Ralph Tresvant (album)

Ralph Tresvant is the debut album by American singer Ralph Tresvant. The album was released by MCA Records on November 20, 1990 in the United States. It went to number one on the Irish Albums Chart for 12 weeks, and on the US Top R&B Albums chart for two weeks and peaked into the top 20 on the US Billboard 200 chart. It features the number one single, "Sensitivity" along with two more top five R&B hits: "Do What I Gotta Do" and "Stone Cold Gentleman", which featured labelmate Bobby Brown, and has been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) within its first year of release, and achieved double-platinum status a few years after.

Ralph Tresvant
Studio album by
Ralph Tresvant
ReleasedNovember 20, 1990[1]
Genre
Length66:00
LabelMCA
Producer
Ralph Tresvant chronology
Ralph Tresvant
(1990)		 It's Goin Down
(1994)
Singles from Ralph Tresvant
  1. "Sensitivity"
    Released: October 9, 1990
  2. "Stone Cold Gentleman"
    Released: March 8, 1991
  3. "Do What I Gotta Do"
    Released: May 13, 1991

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Calgary HeraldB-[2]
Q Magazine[3]

AllMusic editor Alex Henderson found that Tresvant's "self-titled R&B/pop release isn't as distinguished or as confident as the music Bobby Brown, Bell Biv DeVoe and Johnny Gill had been doing on their own, but it has its moments [...] Some of urban contemporary's hottest producers (Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis and Wolf & Epic, among others) are employed, and yet, the overall results aren't as strong as one might expect. None of the material is really bad; it's just that most of it isn't that far above average."[1] Ian Cranna in Q Magazine echoed this sentiment noting that the "album is a rather uneasy amalgam of dance grooves, strings, hip hop and lush ballads".[3]

Track listing
LP and cassette edition[4]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Rated R"Ralph Tresvant
4:51
2."Sensitivity"
Jam & Lewis4:40
3."She's My Love Thang"
  • Harris
  • Lewis
Jam & Lewis4:27
4."Stone Cold Gentleman" (Rizz's Interlude) (featuring Bobby Brown)
6:08
5."Do What I Gotta Do"
  • Harris
  • Lewis
Jam & Lewis5:42
6."Love Hurts"
  • Daryl Simmons
  • Kayo
5:09
7."Girl I Can't Control It"
Kyle West4:49
8."Love Takes Time"
  • Hailey
  • Tabitha Brace
  • Pam Russo (lyrics)
  • West (music)
West4:38
9."Public Figure (Ordinary Guy)"
  • Tresvant
  • Wolf
  • Epic
4:43
10."Last Night"
  • Timmy Gatling
  • Alton "Wokie" Stewart
  • Timmy Gatling
  • Alton "Wokie" Stewart
5:53
CD edition[5]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Rated R"Ralph Tresvant
4:51
2."Sensitivity"
Jam & Lewis4:40
3."She's My Love Thang"
  • Harris
  • Lewis
Jam & Lewis4:27
4."Stone Cold Gentleman" (Rizz's Interlude) (featuring Bobby Brown)
6:08
5."Do What I Gotta Do"
  • Harris
  • Lewis
Jam & Lewis5:42
6."Love Hurts"
  • Daryl Simmons
  • Kayo
5:09
7."Girl I Can't Control It"
Kyle West4:49
8."Love Takes Time"
  • Hailey
  • Tabitha Brace
  • Pam Russo (lyrics)
  • West (music)
West4:38
9."Public Figure (Ordinary Guy)"
  • Tresvant
  • Wolf
  • Epic
4:43
10."Last Night"
  • Timmy Gatling
  • Alton "Wokie" Stewart
  • Timmy Gatling
  • Alton "Wokie" Stewart
5:53
11."I Love You (Just for You)"
Vassal Benford5:44
12."Alright Now"
  • Benford
  • John Barnes
4:17
13."Sensitivity (Ralph's Rap)"
  • Tresvant
  • Harris
  • Lewis
Jam & Lewis4:59

Notes

  • "Rated R" samples "Masterpiece" as performed by The Temptations.[7]
  • Rap lyrics on "Stone Cold Gentleman" written by Ralph Tresvant and Bobby Brown.

