Signed Sealed Delivered (album)

Signed Sealed Delivered is the fifth studio album by English singer Craig David. It was his first and only album with Universal Motown. It was released on 29 March 2010. The album consists primarily of covers. Two of the album's tracks sample hits from the Motown era and give them a modern twist, as demonstrated with the first single from the album, "One More Lie (Standing in the Shadows)", whose chorus samples The Four Tops' 1967 Motown classic "Standing in the Shadows of Love".[1] The second is "All Alone Tonight (Stop, Look, Listen)" which samples Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye's version of "Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)". The only original song is the album's last track, "This Could Be Love".

Signed Sealed Delivered
Studio album by Craig David
Released	29 March 2010 (2010-03-29)
Recorded	2008–10
Label	Universal Motown
Producer	Jerry Abbott Grant Black
Craig David chronology
Greatest Hits (2008) Signed Sealed Delivered (2010) Following My Intuition (2016)
Singles from Signed Sealed Delivered
"One More Lie (Standing in the Shadows)" Released: 22 March 2010 "All Alone Tonight (Stop, Look, Listen)" Released: 31 May 2010

Signed Sealed Delivered entered the UK Albums Chart at number 13. As of January 2016, the album had sold 33,779 copies in the United Kingdom.[2]

Background and composition

Craig David's first album with his new label, Universal Motown, is a collection of Motown covers and songs with Motown samples, and is David's first album in three years. He covers Stevie Wonder, Otis Redding and Marvin Gaye amongst others, and gives these classic songs a modern twist. Signed Sealed Delivered includes the single "One More Lie (Standing in the Shadows)", an original song that samples The Four Tops' hit "Standing in the Shadows of Love" in its chorus.[3]

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	2.9/10[4]
Review scores
Source	Rating
The Guardian	[5]
The Independent	(unfavorable)[6]
The Times	[7]
The Observer	(unfavorable)[8]
Virgin Media	[9]
Sputnikmusic	[10]
AllMusic	[11]

The album received mixed to negative reviews from music critics. One of the few positive reviews came from The Guardian critic Carolinne Sullivan, who said that "Craig David's intention, on this Motown-dominated covers album, was to "sing the songs exactly as the original artists had", which he does, reproducing every falsetto and hiccup. The question, though, is why this still-agreeable soul star would want to make a karaoke record. It's a rum way to reignite a career – he needs to recover his mojo as an irresistibly slick R&B songwriter if he plans to return to the top of the charts".

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"One More Lie (Standing in the Shadows)"	Craig David Jerry Abbott Grant Black Shridhar Solanki Brian Holland Lamont Dozier Edward Holland, Jr.	3:04
2.	"Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)"	Stevie Wonder Lee Garrett Syreeta Wright Lula Mae Hardaway	3:20
3.	"All Alone Tonight (Stop, Look, Listen)"	David Abbott Black Thom Bell Linda Creed	3:29
4.	"I Heard It Through the Grapevine"	Norman Whitfield Barrett Strong	3:37
5.	"Just My Imagination"	Whitfield Strong	4:03
6.	"For Once in My Life"	Ron Miller Orlando Murden	3:34
7.	"(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay"	Otis Redding Steve Cropper	3:23
8.	"Mercy Mercy Me"	Marvin Gaye	3:34
9.	"I Wonder Why"	Glen Ballard Curtis Stigers	4:19
10.	"Papa Was a Rollin' Stone"	Whitfield Strong	3:58
11.	"Let's Stay Together"	Al Green Al Jackson, Jr. Willie Mitchell	3:36
12.	"This Could Be Love"	David Abbott Black Colin Lester	3:24

Personnel

Credits adapted from album’s liner notes.[12]

• Jerry Abbott - producer, engineer, guitar, bass, keyboards (all tracks), programming (tracks 1-5, 7-12), handclaps (tracks 2-5, 7, 8, 10-12)
• Grant Black - producer (tracks 1-5, 7-12), handclaps (tracks 2-8, 10-12)
• Erkan Cetin - handclaps (tracks 2-8, 10-12)
• Craig David - vocals (all tracks)
• Benjamin Edwards - harmonica (track 6)
• LaDonna Harley-Peters - backing vocals (tracks 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 12)
• Sharlene Hector - backing vocals (tracks 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 12)
• Wayne Hernandez - backing vocals (tracks 10, 11)
• Bob Ludwig - mastering (all tracks)
• Ali Tennant - backing vocals (tracks 6, 9)
• Gay-Yee Westerhoff - whistle (track 7)
• Jeremy Wheatley - mixing (all tracks)

Charts

Chart (2010)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[13]	24
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[14]	38
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[15]	76
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[16]	93
Italian Albums (FIMI)[17]	76
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[18]	14
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[19]	93
UK Albums (OCC)[20]	13
UK R&B Albums (OCC)[21]	2

References

1. Design, Stephen Clark -. "Craig David: Special Delivery". www.bluesandsoul.com.
2. "Reborn to do it: Craig David selects Sony/Insanity for new record deal - News - Music Week". www.musicweek.com.
3. "Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Craig David: Amazon.co.uk: Music". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
4. "Signed, Sealed, Delivered by Craig David reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
5. Caroline Sullivan (25 March 2010). "Craig David: Signed, Sealed, Delivered | CD review | Music". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
6. Price, Simon (28 March 2010). "Album: Craig David, Signed, Sealed, Delivered (Universal) - Reviews, Music". London: The Independent. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
7. Archived 15 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
8. Hugh Montgomery (28 March 2010). "Signed, Sealed, Delivered by Craig David | CD review | Music | The Observer". London: Guardian. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
9. Album Review by Ian Gittins (29 March 2010). "Craig David: Signed, Sealed, Delivered review - Reviews - Music". Virgin Media. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
10. Signed Sealed Delivered Sputnikmusic review Retrieved 04-04-2010
11. Deming, Mark (29 March 2010) Signed Sealed Delivered - Allmusic Review AllMusic Retrieved 2011-02-13
12. Signed Sealed Delivered (booklet). Universal Motown. 2010.
13. "Australiancharts.com – Craig David – Signed Sealed Delivered". Hung Medien.
14. "Ultratop.be – Craig David – Signed Sealed Delivered" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
15. "Ultratop.be – Craig David – Signed Sealed Delivered" (in French). Hung Medien.
16. "Dutchcharts.nl – Craig David – Signed Sealed Delivered" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
17. "Italiancharts.com – Craig David – Signed Sealed Delivered". Hung Medien.
18. "Spanishcharts.com – Craig David – Signed Sealed Delivered". Hung Medien.
19. "Swisscharts.com – Craig David – Signed Sealed Delivered". Hung Medien.
20. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
21. "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.