It's the Girls!

Last updated
It's the Girls!
It's the Girls! by Bette Midler.png
Studio album by
Bette Midler
ReleasedNovember 4, 2014
Studio
  • Capitol Studios (Hollywood, CA)
  • Over at Marc & Scott's (New York, NY)
  • The Marc Shaiman Institute (Los Angeles, CA)
  • The Record Plant (Hollywood, CA)
  • Westlake Recording Studios (Hollywood, CA)
Length47:32 (standard edition)
Label
Producer
Bette Midler chronology
Memories of You
(2010)		It's the Girls!
(2014)		 A Gift of Love
(2015)
Singles from It's the Girls!
  1. "Be My Baby" / "It's the Girl"
    Released: November 24, 2014

It's the Girls! is the fourteenth studio album by American singer Bette Midler. It was released by Warner Bros. Records on November 4, 2014. Midler's first release with the label since Bette (2000), the album is a collection representing the music of the great girl groups of the past. [1]

Contents

The album sold 40,000 copies in its first week of release in the United States, thus allowing it to reach number three on the Billboard 200, her highest position on the chart. This made Midler only the second female singer after Barbra Streisand to have top 10 albums in five consecutive decades. It's the Girls! also marked Midler's highest debut week sales ever, and her second-highest position in the US after the Beaches soundtrack, released in 1988.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 72/100 [2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Cuepoint (Expert Witness)A− [4]
PopMatters Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [5]
Record Collector Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [7]

AllMusic editor Matt Collar found that the album "sounds like a retrospective, a return to the cabaret and theatrical style of her early career. Working with veteran producers Marc Shaiman and Scott Riesett, Midler frames her resonant vocal chops with lush arrangements that, while reverential to the original recordings, certainly allow her to express her own personality on each song [...] These are brightly produced songs perfectly suited to Midler's vocal style, stage bravado, and cheeky sense of humor." [3] Amy Rose from Rolling Stone , wrote that "Midler has a voice that’s rich enough to reanimate any pop standard [...] and the album’s spirit of femme camaraderie comes through in their powerhouse harmonies and jokey just-us-girls delivery." [7] Stephen Holden, writing for The New York Times , felt that It's the Girls! "was "one of her best [...] That music, along with Motown, is in Ms. Midler and [producer] Mr. Shaiman’s bones, and their fit is as comfortable as ever [...] Midler’s brash, mouthy vocal persona is still capable of sounding playfully transgressive, at least by ’60s standards." [8]

Commercial performance

It's the Girls! debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200, selling 40,000 copies in its first week of release, ending November 9, 2014, according to Nielsen SoundScan. [9] This made Midler only the second female singer after Barbra Streisand to have top 10 albums in five consecutive decades. [9] The album also marked Midler's highest debut week sales ever, and her second-highest position in the US after the Beaches soundtrack, which came in at number two in 1988. [9]

Track listing

All tracks prodced by Marc Shaiman and Scott M. Riesett. [10]

Standard edition [10]
No.TitleWriter(s)Original artistLength
1."Be My Baby"
 The Ronettes 3:10
2."One Fine Day"
 The Chiffons 2:54
3."Bei Mir Bist du Schön"
 The Andrews Sisters 2:23
4."Baby It's You"
 The Shirelles 3:18
5."Tell Him" Bert Russell The Exciters 2:57
6."He's Sure the Boy I Love" (duet with Darlene Love)
 The Crystals 2:54
7."Mr. Sandman" Pat Ballard The Chordettes 2:25
8."Come and Get These Memories" Holland–Dozier–Holland Martha and the Vandellas 4:14
9."Too Many Fish in the Sea"
 The Marvelettes 3:05
10."Teach Me Tonight"
 The DeCastro Sisters 3:30
11."Waterfalls"
 TLC 4:14
12."You Can't Hurry Love"Holland–Dozier–Holland The Supremes 3:07
13."Give Him a Great Big Kiss" George "Shadow" Morton The Shangri-Las 3:01
14."Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow"
  • Goffin
  • King
 The Shirelles 3:35
15."It's the Girl"
 Boswell Sisters 2:38
Target deluxe edition bonus tracks [11]
No.TitleWriter(s)Original artistLength
16."The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game" Smokey Robinson The Marvelettes 3:36
17."(Talk to Me of) Mendocino" Kate McGarrigle Kate and Anna McGarrigle 3:03
Total length:54:11

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for It's the Girls!
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [25] Gold100,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.

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References

  1. ↑ Hampp, Andrew. "Bette Midler Announces It's the Girls!, Her First Album Since 2006" Billboard.com, September 23, 2014.
  2. ↑ "It's the Girls! by Bette Midler Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Archived from the original on July 22, 2017. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  3. 1 2 Collar, Matt. It's the Girls! Review at AllMusic. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  4. ↑ Christgau, Robert (December 5, 2014). "Robert Christgau: Expert Witness". Cuepoint . Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  5. ↑ Paul, John (December 2, 2014). "Bette Midler: It's the Girls!". PopMatters . Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  6. ↑ Staunton, Terry (November 30, 2014). "Bette Midler – It's the Girls!". Record Collector . Archived from the original on June 21, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  7. 1 2 Spiegel, Amy Rose (November 20, 2014). "It's the Girls!". Rolling Stone . Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  8. ↑ Holden, Stephen (November 3, 2014). "New in Music: Albums by Neil Young, Bette Midler and Miguel Zenón". New York Times . Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  9. 1 2 3 Caulfield, Keith (November 14, 2014). "Bette Midler Scores Fifth Straight Decade of Top 10 Albums". Billboard . Retrieved December 2, 2014.
  10. 1 2 Gans, Andrew. "New Bette Midler Recording, It's the Girls!, Due in November; Track List Announced" Playbill.com, September 23, 2014.
  11. ↑ "Target – It's the Girls! (Deluxe Edition) by Bette Midler." Archived 2014-10-29 at the Wayback Machine Target.com, September 23, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Bette Midler – It's the Girls!". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Bette Midler – It's the Girls!" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  14. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Bette Midler – It's the Girls!" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  15. ↑ "Bette Midler Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
  16. ↑ "Officialcharts.de – Bette Midler – It's the Girls!". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2014. 47. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved November 27, 2014.
  18. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Bette Midler – It's the Girls!" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
  19. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Bette Midler – It's the Girls!". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  20. ↑ "Bette Midler | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
  21. ↑ "Bette Midler Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
  22. ↑ "Bette Midler Chart History (Digital Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
  23. ↑ Moss, Liv (January 1, 2015). "The Official Top 40 Biggest Selling Artist Albums of 2014". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on January 1, 2015. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  24. ↑ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2015". Billboard . Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  25. ↑ "British album certifications – Bette Midler – It's The Girls!". British Phonographic Industry.



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