The Real Thing: Words and Sounds Vol. 3
Studio album by
Jill Scott
ReleasedSeptember 25, 2007 (2007-09-25)
Recorded2005–2007
Studio
Various
GenreNeo soul[1]
Length50:39
LabelHidden Beach
Producer
Jill Scott chronology
Collaborations
(2007)		 The Real Thing: Words and Sounds Vol. 3
(2007)		 Live in Paris+
(2008)
Alternative cover
Deluxe limited edition cover
Singles from The Real Thing: Words and Sounds Vol. 3
  1. "Hate on Me"
    Released: August 2007
  2. "My Love"
    Released: November 2007
  3. "Whenever You're Around"
    Released: 2008

The Real Thing: Words and Sounds Vol. 3 is the third studio album by American singer Jill Scott, released on September 25, 2007, by Hidden Beach Recordings. It received positive reviews from music critics.

On certain editions of the album, recordings of live performances of "Golden" and "The Fact Is (I Need You)" are included as bonus tracks. A deluxe limited edition of The Real Thing: Words and Sounds Vol. 3 was also released, containing a bonus DVD. On March 17, 2009, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It was Scott's last release on Hidden Beach Recordings before her departure from the label in 2010. This is also the final installment of the Words and Sounds series.

Background

In an interview with HitQuarters, producer JR Hutson commented on the creation of the song "Whenever You're Around":

"I tried to take a real Quincy Jones approach to that record. I brought in a lot of musicians and we were just vibing to a few different things, and that was one of the tracks that stood out to me in the jam session that day. So I [...] tweaked and tweaked the track, edited it [...] and reformatted it, and then eventually ended up with that track."[2]

Commercial performance

In the United States, the album debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 and number two on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, selling 148,000 copies in its first week,[3] Scott's second highest debut on both charts after 2004's Beautifully Human: Words and Sounds Vol. 2. The album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on March 17, 2009,[4] and by April 2011, it had sold 663,000 copies in the US alone.[5] Elsewhere, The Real Thing: Words and Sounds Vol. 3 charted at number 65 in the Netherlands,[6] number 75 in the United Kingdom,[7] and number 128 in France.[8]

Singles

Lead single "Hate on Me" is an unusual song for Scott, stepping out of her soft and smooth soul style and into a bigger, jazzier, more sassy style. In the album sampler, Scott says it is addressed to a group of people she found online who were "hating on her".[9] Amber Riley's character Mercedes Jones performed the song on the Glee episode titled "Throwdown", aired October 14, 2009. "My Love" was released as the second single, for which a music video premiered on September 2, 2007. The third and final single was "Whenever You're Around" and features George Duke. While there was no video shot, the promotional single was successful at R&B radio stations, reaching number 56 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and number 16 on the Hot Adult R&B Airplay chart.[10][11]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic79/100[12]
Review scores
SourceRating
About.com[13]
AllMusic[14]
The Guardian[15]
Mojo[16]
MSN Music (Consumer Guide)A−[17]
Q[12]
Rolling Stone[18]
Slant Magazine[19]
Sputnikmusic3.5/5[20]
Uncut[21]

