Stop! (album)

Last updated

Stop!
SamBrownStop!AlbumCover.jpg
Studio album by
Sam Brown
Released8 June 1988 (1988-06-08)
Studio
Genre
Length54:45 (CD)
43:50 (vinyl)
Label A&M
Producer
  • Pete Brown
  • Sam Brown
  • Pete Smith
  • Danny Schogger
  • John Madden
Sam Brown chronology
Stop!
(1988)		 April Moon
(1990)
Singles from Stop!
  1. "Walking Back to Me"
    Released: 1988
  2. "Stop!"
    Released: 1988
  3. "This Feeling"
    Released: 1988
  4. "Can I Get a Witness"
    Released: 1989
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [1]

Stop! is the debut studio album by the English singer-songwriter Sam Brown, released on 8 June 1988 by A&M Records. [2] It includes Brown's biggest and best-known single, the title track "Stop!".

Contents

Background

Produced by Sam Brown, her brother Pete Brown, Pete Smith, Danny Schogger, and John Madden, the album was recorded at the Power Plant in London, with then-Pink Floyd member David Gilmour's guitar parts on "This Feeling" and "I'll Be in Love" being recorded at Greene Street Studios in New York City. The track "Merry Go Round" has lyrics slightly adapted from W. H. Davies poem "Leisure". The CD edition of the album includes cover versions of Marvin Gaye's "Can I Get a Witness" and Ike & Tina Turner's "Nutbush City Limits".

Release

On release, the album was received favourably by the majority of music critics. Brown's most commercially successful album, it went on to peak at number four on the UK Albums Chart and reached number 13 on the Australian ARIA Charts. The album also reached the top 10 in countries such as Austria, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. The album spawned three charting singles in the United Kingdom. "Stop!" peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart; "This Feeling" peaked at number 91; "Can I Get a Witness" at number 15. The album has sold over two and a half million copies worldwide. [3] The album has been certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and platinum by Music Canada. [2] [4]

Critical reception

Billboard noted that "in a year already jammed with fine debuts by distinctive female writer/singers, here comes another one. Brown has a strong, bluesy voice, and the string settings often lend fascinating counterpoint. The title track is an absolutely stunning blues - drenched number." [5]

Cashbox stated "what a year this is for distinctive female voices! Sam Brown is a British export with a soulful set of pipes that can go from a whisper to a keening lament to a growl, all within the same bar. Her artfully textured, jazzified funk shares some of the same turf as Rickie Lee Jones and Kate Bush, but she's a huge talent in her own right and likely to set a standard by which others are compared for years to come." [6]

In their review Music & Media called the album "rather old-fashioned poprock that nevertheless is more than just another record. Brown's voice is strong and expressive and her songs are largely excellent...both the material and Brown's voice am reminiscent of Kate Bush's first album. The songs vary from the sub PM grind of "Walking Back To Me" to the African influenced "Your Love Is All" and the excellent single "Stop". [7]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Walking Back to Me"
3:40
2."Your Love Is All"
4:09
3."Stop!"
  • S. Brown
  • Sutton
  • Bruce Brody
4:53
4."It Makes Me Wonder"
  • S. Brown
  • Buchanan
4:33
5."This Feeling"
  • S. Brown
  • Buchanan
3:21
6."Tea"S. Brown0:41
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
7."Piece of My Luck"S. Brown3:00
8."Ball and Chain"
  • S. Brown
  • Danny Schogger
4:34
9."Wrap Me Up"
  • S. Brown
  • Schogger
3:10
10."I'll Be in Love"
  • S. Brown
  • Schogger
5:16
11."Merry Go Round"
3:07
12."Sometimes You Just Don't Know"
  • S. Brown
  • Danny Malloy
  • Richard Brennan
3:05
Tracks not included on original LP release
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Can I Get a Witness"
2:59
14."High as a Kite" (not on Australian pressing)
  • S. Brown
  • Schogger
3:24
15."Nutbush City Limits" (not on Australian pressing) Tina Turner 4:25

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes. [8]

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for Stop!
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [23] Gold35,000^
Canada (Music Canada) [4] Platinum100,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat) [29] Gold25,000 [29]
Germany (BVMI) [30] Gold250,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) [2] Gold100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

LabelCat. No.FormatDate
A&M395195-2 UK, and EU CD1988
A&MAMA 5195UK, IL, ES, and AU LP1988
A&M395195-2, 395 195-2EU CD2005

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References

  1. ↑ "Stop! – Sam Brown". AllMusic . Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 "British album certifications – Sam Brown – Stop!". British Phonographic Industry. 13 March 1989. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  3. ↑ Harris, Craig. "Sam Brown | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
  4. 1 2 "Canadian album certifications – Sam Brown – Stop!". Music Canada. 21 April 1989. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  5. ↑ "Album Reviews" (PDF). Billboard Music Week. No. 10 September 1988. p. 64. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  6. ↑ "Album Releases" (PDF). Cash Box. No. 10 September 1988. p. 13. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  7. ↑ "Previews" (PDF). Eurotipsheet . Vol. 5, no. 28. 9 July 1988. p. 13. OCLC   29800226 – via World Radio History.
  8. ↑ Stop! liner notes. A&M Records. 1988.
  9. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Sam Brown – Stop!". Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  10. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Sam Brown – Stop!" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  11. ↑ "RPM100 Albums" (PDF). RPM . Vol. 49, no. 20. 13–18 March 1989. p. 25. ISSN   0033-7064 – via World Radio History.
  12. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Sam Brown – Stop!" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  13. ↑ "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 6, no. 12. 25 March 1989. p. 29. OCLC   29800226 – via World Radio History.
  14. ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN   978-951-1-21053-5.
  15. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Sam Brown – Stop!" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  16. ↑ "Ísland (LP-plötur)". DV (in Icelandic). 31 March 1989. p. 34. ISSN   1021-8254 – via Timarit.is.
  17. ↑ "Charts.nz – Sam Brown – Stop!". Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  18. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Sam Brown – Stop!". Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  19. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Sam Brown – Stop!". Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  20. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Sam Brown – Stop!". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  21. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  22. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten – CD 1988" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts . Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  23. 1 2 "ARIA Top 50 Albums for 1989". Australian Recording Industry Association . Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  24. ↑ "Top 100 Albums of '89". RPM. Vol. 51, no. 8. 23 December 1989. p. 14. ISSN   0033-7064 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  25. ↑ "European Top 100 Albums 1989" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 6, no. 51. 23 December 1989. p. 9. OCLC   29800226 – via World Radio History.
  26. ↑ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts – 1989" (in German). Offizielle Deutsche Charts. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  27. ↑ "Top Selling Albums of 1989". Recorded Music NZ . Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  28. ↑ "Year End Albums" (PDF). Record Mirror . 20 January 1990. p. 42. ISSN   0144-5804 – via World Radio History.
  29. 1 2 "Sam Brown" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland . Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  30. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Sam Brown; 'Stop')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie . Retrieved 15 July 2022.
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