Much Love is the debut album by British singer Shola Ama. It was released by Freakstreet and WEA on 1 September 1997 in the United Kingdom. Ama worked with songwriting collective D'Influence on the majority of the album, with Shaun LaBelle, Livio Harris, and Paul Waller providing additional production. Much Love was preceded by two top ten hit singles: a cover of "You Might Need Somebody", originally made famous by Randy Crawford, and follow-up "You're the One I Love".[4] "Who's Loving My Baby" and "Much Love" were also released as singles, both reaching the UK top twenty.[4]
| Much Love | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1 September 1997 | |||
| Recorded | 1995–1997 | |||
| Genre | R&B[1] | |||
| Length | 51:56 | |||
| Label |
| |||
| Producer |
| |||
| Shola Ama chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Music Week | [2] |
| The Times | (favorable)[3] |
The album reached the top ten of the UK Albums Chart, peaking at number six, and entered the top twenty in Germany and the top thirty in France, and the Netherlands. In the United Kingdom, it was eventually certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), indicating sales in excess of 100,000 copies. Following the success of the album, Ama won a Brit Award for Best British Female and two MOBO Awards for Best Newcomer and Best R&B Act.[5]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "You're the One I Love" |
| LaBelle | 4:12 |
| 2. | "Much Love" |
| LaBelle | 3:56 |
| 3. | "You Might Need Somebody" |
| D'Influence | 4:50 |
| 4. | "Who's Loving My Baby" |
| Harris | 4:38 |
| 5. | "Celebrate" |
| D'Influence | 4:30 |
| 6. | "I Love Your Ways" |
| D'Influence | 4:19 |
| 7. | "We Got a Vibe" |
| LaBelle | 4:04 |
| 8. | "Summer Love" |
| D'Influence | 4:44 |
| 9. | "(I Don't Know) Interlude" |
| D'Influence | 1:47 |
| 10. | "I Can Show You" |
| Waller | 4:26 |
| 11. | "All Mine" |
| D'Influence | 4:46 |
| 12. | "One Love" |
| D'Influence | 5:27 |
Sample credits
- "I Love Your Ways" contains a replayed element of "Give Me the Sunshine" by Leo's Sunshipp.
Personnel
edit- San Acharya – A&R
- Shola Ama – primary artist, vocals, background vocals
- Ed Baden-Powell – bass, drum programming, guitar, acoustic guitar, bass, keyboards, string arrangements
- Toby Baker – bass, keyboards
- David Barry – guitar
- Carlton Batts – mastering
- Joe Belmaati – keyboards, programming
- Melvin Britt – background vocals
- Sue Ann Carwell – vocal arrangement, background vocals
- Rob Chiarelli – mixing
- Jorge Corante – drum programming, keyboards, piano
- Cutfather – producer, remixing
- D'Influence – arranger, mixing, producer
- Michael "Mickey D" Davis – A&R, executive producer
- Terry Dexter – background vocals
- Marcella Ffrench – background vocals
- Mark Franks – engineer
- Guido Zen – engineer
- Livio Harris – arranger, producer, background vocals
- Stephen Hussey – strings
- Anthony Jeffries – engineer
- Kwame Kwaten – bass, executive producer, keyboards, moog bass
- Shaun LaBelle – arranger, bass, drum programming, producer, synthesizer
- Ed Lover – engineer
- Steve Marston – horn
- Patrick McMahon – engineer
- Yan Memmi – engineer, mixing
- Rod Michaels – engineer
- Randee Saint Nicholas – photography
- Dik Shopteau – engineer
- Paul Waller – arranger, drum programming, keyboards, mixing, producer
Charts
edit| Chart (1997) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[7] | 24 |
| French Albums (SNEP)[8] | 21 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[9] | 19 |
| Italian Albums (FIMI)[10] | 20 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[11] | 35 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[12] | 35 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[4] | 6 |
| UK R&B Albums (OCC)[13] | 1 |
Certifications
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Italy (FIMI)[14] | Platinum | 100,000* |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[15] | Gold | 100,000^ |
|
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
edit- ^ a b "Much Love – Shola Ama – Songs, Reviews, Credits – AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
- ^ "Reviews: Albums" (PDF). Music Week. 23 August 1997. p. 12. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
- ^ Jackson, Alan (6 September 1997). "The week's top pop releases; Records". The Times.
- ^ a b c "Shola Ama | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
- ^ "1997: Mary J. Blige, Eternal, Simply Red and The Prodigy – MOBO Awards". mobo.com. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
- ^ "Much Love – Shola Ama – Credits – AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Shola Ama – Much Love" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
- ^ "Lescharts.com – Shola Ama – Much Love". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Shola Ama – Much Love" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
- ^ "Italiancharts.com – Shola Ama – Much Love". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
- ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Shola Ama – Much Love". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
- ^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
- ^ Dezzani, Mark (28 November 1998). "Mtv Italy Seen Making Strides In Its 1st Year". Billboard. p. 40. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
- ^ "British album certifications – Shola Ama – Much Love". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 25 October 2018.