Human (Rag'n'Bone Man album)

Human is the debut studio album by British singer and songwriter Rag'n'Bone Man. It was released on 10 February 2017 through Columbia Records and features his breakthrough single of 2016, entitled "Human". It debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart with sales of 117,000, making it the fastest-selling debut album by a male artist during the 2010s.[1]

Human
Studio album by Rag'n'Bone Man
Released	10 February 2017
Genre	Soul R&B indie pop blues blues rock hip hop
Length	41:44
Label	Sony
Producer	Mark Crew Braque Jonny Coffer Two Inch Punch Johnny McDaid Jamie Scott (exec.) Cadenza
Rag'n'Bone Man chronology
Disfigured (2015) Human (2017)
Singles from Human
"Healed" Released: 22 April 2016 "Human" Released: 21 July 2016 "Skin" Released: 26 January 2017 "As You Are" Released: 18 July 2017 "Grace" Released: 27 October 2017

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	64/100[2]
Review scores
Source	Rating
NME	[3]
The Independent	[4]

Human has been given a Metacritic score of 64 based on 13 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[2] Leonie Cooper of NME gave the album a positive review stating, "Rory Graham's debut album is at once modern and classic, fusing blues, hip-hop and vintage sounds with a pop attitude".[3] Kitty Empire of The Guardian gave the album a positive review stating, "So it's a good job that Rag'n'Bone Man has the kind of righteous roar that could breathe life into the phone book, because this album spools together a set of reliable tropes with little in the way of topspin."

Some reviews were critical; Andy Gill of The Independent gave the album a two-star rating out of five stating, "The sad corollary of the proliferation of polls predicting the coming year's Next Big Thing is that sometimes the thing in question isn't quite up to snuff. Last year, Jack Garratt's debut album failed to fulfill the expectations of winning both the Brits Critics' Choice and the BBC Sound Of 2016 polls; and Rory Graham, aka Rag'n'Bone Man, first and second respectively in this year's polls, may follow in like fashion, despite the initial success of his single "Human". That song leads off his album, and for a few tracks – specifically, the victim's plaint "Innocent Man" and devotional anthem "Skin" – it sounds like the real thing, as Graham's burly blues pipes wrestle raw emotion from songs sketched over skeletal beats and sample grooves. But things go rapidly downhill, soured by the earnest, self-important tone of songs like "Grace" and "Ego"; while "Love You Any Less" is just achingly dull, a slice of blandly sepia soulfulness that stains the songs around it."[4]

Commercial performance

On 13 February 2017, the album was number one on The Official Chart Update, the album sold 70,000 copies and was outselling the top 20 combined.[5] The album entered the UK Albums Chart on 17 February 2017 at number one. The album sold 117,000 copies across physical, download and streaming, making it the fastest-selling debut album by a male act during the 2010s.[6] The album also reached number one in Belgium, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Ireland and Switzerland.

In France, it started at number two[7] with 16,738 sales.[8] It reached number one two weeks later.[7] By the end of the year, 239,300 copies had been sold in the country.[9] It was ranked twelve on the year-end album sales chart. Including streaming, the album was ranked eight on the year-end album chart with 310,000 units.[10][11] As of February 2018, it had sold 250,000 copies.[12]

Track listing

Standard edition[13]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Human"	Rory Graham Jamie Hartman	Two Inch Punch	3:20
2.	"Innocent Man"	Graham Ben Ash Simon Aldred	Two Inch Punch	3:06
3.	"Skin"	Graham Jonathan Coffer Jamie Scott Mike Needle Dan Bryer	Jonny Coffer	3:59
4.	"Bitter End"	Graham Andrew Jackson Mark Crew Dan Priddy	Crew Braque	3:39
5.	"Be the Man"	Graham Coffer Scott	Coffer	3:14
6.	"Love You Any Less"	Graham Jackson Crew Priddy	Crew Braque	4:21
7.	"Odetta"	Graham Foy Vance	Crew Braque	3:36
8.	"Grace"	Graham Aldred Frederick Cox	Crew Braque	3:31
9.	"Ego"	Graham Ash Ina Wroldsen	Two Inch Punch	3:17
10.	"Arrow"	Graham Coffer Scott	Coffer	3:21
11.	"As You Are"	Graham Coffer Scott	Coffer	3:48
12.	"Die Easy"	Graham	Crew Braque	2:32
Total length:				41:44

Deluxe version bonus tracks[14]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
13.	"The Fire"	Graham Johnny McDaid Crew Coffer Priddy	McDaid Coffer	3:42
14.	"Fade to Nothing"	Graham Crew Priddy Sam Romans	Crew Braque	3:42
15.	"Life in Her Yet"	Graham Crew Braque Tinashé Fazakerley Priddy	Crew Braque	2:53
16.	"Your Way or the Rope"	Graham Dan Smith Crew Jamie Lidell Priddy Lindsey Rome	Crew Braque	3:24
17.	"Lay My Body Down"	Graham Smith Crew Braque Priddy	Crew Braque	3:36
18.	"Wolves"	Graham Crew Fazakerley Priddy	Crew Braque	2:55
19.	"Healed"	Graham Hartman Oliver Rodigan Joni Mitchell	Cadenza	2:56
Total length:				61:21

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2017) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[15] 3 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[16] 4 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[17] 1 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[18] 2 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[19] 9 Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[20] 1 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[21] 5 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[22] 1 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[23] 6 French Albums (SNEP)[24] 1 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[25] 2 Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[26] 23 Irish Albums (IRMA)[27] 1 Italian Albums (FIMI)[28] 12 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[29] 3 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[30] 3 Polish Albums (ZPAV)[31] 14 Portuguese Albums (AFP)[32] 9 Scottish Albums (OCC)[33] 1 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[34] 71 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[35] 13 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[36] 1 UK Albums (OCC)[37] 1 US Billboard 200[38] 117 US Folk Albums (Billboard)[39] 4 US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[40] 2 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[41] 19

Year-end charts Chart (2017) Position Australian Albums (ARIA)[42] 23 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[43] 38 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[44] 18 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[45] 25 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[46] 32 Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[47] 18 French Albums (SNEP)[48] 8 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[49] 13 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[50] 12 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[51] 4 UK Albums (OCC)[52] 2 US Folk Albums (Billboard)[53] 13 Chart (2018) Position Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[54] 62 French Albums (SNEP)[55] 82 UK Albums (OCC)[56] 19 Decade-end charts Chart (2010–2019) Position UK Albums (OCC)[57] 30

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[58]	Gold	35,000^^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[59]	Gold	7,500^*
Belgium (BEA)[60]	Gold	15,000^*
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[61]	Gold	10,000
France (SNEP)[62]	3× Platinum	310,000[63]
Germany (BVMI)[64]	Platinum	200,000
Netherlands (NVPI)[65]	Gold	20,000^^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[66]	Gold	7,500
Poland (ZPAV)[67]	Platinum	20,000^*
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[68]	2× Platinum	40,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[69]	4× Platinum	1,200,000
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label
Worldwide	10 February 2017	Digital download	Columbia

References

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