| Product Summary | | UPC: 00724357729727 | | Release Date: 4/5/2005 | | Buy.com Sku: 63964637 | | Item#: M27EDG | | Buy.com Sales Rank: 27033 | Format:  CD |
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| Song Listing |  |
(P) 2005 Capitol Records, Inc.
(C) 2005 Capitol Records, Inc. Manufactured by Capitol Records, Inc., 1750 N. Vine Street, Hollywood, California 90028. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized Reproduction is a Violation of Applicable laws. Printed in U.S.A.
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Notes & Personnel Info |  | Personnel: Faith Evans (vocals, background vocals); Faith Evans; Mario Winans, Pharrell Williams (vocals); Pusha T, Twista (rap vocals); Russ Brown, Tony Aliperti (guitar); Matt Cappy (trumpet, flugelhorn); Rod Morgan, Johnnie "Smurf" Smith (keyboards); William Rodney Prince (percussion); Jay Shawn Smith (background vocals). | | Audio Mixers: Manny Marroquin; Brad Todd; Duro; Jermaine Dupri; Phil Tan; Serban Ghenea. | | Recording information: Big3 Studios, St. Petersburg, FL; Cherokee Studios, Holywood, CA; Cookin Studios, CA; Hit Factory Criteria, FL; Home Cookin Studios, Philadelphia, PA; Hovercraft Studios, VA; Larrabee North Studios; Paramount Recording Studios, CA; Pedigree Music House, Atlanta, GA; Record Plant, CA; SouthSide Studios, Atlanta, GA; Stankonia Studios, Atlanta, GA; Studio Atlantis, CA. | | Resilience is at the heart of THE FIRST LADY. Far removed from her days as an alleged pawn in the Notorious B.I.G./2Pac feud, Faith Evans, former R&B queen of the Bad Boy family, has poured herself into a selection of songs with a slight retro bent. On "Mesmerized," she invokes a sassy inflection and swagger over a Johnnie Taylor sample and a chorus of female harmonies, exuding an attitude that's seemingly channeled from Betty Wright. | | With a fresh start that includes a move to a different record label (Capitol Records), Evans revisits the requisite testimonial song on the lush, Philly-soul-influenced "Again," which addresses her 2004 drug bust and subsequent stint in rehab. Evans's vulnerability peeks out behind the "Nights over Egypt" sample of "I Don't Need It," as she calmly sings of giving up wealth for more time with her workaholic lover. Chief among Evans's strengths is her forte as a balladeer; witness the uncertainty she hints at amid the give-and-take of the Mario Winans duet "Ever Wonder," and "Hope," an optimistic hip-hop tune that pairs her with Twista. |
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| Rolling Stone (p.68)
- 3.5 stars out of 5 - "[H]er voice has a lived-in grace that you don't hear from a lot of competitive wailers on the R&B charts."Entertainment Weekly (No. 814, p.63)
- "[F]IRST LADY's finest moments find Evans frolicking in sunnier '70s soul soundscapes..." - Grade: B Uncut (p.104)
- 3 stars out of 5 - "[With a] gorgeous, updated-Stax sound....Elsewhere, it's all-names-on-deck, with the ubiquitous Neptunes chopping out the neat, female-friendly dance anthem 'Goin' Out'..." |
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