Back To Then (2002)

Product Summary Label: Cbs/epic/wtg Records UPC: 00696998649224 Release Date: 7/30/2002 Buy.com Sku: 60564057 Item#: M4NDNN Format:  CD Song Listing Disc 1 Song Title Sample 1. Wild One ~ Darius Rucker 2. Exodus ~ Darius Rucker 3. Sometimes I Wonder - (featuring Jill Scott) ~ Darius Rucker 4. Back To Then ~ Darius Rucker 5. This Is My World ~ Darius Rucker 6. I'm Glad You're Mine ~ Darius Rucker 7. Butterfly ~ Darius Rucker 8. Hold On ~ Darius Rucker 9. Ten Years ~ Darius Rucker 10. One More Night ~ Darius Rucker 11. Amazing Grace - (interlude) ~ Darius Rucker 12. Somewhere ~ Darius Rucker 13. Sleeping In My Bed - (featuring Snoop Dogg) ~ Darius Rucker While recording his first solo album, it would have been easy for Darius Rucker, lead singer of '90s pop/rock phenomenon Hootie & the Blowfish, to simply draw from his musical background. It turns out he did. The soul and pop-powered Back To Then, his debut, is "the record I thought I was going to make before I joined Hootie," says Rucker. "With this album, I'm just going back to where I came from." Two years in the making, the aptly titled Back To Then takes its cues from Rucker's Charleston, South Carolina childhood-one peppered with living room sing-alongs to R&B music by such Rucker "heroes" as Gladys Knight, Otis Redding, and Al Green. Recalls Rucker; "It was always my dream to be a singer. I'd sit and listen to their songs and cry. Great voices always do that to me." Later inspirations include the late Notorious B.I.G., whose rap artistry "was a life-changing event" for Rucker. "After that I just wanted to devour all the good R&B and rap that I could. Then when Hootie & the Blowfish decided to chill for a while after spending the last 10 years on the road, I decided I'd finally make my R&B record."   Album Notes and Credits Notes & Personnel Info Personnel includes: Darius Rucker, Jill Scott, Snoop Dogg, Daniel Johnson (vocals); Eric Sayles, Jay Williams (acoustic guitar); Rick Williams (guitar, bass); Keith Henderson (guitar); Olga Konopelsky, Emma Kummrow, Paul Riezer (violin); Davis Barnett (viola); Andy Snitzer (saxophone); Mike Davis (trombone); Jim Hynes (trumpet); Ivan Dupee (Fender Rhodes piano, clavinet, organ, synthesizer, bass, programming); Keith Pelzer (Fender Rhodes piano); Terry Tribet, Ethan Farmer (bass); Vidal Davis (drums); Vivian Green, Eric Roberson, Kipper Jones, Lil Mo, Greg Tepperman, Musiq (background vocals). Producers include: Vidal Davis, Andre "Dirty" Harris, Travis House, Jeeve, Jazz Nixon. Includes liner notes by Steve McKeever. Personnel: Darius Rucker (vocals, background vocals); Jill Scott, Snoop Dogg (vocals); Jay Williams, Keith Henderson, Rick Williams (guitar); Erik Sayles (acoustic guitar); Emma Kummrow (violin); Davis A. Barnett (viola); Larry Gold (cello); Andy Snitzer (alto saxophone); Jeff Kievit, Jim Hynes (trumpet); Ivan Dup?e (Fender Rhodes piano, Clavinet, organ, synthesizer, programming, drum programming); Keith Pelzer (Fender Rhodes piano); Byron Williams (organ); Vidal Davis (drums); Edward "DJ Eddie F" Ferrell, Gus Rickette, Darrin Lightly (drum programming); Darrell "Delite" Allamby, Eric Roberson, Daniel Johnson , Gwenita Jackson, Jimmy Cozier, Kipper Jones, Lil' Mo, Antoinette Roberson, Ryan Toby, Vivian Green, Woody Harrelson (background vocals). Audio Mixers: Ivan Dup?e; Dave Way; Jacob Robinson; Jeeve; Rob Chiarelli. Liner Note Author: Steve McKeever. Recording information: A Touch Of Jazz Studios, Philadelphia, PA; Chung King Studios, NY; Dp Studios, Chicago, IL; Ghetto Pop Studios; Pacifique, West Hollywood, CA; Quad Studios, Nashville, TN; Sony Studios, New York, NY; Soundtrack Studios, NY; Where's My Cut Studio, Los Angeles, CA. Photographer: Stephen