Full Circle (Boyz II Men album)
Full Circle is the sixth album by R&B group Boyz II Men and their only release on Arista Records. Featuring the singles "The Color of Love", written by Babyface and "Relax Your Mind" featuring Faith Evans, Full Circle was the last Boyz II Men album to include bass singer Michael McCary.[1]
Full Circle | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | July 23, 2002 (Release history) | |||
Recorded | January 2002—May 2002 | |||
Genre | R&B, soul | |||
Length | 61:11 | |||
Label | Arista | |||
Producer | L.A. Reid (executive), Qadree El-Amin and Boyz II Men(co-executive), Babyface, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Carlos McKinney, Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris, Scott Storch, Andreao "Fanatic" Heard, PAJAM | |||
Boyz II Men chronology | ||||
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Singles from Full Circle | ||||
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Three years later, singer Raheem DeVaughn would sample the track "Right on Time" on his song "Ask Yourself" from his 2005 debut The Love Experience.
Release and promotion
Singles
- "The Color of Love" was released as the first single on June 11, 2002.
- "Relax Your Mind" was the second and last single to be released on July 16, 2002.
Reception
In February 2003, they were nominated for a Soul Train Music Award for R&B/Soul Album Group, Band or Duo for Full Circle.[2]
Critical
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 54/100[3] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | |
Blender | |
Entertainment Weekly | C[5] |
Q | |
Rolling Stone | |
Yahoo! Music UK |
The album received mixed reviews from critics garnering a rating of 54 on Metacritic stating that it "is typical Boyz II Men, meaning plenty of vocal harmonies and ballads."[3] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic commented, "a little of the stilted, early-'80s funk-influenced hip-hop that marked modern soul, while offering a lot of adult contemporary balladry. Although the group doesn't delve too hard into funk, it still doesn't mesh particularly well together, especially since the material, while well-sung as ever, isn't particularly distinguished. That doesn't mean it's bad -- the album is pleasant enough as it spins -- but it's simply not that memorable, which is quite a disappointment after the very, very nice Nathan Michael Shawn Wanya."
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Relax Your Mind" (featuring Faith Evans) | Raphael Brown, Farrah Fleurimond, Eldra DeBarge, William DeBarge, Carlos McKinney, Jarrett Washington, Etterlene Jordan | Carlos McKinney | 4:05 |
2. | "The Color of Love" | Kenneth Edmonds | Babyface | 4:52 |
3. | "Ain't a Thang Wrong" (featuring Rob Jackson) | Shawn Stockman, Trizzy, Ken "F-Fam" Fambro, Rob Jackson | Ken "F-Fam" Fambro | 4:08 |
4. | "Oh Well" | James Harris III, Terry Lewis, Michael McCary, Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris, Shawn Stockman | Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis | 4:55 |
5. | "Whatcha Need" | Raphael Brown, Ken "F-Fam" Fambro, Donnie "D-Major" Boynton | Ken "F-Fam" Fambro | 5:04 |
6. | "On the Road Again" | Kenny Hickson, Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris, Shawn Stockman, Ken "F-Fam" Fambro | Nathan Morris | 4:14 |
7. | "Makin' Love (Interlude)" | Kenny Hickson, Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris, Shawn Stockman | Nathan Morris | 1:57 |
8. | "Roll Wit Me" | Michael McCary, Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris, Shawn Stockman, Scott Storch | Scott Storch | 3:32 |
9. | "Right on Time" | Andreo Heard, Charod Barnes, Jerry Barnes, Wanya Morris | Andreo Heard, Wanya Morris | 5:00 |
10. | "Howz About It" | Edmund "Butter" Clement, Anita McCloud | Edmund "Butter" Clement | 4:02 |
11. | "That's Why I Love You" | James Harris III, Terry Lewis, McCary, Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris, Shawn Stockman | Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis | 5:15 |
12. | "I'm OK, You're OK" | Ken "F-Fam" Fambro, Wanya Morris, Kenny Hickson | Ken "F-Fam" Fambro, Wanya Morris | 4:51 |
13. | "Luv N U" | Beau Dozier, Jason Edmonds, Wanya Morris, Dylan F. Gorman | The Goonies, Wanya Morris | 5:08 |
14. | "I'll Show You" | Paul Allen, James Moss | PAJAM | 4:11 |