The Real Thing: Words and Sounds Vol. 3 received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 79, based on 11 reviews.[12] Uncut magazine commended Scott's funky sensibilities and attempt to expand on the "tempo-and libido" of her 2004 album Beautifully Human: Words and Sounds Vol. 2.[21] Mojo called the album "her most intense, but perhaps also her most pleasurable excursion yet."[16] In his review for MSN Music, Robert Christgau said that Scott substantiates the songs' sexual content through her phrasing, timbre, and lyrics about physical pleasure, and that the album is musically consistent because of "a contour and a groove that suits its well-inhabited breakup concept."[17]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Let It Be"
Mateen1:50
2."The Real Thing"
  • Harris
  • Davis
3:25
3."Hate on Me"
Blackstone3:29
4."Come See Me"
JR Hutson4:59
5."Crown Royal"
  • Scott
  • Hutson
Hutson1:48
6."Epiphany"
Storch2:31
7."My Love"
  • Scott
  • Blackstone
  • McKie
  • Blackstone
  • McKie[a]
3:50
8."Insomnia"
  • Scott
  • Omari Shabazz
Shabazz3:55
9."How It Make You Feel"
Stokley4:32
10."Only You"
  • Scott
  • Tyrone Goldstein II
  • Abduology
  • Jesse Owenz
  • C. Harris[a]
  • C. "Spaun" Reeves[a]
  • J. Gold[a]
3:35
11."Whenever You're Around" (featuring George Duke)
  • Scott
  • Hutson
Hutson4:07
12."Celibacy Blues"
  • Scott
  • Blackstone
  • Randy Bowland
  • Scott
  • Blackstone
  • Bowland
2:15
13."All I"
  • Scott
  • Blackstone
Blackstone4:56
14."Wanna Be Loved"
  • Scott
  • Hutson
Hutson3:22
15."Breathe"
  • Keith
  • Husayn
2:06
Best Buy edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
16."The Way" (live in Paris)
  • Scott
  • Harris
8:19
17."Whatever" (live in Paris)
  • Scott
  • Ronald "PNutt" Frost
7:32
iTunes Store deluxe edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
16."Imagination/Crown Royal Suite"
  • Scott
  • Hutson
5:50
17."Rightness"Scott3:40
18."Golden" (live)
  • Scott
  • Anthony Bell
10:08
19."The Fact Is (I Need You)" (live)
  • Scott
  • Pete Kuzma
6:40
French edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
16."Golden" (live)
  • Scott
  • Bell
10:08
17."The Fact Is (I Need You)" (live)
  • Scott
  • Kuzma
6:40
Japanese edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
16."Imagination/Crown Royal Suite"
  • Scott
  • Hutson
5:50
17."Rightness"Scott3:40
18."Bedda at Home" (live in Paris)
8:32
19."Hate on Me" (music video)  
Deluxe limited edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
16."Imagination/Crown Royal Suite"
  • Scott
  • Hutson
5:48
17."Rightness"
  • Scott
  • Harris
  • Davis
3:40
Deluxe limited edition bonus DVD
No.TitleLength
1."A Long Walk" (music video)4:13
2."Golden" (music video)3:48
3."Cross My Mind" (music video)4:44
4."Hate on Me" (music video)3:31
5."My Love" (music video)4:15
6."The Reel from the Real Jill Scott: An Intimate Conversation with Jill"15:12

Notes

  • ^[a] signifies a co-producer

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for The Real Thing: Words and Sounds Vol. 3
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[4] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Notes

  1. ↑ Track 1
  2. ↑ Track 12; vocals on track 1
  3. ↑ Track 2
  4. ↑ Tracks 3, 7 and 13
  5. ↑ Tracks 4, 11 and 14
  6. ↑ Additional recording on track 4
  7. ↑ Tracks 5 and 11
  8. ↑ Track 6
  9. ↑ Track 8
  10. ↑ Track 9
  11. ↑ Track 10
  12. ↑ Track 15

References

  1. ↑ Abram, Malcolm X (October 21, 2007). "Singer has love and sex on mind". Akron Beacon Journal. p. E5 E. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Interview With JR Hutson". HitQuarters. May 10, 2010. Archived from the original on July 13, 2010. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  3. ↑ Hasty, Katie (October 3, 2007). "Rascal Flatts Races To No. 1 In Debut-Heavy Week". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2007.
  4. 1 2 "American album certifications – Jill Scott – The Real Thing (Words and Sounds, Volume 3)". Recording Industry Association of America. March 17, 2009. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  5. ↑ Mitchell, Gail (April 5, 2011). "Hidden Beach Slates New Jill Scott Album for Spring". Billboard. Retrieved April 6, 2011.
  6. 1 2 "Dutchcharts.nl – Jill Scott – The Real Thing - Words and Sounds Vol. 3" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 26, 2011.
  7. 1 2 "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  8. 1 2 "Lescharts.com – Jill Scott – The Real Thing - Words and Sounds Vol. 3". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 26, 2011.
  9. ↑ ""The Real Thing" – In Stores September 25, 2007". JillScott.com. Archived from the original on August 18, 2007. Retrieved September 3, 2007.
  10. ↑ "Jill Scott Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Jill Scott Chart History (Adult R&B Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
  12. 1 2 3 Metacritic
  13. ↑ About.com review
  14. ↑ Allmusic review
  15. ↑ "CD: Jill Scott, The Real Thing: Words & Sounds Vol 3". The Guardian. 2007-10-18. Archived from the original on 2019-04-20.
  16. 1 2 "Review: The Real Thing". Mojo. January 2008. p. 104.
  17. 1 2 Christgau, Robert (February 2008). "Consumer Guide". MSN Music. Retrieved November 23, 2013.
  18. ↑ Rolling Stone review
  19. ↑ Slant Magazine review
  20. ↑ Sputnikmusic review
  21. 1 2 "Review: The Real Thing". Uncut. January 2008. p. 100.
  22. ↑ "Top 100 Albums in Canada". Jam!. October 4, 2007. Archived from the original on October 10, 2007. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
  23. ↑ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  24. ↑ "Jill Scott Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  25. ↑ "Jill Scott Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  26. ↑ "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2007". Billboard. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  27. ↑ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2007". Billboard. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  28. ↑ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2008". Billboard. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.