Time to Move On (album)

Background

Since releasing his first album, Suddenly, with Jive Records in 1984, Ocean achieved worldwide success with 1986's Love Zone and 1988's Tear Down These Walls. Jive issued a Greatest Hits collection in 1989, which achieved further commercial success, while Ocean took a four-year recording hiatus. In a 1993 interview on Live with Regis and Kathie Lee, Ocean explained why he took the hiatus: "My mother got ill, and eventually she died. Then after she died I sort of stopped and looked at my situation - my family. I have three kids and a wife, and for years I'd been writing and recording and touring, and I thought it's not fair. Something was missing, so I stopped for a while, recharged the battery, and had a chance to watch my kids grow up for a while, and get a bit of space. It was productive. I feel a lot more at ease and peace with myself. Success is a very confusing thing sometimes, because of the place it takes."

When he began to produce his next studio album, Ocean worked with a number of producers; Steely & Clevie, Hula & K. Fingers, R. Kelly, Timmy Allen and Dorsey "Rob" Robinson. R. Kelly had been a longtime admirer of the way Ocean as able to mix the more emotive soul style with a crossover popular style. The album was recorded at Battery Studios in Chicago, and The Hit Factory in New York City. It was mixed at Battery Studios, mastered at The Hit Factory, and glass mastered at Sonopress. The recording sessions saw Ocean exploring new musical styles, and the resulting album was a mixture of Caribbean-spiced dance numbers, romantic pop/R&B ballads, new-jack swing, and reggae. Additionally Ocean's own appearance changed, as he began to sport a dreadlocks hairstyle.

In June 1993, Ocean's 'comeback' album Time to Move On was released, however the album and its three singles failed to achieve the same level of commercial success Ocean had seen during the 1980s. The album itself failed to chart in America or the UK, though it managed to reach #81 in the Netherlands.

The leading single from the album was "Pick Up The Pieces (Put It Back)", which failed to garner any charting action. The second single, "Pressure" was the album's biggest success, where it managed to reach #55 in the UK, #44 in the Netherlands, and #39 in Belgium. The third and final single selected from the album was "Everything's So Different Without You". This was the only single to be released in America from the album, where it managed to reach #91 on the American Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks.

As Ocean's last album for Jive, and his last of new material until 2009's Because I Love You, Ocean ended up taking a break from his musical career. However this break wasn't intentional at the time. In a 2009 interview with soulmusic.com, Ocean recalled: "It was a very interesting period then. Clive Calder [head of Jive Records] was going over to America, and I came across another transitional stage. I had fallen out with my manager, so all of the machinery that went into creating the hits wasn't there anymore. Hence, I didn't record for awhile. After the "Time to Move On" album, when Clive went to America, it wasn't the same with the people I had to work with over here. Instead of beating my head against a brick wall, I thought, 'Maybe I'll just spend some time with my family'. Of course, it sort of drifted into nearly 15 years, because, you know, time flies!"

Promotion

To promote the album in America, Ocean appeared on the TV show Live with Regis and Kathie Lee. On the show Ocean was interviewed, demonstrated playing the steel drum, and also performed the single "Everything's So Different Without You". For the "Pressure" single, a music video was filmed.

Critical reception

Justin Kantor of AllMusic stated: "This album found Ocean offering strong melodies, lyrics, and vocals once again, yet on occasion also showed him falling victim to current production trends. The set's highlights are the numbers produced by Steely & Clevie, R. Kelly and Dorsey "Bob" Robinson, while the tracks done by club stalwarts Hula & K. Fingers and new-school R&B figure Timmy Allen are weak and formulaic. Throughout it all, Ocean's performances are bright and compelling, as evidenced by the vivid "Everyday Sunshine" and uplifting "Pick Up the Pieces". And though "Time to Move On" is primarily dance-oriented, the album contains lovely R&B/pop ballads with Ocean's signature, passion-filled delivery via "Rose" and "Everything's So Different Without You." This set isn't as consistently unforgettable as earlier works like Love Zone or Nights, but is still considerably strong."

Personnel