The Sweet Keeper

The Sweet Keeper is the second studio album by British pop/folk singer-songwriter Tanita Tikaram, released in 1990. Like her debut album Ancient Heart (1988), it was produced by Peter Van Hooke and Rod Argent. Three tracks from the album were released as singles: "We Almost Got It Together", "Little Sister Leaving Town" and "Thursday's Child".

The Sweet Keeper
Studio album by
Tanita Tikaram
Released29 January 1990[1]
RecordedAugust 1988 – May 1989
Genre
Length47:12
LabelEast West
Producer
Tanita Tikaram chronology
Ancient Heart
(1988)		 The Sweet Keeper
(1990)		 Everybody's Angel
(1991)
Singles from The Sweet Keeper
  1. "We Almost Got It Together"
    Released: 1990
  2. "Little Sister Leaving Town"
    Released: 1990
  3. "Thursday's Child"
    Released: 1990

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Calgary HeraldB[3]
New Musical Express7/10[4]
Orlando Sentinel[5]
Record Mirror[6]
Smash Hits[7]

On its release, Bob Stanley of Melody Maker felt Tikaram's voice was the "centrepiece" of the album. He praised the use of strings and brass as "an inspired move", but felt they "intrude" on some of the songs. He considered Tikaram's lyrics to "barely compare" to those of her inspirations, Leonard Cohen and Joni Mitchell, stating that they "sound portentous, but are ultimately shadows to the words of Tanita's heroes and heroines". Stanley concluded, "The Sweet Keeper sees Tanita dabbling with the folk-pop of her debut, embellishing and improving it in some areas. They'll love it in Basingstoke and Norway - the next LP will be the real test."[8]

Track listing

All tracks composed by Tanita Tikaram.[9]

  1. "Once & Not Speak"
  2. "Thursday's Child"
  3. "It All Came Back Today"
  4. "We Almost Got It Together"
  5. "Consider the Rain"
  6. "Sunset's Arrived"
  7. "Little Sister Leaving Town"
  8. "I Owe All to You"
  9. "Love Story"
  10. "Harm in Your Hands"

Personnel
  • Tanita Tikaram – guitar, vocals
  • Mark Isham – trumpet
  • Rod Argent – arranger, conductor, keyboards
  • Sonny Landreth – bottleneck guitar
  • Abigail Brown – violin
  • Richie Buckley – tenor saxophone
  • David Clifton – guitar
  • Mark Cresswell – guitar
  • Mitch Dalton – acoustic guitar
  • Mark Davies – cello
  • Roger Garland – violin
  • John Giblin – bass
  • Roy Gillard – violin
  • John Heley – cello
  • Helen Kamminga – viola
  • Martin O'Connor – accordion
  • Helen O'Hara – violin, arranger
  • Mark Pharoah – violin
  • Peter Van Hooke – arranger, drums
  • Clem Clempson – acoustic guitar
  • Rory McFarlane – bass
  • Katherine Shave – violin
  • Robert Woollard – cello
  • Andrew Davis – double bass
  • Anne Solomon – violin

Charts
Chart performance for The Sweet Keeper
Chart (1990) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[10] 68
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[11] 7
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[12] 81
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[13] 15
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[14] 3
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[15] 45
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[16] 2
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[17] 4
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[18] 7
UK Albums (OCC)[19] 3
US Billboard 200[20] 124

Certifications and sales
Certifications for The Sweet Keeper
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Germany (BVMI)[21] Gold 250,000^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[22] Gold 50,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[23] Gold 25,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[24] Gold 100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. Smith, Robin (27 January 1990). "This Week - The next seven days in view". Record Mirror. p. 28.
  2. The Sweet Keeper at AllMusic
  3. Mayes, Alison (22 February 1990). "Recent Releases". Calgary Herald.
  4. Morton, Roger (3 February 1990). "Long Play: Miss Smartie Pants". New Musical Express. p. 32.
  5. Gettelman, Parry (2 March 1990). "Tanita Tikaram". Orlando Sentinel.
  6. Crossing, Gary (3 February 1990). "Albums". Record Mirror. p. 15.
  7. Soutar, Mike (24 January 1990). "Review: LPs". Smash Hits.
  8. Stanley, Bob (27 January 1990). "Albums: Thursday's Child". Melody Maker. p. 29.
  9. Tanita Tikaram – The Sweet Keeper
  10. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 280.
  11. "Austriancharts.at – Tanita Tikaram – The Sweet Keeper" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  12. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 9072". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  13. "Dutchcharts.nl – Tanita Tikaram – The Sweet Keeper" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  14. "Offiziellecharts.de – Tanita Tikaram – The Sweet Keeper" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  15. "Charts.nz – Tanita Tikaram – The Sweet Keeper". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  16. "Norwegiancharts.com – Tanita Tikaram – The Sweet Keeper". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  17. "Swedishcharts.com – Tanita Tikaram – The Sweet Keeper". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  18. "Swisscharts.com – Tanita Tikaram – The Sweet Keeper". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  19. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  20. "Billboard 200: Week of March 10, 1990". Billboard. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  21. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Tanita Tikaram; 'The Seet Keeper')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  22. "Sólo Éxitos 1959–2002 Año A Año: Certificados 1979–1990" (in Spanish). Iberautor Promociones Culturales. ISBN 8480486392.
  23. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Tanita Tikaram; 'The Sweet Keeper')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
  24. "British album certifications – Tanita Tikaram – The Sweet Keeper". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type The Sweet Keeper in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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