Danelian. Unknown Contributor Role: Shawn Hibbler. Arrangers: Edward "DJ Eddie F" Ferrell; Darrin Lightly. The rocky road Hootie & the Blowfish lead singer Darius Rucker took to the release of his first solo album, Back to Then, may have its origin in his band's declining fortunes after the spectacular success of its major-label debut, Cracked Rear View, in the mid-'90s. Follow-ups Fairweather Johnson and Musical Chairs traced a downward sales pattern, and by 2001 Atlantic Records may have been looking to Rucker to reignite his career as a pop/rock singer with his solo debut. But when executives heard an early version of it, they reacted by handing it back to him and letting him negotiate with other labels. Neo-soul boutique label Hidden Beach, whose signee Jill Scott has a duet with Rucker on the record, was a logical home instead, and, slightly retooled, Back to Then comes across as an appropriate addition to the company's pop-soul catalog. Working with various urban musician/producers, Rucker has constructed his own version of a neo-soul album, touching upon elements of gritty soul and gospel but filtering them through his pop/rock sensibility. The result may be as commercially dicey as Atlantic feared: The album may be rejected by both the urban audience at whom it is aimed and by the pop/rock fans Rucker found with Hootie. As urban goes, it may be considered too clean and well-articulated, while its light funk and programming do not provide the surface pleasures of rock. But Rucker remains an expressive singer, and that is the key to the disc's appeal. Whether he is proclaiming his faith in God ("Somewhere") or pleading for romantic fulfillment ("One More Night"), he displays a contemporary soulfulness that compels the listener. Back to Then is not an ideal showcase for that voice, but it is a good one, and it may earn the singer a whole new audience. ~ William Ruhlmann Unlike the rustic roots-rock fodder Darius Rucker has become known for as frontman for Hootie & The Blowfish, his debut BACK TO THEN has its roots in the R&B he was exposed to by his mom as a kid growing up in South Carolina. To that end, Rucker signed on to neo-soul diva Jill Scott's Hidden Beach imprint and delivers 13 soulful cuts that include "Sometimes I Wonder," a breathy duet with Scott (who the genial singer describes as his Tammi Terrell). In keeping with the album's overall theme, Rucker includes a cover of Al Green's "I'm Glad You're Mine" dedicated to his late mother Carolyn and packed with the perfect combination of snappy rhythms, laid-back horn arrangements and subtle phrasing that would do Willie Mitchell and Reverend Green proud. Other songs of note include the hand-in-glove Snoop Dogg duet "Sleeping In My Bed," the mellow, horn-driven "Wild One," and a raw, goosebump-inducing a cappella reading of "Amazing Grace" that segues into the lush gospel crossover workout "Somewhere." Hootie fans will be interested to check out Rucker's testifying throughout "Ten Years," the final say on a failed relationship first chronicled on the 1995 hit "Let Her Cry." Engineer: Chris Conway; Ivan Dup?e; Jacob Robinson; David "D-Lo" Lopez; Jeeve; Keith Pelzer; Serban Ghenea; Vidal Davis; Josh Wilbur; Brian Garten Musical Guests Jill Scott Andy Snitzer Snoop Dogg Lil' Mo Musiq Soulchild   Compilation Appearances Shallow Hal For the Kids Jill Scott Collaborations Duets Now That's What I Call Music 29 Now That's What I Call Country Vol 2 Now That's What I Call Country Christ   Technical Info Release Date : 07/31/2009 Original Release Date : 2002 Catalog ID : 86492 Label : Sony Music Distribution (USA) Number of Discs : 1 Studio/Live : Studio Mono/Stereo : Stereo SPAR Code : n/a UPC : 00696998649224    Product Image