Signed Sealed Delivered (album)

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Signed Sealed Delivered
Signed sealed delivered.jpg
Studio album by
Craig David
Released29 March 2010 (2010-03-29)
Recorded2008–2010
Length43:37
Label Universal Motown
Producer
  • Jerry Abbott
  • Grant Black
Craig David chronology
Greatest Hits
(2008)		Signed Sealed Delivered
(2010)		 Following My Intuition
(2016)
Singles from Signed Sealed Delivered
  1. "One More Lie (Standing in the Shadows)"
    Released: 22 March 2010
  2. "All Alone Tonight (Stop, Look, Listen)"
    Released: 31 May 2010

Signed Sealed Delivered is the fifth studio album by English singer Craig David. It was his first and only album with Universal Motown. It was released on 29 March 2010. The album consists primarily of covers. Two of the album's tracks sample hits from the Motown era and give them a modern twist, as demonstrated with the first single from the album, "One More Lie (Standing in the Shadows)", whose chorus samples The Four Tops' 1967 Motown classic "Standing in the Shadows of Love". [1] The second is "All Alone Tonight (Stop, Look, Listen)" which samples Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye's version of "Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)". The only original song is the album's last track, "This Could Be Love".

Contents

Signed Sealed Delivered was panned by music critics, and entered the UK Albums Chart at number 13. As of January 2016, the album had sold 33,779 copies in the United Kingdom. [2]

Background and composition

Craig David's first album with his new label, Universal Motown, is a collection of Motown covers and songs with Motown samples, and is David's first album in three years. He covers Stevie Wonder, Otis Redding and Marvin Gaye amongst others, and gives these classic songs a modern twist. Signed Sealed Delivered includes the single "One More Lie (Standing in the Shadows)", an original song that samples The Four Tops' hit "Standing in the Shadows of Love" in its chorus. [3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic? 2.9/10 [4]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [5]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [6]
The Independent unfavourable [7]
The Observer unfavourable [8]
Sputnikmusic Star full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [9]
The Times Star full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [10]
Virgin Media Star full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [11]

The album received generally negative reviews from music critics. [4] One of the few positive reviews came from The Guardian critic Carolinne Sullivan, who said that "Craig David's intention, on this Motown-dominated covers album, was to "sing the songs exactly as the original artists had", which he does, reproducing every falsetto and hiccup. The question, though, is why this still-agreeable soul star would want to make a karaoke record. It's a rum way to reignite a career – he needs to recover his mojo as an irresistibly slick R&B songwriter if he plans to return to the top of the charts". [6]

Track listing

Signed Sealed Delivered track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."One More Lie (Standing in the Shadows)"
3:04
2."Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)"
3:20
3."All Alone Tonight (Stop, Look, Listen)"
3:29
4."I Heard It Through the Grapevine"
3:37
5."Just My Imagination"
  • Whitfield
  • Strong
4:03
6."For Once in My Life"
3:34
7."(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay"
3:23
8."Mercy Mercy Me" Marvin Gaye 3:34
9."I Wonder Why"
4:19
10."Papa Was a Rollin' Stone"
  • Whitfield
  • Strong
3:58
11."Let's Stay Together"
3:36
12."This Could Be Love"
  • David
  • Abbott
  • Black
  • Colin Lester
3:24
Total length:43:37
Japanese edition bonus tracks [12]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Fill Me In" (acoustic version)
4:34
14."I Wonder Why" (acoustic version)
  • Ballard
  • Stigers
4:45
15."One More Lie (Standing in the Shadows)" (acoustic version)
  • David
  • Abbott
  • Black
  • Solanki
  • Holland
  • Dozier
  • Edward Holland, Jr.
2:56
Total length:55:50

Personnel

Credits adapted from album's liner notes. [13]

Charts

Chart performance for Signed Sealed Delivered
Chart (2010)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [14] 24
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [15] 38
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [16] 76
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [17] 93
Greek Albums (IFPI) [18] 21
Italian Albums (FIMI) [19] 76
Scottish Albums (OCC) [20] 48
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) [21] 14
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [22] 93
UK Albums (OCC) [23] 13
UK R&B Albums (OCC) [24] 2

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References

  1. ↑ Design, Stephen Clark -. "Craig David: Special Delivery". bluesandsoul.com.
  2. ↑ "Reborn to do it: Craig David selects Sony/Insanity for new record deal – News – Music Week". musicweek.com.
  3. ↑ "Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Craig David: Amazon.co.uk: Music". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  4. 1 2 "Signed, Sealed, Delivered by Craig David reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  5. ↑ Deming, Mark (29 March 2010) Signed Sealed Delivered – Allmusic Review AllMusic Retrieved 2011-02-13
  6. 1 2 Caroline Sullivan (25 March 2010). "Craig David: Signed, Sealed, Delivered | CD review | Music". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
  7. ↑ Price, Simon (28 March 2010). "Album: Craig David, Signed, Sealed, Delivered (Universal) – Reviews, Music". The Independent . London. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
  8. ↑ Hugh Montgomery (28 March 2010). "Signed, Sealed, Delivered by Craig David | CD review | Music". The Observer . London. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
  9. ↑ Signed Sealed Delivered Sputnikmusic review Retrieved 04-04-2010
  10. ↑ Archived 15 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ↑ Album Review by Ian Gittins (29 March 2010). "Craig David: Signed, Sealed, Delivered review – Reviews – Music" . Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  12. ↑ "涙をとどけて[CD]" (in Japanese). Universal Music Japan. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  13. ↑ Signed Sealed Delivered (booklet). Universal Motown. 2010.
  14. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Craig David – Signed Sealed Delivered". Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  15. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Craig David – Signed Sealed Delivered" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  16. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Craig David – Signed Sealed Delivered" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  17. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Craig David – Signed Sealed Delivered" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  18. ↑ "Greekcharts.com – Craig David – Signed Sealed Delivered". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  19. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Craig David – Signed Sealed Delivered". Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  20. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  21. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Craig David – Signed Sealed Delivered". Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  22. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Craig David – Signed Sealed Delivered". Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  23. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  24. ↑ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
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