The Comfort Zone (album)

The Comfort Zone is the second studio album by American R&B singer and actress Vanessa Williams, released by Mercury's Wing Records Label on August 20, 1991.

The Comfort Zone
Studio album by
ReleasedAugust 20, 1991 (1991-08-20)
Genre
Length66:27
Label
Producer
Vanessa Williams chronology
The Right Stuff
(1988)
The Comfort Zone
(1991)
The Sweetest Days
(1994)
Singles from The Comfort Zone
  1. "Running Back to You"
    Released: July 16, 1991
  2. "The Comfort Zone"
    Released: October 29, 1991
  3. "Save the Best for Last"
    Released: January 14, 1992
  4. "Just for Tonight"
    Released: April 21, 1992
  5. "Work to Do"
    Released: July 21, 1992

Single releases

The first single off the album was "Running Back to You", an uptempo song that peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and number eighteen on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. "The Comfort Zone", the second single, peaked at sixty two on the Hot 100, but number two on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. "Save the Best for Last" reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for five weeks straight. "Just for Tonight", was the fourth single from the album reaching number twenty-six on the Hot 100, followed by "Work to Do" which achieved moderate success.

Commercial success

The album peaked at #17 on the US Billboard 200 and reached number one on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. In the UK, it peaked at number twenty-four upon its release in April 1992 before quickly falling out of the top fifty.

The album sold 2.8 million copies worldwide at its time of release, with 1.8 million of those sold in the US. It has since been certified three times platinum in the US and gold in Canada by the CRIA.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Chicago Tribune[2]

The album was nominated for five Grammy Awards: Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female for "Runnin' Back to You" in 1992; and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, Record of the Year and "Song of the Year" for "Save the Best for Last", and Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female for "The Comfort Zone" in 1993.

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."The Comfort Zone"Kipper Jones, Reggie StewartGerry Brown, Jones3:59
2."Running Back to You"Trevor Gale, Kenni HairstonBob Rosa, Hairston, DJ L.A. Jay, Rob Von Arx, Gale4:39
3."Work to Do" (featuring Dres)O'Kelly Isley, Jr., Ronald Isley, Rudolph IsleyDr. Jam, Brown, Phase 5, Vanessa Williams4:36
4."You Gotta Go" (featuring Brian McKnight)Dr. Jam, McKnight, Mark StevensMcKnight, Dr. Jam, Brown6:21
5."Still in Love"Derek BrambleBramble5:22
6."Save the Best for Last"Phil Galdston, Jon Lind, Wendy WaldmanKeith Thomas3:38
7."What Will I Tell My Heart?"Irving Gordon, Jack Lawrence, Peter TinturinBrown, Williams4:17
8."Strangers Eyes"Dr. Jam, Brown, StevensDr. Jam, Brown, Stevens6:16
9."2 of a Kind"Dr. Jam, WilliamsDr. Jam, Brown, Williams5:16
10."Freedom Dance (Get Free!)"Jones, StewartBruce Carbone, Dave Darlington, Brown, Jones4:14
11."Just for Tonight"Thomas, Cynthia WeilThomas4:28
12."One Reason"Thomas, WeilThomas4:52
13."Better off Now"Thomas, BryndleThomas4:14
14."Goodbye"Gary Chapman, ThomasThomas4:21
European edition[3]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
15."The Right Stuff (Norman Cook 12" Remix)"Rex Salas, Kipper JonesRex Salas6:18
Japanese edition[4]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
16."Running Back to You (DNA 7" mix)"Gale, Kenni HairstonBob Rosa, Hairston, Jay, Von Arx, Gale3:25

The tracks "Work to Do" and "What Will I Tell My Heart?" both appeared in the film Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man; the latter also appeared on the film's soundtrack album.

