Better Days Ahead (album)

Better Days Ahead is the third studio album of jazz guitarist Norman Brown released in 1996 on Motown Records. The album reached No. 2 on the Billboard Top Jazz Albums chart.

Better Days Ahead
Studio album by Norman Brown
Released	June 18, 1996
Studio	Titan Recording (Van Nuys, CA) In Your Ear Recording (Los Angeles, CA) Ocean Way Recording, Record Plant and Music Grinder Studios (Hollywood, CA) Larrabee Sound Studios (North Hollywood, CA) Saturn Sound (Studio City, CA) The Enterprise (Burbank, CA)
Genre	Jazz
Label	Motown
Producer	Norman Brown, The Characters, Charles Farrar, Herman Jackson, Troy Taylor, Michael Vail Blum
Norman Brown chronology
After The Storm (1994) Better Days Ahead (1996) Celebration (1999)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic

Overview

Earth, Wind & Fire Horns appear on the album.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"This Time Around"	Norman Brown	4:25
2.	"Better Days Ahead"	Norman Brown	5:42
3.	"After the Love Has Gone"	Bill Champlin, David Foster, Jay Graydon	5:03
4.	"Places in the Heart"	Norman Brown	6:32
5.	"Third World"	Norman Brown	5:16
6.	"Come Closer to Me"	Norman Brown	4:59
7.	"N-Control"	Norman Brown	5:27
8.	"Serenade"	Norman Brown	6:10
9.	"Your Body's Callin'"	R. Kelly	5:49
10.	"Facts of Love"	Norman Brown, Kenneth William Hirsch, Kimberly Ross	5:55

Personnel

• Norman Brown – guitars (1-9), arrangements (1-9), vocal scat (3), vocal arrangements (3, 6), lead guitar (10)
• Gail Johnson – keyboards (1), organ (7), synthesizers (7)
• Wayne Livsey – keyboards (1, 7)
• Herman Jackson – keyboards (2, 4-6, 8), synthesizer programming (3), drum programming (3), arrangements (3), grand piano (4, 8)
• The Characters (Charles Farrar and Troy Taylor) – instruments (9, 10)
• Troy Taylor – backing vocals (9, 10), additional arrangements (8), synthesizer programming (10), drum programming (10), rhythm and vocal arrangements (10)
• Larry Kimpel – bass (1, 2, 4-8)
• James Manning – bass (3)
• Rayford Griffin – drums (1, 2, 4-8)
• Munyungo Jackson – percussion (1, 2, 4-6)
• Gary Bias – horns (6, 7)
• Reggie Young – horns (6, 7)
• Ray Brown – horns (6, 7), orchestration (6, 7)
• Bridgette Bryant – backing vocals (3), vocals (6)
• Lynne Fiddmont-Linsey – backing vocals (3), vocal arrangements (3, 6), vocals (6)
• Arnold McCuller – backing vocals (3)
• Carl "Neuron" Thomas – backing vocals (9)

Production

• Bruce Walker – executive producer
• Norman Brown – executive producer, producer (1-8, 10)
• Herman Jackson – co-producer (1-8)
• Michael Vail Blum – co-producer (1, 2, 4-8), recording, mixing
• The Characters – producers (9, 10)
• Eliud "Lou" Ortiz – recording, mixing
• Ralph Sutton – recording
• Richard Huredia – recording assistant
• Tony Rambo – recording assistant
• James Saez – recording assistant
• Michael Sangrey – recording assistant
• Erick Labson – mastering at MCA Music Media Studios (North Hollywood, California)
• Eric Talbert – A&R direction
• Chad Gary – A&R production coordinator
• Kimberly Ross – production management assistant
• David Irvin – design
• Carol Friedman – art direction, photography
• Ellen Silverstein – wardrobe styling
• Michael Evans – hair stylist
• Quitefire – make-up
• Bruce Kramer – management