This Time I'll Be Sweeter

This Time I'll Be Sweeter is a soul ballad written by Haras Fyre (professionally known as Pat Grant) and Gwen Guthrie.

The first release of "This Time I'll Be Sweeter" was as the B-side of the May 1975 single release "Love Blind" by Martha Reeves: both sides of Reeves' single were produced by Bert De Coteaux and Tony Silvester who had hired composers Gwen Guthrie and Pat Grant (aka Haras Fyre) as staff writers for the De Coteaux/ Silvester company Penumbra Music in 1973. De Couteaux and Silvester also produced the version by Linda Lewis on her album Not a Little Girl Anymore:[1] released June 1975: Lewis' version - whose chorale consisted of the song's co-writer Gwen Guthrie with Deniece Williams - was released as the album's lead single in the US; belatedly issued in the UK in September 1976 as the follow-up to Lewis hit "Baby I'm Yours", "This Time I'll Be Sweeter" just missed the UK Top 50 peaking at #51. The track did afford Lewis a hit in Brazil ranking at #65 on that nation's ranking of the Top 100 singles for the year 1976. The Martha Reeves version of "This Time I'll Be Sweeter" was included on Reeves' 1976 album release The Rest of My Life: the song was also featured on the 1976 album release by Marlena Shaw: Just a Matter of Time - a Bert DeCoteaux/ Tony Silvester production - and Shaw's version of "This Time I'll Be Sweeter" has been cited by the song's co-writer Pat Grant/ Haras Fyre (also the bassist on several of the song's earliest versions) as being the original version of the song, as Fyre asserts that Shaw's recording of "This Time I'll Be Sweeter" dates from 1974.

Subsequent to a version by Roberta Flack on her 1977 album release Blue Lights in the Basement (to which Gwen Guthrie contributed background vocals), "This Time I'll Be Sweeter" had its highest profile incarnation as the debut single for Angela Bofill who recorded "This Time I'll Be Sweeter" for her Angie album: Bofill's producer Dave Grusin knew of the song due to his being acquainted with its composer Gwen Guthrie who he had frequently utilized as a session singer (Guthrie is a member of the chorale featured on the Angie album although the chorale is not featured on "This Time I'll Be Sweeter"). Co-released with the Angie album on November 21 1978, Bofill's "This Time I'll Be Sweeter" single would reach #23 on the Hot Soul Singles chart: although Bofill would subsequently score higher-placing Soul chart hits, "This Time I'll Be Sweeter" would remain her only single to approach the Billboard Hot 100, bubbling under at #104. Bofill's live version of the "This Time I'll Be Sweeter" is featured on her 2006 Live from Manila concert album.

Deniece Williams - who with Gwen Guthrie sang back-up on the 1975 Linda Lewis version - recorded "This Time I'll Be Sweeter" for her 2007 album Love, Niecy Style.

Overall there are more than eighty recorded versions of "This Time I'll Be Sweeter" including those by Wendy Alleyne, Teresa Carpio, Sharon Cuneta, Will Downing, Isaac Hayes, La India ("Te daré dulzura"), AC Kelly, Maysa, Kevin McCord, Tillie Moreno, Buddy Montgomery, Nia Peeples, Rachelle Ann Go, Jack Radics and "5AZ1":[2]

The song "This Time I'll be Sweeter" was also covered by the Philippines' Ultimate Champion Rachelle Ann Go as her career single in the album Rachelle Ann Falling In Love released by Viva Records.