It's About Time (SWV album)
It's About Time is the debut studio album by American female R&B trio SWV. It was released by RCA Records on October 27, 1992, in the United States. It earned 11 Billboard Music Award nominations and became the 16th best-selling album of 1993 in the United States, with 2,100,000 copies sold according to Nielsen SoundScan. It also earned SWV a nomination for Best New Artist at the 36th Grammy Awards.[3] In 1996, It's About Time was certified 3× platinum, for shipping over 3,000,000 albums in the US alone.[4]
It's About Time | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | October 27, 1992 | |||
Studio | Various
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Genre | New jack swing[1][2] | |||
Length | 60:09 | |||
Label | RCA | |||
Producer |
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SWV chronology | ||||
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Singles from It's About Time | ||||
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The album spawned five hit singles with "I'm So into You", "Downtown", "Weak", a remixed version of "Right Here/Human Nature" (the latter two reached number one on the R&B singles chart, with "Weak" being their biggest and only number-one pop hit), and "You're Always on My Mind" (shortened to "Always on My Mind" for single release). A remixed version of "Anything" appeared on the soundtrack of the film Above the Rim in 1994 and was released as the final single from It's About Time.
Critical reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Robert Christgau | [5] |
Entertainment Weekly | C−[6] |
Los Angeles Times | [7] |
Rolling Stone | [8] |
In his retrospective review for AllMusic, editor Ron Wynn wrote that SWV's "deep, sensual harmonies, sometimes naughty lyrics and aggressive style immediately struck a responsive chord, particularly among male fans. Their CD shows their versatility, as they handled New Jack tunes, romantic ballads [...] and sassy, innuendo-laden fare [...] Their hits "Weak" and "Right Here" had the same blend of heat and vulnerability that underscore the best En Vogue material, and even though this CD was padded by remixes and repeats, it was still among the finest debuts issued in 1992."[1] Less enthusiastic, Amy Linden from Entertainment Weekly found that "in a perfect world, folks would demand more than the ability to program a slammin' beat and hit the note. Until that day, these chirpy homegirls of SWV create and fill their own void in It’s About Time."[6]
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Anything" | Brian Alexander Morgan | Morgan | 2:50 |
2. | "I'm So into You" | Morgan | Morgan | 4:38 |
3. | "Right Here" |
| Morgan | 4:38 |
4. | "Weak" | Morgan | Morgan | 4:51 |
5. | "You're Always on My Mind" | Morgan | Morgan | 5:17 |
6. | "Downtown" |
| Parker | 5:12 |
7. | "Coming Home" |
| Brown | 4:21 |
8. | "Give It to Me" |
| Parker | 4:05 |
9. | "Blak Pudd'n" | Sahpreem King | King | 3:45 |
10. | "It's About Time" | Gene McFadden | Donald "Dee" Bowden | 4:37 |
11. | "Think You're Gonna Like It" |
| Morgan | 3:19 |
12. | "That's What I Need" |
| Morgan | 4:27 |
13. | "SWV (In The House)" |
|
| 3:00 |
14. | "Weak" (a cappella) | Morgan | Morgan | 1:20 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
15. | "Right Here" (Human Nature Remix) |
| Morgan | 3:47 |
Total length: | 60:09 |
*Initially issued without track 15, but was added to all subsequent CDs in April 1993
*Copies of the album with the catalog number BMG 66074 contain "Right Here (Vibe Mix)" (4:18), as the final track
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
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Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada)[21] | Gold | 50,000^ |
New Zealand (RMNZ)[22] | Gold | 7,500^ |
United States (RIAA)[23] | 3× Platinum | 3,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Release history
Region | Date | Edition(s) | Format(s) | Label(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Various | October 27, 1992 | Standard | CD, cassette | RCA |
Various | April 8, 1993 | Reissue | CD, cassette | RCA |
References
- Wynn, Ron. It's About Time review at AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-06-09.
- Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "SWV - New Beginning". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
backing away from the New Jack grooves that dominated their debut
- "Best-Selling Records of 1993". Billboard. Vol. 106, no. 3. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. January 15, 1994. p. 73. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
- "Recording Industry Association of America". RIAA. Archived from the original on 2013-02-25. Retrieved 2012-02-25.
- Christgau, Robert. "It's About Time review". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 2013-06-09.
- Linden, Amy (December 18, 1992). "It's About Time Review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2007-05-21. Retrieved 2013-06-09.
- Johnson, Connie (May 2, 1993). "In Brief". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
- Decurtis, Anthony; Henke, James; Miller, Jim; George-Warren, Holly (1992). The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll: The Definitive History of the Most Important Artists and Their Music. ISBN 9780679737285.
- Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 273.
- "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0978". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
- "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 38. September 18, 1993. p. 14. Retrieved April 16, 2023 – via World Radio History.
- "Offiziellecharts.de – SWV – It's About Time" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
- "Charts.nz – SWV – It's About Time". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
- "SWV | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
- "SWV Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
- "SWV – Chart history". Billboard Heatseekers Albums for SWV. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
- "SWV Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
- "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1993". Billboard. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
- "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1993". Billboard. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
- "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1994". Billboard. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
- "Canadian album certifications – SMV – It's About Time". Music Canada. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
- "New Zealand album certifications – SWV – It's About Time". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
- "American album certifications – S.W.V. – It's About Time". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 7, 2017.