13), electric guitar (3, 16)
• Matt Rollings – piano (3-5, 10-12), keyboards (1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, 12), B3 (1, 2, 4, 5, 12), Fender Rhodes (1), Wurlitzer 13), clavinet (13)
• Ramón Stagnaro – acoustic guitar (8)
• Michael Thompson – electric guitar (1, 3, 8, 16), acoustic guitar (1, 8, 15), guitar (4, 6, 10-12), electric sitar (7)

Technical personnel

• Randy Jackson – producer (1-8, 10-13)
• Boyz II Men – producer (1-13)
• Brian McKnight – producer (14)
• David Simone – executive producer
• Winston Simone – executive producer
• Kevin Guarnieri – engineer
• David Swope – engineer
• Alan Armitage – engineer
• Jeff Chestek – additional engineering
• Frank Sutton – additional engineering
• Chris Wood – engineer (14)
• Eric Rennaker – engineer (9)
• Shari Sutcliffe – music contractor
• Mick Guzauski – mixing
• Tom Bender – assistant mix engineer
• Dennis Rivadeneira – assistant mix engineer
• Leon Zervos – mastering
• Keith Gremlin – assistant engineer
• Antonio Resendiz – assistant engineer
• Matt Serrecchio – assistant engineer
• Sean Brennan – assistant engineer
• John Stahl – assistant engineer
• Wanya Morris – assistant engineer

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2007) Peak position French Albums (SNEP) [9] 29 Irish Albums (IRMA) [10] 93 Japanese Albums (Oricon) [11] 29 Scottish Albums (OCC) [12] 23 UK Albums (OCC) [13] 8 UK R&B Albums (OCC) [14] 2 US Billboard 200 [15] 27 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [16] 6 Year-end charts Chart (2007) Position UK Albums (OCC) [17] 83 Chart (2008) Position US Billboard 200 [18] 179 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [19] 46

Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales United Kingdom (BPI) [20] Gold 100,000^ ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. Single chart positions Year Single Peak chart position US R&B UK 2007 "The Tracks of My Tears" 26 43 2008 "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)" 83 — "War" 125 — "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" 120 —

References

1. "Critic Reviews for Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville USA". Metacritic . Retrieved June 30, 2012.
2. Kellman, Andy. "Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville USA - Boyz II Men". Allmusic . Retrieved June 30, 2012.
3. Hope, Clover G. "Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville USA". Billboard . Archived from the original on November 11, 2007. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
4. Rodman, Sarah (November 20, 2007). "Raising the Standards of Motown". Boston.com . Retrieved July 1, 2012.
5. Bernstein, Jonathan (November 16, 2007). "Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville USA Review". Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on January 7, 2009. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
6. Benaim, Lex (November 6, 2007). "Boyz II Men's Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville USA". The Village Voice . Archived from the original on September 22, 2008. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
7. Jonathan Cohen, "Keys Storms Chart With Mega-Selling 'As I Am'", Billboard.com, November 21, 2007.
8. "Boyz II Men - Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville USA CD Album". Cduniverse.com. Retrieved March 2, 2012.
9. "Lescharts.com – Boyz II Men – Motown - Hitsville USA". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
10. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Boyz II Men". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
11. "ボーイズ・Ii・メンのアルバム売上ランキング".
12. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
13. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
14. "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
15. "Boyz II Men Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
16. "Boyz II Men Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
17. "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2007". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
18. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2008". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
19. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2008". Billboard. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
20. "British album certifications – Boyz II Men – Motown - Hitsville USA". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved July 25, 2012.

External links

• Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville USA at Discogs (European version)
• Music Video for "The Tracks of My Tears" on YouTube / VEVO official channel
• Music Video for "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)" on YouTube / VEVO official channel
• Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville USA at Metacritic