This Time (Al Jarreau album)
This Time is the fourth studio album by Jazz vocalist Al Jarreau, released in 1980 on Warner Bros. Records. The release marked a change in Jarreau's sound to a more R&B-oriented flavor. As a result, the album achieved more success on the mainstream charts than his previous works, while also topping the Jazz Charts. It also reached No. 6 on the R&B charts and No. 27 on the Billboard 200.[2]" In 1981 "Never Givin' Up" gave Jarreau a Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male.
| This Time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1980 | |||
| Studio | Dawnbreaker Studios (San Fernando, CA) | |||
| Genre | Jazz R&B | |||
| Length | 42:19 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Producer | Jay Graydon | |||
| Al Jarreau chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
This Time marked Jarreau's first foray into the top 40 on the Hot 200 or top 10 on the R&B charts, as well as his first No. 1 on the Jazz charts.[3] His next album would prove even more successful, topping both the Jazz and R&B charts.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Never Givin' Up" | Tom Canning, Al Jarreau | 3:56 |
| 2. | "Gimme What You Got" | Tom Canning, Al Jarreau | 3:43 |
| 3. | "Love Is Real" | Tom Canning, Jarreau, Tom Kellock | 4:23 |
| 4. | "Alonzo" | Jarreau | 5:25 |
| 5. | "(If I Could Only) Change Your Mind" | Tom Canning, Allee Willis | 4:16 |
| 6. | "Spain (I Can Recall)" | Chick Corea, Jarreau, Artie Maren | 6:31 |
| 7. | "Distracted" | Jarreau | 5:51 |
| 8. | "Your Sweet Love" | Tom Canning, Jarreau, Tom Kellock | 4:13 |
| 9. | "(A Rhyme) This Time" | Jarreau, Earl Klugh | 3:42 |
Charts & Awards
Album
| Chart (1980) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 27 |
| R&B | 6 |
| Jazz | 1 |
| Year End Chart (1980) | Peak[4] |
|---|---|
| Jazz | 40 |
Charting Singles
| Year | Song | Peak chart positions[5] | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Pop | US R&B | ||||||||||
| 1980 | "Distracted" | - | 61 | ||||||||
| "Gimmie What You Got" | - | 63 | |||||||||
| "Never Givin' Up" | 102 | 26 | |||||||||
"Never Givin' Up" received a Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male in 1981, Jarreau's first nomination in the R&B field. It lost to Jarreau's Warner Bros. labelmate George Benson for the Give Me the Night album,[6] who had recently undergone a similar change in sound.[7]
Personnel
- Al Jarreau – lead vocals, backing vocals (1, 2, 3, 5, 7), vocal percussion (1, 4), rhythm arrangements (1-4, 7, 8, 9)
- Greg Mathieson – rhythm arrangements (1), acoustic piano (1), string synthesizer (1, 3, 4, 5)
- Jay Graydon – synthesizer programming (1, 2, 3, 5, 8), electric guitar (1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8), rhythm arrangements (2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9)
- Tom Canning – rhythm arrangements (1, 2, 5, 8), Fender Rhodes (2, 4, 5, 8), acoustic piano (3, 5, 8), bells (8)
- David Foster – acoustic piano (2), Fender Rhodes (3, 9)
- Michael Omartian – string synthesizer (2, 8)
- Larry Williams – synthesizers (3, 6, 8), Fender Rhodes (6)
- Steve George – synthesizers (7)
- George Duke – Fender Rhodes (8)
- Oscar Castro-Neves – acoustic guitar (1)
- Dean Parks – electric guitar (3, 5)
- Earl Klugh – acoustic guitar (9), rhythm arrangements (9)
- Abraham Laboriel – bass guitar
- Ralph Humphrey – drums (1, 4, 5, 9), percussion (4)
- Carlos Vega – drums (2, 3)
- Steve Gadd – drums (6, 7, 8)
- Earl Lon Price – saxophones (7)
- Bill Reichenbach Jr. – trombone (3, 7)
- Chuck Findley – trumpet (3, 7)
- Jerry Hey – horn arrangements (1, 3, 7), flugelhorn (1, 2, 7, 8), trumpet (3, 7)
- Tom Kellock – rhythm arrangements (3)
- Les Thompson – harmonica solo (5)
Production
- Producer – Jay Graydon
- Engineers – Joe Bogan and Jay Graydon
- Second Engineer – Debbie Thompson
- Recorded at Dawnbreaker Studios (San Fernando, CA).
- Remixed and Overdubbed at Garden Rake Studios (Sherman Oaks, CA).
- Mastered by Bernie Grundman at A&M Mastering Studios (Los Angeles, CA).
- Art Direction – Richard Seireeni
- Cover Photography – Richard Avedon
- Sleeve Photography – Michael Rice and Susan Jarreau
- Still Life – Harry Mittman
References
- AllMusic review
- This Time Charts and Awards at Allmusic
- Career Charts and Awards at Allmusic
- "Top 100 Jazz Albums of 1980". www.billboard.com. Billboard Magazine. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
- Singles Charts and Awards on Allmusic
- 1981 Grammy Awards Winner for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance at Allmusic
- Give Me the Night at Allmusic