Keep the Faith (Faith Evans album)

Keep the Faith is the second album by American singer Faith Evans. It was released on Bad Boy Records and peaked at number 6 on the US Billboard 200. The album has been certified Platinum by the RIAA.

Keep the Faith
Studio album by Faith Evans
Released	October 27, 1998
Recorded	1997–1998
Genre	R&B[1]
Length	57:52
Label	Bad Boy Arista
Producer	Sean Combs (exec.) Ron Lawrence Stevie J Babyface Chucky Thompson J. Dub Anthony Dent
Faith Evans chronology
Faith (1995) Keep the Faith (1998) Faithfully (2001)
Singles from Keep the Faith
"Love Like This" Released: September 15, 1998 "All Night Long" Released: March 2, 1999 "Never Gonna Let You Go" Released: August 17, 1999 "Lately I" Released: November 24, 1999

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Columbus Times	(favorable)
Entertainment Weekly	A−[1]
Los Angeles Times	[3]
Q	[4]
Rolling Stone	[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[6]
Urban Latino	[4]
Village Voice	(mixed)[7]
Yahoo! Music	(favorable)[8]

Background

Two years in the making, Evans' second solo effort, Keep the Faith, was released during October 1998. Almost entirely written and produced by her, Evans considered the album difficult to complete as she had initially felt discouraged about the progress at first.[9] Upon its release, however, the album garnered generally positive reviews by music critics, with AllMusic noting it "without a doubt a highlight of 1990s soul-pop music".[10] Also enjoying commercial success, it went platinum and produced the top ten singles "Love Like This" and "All Night Long" (released March 30, 1999) prompting Evans to start an 18-city theater tour with Dru Hill and Total the following year.[9]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Faith (Intro)"	Faith Evans, Jeffrey "J Dub" Walker	J Dub	0:59
2.	"Love Like This"	F. Evans, Sean Combs, Ron Lawrence, Schon Crawford, Clarence Emery, Bernard Edwards, Nile Rodgers	Faith Evans, Ron Lawrence, Sean "Puffy" Combs	4:01
3.	"All Night Long" (featuring Puff Daddy)	F. Evans, S. Combs, Ron Lawrence, Schon Crawford, Clarence Emery, Todd Russaw, Todd Gaither, Bertram Reid, Galen Underwood	F. Evans, R. Lawrence, S. Combs	3:54
4.	"Sunny Days"	F. Evans, S. Combs, J. Walker, Anthony Dent, Lorne B. Rawls, Kenneth Stover	Anthony Dent, J Dub, S. Combs	4:20
5.	"Tears Away (Interlude)"	F. Evans, J. Walker	J Dub	1:42
6.	"My First Love"	F. Evans, S. Combs, Chucky Thompson, Kelly Price	Chucky Thompson, S. Combs	4:59
7.	"Anything You Need"	F. Evans, S. Combs, J. Walker	J Dub, S. Combs	5:59
8.	"No Way"	F. Evans, J. Walker, K. Price	J Dub	5:02
9.	"Life Will Pass You By"	F. Evans, S. Combs, Ron Lawrence, Carlton Thomas, D.J. Rogers Jr., Richard Frierson, Michael Keith, Quinnes Parker, Daron Jones, Marvin Scandrick, Angela Bofill, Jeffrey Cohen, Narada Michael Walden	Richard Frieson, Ron Lawrence, S. Combs	4:48
10.	"Keep the Faith"	F. Evans, S. Combs, A. Dent, J. Walker, Donovan Jackson, Franklin Brown	A. Dent, J Dub, S. Combs	5:02
11.	"Special Place (Interlude)"	F. Evans, Steven Jordan	Steven "Stevie J" Jordan	1:01
12.	"Never Gonna Let You Go"	Babyface, Damon Thomas	Babyface, Kenya Ivey, Tavia Ivey	4:27
13.	"Stay (Interlude)"	F. Evans, J. Walker	J Dub	1:56
14.	"Caramel Kisses" (featuring 112)	F. Evans, S. Combs, C. Thompson, M. Scandrick, M. Keith, Q. Parker	C. Thompson	4:42
15.	"Lately I"	Diane Warren, S. Jordan	Steven "Stevie J" Jordan	4:18