Total length: | 61:11 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Relax Your Mind" (featuring Faith Evans) | Raphael Brown, Farrah Fleurimond, Eldra DeBarge, William DeBarge, Carlos McKinney, Jarrett Washington, Etterlene Jordan | Carlos McKinney | 4:05 |
2. | "The Color of Love" | Kenneth Edmonds | Babyface | 4:52 |
3. | "Ain't a Thang Wrong" (featuring Rob Jackson) | Shawn Stockman, Trizzy, Ken "F-Fam" Fambro, Rob Jackson | Ken "F-Fam" Fambro | 4:08 |
4. | "Oh Well" | James Harris III, Terry Lewis, Michael McCary, Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris, Shawn Stockman | Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis | 4:55 |
5. | "Whatcha Need" | Raphael Brown, Ken "F-Fam" Fambro, Donnie "D-Major" Boynton | Ken "F-Fam" Fambro | 5:04 |
6. | "On the Road Again" | Kenny Hickson, Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris, Shawn Stockman, Ken "F-Fam" Fambro | Nathan Morris | 4:27 |
7. | "Roll Wit Me" | McCary, Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris, Shawn Stockman, Scott Storch | Scott Storch | 3:51 |
8. | "Right on Time" | Andreo Heard, Jerry Barnes, Charod Barnes, Wanya Morris | Andreo Heard, Wanya Morris | 5:00 |
9. | "Howz About It" | Edmund "Butter" Clement, Anita McCloud | Edmund "Butter" Clement | 4:02 |
10. | "That's Why I Love You" | James Harris III, Terry Lewis, Michael McCary, Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris, Shawn Stockman | Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis | 5:15 |
11. | "I'm OK, You're OK" | Ken "F-Fam" Fambro, Kenny Hickson, Wanya Morris | Ken "F-Fam" Fambro, Wanya Morris | 4:51 |
12. | "Luv N U" | Beau Dozier, Jason Edmonds, Wanya Morris, Dylan F. Gorman | The Goonies, Wanya Morris | 5:08 |
13. | "I'll Show You" | Paul Allen, James Moss | PAJAM | 4:11 |
14. | "Woman Don't Cry" (Bonus track) | Kenneth Edmonds, Bill Withers | Babyface | 3:48 |
15. | "You're My Baby" (Bonus track) |
Charts
Chart (2002) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (ARIA)[10] | 73 |
Canadian Albums (Billboard) | 29 |
European Albums Chart[11] | 49 |
French Albums (SNEP) | 40 |
German Albums (Media Control Charts) | 29 |
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[12] | 11 |
Swiss Albums (Swiss Hitparade) | 69 |
UK Albums (OCC)[13] | 56 |
US Billboard 200[14] | 10 |
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Japan (RIAJ)[15] | Platinum | 200,000^ |
United States (RIAA)[16] | Gold | 500,000^ |
*sales figures based on certification alone |
Release history
Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
---|---|---|---|---|
United Kingdom | July 22, 2002 | Arista Records | Cassette, CD | B0000658SG |
United States | July 23, 2002 | Arista Records | CD | |
Japan | July 23, 2002 | Arista Records | CD |
References
- "Full Circle". Boyz II Men Official website. Retrieved 14 July 2009.
- "Boyz II Men". Rock On The Net. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
- "Critic Reviews for Full Circle". Metacritic. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
- "Full Circle". Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
- Caramanica, Jon (2002-07-26). "Full Circle Review". Entertainment Weekly. p. 68. Retrieved 2012-06-30.
- Hardy, Ernest (2002-07-30). "Full Circle : Boyz II Men : Review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2008-04-18. Retrieved 2012-06-30.
- Evans, Diana (2002-07-22). "Boyz II Men - 'Full Circle'". Yahoo! Music UK. Archived from the original on 2004-08-20. Retrieved 2012-09-09.
- "Full Circle : Boyz II Men Music". Retrieved 14 July 2009.
- "Full Circle (Boyz II Men album)". MusicStack.com. Retrieved 14 July 2009.
- Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
- https://books.google.com/books?id=BQwEAAAAMBAJ&lr=&rview=1%7Ctitle=Hits of the World - Eurochart|work=Billboard|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|date=10 August 2002|accessdate=25 July 2012
- http://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/artist/154394/ranking/cd_album/
- "Boyz II Men - Full Circle". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
- "Boyz II Men Music News & Info". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
- "Japanese album certifications – Boyz II Men – Full Circle" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved July 15, 2012.
- "American album certifications – Boyz II Men – Full Circle". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 15, 2012. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.