Time, Love & Tenderness
| Untitled | |
|---|---|
Time, Love & Tenderness is the seventh studio album by American recording artist Michael Bolton. The album was released on April 23, 1991 by Columbia Records; it was produced by Walter Afanasieff and Michael Bolton. The album topped the Billboard 200 chart and produced four Top 40 singles: a cover of Percy Sledge's "When a Man Loves a Woman" reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, "Love Is a Wonderful Thing" reached No. 4, "Time, Love and Tenderness" reached No. 7, and "Missing You Now" reached No. 12. All four singles reached the Top 40 in the UK as well, as did a fifth single released only in the UK, "Steel Bars".[1]
After reaching the top spot, the album enjoyed a steady stay on the charts, eventually selling over 8 million copies in the US. Worldwide, the album has sold approximately 16 million copies and is his best-selling album to date.
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Chicago Tribune |  [3] |
| Entertainment Weekly | D−[4] |
| Los Angeles Times | [5] |
| Robert Christgau |  [6] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [7] |
The massive commercial success of Time, Love & Tenderness is sharply contrasted with its critical reception, marked by mostly negative reviews.
In one of the album's few positive reviews, AllMusic criticized the album as a clone of its predecessor, Soul Provider, particularly deriding the cover of "When a Man Loves a Woman" as the album's "obligatory R&B carbon copy". However, they praised the songwriting of Diane Warren, as well as Bolton's singing and his songwriting on the track "Steel Bars".[2]
The Chicago Tribune gave it one of its few mixed reviews, saying that Bolton's talent as a vocalist is generally outweighed by the mediocre material, but that "When a Man Loves a Woman", "We're Not Makin' Love Anymore", "Missing You Now", and "Love Is a Wonderful Thing" are all strong moments.[3] Los Angeles Times also gave a mixed review, calling the album "commercial" and "glitzy", but praising it as containing Bolton's strongest material to date.[5]
However, Entertainment Weekly thoroughly panned the album, declaring that "Bolton's singing amounts to gimmicks ... that replicate soul mannerisms without a hint of that music's power for re-creating human feeling." They derided the album's R&B covers as lacking sensitivity and the original cuts as being formulaic.[4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide was also mostly negative, criticizing Bolton's vocals on the album for the same reasons as Entertainment Weekly did.[7]
In his Consumer Guide, Robert Christgau gave the album a "dud" rating,[6] calling it "a bad record whose details rarely merit further thought."[8]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Love Is a Wonderful Thing" | Michael Bolton, Andrew Goldmark | 4:43 |
| 2. | "Time, Love and Tenderness" | Diane Warren | 5:31 |
| 3. | "Missing You Now" (featuring Kenny G) | Bolton, Walter Afanasieff, Warren | 4:33 |
| 4. | "Forever Isn't Long Enough" | Bolton, Warren, Desmond Child | 4:32 |
| 5. | "Now That I Found You" | Bolton, Warren | 4:32 |
| 6. | "When a Man Loves a Woman" (Originally recorded by Percy Sledge) | Calvin Lewis, Andrew Wright | 3:52 |
| 7. | "We're Not Makin' Love Anymore" (featuring Patti LaBelle) | Bolton, Warren | 4:41 |
| 8. | "New Love" | Bolton, Warren, Child | 4:32 |
| 9. | "Save Me" | Bolton, Afanasieff, Goldmark | 4:21 |
| 10. | "Steel Bars" | Bolton, Bob Dylan | 3:28 |
| Total length: | 44:45 | ||
Credits
- Produced by Walter Afanasieff & Michael Bolton
Personnel
- Michael Bolton - lead vocals, backing vocals (2, 4), producer, horn arrangements (1)
- Walter Afanasieff - producer, drums (1-5, 7-10), percussion (1-5, 7-10), keyboards (2-10), synthesizer (2-10), synth bass (2-5, 7-9), Hammond B-3 (4, 6, 10), horn arrangements (1)
- Larry Batiste - backing vocals (2)
- John Beasley - piano (6)
- Kitty Beethoven - backing vocals (1-3, 6, 8-10)
- Louis Biancaniello - keyboard and drum programming (1, 3, 4, 7, 9)
- Terry Brock - backing vocals (4)
- Chris Camozzi - guitar (6, 7)
- Dana Jon Chappelle - recording engineer, mixing (9)
- Desmond Child - backing vocals (4)
- Michael Christopher - recording engineer
- Gary Cirimelli - Synclavier programming (2, 4, 8, 10), backing vocals (4, 6, 9, 10)
- Laura Creamer - backing vocals (1)
- Kenny G - soprano saxophone solo (3)
- Michael Gilbert - assistant mixing engineer (9)
