Inner Child is the second studio album by American R&B singer-songwriter Shanice, released November 19, 1991, on Motown Records. The album peaked at number 13 on Billboard's Top R&B Albums chart.

Inner Child
Studio album by
ReleasedNovember 19, 1991
RecordedNovember 1990–September 1991
Length59:36
LabelMotown
Producer
Shanice chronology
Discovery
(1987)
Inner Child
(1991)
21... Ways to Grow
(1994)
Singles from Inner Child
  1. "I Love Your Smile"
    Released: October 22, 1991
  2. "I'm Cryin'"
    Released: February 18, 1992
  3. "Silent Prayer"
    Released: April 28, 1992
  4. "Lovin' You"
    Released: August 11, 1992
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Entertainment WeeklyC−[2]
People Magazine(favorable)[3]
Rolling Stone[4]

The lead single "I Love Your Smile" peaked at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the R&B charts.[5] The album also features a remake of Minnie Riperton's 1974 hit "Lovin' You" which hit number 59 on the R&B Singles chart in the summer of 1992. Shanice would cover the song for a second time on her 2006 album Every Woman Dreams.

The other two singles, "I'm Cryin''" and her duet with Johnny Gill, "Silent Prayer", also proved to be successful on the R&B charts. The album was certified Gold making it Shanice's most successful album.

The UK version of the album features the Driza Bone remix of "I Love Your Smile" as track 14.

Track listing edit

  1. "Keep Your Inner Child Alive" (interlude) – 1:24 (Sally Jo Dakota, Narada Michael Walden)
  2. "I Love Your Smile" – 4:19 (Walden, Jarvis La Rue Baker, Shanice, Sylvester Jackson)
  3. "Forever In Your Love" – 4:46 (Baker, Dakota, Walden)
  4. "I'm Cryin'" – 5:07 (Dakota, Walden, Shanice)
  5. "I Hate To Be Lonely" – 6:46 (Walden, Wilson, Louis Biancaniello)
  6. "Stop Cheatin' On Me" – 4:50 (Baker, Walden, Shanice, Sandy Griffith, Claytoven Richardson)
  7. "Silent Prayer" (duet with Johnny Gill) – 5:03 (Walden, Jeffrey Cohen)
  8. "Peace in the World" – 4:26 (Baker, Dakota, Walden, Shanice)
  9. "Lovin' You" – 3:57 (Minnie Riperton, Richard Rudolph)
  10. "You Ain't All That" – 4:36 (Walden, Shanice, Biancaniello, Mike Mani, Hathaway Pogue)
  11. "Shanice & Mookie Meet Homie" (interlude) – 0:23 (Walden, Janice Wilson)
  12. "You Didn't Think I'd Come Back This Hard" – 3:39 (Baker, Shanice, Mani, Eric Daniels)
  13. "You Were The One" – 5:21 (Shanice, Crystal Wilson, Daryl Duncan, Kataya Anderson)
  14. "I Love Your Smile" (Hakeem's Mix) – 4:16 (Abdulsamad, Walden, Baker, Shanice, S. Jackson, Chad Elliott, Burton Rashad Smith)
  15. "Goodnight" (interlude) – 0:23 (Walden, J. Wilson)

Singles edit

Year Title Pop R&B
1991 "I Love Your Smile" 2 1
1992 "I'm Cryin'" 11
"Silent Prayer" 31 4
"Lovin' You" 59

Personnel edit

  • Shanice – vocals, spoken word, synthesizers
  • Louis Biancaniello, Eric Daniels, Mike Mani, Claytoven Richardson – keyboards, programming, backing vocals
  • Vernon "Ice" Black, Corrado Rustici, Ric Wilson – guitars
  • Joel Smith – bass
  • Narada Michael Walden – keyboards, synthesizers, programming, drums, percussion
  • Branford Marsalissaxophone
  • Johnny Gill – spoken word
  • Jarvis La Rue Baker, Kitty Beethoven, Zorana Edun, Nikita Germaine, Sandy Griffith, Chris Hawkins, Skyler Jett, Ellen Keating, Alyssa Lala, Tony Lindsey, Crystal Wilson – backing vocals
  • String arrangements – Jerry Hey

Charts edit

Chart (1992) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[6] 29
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[7] 9
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[8] 29
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[9] 16
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[10] 17
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[11] 12
UK Albums (OCC)[12] 21
US Billboard 200[13] 83
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[14] 13

Certifications edit

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[15] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References edit

  1. ^ AllMusic review
  2. ^ Berger, Arion (January 24, 1992). "Inner Child". Entertainment Weekly.
  3. ^ "Picks and Pans Review: Inner Child". People Magazine. February 10, 1992.
  4. ^ Dyson, Michael Eric (March 19, 1992). "Recordings". Rolling Stone. Issue 626.
  5. ^ Billboard's top singles
  6. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Shanice – Inner Child" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  7. ^ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  8. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Shanice – Inner Child" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  9. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Shanice – Inner Child". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  10. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Shanice – Inner Child". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  11. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Shanice – Inner Child". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  12. ^ "Shanice | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  13. ^ "Shanice Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  14. ^ "Shanice Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  15. ^ "American album certifications – Shanice Wilson – Inner Child". Recording Industry Association of America.

External links edit