What You See Is What You Sweat

What You See Is What You Sweat
Studio album by Aretha Franklin
Released	July 2, 1991
Studio	Various Tarpan Studios (San Rafael, CA) [1] Sound Suite Recording Studios (Detroit, MI) [1] Conway Recording Studios (Los Angeles, CA) [1] Westlake Recording Studios (Los Angeles, CA) [1] Lighthouse Studios (Los Angeles, CA) [1] Phase II Studios (Los Angeles, CA) [1] Chartmaker Studios (Malibu, CA) [1] Willyworld Studios (Los Angeles, CA) [1] The Lab Recording Studio (West Orange, NJ) [1] Sigma Sound Studios (New York, NY) [1] Zeezicht Studios (Holland, Netherlands) [1] Chameleon Recording Studios (West Orange, NJ) [1] Microplant Studios (Los Angeles, CA) [1] Guillaume Tell Studios (Paris, France) [1] Right Track Studios (New York, NY) [1] The Hit Factory (New York, NY) [1] A&M Studios (Los Angeles, CA) [1] The Village Recorder (Los Angeles, CA) [1]
Genre	New jack swing [2] [3] house [3]
Length	44:23
Label	Arista
Producer	Burt Bacharach Carole Bayer Sager David "Pic" Conley Aretha Franklin Michel Legrand Oliver Leiber Gene Lennon Bruce Roberts Joshua Thompson David Townsend Luther Vandross Narada Michael Walden Elliot Wolff
Aretha Franklin chronology
Through the Storm (1989) What You See Is What You Sweat (1991) Queen of Soul: The Atlantic Recordings (1992)
Singles from What You See Is What You Sweat
"Everyday People" Released: June 1991 "Someone Else's Eyes" Released: September 1991 "What You See Is What You Sweat" Released: 1991 "Ever Changing Times" Released: January 1992

What You See Is What You Sweat is the thirty-third studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin, released on July 2, 1991, by Arista Records.

The album received mixed reviews, with some praising Franklin's vocal performance while others criticized the album's production and song quality. It peaked at number 153 on US Billboard 200, dropping off after seven weeks. This was Franklin's first new release in the Nielsen SoundScan era.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Calgary Herald	C− [4]
Robert Christgau	[5]
Entertainment Weekly	C+ [6]
NME	4/10 [7]
Rolling Stone	[8]

Rolling Stone editor Stephen Holden found that "athough the material runs a gamut of styles, Franklin infuses her personality so indelibly into every song that somehow it all holds together." Rating the album three ouf of five stars, he concluded: "Because Franklin brings more spirit than usual to the record, What You See Is What You Sweat stands as one of her better albums. If the songs are uneven, they don't prevent the Queen of Soul from exuberantly expressing the breadth of her musical personality, from regal pop-gospel diva to funky everyday person." ^[8] AllMusic also gave the album three ouf of five stars. ^[1] People Magazine gave a mixed review. ^[9]

New York Times critic Jon Pareles found that What You See Is What You Sweat was as "awkward as its title. Like Ms. Franklin's recent albums, it tacks a 1960's oldie [...] onto a group of new pop songs [though] they seem [like] the rejects from other projects." Parles further remarked: "The frustrating thing is that Franklin can still sing like no one else; her voice swoops, curves, coos, growls, caresses. Amid the trendy and pretentious trappings, it's a beacon of emotion. Trying to keep up with the latest pop only holds her back." ^[10] NME David Quantick felt that "only Vandross seems to have noticed the 1990s, and several tracks are burdened with lame mid-'80s "funky" production clutter and clatter. This record is mostly a dull mess." ^[7]

Commercial performance

The album opened at number 167 on the US Billboard 200 and peaked at number 153 the following week. ^[11] It marked Franklin's lowest-charting album on the Arista label . ^[11] BAt the time of its deletion, the album had sold 179,000 units, domestically. ^[12]

Track listing

What You See Is What You Sweat track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Everyday People"	Sly Stone	Narada Michael Walden	3:50
2.	"Ever Changing Times" (duet with Michael McDonald)	Burt Bacharach Bill Conti Carole Bayer Sager	Bacharach Bayer Sager	4:54
3.	"What You See Is What You Sweat"	David Conley Derrick Culler Gene Lennon Joshua Thompson	Conley David Townsend	4:24
4.	"Mary Goes Round"	Elliot Wolff Oliver Leiber	Wolff Leiber	3:06
5.	"I Dreamed a Dream"	Alain Boublil Herbert Kretzmer Jean Marc Natel Claude-Michel Schonberg	Conley	4:17
6.	"Someone Else's Eyes"	Bruce Roberts Bacharach Bayer Sager	Roberts Bacharach Bayer Sager	4:57
7.	"Doctor's Orders" (duet with Luther Vandross)	Vandross Hubert Eaves III	Vandross	4:35
8.	"You Can't Take Me for Granted"	Aretha Franklin	Franklin	5:12
9.	"What Did You Give"	Franklin	Michel Legrand	5:01
10.	"Everyday People" (Shep Pettibone Remix)	Stone	Walden Pettibone	4:07
Total length:				44:23