Samples

• "Keep the Faith" samples "Never Alone" by Yolanda Adams
• "Life Will Pass You By" samples "Gotta Make It Up to You" by Angela Bofill
• "Love Like This" samples "Chic Cheer" by Chic
• "Sunny Days" samples "I'm Back for More" by Al Johnson and Jean Carne
• "All Night Long" samples "I Hear Music in the Streets" by Unlimited Touch

Personnel

Musicians Faith Evans – arranger, vocal arrangement, vocals, vocals (background) Michael Thompson – guitar Michael Hart Thompson – guitar Babyface – drum programming, keyboards, vocals (background) Damon Thomas – drum programming, keyboards Mike Mason – piano, strings Greg Phillinganes – piano Nathan East – bass guitar Ricky Lawson – drums 112 – arranger, performer, vocal arrangement Diddy – performer Kelly Price – arranger, vocal arrangement, vocals (background) Axel Niehaus – arranger, vocal arrangement Carl Thomas – vocal arrangement Kenya Ivey – vocals (background) Tavia Ivey – vocals (background) Lorne Rawls – arranger DJ Rodgers – arranger Mario Winans – overdubs

Production Charles "Prince Charles" Alexander – engineer, mixing Tony Black – engineer, mixing Axel Niehaus – engineer, mixing Paul Boutin – engineer Tom Cassel – engineer Joe "Smilin' Joe" Perrera – engineer Rob Paustian – engineer Thom Russo – engineer Doug Wilson – engineer E'lyk – assistant engineer, mixing Jon Gass – mixing Tony Maserati – mixing Michael Patterson – editing Herb Powers – mastering Gwendolyn Niles – project manager Faith Evans – executive producer, producer Sean "Puffy" Combs – executive producer, producer Deric "D-Dot" Angelettie – associate executive producer Babyface – producer Mike Mason – producer Ron Lawrence – producer Carl Thompson – producer David Foster – producer, vocal producer Richard "Younglord" Frierson – producer Todd Russaw – associate executive producer Jesse Rivera – project coordinator Albert Watson – photography Gwynnis Mosby – make-up Klya Wright – hair stylist

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1998) Peak position UK Albums (OCC)[11] 69 US Billboard 200[12] 6 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[13] 3

Year-end charts Chart (1999) Position US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[14] 45

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[15]	Platinum	1,000,000^^
^^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

1. Matt Diehl (1998-10-30). "Keep the Faith Review | Music Reviews and News". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2011-06-17.
2. Promis, Jose F.. Keep the Faith at AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-06-17.
3. "Top Pop Albums (Faith Evans: Keep the Faith)". Los Angeles Times. 1998-12-03. Retrieved 2011-06-17.
4. "Faith Evans - Keep the Faith CD Album". CD Universe. Retrieved 2012-12-23.
5. Ernest Hardy (1998-11-02). "Faith Evans: Keep The Faith : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2008-05-15. Retrieved 2012-12-23.
6. Brackett, Nathan; Christian Hoard (2004). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York City, New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 284. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. rolling stone faith evans album guide.
7. Craig Seymour (1998-12-01). "Puffinstuff - Page 1 - Music - New York". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on 2013-10-17. Retrieved 2011-06-17.
8. Yahoo! Music review
9. Chappell, Kevin (1999-04-01). "After Biggie: Evans Has A New Love, A NEW Baby, A New Career". Ebony. FindArticles.com. Retrieved 2009-03-14.
10. Promis, Jose F. (2008-04-30). "Keep the Faith review". AllMusic. Retrieved 2010-01-24.
11. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
12. "Faith Evans Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
13. "Faith Evans Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
14. "R&B/Hip-Hop Albums: Year End 1998". Billboard. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
15. "American album certifications – Faith Evans – Keep the Faith". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 

External links

• FaithEvansMusic.com
• Faith Evans at MySpace
• Faith Evans discography at Discogs
• Faith Evans at AllMusic