Beverley Craven - Beverley Craven (1990) {Japan 1st Press}

18 Jul, 02:31
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Artist: Beverley Craven
Title: Beverley Craven
Year Of Release: 1990
Label: Epic/Sony #ESCA 5154
Genre: Vocal Pop, Art Pop, Ballad
Quality: EAC Rip -> FLAC (Img+Cue, Log) / MP3 CBR320
Total Time: 00:40:32
Total Size: 270 / 127 Mb (Full Scans)
WebSite: Album Preview

Beverley Craven is the debut album by British singer-songwriter Beverley Craven, released in July 1990. The album was fully written by Craven herself and features her biggest hit single and signature song, "Promise Me". Craven signed to Epic Records in 1988, and initially recorded the album with American producer Stewart Levine (of Simply Red fame). The initial results, however, were not of Craven's liking and, with the agreement of her label, she restarted from scratch working with Paul Samwell-Smith, who eventually produced the whole album. Levine's production of her songs were eventually released as b-sides to some of her singles, under the label "West Coast Version".

Released in July 1990, the album and its singles initially failed to reach the charts in the UK. She found however some success around continental Europe in 1990 and toured there to support the release. Craven made her first UK tour in early 1991, which was successful. In April 1991, the original lead single "Promise Me" was re-released, and this time it was heavily promoted. Appearances on British TV led to exposure of the single and it eventually peaked at #3 in the UK in May 1991, becoming her biggest hit. On the back of the success of the single, the album re-entered the charts (it had previously charted at #53 in March 1991), and peaked at #3 in the UK. It spent almost a whole year in the UK charts. Craven's appearance at the 1992 Brit Awards (where she won the Best Newcomer award), propelled the album back into the UK top ten, at #7. The album eventually went double platinum in the UK and sold over 1.2 million copies worldwide.

Beverley Craven's "Promise Me" was a hit throughout Europe in 1991, and remains an adult radio staple today. Bookended by a naggingly familiar rolling piano arpeggio, it's one of those songs with a melody so well-crafted and easy to memorize, you almost imagine you've heard it somewhere before. Like most of Craven's self-titled debut, "Promise Me" deals with love -- clearly her chief interest. She doesn't really explore the subject in depth, the way, say, Joni Mitchell might; her approach is more akin to that of a paperback romance novel, albeit a classy one. There's unrequited love ("I Listen to the Rain"), long-distance love ("Promise Me"), sisterly love ("Memories"), and love for pet dogs ("Joey"). This is all well and good, and Craven is certainly a fine and endearingly romantic composer, but what's missing is a bit of grit. The songs recall work by Karla Bonoff and Beth Nielsen Chapman, but while those two artists occasionally intersperse their lovelorn balladry with rock, country, or folk, Craven refuses to budge from one string-laden musical setting to another. "Two of a Kind" and "Woman to Woman" are uptempo cuts, but they adhere to the same formula as all the other songs, simply with a different time signature. It's a relief, then, that Craven's writing is so excellent, and her voice warm and unpretentious; otherwise she wouldn't be able to get away with such single-mindedness.

~ Charles Donovan, All Music

Track List:

01. Promise Me [3:40]
02. Holding On [3:58]
03. Woman to Woman [4:16]
04. Memories [5:04]
05. Castle in the Clouds [3:50]
06. You’re Not the First [4:08]
07. Joey [3:31]
08. Two of a Kind [3:09]
09. I Listen to the Rain [2:57]
10. Missing You [6:05]

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