Released October 25, 1988 Label Wing, Mercury | Length 44:26 | |
Recorded Moon Studios, Sacramento Genre R&B, new jack swing, soul Producer Denzil Foster, Thomas McElroy | ||
Who? is the debut album of American R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné!. It was released on October 25, 1988 by Wing Records and was produced by Foster & McElroy, with whom they were friends from their native Oakland, California. They recorded the album at Moon Studios in Sacramento.
Contents
- Critical reception
- Commercial performance
- Track listing
- Personnel
- Tony Toni Ton
- Additional personnel
- References
Upon its release, Who? received mixed reviews from music critics and was a modest commercial success. It only reached number 69 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums, although it charted for 44 weeks and produced the number-one R&B hit "Little Walter". The album was eventually certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America, for shipments of 500,000 copies in the United States, and had sold over 700,000 copies by August 1993.
Critical reception
In a contemporary review for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Ken Tucker called Who? "fairly conventional pop rhythms attractively crooned", but complimented its "odd influence ... 'Little Walter', derives its melody from the old Ramsey Lewis pop-jazz instrumental hit 'Wade in the Water'". Joe Brown from The Washington Post found the group's voices unimpressive and said "while their very basic harmonizing over the spartan drum-machine patterns on 'Baby Doll' and 'For the Love of You' are probably serviceable on the dance floor, they'd be deadly dull from a concert seat".
In a retrospective review, AllMusic editor Ron Wynn believed the group "made a quick and lasting impact with" the album, particularly with its single "Little Walter", stating, "It proved a huge R&B hit and got moderate pop attention, and it helped establish the trio and their creative mix of vintage soul and contemporary hip-hop and new jack production". In The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004), Fred Schuers said "Little Walter" and "Born Not to Know" revealed the group's "wit" but "these moments are so pointed they leave the disc's love ballads sounding flat". Yahoo! Music's Scott Wilson commented that it was "a very solid debut, with the groundwork for what would follow, but they're just getting their bearings. Did spawn a number one R&B hit with 'Little Walter', but not the juggernauts their later work would be".
Commercial performance
The album was a modest success. It charted for 44 weeks on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart, peaking at number 69, and produced four singles, including the R&B hit "Little Walter". On December 5, 1989, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for shipments of 500,000 copies in the United States. As of August 1993, it has sold over 700,000 copies in the US.
Track listing
All songs were written by Denzil Foster, Thomas McElroy, Timothy Christian Riley, Raphael Wiggins, and D'Wayne Wiggins, except where noted.
- "Baby Doll" — 5:40
- "For the Love of You" — 5:29
- "Who's Lovin' You" — 4:17
- "Born Not to Know" (Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy) - 4:42
- "Little Walter" — 4:50
- "Lovestruck" — 4:29
- "Pain" (Timothy Christian Riley, Raphael Wiggins, D'Wayne Wiggins) — 5:40
- "261.5" (Timothy Christian Riley, Raphael Wiggins, D'Wayne Wiggins) — 4:04
- "Not Gonna Cry for You" (Timothy Christian Riley, Raphael Wiggins, D'Wayne Wiggins) — 5:15
Personnel
Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.