Pleasure & Pain (112 album)

Last updated
Pleasure & Pain
112 plsre pn.jpg
Studio album by
112
ReleasedMarch 29, 2005
Length61:28
Label Def Soul
Producer
112 chronology
Hot & Wet
(2003)		Pleasure & Pain
(2005)		 Q, Mike, Slim, Daron
(2017)
Singles from Pleasure & Pain
  1. "U Already Know"
    Released: November 23, 2004
  2. "What If"
    Released: March 11, 2005

Pleasure & Pain is the fifth studio album by American R&B group 112. It was released by Def Soul on March 29, 2005, in the United States. Named after the song "Pleasure & Pain" on 112's 1996 eponymous debut album, 112 , the album did not fare as well as their first three albums. It was the first 112 album to get a Parental Advisory sticker (although a few songs from earlier releases contain profanity as well).

Contents

Promotion

Pleasure & Pain was preceded by lead single "U Already Know". [1] Released on November 23, 2004, the song peaked at number 32 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number three on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, becoming the band's highst-charting single since "Peaches & Cream". [2] Def Soul issued several remixes of the song, including the Murder remix featuring rappers Ja Rule and Harry O and the official Roc-A-Fella remix featuring Foxy Brown. [1] Second single "What If", was released on March 11, 2005. It reached nunber 74 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. [2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [4]
Stylus Magazine C+ [5]
USA Today Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [6]

Kelefa Sanneh, writing for The New York Times , called Pleasure & Pain "delicious" and sumed it as "an hour of slick, well-written R&B; songs ranging from doo-wop to crunk." [7] Billboard magazine remarked that with the album, "112 recaptures the vocal magic that powered its multiplatinum predecessors [...] Group members Daron, Slim, Q and Mike leave no stone unturned as they mix contemporary R&B with its classic, soulful counterpart [...] After the disappointing 2003 album Hot & Wet, 112 is back on point." [8] USA Today critic Elysa Gardner rated the album three out of four stars. She noted that "these singers' strong suit is still the well-pressed romantic ballad. On the standout track, the plaintive "What If", their creamy voices pour out tension and regret without allowing for drippy excess. Such moments make this fifth album a pleasure for anyone who likes pop-soul smooth but not static." [6]

Al Shipley from Stylus Magazine noted that "although Daron Jones brings a reliable level of craftsmanship to his productions, the contributions of other producers tend to stand out from his in the context of the album [...] In fact, there seems to be a running thread of regret and ruined relationships throughout the album [but] the melancholy tracks never break up the overall soothing vibe enough to stop Pleasure and Pain from doing what an R&B; album’s supposed to do: set the mood." [5] Andy Kellman of AllMusic found that Pleasure & Pain "isn't much different from the previous albums, with a few standout singles and album tracks surrounded by a generous amount of forgettable moments, and a similar ratio of upbeat numbers and ballads to match." [3] Christian Hoard, writing for Rolling Stone , found that after four albums, the band "should at least be able to deliver a couple hot singles, but Pleasure & Pain doesn't even have that. 'If I Hit,' a limpid "Yeah!" rewrite featuring T.I., employs slinky pseudo-electro production; almost everything else is forgettable R&B mush." [4]

Commercial performance

Pleasure & Pain debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200 chart, with sales of 118,000 copies its first week of release. [9] This marked the group's second top-ten album on the chart. [10] On July 15, 2005, it was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments figures of over 500,000 copies in the United States. [11]

Track listing

Pleasure & Pain track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Intro"
D. Jones0:55
2."Let This Go"
  • Q. Parker
  • Keith
  • Scandrick
  • D. Jones
D. Jones3:58
3."What If"Darrell "Delite" AllambyAllamby5:22
4."U Already Know"
3:16
5."Damn"
  • Q. Parker
  • Keith
  • Scandrick
  • D. Jones
Jones3:42
6."Nowhere"
3:51
7."Last to Know"
Winans3:58
8."I'm Sorry (Interlude)"JonesJones0:45
9."My Mistakes"
  • Q. Parker
  • Keith
  • Scandrick
  • D. Jones
  • Joe Kent
  • Mark Williams
  • Garrett
 The Track Boyz 4:37
10."If I Hit" (featuring T.I.)
  • Winans
  • Garrett [a]
3:53
11."The Way" (featuring Jermaine Dupri)
Dupri3:21
12."We Goin' Be Alright"
  • Q. Parker
  • Keith
  • Scandrick
  • D. Jones
Jones1:33
13."Why Can't We Get Along"
Fambro4:14
14."That's How Close We Are"
  • Campbell
  • Lilly
3:53
15."Closing the Club" (featuring Three 6 Mafia)
  • Bam
  • Bowser
  • Garrett [a]
4:00
16."What the Hell Do You Want"D. JonesD. Jones5:23
17."God Knows"D. JonesD. Jones5:04
Total length:61:28

Notes

Sample credits

Personnel

Charts

Certifications

Certifications and sales for Pleasure & Pain
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA) [11] Gold500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release history for Pleasure & Pain
RegionDateLabel(s)Format(s)Ref.
United StatesMarch 29, 2005 Def Soul
  • CD
  • digital download
 [20]

References

  1. 1 2 "112 Gets Its Groove Back". Billboard . March 25, 2005. Retrieved February 28, 2025.
  2. 1 2 "112 Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard . Retrieved February 28, 2025.
  3. 1 2 Pleasure & Pain at AllMusic
  4. 1 2 Haord, Christian (April 21, 2005). "112: Pleasure And Pain: Music Reviews". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on 2007-11-09. Retrieved April 28, 2013.
  5. 1 2 Shipley, Al (April 29, 2005). "112 – Pleasure and Pain – Review". Stylus Magazine . Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2013.
  6. 1 2 Gardner, Elysa (March 28, 2005). "112, Pleasure and Pain". USA Today . Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2013.
  7. ↑ Sanneh, Kelefa (April 4, 2005). "New CD's". The New York Times . Archived from the original on May 29, 2015. Retrieved February 28, 2025.
  8. ↑ "50 Cent Holds Off Beck On Billboard 200". Billboard . April 16, 2005. Retrieved February 28, 2025.
  9. ↑ "50 Cent Holds Off Beck On Billboard 200". Billboard . June 4, 2005. Retrieved February 28, 2025.
  10. 1 2 "112 Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  11. 1 2 "American album certifications – 112 – Room 112". Recording Industry Association of America.
  12. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 208.
  13. ↑ "Albums : Top 100". Jam! . April 14, 2005. Archived from the original on April 17, 2005. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Lescharts.com – 112 – Pleasure & Pain". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  15. ↑ "Chart Log UK: 1994–2010: !!! – 99th Floor Elevators". Zobbel. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  16. ↑ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  17. ↑ "112 Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  18. ↑ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2005". Billboard. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  19. ↑ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2005". Billboard. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
  20. ↑ "Pleasure & Pain by 112" . Retrieved August 30, 2022– via Apple Music.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.