The Time (Bros album)

The Time is the second album by British pop band Bros and the follow-up to their debut Push. It was released on 16 October 1989 and was their first album as a duo of twins Matt and Luke Goss, following the departure of bassist Craig Logan earlier in the year. It was also the first album to feature Matt and Luke as co-writers, along with Nicky Graham. Four singles were released from the album: "Too Much", "Chocolate Box", "Madly in Love" and "Sister". The track "Sister" was written about Matt and Luke's stepsister Carolyn, who was killed in a collision with a drunk driver in London in 1988.[1]

The Time
Studio album by Bros
Released	16 October 1989
Genre	Pop, dance-pop
Length	49:20
Label	CBS
Producer	Nicky Graham
Bros chronology
Push (1988) The Time (1989) Changing Faces (1991)
Singles from The Time
"Too Much" Released: 17 July 1989 "Chocolate Box" Released: 25 September 1989 "Sister" Released: 4 December 1989 "Madly in Love" Released: 26 February 1990

The album reached number four in the UK Albums Chart and was certified gold in the UK.[2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[4]
Smash Hits	6½/10[5]

Mike Soutar of Smash Hits recognised the duo's talent and stated that their playing had become more accomplished and that their sound was "more mature" compared with debut album Push. He called the opening four tracks "promising", but then went on to say, "Where Bros do come unstuck, however, is when they turn their attention to serious 'social' issues, namely drugs in 'Streetwise' and racism in 'Black & White'. Well intentioned as they may be, neither of these topics are particularly new to pop music, and Bros have nothing fresh to say about them... And that's Bros' big problem: about half the songs on this LP are just ideas thrown together and never really finished properly."[5]

William Ruhlmann of AllMusic noted that Bros were coming to the end of their popularity, and that their music had not travelled well across the Atlantic, saying, "As with most teenage heartthrobs, the music wasn't the point; all of these songs are heavily produced, glossy dance tracks in which Matt Goss's enthusiastic but thin vocals are the least noticeable aspect. The point was image, and without a big promotional push, that image never became visible to Americans, while, in England, it was only good for the life of this record, completing Bros' two years of fame."[3]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Matt Goss, Luke Goss and Nicky Graham.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Madly in Love"	7:09
2.	"Too Much"	3:30
3.	"Chocolate Box"	3:57
4.	"Money"	4:21
5.	"Streetwise"	4:29
6.	"Club Fool"	5:28
7.	"Black and White"	3:52
8.	"Don't Bite the Hand"	3:10
9.	"Space"	3:40
10.	"Sister"	4:23

CD bonus track

No.	Title	Length
11.	"Life's a Heartbeat" (B-side of "Chocolate Box")	4:43

2010 CD reissue bonus tracks

No.	Title	Remix	Length
12.	"Too Much (Extended Version)"	Tom Lord-Alge	6:43
13.	"Astrologically" (B-side of "Too Much")		3:30
14.	"Chocolate Box (Swing Mix)"	Justin Strauss	6:18
15.	"Sister (Remix)"	Tom Lord-Alge	4:23
16.	"Madly in Love (Joe Smooth 12" Version)"	Joe Smooth	6:24

US and Canada version

All tracks are written by Matt Goss, Luke Goss and Nicky Graham, except where noted.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Madly in Love"	7:09
2.	"Too Much"	3:34
3.	"Chocolate Box"	4:00
4.	"Money"	4:23
5.	"Life's a Heartbeat"	4:48
6.	"Club Fool"	5:31
7.	"Black and White"	3:55
8.	"Don't Bite the Hand"	3:09
9.	"I Owe You Nothing (remix)" (The Brothers)	3:57
10.	"Sister"	4:23
11.	"Space" (bonus track on CD only, incorrectly listed as "Streetwise")	4:30

Personnel

Bros

• Matt Goss – vocals, keyboards, programming and bass
• Luke Goss – drums, percussion, keyboards, programming and bass

Additional personnel

• Scott Davidson – keyboards, programming and bass
• Paul Gendler – guitars
• Nicky Graham – keyboards, programming and bass
• Paul Powell – bass on "Madly in Love"
• Jim Turner – saxophone

• Brass arrangements and playing by the Kick Horns

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Chart (1989)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[6]	34
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[7]	90
European Albums Chart[8]	18
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[9]	23
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[10]	34
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[11]	7
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[12]	17
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[13]	42
UK Albums (OCC)[14]	4

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[2]	Gold	100,000^^
^^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

1. Scott, Danny (16 November 2003). "Best of Times, Worst of Times: Matt Goss". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
2. BRIT Certified – Bros – The Time
3. Ruhlmann, William. "The Time – Bros". AllMusic.
4. Larkin, Colin (2011). "Bros". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-85712-595-8.
5. Soutar, Mike (18–31 October 1989). "Review: Bros – The Time". Smash Hits. No. 284. p. 78.
6. "Australiancharts.com – Bros – The Time". Hung Medien.
7. "Dutchcharts.nl – Bros – The Time" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
8. "Hits of the World – Eurochart". Billboard. 18 November 1989. p. 80.
9. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 263. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
10. "Offiziellecharts.de – Bros – The Time" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts.
11. "BROSのアルバム売上ランキング".
12. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
13. "Swedishcharts.com – Bros – The Time". Hung Medien.
14. "Bros | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart.