Elegant Slumming

Elegant Slumming is the second album by the British dance band M People. It was released on 4 October 1993 charting and peaking at number 2 on the UK Album Chart and spent 87 weeks in the Top 75. It re-entered the chart three times in October 1996 and March and September 1997. Its overall sales stand at 759,000 as of September 2020.[11]

Elegant Slumming
Studio album by
M People
Released4 October 1993
RecordedJanuary - May 1993
Studio
Genre
Length55:04
LabelDeconstruction
ProducerM People
M People chronology
Northern Soul
(1991)		 Elegant Slumming
(1993)		 Bizarre Fruit
(1994)
Singles from Elegant Slumming
  1. "One Night in Heaven"
    Released: 14 June 1993
  2. "Moving on Up"
    Released: 13 September 1993
  3. "Don't Look Any Further"
    Released: 22 November 1993
  4. "Renaissance"
    Released: 28 February 1994
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[2]
Entertainment WeeklyA[3]
The Independent(favorable)[4]
Music Week[5]
NME7/10[6]
The Observer(favorable)[7]
Smash Hits[8]
Spin(favorable)[9]
The Village VoiceA[10]

The four singles released from the album were all UK Top 10 hits: "One Night in Heaven" (#6) and "Moving on Up" (#2), as well as a cover version of the Dennis Edwards and Siedah Garrett song "Don't Look Any Further", which reached No. 9 in the UK. A fourth hit, "Renaissance", reached No. 5 in the same chart.

The US version was released in 1994 in a separate deal on the Epic label, and replaces 3 tracks with 3 hits from their debut album Northern Soul, which did not have a US release. The album was well received, and "One Night in Heaven" and "Moving on Up" were Billboard No. 1 hits on Hot Dance Club Play.

The original British album won the 1994 UK Mercury Music Prize.

Critical reception

Alan Jones from Music Week named the album Pick of the Week, remarking that Heather Small is "in commanding vocal form", while the band provide her "with infectious and real (no sampled) pads over which to strut her impressive stuff."[5] Iestyn George from NME wrote, "Everything, from the artwork onwards, is presented with flawless precision, blending Italia-house with breakbeats and subtle touches of latin percussion. Pickering's encyclopedic knowledge of music and priceless apprenticeship at the Hacienda are matched by Heather Small's mother-of-all vocals."[6] Pete Stanton from Smash Hits named it Best New Album, adding, "If "One Night in Heaven" had you wiggling then this album's your baby. "Moving on Up" is a funky dancefloor filler and "La Vida Loca" could make your cucumber rumba."[8] Jonathan Bernstein from Spin said, "Don't wrinkle your nose in that unbecoming fashion. That stench to which you're so unused is called class and these U.K. clubland monarchs just reek of it."[9] Music critic of The Village Voice, Robert Christgau gave the album an A.[10]

Track listing

All songs written by Mike Pickering and Paul Heard except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."One Night in Heaven" 6:28
2."Moving on Up" 5:29
3."Renaissance" 5:20
4."You Just Have to Be There" 5:26
5."Love is in My Soul" 6:15
6."Don't Look Any Further"Franne Golde, Dennis Lambert, Duane Hitchings5:28
7."Natural Thing" 5:04
8."Little Packet" 5:19
9."La Vida Loca" 4:32
10."Melody of Life" 4:44
Total length:55:04
2005 Re-release bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."Don't Look Any Further" (Danny D Mix)Golde, Lambert, Hitchings5:36
12."Renaissance" (John Digweed's Full on Mix) 7:57
13."Moving on Up" (Roger S Moving Mix) 6:28

US CD & European cassette version
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."One Night in Heaven" 6:28
2."Moving on Up" 5:29
3."Excited" 5:04
4."Renaissance" 5:20
5."Colour My Life (Part One)"Pickering5:38
6."How Can I Love You More?" 3:20
7."Don't Look Any Further"Golde, Lambert, Hitchings5:28
8."You Just Have to Be There" 5:26
9."Little Packet" 5:19
10."Love is in My Soul" 6:15

Note The U.S. vinyl edition contains eight tracks, omitting Little Packet & Love is in My Soul. In addition to this, Colour My Life is placed as track eight.

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[26] Gold 35,000^
Germany (BVMI)[27] Gold 250,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[28] Platinum 15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[29] 3× Platinum 900,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. Farley, Keith. "Elegant Slumming – M People". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  2. Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press.
  3. Jones, Anderson (15 July 1994). "Elegant Slumming". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  4. Thompson, Ben (31 October 1993). "Records". The Independent.
  5. Jones, Alan (9 October 1993). "Market Preview: Mainstream - Albums — Pick of the Week" (PDF). Music Week. p. 19. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  6. George, Iestyn (23 October 1993). "Long Play". NME. p. 35. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  7. "Pop Releases". The Observer. 10 October 1993.
  8. Stanton, Pete (29 September 1993). "New Albums: Best New Album". Smash Hits. p. 56. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  9. Bernstein, Jonathan (July 1994). "Heavy Rotation". Spin. p. 16. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  10. Christgau, Robert (17 January 1995). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  11. Copsey, Rob (22 September 2020). "Mercury Prize: The best-selling winning albums". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  12. "Australiancharts.com – M People – Elegant Slumming". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  13. "Austriancharts.at – M People – Elegant Slumming" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  14. "Dutchcharts.nl – M People – Elegant Slumming" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  15. "Offiziellecharts.de – M People – Elegant Slumming" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  16. "Charts.nz – M People – Elegant Slumming". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  17. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  18. "Swedishcharts.com – M People – Elegant Slumming". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  19. "Swisscharts.com – M People – Elegant Slumming". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  20. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  21. "M People Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2 November 2019. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  22. "Top 100 Albums 1993" (PDF). Music Week. 15 January 1994. p. 25. Retrieved 21 May 2022 – via World Radio History.
  23. "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Albums 1994". Australian Record Industry Association Ltd. Archived from the original on 2 November 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  24. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  25. "Top Selling Albums of 1994". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  26. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1994 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  27. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (M People; 'Elegant Slumming')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  28. "New Zealand album certifications – M People – Elegant Slumming". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  29. "British album certifications – M People – Elegant Slumming". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
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