Personnel

Unless otherwise noted, information based on the CD edition's liner notes[5]

Performance
  • Lead vocals (sung by): Ralph Tresvant
  • Rap performed by: Bobby Brown (4), Ralph Tresvant
  • Background vocals: Ralph Tresvant (1–11), Tabitha Brace (7–8), Cedric "K-Ci" Hailey (7–8), Terri Robinson (7–8), Dewayne Omarr (9), Redg Green (9), Karen Y. Mayo (9), Altitude (9), Deah Dame (6), Richard Wolf (9), Alton "Wokie" Stewart (10), Vassal Benford (11), Sue Ann Carwell (11), Michael Jackson (12)
  • All Instruments: Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (3, 5), Kyle West (7–8), Timmy Gatling (10), Howie Hersh (10)
  • All other instruments: Vassal Benford (11)
  • Additional instruments: Jimmy Jam (1–2)[8]

</ref> Terry Lewis (1)

  • Drum machine: Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (3), L.A. Reid, Kyle West, Timmy Gatling, Vassal Benford, L.A. Jay
  • Drums: L.A. Reid (4), Daryl Simmons (6), Kayo (6), Bret "Epic" Mazur (9)
  • Percussion: L.A. Reid (4), Daryl Simmons (6), Kayo (6), Ted Thomas (additional on 11)
  • Keyboards: Daryl Simmons (4, 6), Richard Wolf (9), Vassal Benford, Jimmy Jam, L.A. Jay, Kyle West
  • Synclavier: John Barnes (12)
  • Guitar: Richard Wolf (9), Charles Fearing (12)
  • Bass played by: Kayo (4, 6)

Production and technical
  • Music programming: Bret "Epic" Mazur (9)
  • Keyboard programming: Daryl Simmons (4, 6), Kayo (4, 6)
  • Vocals programmed by: Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (2)
  • Musical arrangement: Vassal Benford (11)
  • Rhythm arrangement: Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (1–3, 5), Daryl Simmons (4, 6), Kayo (4, 6)
  • Vocal arrangement: Ralph Tresvant (1), Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (1–3, 5), Daryl Simmons (4, 6), Kayo (4), Babyface (6), Vassal Benford (11), Ron Spearman (11)
  • Recording engineers: Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (1–3), Donnell Sullivan (4, 6), Ron Christopher (4, 6), Barney Perkins (4), Steve Hodge (5), Wade Norton (7–8), Elliott Peters (7–8), Jon Guggenheim (10), John Hedges (11), Larold Rebhun (11), Neal Pogue (11), Jack Rouben (12)
  • Assistant engineers: Milton Chan (4), Ted Malia (4, 6), Jim Zumpano (4, 6), David Betancourt (7), Steve Gallagher (7), Tom Twiss (7–8), Derek Marcil (9), Eugene Dixon (12)
  • Mixing: Steve Hodge (1–3, 5), David Bianco (4), L.A. Reid (4), Daryl Simmons (4, 6), Kayo (4, 6), Elliott Peters (7–8), Dave Pensado (9), Jon Guggenheim (10), Louil Silas Jr. (12), Peter Arata (12), Skip Saylor
  • Mixing assistance: Jim Zumpano (4), Milton Chan (6), David Betancourt (7–8), Steve Gallagher (7–8)
  • Mastering: Herb Powers, Jr.

Other
  • Art direction: Jeff Adamoff
  • Design: Drennon Advertising
  • Photography: Carol Friedman

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[13] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

References
  1. "Ralph Tresvant". AllMusic. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  2. Obee, Dave (January 27, 1991). "Recent Releases". Calgary Herald.
  3. Cranna, Ian (March 5, 1991). "Ralph Tresvant review". Q Magazine. 55: 80.
  4. Tresvant, Ralph. “Ralph Tresvant” (LP / Cassette). MCA Records. 1990.
  5. Tresvant, Ralph. “Ralph Tresvant” (CD). MCA Records. 1990.
  6. Allard, François; Lecocq, Richard (October 4, 2018). Michael Jackson: All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track. Octopus Books. ISBN 9781788401234. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  7. Dunn, Derrick (2020-07-01). "Way back Wednesday Album Review: Ralph Tresvant - Reviews & Dunn". reviewsanddunn.net. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
  8. "Sensitivity by Ralph Tresvant". SongFacts. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  9. "Ralph Tresvant Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  10. "Ralph Tresvant Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  11. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1991". Billboard. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  12. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1991". Billboard. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  13. "American album certifications – Ralph Tresvant – Ralph Tresvant". Recording Industry Association of America.
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