Walk with Me (Jamelia album)
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Walk with Me is the third and final studio album by British recording artist Jamelia, released by EMI controlled Parlophone Records in September 2006. The album contains the singles "Something About You", "Beware of the Dog" and "No More".
Background
After the release of her second studio album, Jamelia took a break from her career to give birth to her second daughter Tiani. Whilst she was pregnant she started writing new material but due to her new-found happiness she found the process frustrating: "When I first tried to write, I was five months pregnant and every song was either rubbish or insincere. I thought I needed to write another Thank You, but I was so sickeningly happy, I couldn't write anything with any strong emotion."[3] It was not until after she gave birth that she was able to rediscover her song writing skills and start laying down the foundations for her third album. Eager to continue her growth as an artist, Jamelia was determined to continue making music that reflected her personality and musical outlook: "My whole aim was to do something different. I do not believe in giving people something that they have already heard from me. We know what worked the last time (on Thank You) but I think changing and reinventing yourself is the way forward."[4]
The album is named Walk with Me as a tribute to the journey which she has taken over the course of her career: "I just feel like my life and my career has been a journey and I’ve always felt that I’ve been lucky enough to have people just be there for me. It’s also an invitation for anyone who has never bought a Jamelia record to have a listen to it."[5]
Production
Although labelled as an R&B artist, Jamelia claims she is influenced by lots of different genres of music and wanted to reflect that on the album, something she achieved by working with a variety of different producers such as Bloodshy & Avant (Madonna, Britney Spears), Soulshock & Karlin (Whitney Houston, Victoria Beckham), Fraser T Smith (Kano) and Jimmy Hogarth (Beverley Knight, James Blunt). The result is a collection of songs that is still classified as an urban album, but contains other influences such as pop and rock – a trend that follows her previous album which contained pop songs such as "Superstar" and "See It in a Boy's Eyes" (co-written with Coldplay frontman Chris Martin) alongside more R&B songs such as "Bout" and "Off Da Endz".
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [6] |
| The Daily Telegraph | (?)[7] |
| The Guardian | [8] |
| The Observer | (?)[9] |
| Q | [2] |
| Teentoday.co.uk | [10] |
| The Times | [11] |
Upon its release, the album entered the UK Top 75 albums chart at number 20 before dropping to number 44 the following week and quickly falling off the album chart. However, in January 2007 the album witnessed a resurgence when it re-entered the top 75 chart at number fifty-one, and climbed again to number 45 the following week. As of September 2007, Walk with Me has sold 107,000 copies and has been certified as Gold. The album has also reached Gold status in Poland.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Something About You" | Jamelia Davis, Soulshock, Peter Biker | Soulshock, Peter Biker | 3:25 |
| 2. | "Do Me Right" (featuring Afrika Bambaataa) | Davis, Afrika Bambaataa, Matt Prime, Hannah Robinson, Steven Albert, Sidney Barcelona, Jon Horvath, Rob Myers, Steve Raskin | Fort Knox Five | 3:39 |
| 3. | "Window Shopping" | Davis, Prime, Robinson | Matt Prime | 3:38 |
| 4. | "Know My Name" | Davis, Karen Poole, Soulshock, Biker | Soulshock, Peter Biker | 3;28 |
| 5. | "No More" | Davis, Stuart Crichton, Tommy Lee James, The Stranglers | Stuart Crichton | 2:54 |
| 6. | "Ain't a Love" | Davis, Prime, Robinson, Joe Belmaati, Mich Hansen | Cutfather & Joe | 3:46 |
| 7. | "La La Love" | Fraser T Smith, Nina Woodford | Fraser T Smith | 3:38 |
| 8. | "Go" | Davis, Eg White | Jimmy Hogarth | 3:26 |
| 9. | "Get Up, Get Out" | Davis, Soulshock & Karlin | Soulshock & Karlin | 3:18 |
| 10. | "Beware of the Dog" | Davis, Crichton, James, Poole, Martin Gore | Stuart Crichton | 3:09 |
| 11. | "Got It So Good" | Davis, Prime, Robinson | Matt Prime | 3:36 |
| 12. | "Hustle" (featuring Sway) | Davis, Prime, Robinson | Matt Prime | 3:32 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Tripping Over You" | Greg Kurstin | 2;53 |
- Sample credits
- "No More" contains a sample of "Golden Brown" by The Stranglers.
- "Ain't a Love" contains a drum sample from "Jungle Jazz" by Kool & the Gang.
- "Beware of the Dog" contains a sample of "Personal Jesus" by Depeche Mode.
- Notes
- Australian edition of the album does not feature the track "Get Up, Get Out".[12]
Charts
| Charts | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Irish Albums Chart[13] | 67 |
| Polish Albums Charts | 7 |
| Swiss Albums Charts[13] | 74 |
| Turkish Albums Charts | 30 |
| UK Albums Chart[13] | 20 |
| UK Urban Album Charts | 9 |
References
- ^ "Australian release date". musichead. Retrieved 16 March 2007.
- ^ a b Q review
- ^ Mugan, Chris. Interview. The Independent. Published 22 September 2006.
- ^ Interview. AOL. Retrieved 24 September 2006.
- ^ Swift, Jacqui. Interview. The Sun. Published 22 September 2006.
- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ The Daily Telegraph review
- ^ The Guardian review
- ^ The Observer review
- ^ Teentoday.co.uk review
- ^ The Times review
- ^ "Walk With Me" Australian Release
- ^ a b c http://acharts.us/album/17201