Signed Sealed Delivered (album)
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Signed Sealed Delivered is Craig David's fifth studio album and is his first album for Universal Records. It was released on 29 March 2010 and entered the UK Albums Chart at number 13. 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".[2] 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". As of January 2016, the album had sold 33,779 copies in the United Kingdom.[3]
Background and composition
Craig David's first album with his new label, Universal, 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.[4]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "One More Lie (Standing in the Shadows)" | Craig David, Jerry Abbott, Grant Black, Shridhar Solanki, Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Edward Holland, Jr. | 3:04 |
| 2. | "Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)" | Stevie Wonder, Lee Garrett, Syreeta Wright, Lula Mae Hardaway | 3:20 |
| 3. | "All Alone Tonight (Stop, Look, Listen)" | David, Abbott, Black, Thom Bell, Linda Creed | 3:29 |
| 4. | "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" | Norman Whitfield, Barrett Strong | 3:37 |
| 5. | "Just My Imagination" | Whitfield, Strong | 4:03 |
| 6. | "For Once in My Life" | Ron Miller, Orlando Murden | 3:34 |
| 7. | "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" | Otis Redding, Steve Cropper | 3:23 |
| 8. | "Mercy Mercy Me" | Marvin Gaye | 3:34 |
| 9. | "I Wonder Why" | Glen Ballard, Curtis Stigers | 4:19 |
| 10. | "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" | Whitfield, Strong | 3:58 |
| 11. | "Let's Stay Together" | Al Green, Al Jackson, Jr., Willie Mitchell | 3:36 |
| 12. | "This Could Be Love" | David, Abbott, Black, Colin Lester | 3:24 |
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| The Guardian |   [5] |
| The Independent | (unfavorable)[6] |
| The Times | [7] |
| The Observer | (unfavorable)[8] |
| Virgin Media | [9] |
| Sputnikmusic |  [10] |
| AllMusic | [11] |
The album received mixed to negative reviews from music critics. 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". In a hand of negative reviews, Davey Boy from Sputnikmusic considered the album "very poor" and said that "it's a desperate karaoke LP which may sign, seal & deliver the end of a career".[This quote needs a citation]
Charts
| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[12] | 24 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[13] | 38 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[14] | 76 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[15] | 93 |
| Italian Albums (FIMI)[16] | 76 |
| Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[17] | 14 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[18] | 93 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[19] | 13 |
| UK R&B Albums (OCC)[20] | 2 |
References
- ^ Craig David - Signed Sealed Delivered: CD Retrieved 29-03-2010
- ^ Craig David interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' March 2010
- ^ Reborn to do it: Craig David selects Sony/Insanity for new record deal
- ^ "Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Craig David: Amazon.co.uk: Music". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
- ^ Caroline Sullivan (25 March 2010). "Craig David: Signed, Sealed, Delivered | CD review | Music". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
- ^ Price, Simon (28 March 2010). "Album: Craig David, Signed, Sealed, Delivered (Universal) - Reviews, Music". London: The Independent. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
- ^ [1] Template:Wayback
- ^ Hugh Montgomery (28 March 2010). "Signed, Sealed, Delivered by Craig David | CD review | Music | The Observer". London: Guardian. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
- ^ Album Review by Ian Gittins (29 March 2010). "Craig David: Signed, Sealed, Delivered review - Reviews - Music". Virgin Media. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
- ^ Signed Sealed Delivered Sputnikmusic review Retrieved 04-04-2010
- ^ Deming, Mark (29 March 2010) Signed Sealed Delivered - Allmusic Review AllMusic Retrieved 2011-02-13
- ^ "Australiancharts.com – Craig David – Signed Sealed Delivered". Hung Medien.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Craig David – Signed Sealed Delivered" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Craig David – Signed Sealed Delivered" (in French). Hung Medien.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Craig David – Signed Sealed Delivered" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
- ^ "Italiancharts.com – Craig David – Signed Sealed Delivered". Hung Medien.
- ^ "Spanishcharts.com – Craig David – Signed Sealed Delivered". Hung Medien.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Craig David – Signed Sealed Delivered". Hung Medien.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
- ^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.