Personnel

• Aretha Franklin – lead vocals, piano, background vocals
• Luther Vandross - duet vocal
• Michael McDonald - duet vocal
• Paul Jackson Jr. – guitar
• Peter Schwartz – additional keyboards
• Michel Legrand – synthesizer
• Franck Thore – Pan pipes
• Dean Parks – guitar
• Burt Bacharach – keyboards
• Marcus Miller – bass guitar
• Thierry Eliez – piano
• Elliot Wolff – keyboards, drum programming
• Teddy F. White – guitar
• Al Turner – bass guitar
• Buster Marbury – drums
• Michael Boddicker – keyboards, programming
• Larry Fratangelo – percussion
• Hubert Eaves III – keyboards, drum programming
• Charles Scales – synthesizer
• Rick Iantosca – acoustic guitar
• Oliver Leiber – keyboards, drum programming, guitar
• Jason Miles – keyboards
• Dominique Bertram – bass guitar
• Joshua Thompson – keyboards, guitar, synthesizer
• Vernon Black – guitar
• Randy Waldman – keyboards
• Onita Sanders – harp
• André Ceccarelli – drums
• Louis Biancaniello – keyboards, programming
• Larry Williams – programming
• David Foster – keyboards, programming
• Paulinho da Costa – percussion
• Candy Dulfer – saxophone
• Guy Vaughn – drum programming
• David Townsend – guitar
• Narada Michael Walden – drums, programming
• Nat Adderley Jr. – keyboards
• Bobby Wooten – keyboards, electric piano, drum programming, synthesizer
• David Boruff – saxophone
• Rudolph Stansfield – piano
• Jean-Marc Benais – guitar
• Gene Lennon – programming
• Skip Anderson – keyboards
• Cindy Mizelle – background vocals
• Jesse Richardson – background vocals
• Sandra Feva – background vocals
• Brenda Corbett – background vocals
• Fonzi Thornton – background vocals
• Diane Green – background vocals
• Sherry Fox – background vocals
• Portia Griffin – background vocals
• Margaret Branch – background vocals
• Jarvis Barker – background vocals
• Nikita Germaine – background vocals
• Skyler Jett – background vocals
• Jeanie Tracy – background vocals
• Tony Lindsay – background vocals
• Gwen Guthrie – background vocals
• Tawatha Agee – background vocals
• Donna Davis – background vocals
• Marj Haber – background vocals
• Esther Ridgeway – background vocals
• Gloria Ridgeway – background vocals
• Gracie Ridgeway – background vocals

Charts

Weekly chart performance for What You See Is What You Sweat

Chart (1991)	Peak position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [13]	34
European Albums ( Music & Media ) [14]	73
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [15]	14
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [16]	19
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [17]	26
US Billboard 200 [11]	153
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [18]	28

References

1. AllMusic review
2. Unterberger, Richie. "Aretha Franklin – Artist Biography". AllMusic. All Media Network . Retrieved July 27, 2016.
3. Molanphy, Chris (November 15, 2024). "Say a Little Prayer Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate . Retrieved February 17, 2025.
4. Obee, Dave (July 28, 1991). "Recent Releases". Calgary Herald .
5. Christgau, Robert. "CG: Aretha Franklin". RobertChristgau.com . Retrieved July 24, 2025.
6. Linden, Amy (July 26, 1991). "What You See Is What You Sweat". Entertainment Weekly .
7. Quantick, David (August 10, 1991). "Long Play". NME . p. 30. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
8. Holden, Stephen (September 5, 1991). "What You See Is What You Sweat". Rolling Stone . Retrieved July 24, 2025.
9. "Picks and Pans Review: What You See Is What You Sweat". People Magazine . August 5, 1991.
10. Pareles, Jon (July 28, 1991). "RECORDINGS VIEW; James Brown Is Up to His Old Tricks". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on May 25, 2015. Retrieved July 24, 2025.
11. "Aretha Franklin Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
12. Bell, Carrie (February 28, 1998). "Aretha Franklin Blossoms Anew". Billboard . p. 91. Retrieved July 24, 2025.
13. "Austriancharts.at – Aretha Franklin – What You See Is What You Sweat" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
14. "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 8, no. 34. August 24, 1991. p. 24 – via World Radio History.
15. "Norwegiancharts.com – Aretha Franklin – What You See Is What You Sweat". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
16. "Swedishcharts.com – Aretha Franklin – What You See Is What You Sweat". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
17. "Swisscharts.com – Aretha Franklin – What You See Is What You Sweat". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
18. "Aretha Franklin Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 19, 2018.