- Gigi Gonaway - timbales (2)
- Gary Grant - horns (1)
- Sandy Griffith - backing vocals (1-4, 6, 8-10)
- Mick Guzauski - mixing (1, 3-9)
- Chris Hawkins - backing vocals (2)
- Jerry Hey - horns (1)
- Dan Higgins - horns (1)
- Mick Higgins - assistant engineer
- Randy Jackson - bass guitar (6, 10)
- Melissa Kary - backing vocals (1, 4, 6, 8-10)
- Richard Kerr - recording engineer
- Ren Klyce - Akai AX60, Fairlight CMI and Synclavier programming (1-4, 7-10)
- Patti LaBelle - lead vocals (7)
- Manny Lacarrubba - mixing engineer (1, 3-8)
- Matt Lamonica - assistant engineer
- Michael Landau - guitar (1-5, 8-10)
- Jean McClain - backing vocals (1, 4)
- Vlado Meller - mastering
- Jim Mitchell - assistant engineer
- Shaun Murphy - backing vocals (1, 4)
- Jeff Porcaro - drums (6)
- Vicky Randle - backing vocals (3)
- Claytoven Richardson - backing vocals (1-4, 6, 8-10)
- Devon Rietveld - mixing engineer
- Marnie Lehmann Riley - assistant engineer
- Marc Russo - tenor saxophone solo (1, 9)
- Tanya Scarlett - backing vocals (1)
- Roger Talkov - recording engineer
- Dave Thoener - mixing (2, 10)
- Michael Thompson - guitar (6)
- Jeannie Tracy - backing vocals (1-4, 6, 8-10)
- Joe Turano - backing vocals (2, 4)
- Joe Lynn Turner - backing vocals (4)
- Myriam Valle - backing vocals (4)
- Larry Williams - horns (1)
Controversy
In 1964, the American R&B group the Isley Brothers recorded a song titled "Love Is a Wonderful Thing". Not included on an Isley Brothers album until years later, the song was released as a single in 1966 on a 45rpm vinyl record, and it "bubbled under" on the Billboard chart, meaning that it peaked between #101 and #125 on the Hot 100. Bolton's song contained similarities to the song by the Isleys that exceeded the title: in 1994, a jury found songwriters Bolton and Goldmark, along with Sony Music Entertainment (the parent company of Bolton's label, Columbia Records), liable for copyright infringement due to multiple similarities between the two songs and ordered them to pay the Isleys all profits earned from the single plus 28% of the album profits, which amounted to over US$5 millions. On May 9, 2000, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, an appellate court covering the western regions of the U.S., affirmed the jury's decision, which is one of the largest monetary sums to be awarded in a case such as this. On January 22, 2001, the Supreme Court of the United States declined to review the decision of the appellate court despite Bolton's claims that he had never heard the Isley Brothers recording (although he was a fan of their music) and that he was exercising his right to "independent creation". The decision by the Supreme Court not to hear the case resulted in the original verdict remaining valid.[citation needed]
Chart positions
| Chart (1991) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 | 1 |
| Australian ARIA Albums Chart | 1 |
| Finnish Albums Chart[9] | 3 |
| UK Albums Chart[10] | 2 |
Decade charts
| Chart (1990–1999) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200[11] | 36 |
Certifications
| Organization | Level | Date |
|---|---|---|
| RIAA - USA[12] | Gold | June 19, 1991 |
| Platinum | June 19, 1991 | |
| 2× Platinum | September 5, 1991 | |
| 3× Platinum | November 13, 1991 | |
| 4× Platinum | December 19, 1991 | |
| 5× Platinum | March 16, 1992 | |
| 6× Platinum | January 5, 1993 | |
| 7× Platinum | September 27, 1994 | |
| 8× Platinum | November 21, 1994 |
References
- ^ Michael Bolton UK chart history, The Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 27, 2013.
- ^ a b AllMusic review
- ^ a b Chicago Tribune review
- ^ a b Entertainment Weekly review
- ^ a b Los Angeles Times review
- ^ a b Robert Christgau Consumer Guide
- ^ a b Brackett, Nathan; Christian Hoard (2004). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York City, New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 90. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (2000). "CG 90s: Key to Icons". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved 2013-11-15.
- ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 105. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
- ^ EveryHit.com
- ^ Geoff Mayfield (December 25, 1999). 1999 The Year in Music Totally 1990s: Diary of a Decade - The listing of Top Pop Albums of the 1990s & Hot 100 Singles of the 1990s. Billboard. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
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