Gems
Studio album by
Patti LaBelle
ReleasedJune 7, 1994
LabelMCA
Producer
Patti LaBelle chronology
Live!
(1992)		 Gems
(1994)		 Greatest Hits
(1996)

Gems is the twelfth studio album by American singer Patti LaBelle. It was released by MCA Records on June 7, 1994, in the United States. The album features a hip-hop-esque remake of DeBarge's 1983 hit, "All This Love", produced by Teddy Riley. Gems peaked at number forty-eight on the US Billboard 200 and went gold with sales shipping past the 500,000 mark. The album is notable for the single "The Right Kinda Lover", which brought LaBelle a new legion of fans thanks to its production by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and its video which had LaBelle performing a seductress who chooses "the right mate" through a machine and if one man rubbed her the wrong way, she'd use a button to get rid of them.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Entertainment WeeklyB[2]

AllMusic editor Jose F. Promis found that Gems "doesn't necessarily rank as one of the singer's crowning achievements, but as the title (and cliché) implies, this set certainly offers more than a few gems to unearth. Gems also features a couple of prolific productions courtesy of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (on the set's up-tempo first single, "The Right Kinda Lover") and new jack swing maestro Teddy Riley (on LaBelle's mellow yet hypnotic cover of DeBarge's "All This Love"). The true standout, however, is "Stay in My Corner." That song, with its gospel undertones, features Labelle wailing as only she can, holding out her famous long notes and delivering a truly mesmerizing performance."[1]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."I'm in Love"
  • K.C. Porter
  • McKinney
4:16
2."All This Love"
Riley5:01
3."The Right Kinda Lover"
4:52
4."This Word Is All"
  • Carol Duboc
  • LaBelle
  • McKinney
  • Wright
Riley4:40
5."Too Good to Be Through"
  • Harris
  • Lewis
  • Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis
  • Wright
4:19
6."I Never Stopped Loving You"
  • Alex Brown
  • McKinney
  • Kenny Moore
  • Porter
  • McKinney
5:00
7."Stay in My Corner"
  • Wade Flemons
  • Bobby Miller
  • Barrett Strong
James "Budd" Ellison5:21
8."If I Didn't Have You"
Sigler4:58
9."I Can't Tell My Heart What to Do"
  • McKinney
  • Steve Shockley
  • Aaron Smith
  • Porter
  • McKinney
4:47
10."Time Will Tell"
  • McKinney
  • Moore
  • Allee Willis
  • Porter
  • McKinney
4:59
11."Our World"
  • Ellison
  • LaBelle
  • McKinney
  • Nathaniel "Crockett" Wilkie
  • Ellison
  • Wilkie (ass.)
5:00
12."Come As You Are"
  • Porter
  • McKinney
  • Lisa Dalbello
4:17

Charts

US Cashbox Charts (1994) Peak

position

Top 75 R&B Albums[6] 5
Top 100 POP Albums 48

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[7] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. 1 2 AllMusic review
  2. ↑ Entertainment Weekly review
  3. ↑ "Patti LaBelle Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  4. ↑ "Patti LaBelle Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  5. ↑ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1994". Billboard. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Cashbox Magazine" (PDF). 1994-07-23.
  7. ↑ "American album certifications – Patti LaBelle – Gems". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
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