This Time (Al Jarreau album)

This Time
Studio album by Al Jarreau
Released	1980
Studio	Dawnbreaker Studios (San Fernando, California) Garden Rake Studios (Sherman Oaks, California)
Genre	Jazz R&B
Length	42:19
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer	Jay Graydon
Al Jarreau chronology
All Fly Home (1978) This Time (1980) Breakin' Away (1981)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

This Time is the fourth studio album by Jazz vocalist Al Jarreau, released in 1980 on Warner Bros. Records. The release marked a change in Jarreau's sound to a more R&B-oriented flavor. As a result, the album achieved more success on the mainstream charts than his previous works, while also topping the Jazz Charts. It also reached No. 6 on the R&B charts and No. 27 on the Billboard 200. ^[2] " In 1981 "Never Givin' Up" gave Jarreau a Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male.

This Time marked Jarreau's first foray into the top 40 on the Hot 200 or top 10 on the R&B charts, as well as his first No. 1 on the Jazz charts. ^[3] His next album would prove even more successful, topping both the Jazz and R&B charts.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Never Givin' Up"	Tom Canning, Al Jarreau	3:56
2.	"Gimme What You Got"	Tom Canning, Al Jarreau	3:43
3.	"Love Is Real"	Tom Canning, Al Jarreau, Tom Kellock	4:23
4.	"Alonzo"	Al Jarreau	5:25
5.	"(If I Could Only) Change Your Mind"	Tom Canning, Allee Willis	4:16
6.	"Spain (I Can Recall)"	Chick Corea, Al Jarreau, Artie Maren	6:31
7.	"Distracted"	Al Jarreau	5:51
8.	"Your Sweet Love"	Tom Canning, Al Jarreau, Tom Kellock	4:13
9.	"(A Rhyme) This Time"	Al Jarreau, Earl Klugh	3:42

Charts & Awards

Album

Chart (1980)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard 200	27
R&B	6
Jazz	1

Year End Chart (1980)	Peak [4]
Jazz	40

Charting Singles

Year	Song	Peak chart positions [5]
		US Pop	US R&B
1980	"Distracted"	-	61
	"Gimmie What You Got"	-	63
	"Never Givin' Up"	102	26

"Never Givin' Up" received a Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male in 1981, Jarreau's first nomination in the R&B field. It lost to Jarreau's Warner Bros. labelmate George Benson for the Give Me the Night album, ^[6] who had recently undergone a similar change in sound. ^[7]

Personnel

• Al Jarreau – lead vocals, backing vocals (1–3, 5, 7), vocal percussion (1, 4), rhythm arrangements (1–4, 7–9)
• Greg Mathieson – rhythm arrangements (1), acoustic piano (1), string synthesizer (1, 3–5)
• Jay Graydon – synthesizer programming (1–3, 5, 8), electric guitar (1–3, 5, 7, 8), rhythm arrangements (2–4, 7–9)
• Tom Canning – rhythm arrangements (1, 2, 5, 8), Fender Rhodes (2, 4, 5, 8), acoustic piano (3, 5, 8), bells (8)
• David Foster – acoustic piano (2), Fender Rhodes (3, 9)
• Michael Omartian – string synthesizer (2, 8)
• Larry Williams – synthesizers (3, 6, 8), Fender Rhodes (6)
• Steve George – synthesizers (7)
• George Duke – Fender Rhodes (7)
• Oscar Castro-Neves – acoustic guitar (1)
• Dean Parks – electric guitar (3, 5)
• Earl Klugh – acoustic guitar (9), rhythm arrangements (9)
• Abraham Laboriel – bass guitar
• Ralph Humphrey – drums (1, 4, 5, 9), percussion (4)
• Carlos Vega – drums (2, 3)
• Steve Gadd – drums (6–8)
• Earl Lon Price – saxophones (7)
• Bill Reichenbach Jr. – trombone (3, 7)
• Chuck Findley – trumpet (3, 7)
• Jerry Hey – horn arrangements (1, 3, 7), flugelhorn (1, 2, 7, 8), trumpet (3, 7)
• Tom Kellock – rhythm arrangements (3)
• Les Thompson – harmonica solo (5)

Production

• Jay Graydon – producer, remix engineer, overdub engineer
• Joe Bogan – basic track engineer
• Debbie Thompson – second engineer
• Bernie Grundman – mastering at A&M Mastering Studios (Hollywood, California)
• Richard Seireeni – art direction
• Richard Avedon – cover photography
• Michael Rice – sleeve photography
• Susan Jarreau – sleeve photography
• Harry Mittman – still life

References

1. AllMusic review
2. This Time Charts and Awards at Allmusic
3. Career Charts and Awards at Allmusic
4. "Top 100 Jazz Albums of 1980". www.billboard.com. Billboard Magazine. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
5. Singles Charts and Awards on Allmusic
6. 1981 Grammy Awards Winner for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance at Allmusic
7. Give Me the Night at Allmusic