Production

  • Produced by Vanessa Williams (exec.), Ed Eckstine (also executive), Keith Thomas, Brian McKnight, Kenni Hairston, Derek Bramble, Gerry Brown, Bruce Carbone, Dave Darlington, DJ L.A. Jay, Kipper Jones, Phase 5, Mark Stevens and Reggie Stewart
  • Engineers – Derek Bramble, Claude Demers, Joe Schiff, Will Schillinger, Allen Sides, Kieran Walsh, Matt Wells, Gerry Brown
  • Assistant engineers – Steve Charles, Foley, Roy Gamble, Marty Lester, Todd Moore, Gary Paczosa, Mike Piersante, Brian Soucey
  • Mixing – Gerry Brown, Bruce Carbone, Dave Darlington, Humberto Gatica, Bill Whittington, Vanessa L. Williams
  • Mix assistants – Jeff Gledt, John Kunz, John David Parker, Brian Soucey
  • Mastering – Herb Powers

Personnel

  • Drums – DJ L.A. Jay, Dr. Jam, Mark Hammond, Harvey Mason Sr.
  • Drum programming – Dave Darlington, DJ L.A. Jay, Trevor Gale, Kenni Hairston, Mark Hammond, Reggie Stewart, Keith Thomas
  • "Beats" – D.J. LA Jay, Bob Rosa, Rob Von Arx
  • Samples – Phase 5, Bob Rosa, Rob Von Arx
  • Keyboards – Greg Arnold, Derek Bramble, Merv DePyere, DJ L.A. Jay, Dr. Jam, David Frank, Trevor Gale, Kenni Hairston, Fred McFarlane, Monty Seward, Keith Thomas
  • Piano – Jorgen Kaufma, Brian McKnight, Randy Waldman
  • Bass – Stanley Clarke, Fred McFarlane, Cornelius Mims, Jimmie Lee Sloas, Keith Thomas
  • Synthesized bass – David Frank
  • Guitars – Dann Huff, Paul Jackson, Jr., Jerry McPherson, Wah Wah Watson
  • Mandolin – Jerry McPherson
  • Saxophone – Gerald Albright, Pete Christlieb, Mark Douthit, Thomas Haas, Scott Mayo
  • Trumpet – Fernando Pullum
  • Trombone – Duane Benjamin
  • Flute – Hubert Laws
  • Strings – The Nashville String Machine
  • Horns arranged by Scott Mayo
  • Strings arranged by Keith Thomas
  • Backing vocals – Debbie Cole, Dres, Lori Fulton, Vicki Hampton, Kipper Jones, Valerie Mayo, Donna McElroy, Rick Nelson, Tata Vega
  • Vocals arranged by Gerry Brown, Kipper Jones, Brian McKnight, Mark Stevens, Keith Thomas and Vanessa Williams

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1991-1992) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[5] 29
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[6] 24
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[7] 52
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[8] 28
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[9] 29
UK Albums (OCC)[10] 24
US Billboard 200[11] 17
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[12] 1

Certifications

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Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[13] Gold 50,000^
Japan (RIAJ)[14] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[15] 3× Platinum 3,000,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

gollark: hmm, yes, fair.
gollark: Hmmm, maybe English *causes* this insanity? Something something sapir-whorf hypothesis.
gollark: At this point I would probably quite like to go to a saner country in some years, but there are not really that many majority-english-speaking ones which also are good.
gollark: yeees, except *slightly* less insane.
gollark: I mean, yes, compared to third-world countries like... most African ones, or the US, we're doing okay.

See also

  • List of number-one R&B albums of 1992 (U.S.)

References

  1. https://www.allmusic.com/album/r21917
  2. May, Mitchell (November 7, 1991). "Vanessa Williams The Comfort Zone". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  3. "The Comfort Zone: Vanessa Williams: Music". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2011-12-26.
  4. "The Comfort Zone: Vanessa Williams: Music". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2012-11-10.
  5. "Australiancharts.com – Vanessa Williams – The Comfort Zone". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 12, 2011.
  6. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 2129". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  7. "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved December 27, 2011.
  8. "Dutchcharts.nl – Vanessa Williams – The Comfort Zone" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 27, 2011.
  9. "Swisscharts.com – Vanessa Williams – The Comfort Zone". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 27, 2011.
  10. "Vanessa Williams | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved August 12, 2011.
  11. "Vanessa Williams Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 12, 2011.
  12. "Vanessa Williams Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 12, 2011.
  13. "Canadian album certifications – Vanessa Williams – The Comfort Zone". Music Canada. May 29, 1992.
  14. "Japanese album certifications – Vanessa Williams – The Comfort Zone" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved March 23, 2020. Select 1994年2月 on the drop-down menu
  15. "American album certifications – Vanessa Williams – The Comfort Zone". Recording Industry Association of America. October 30, 1996. Retrieved October 22, 2018. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
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