Home Again (New Edition Album)
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''Home Again'' is the sixth studio album by American R&B/ pop group
New Edition New Edition is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B/Pop music, pop group from the Roxbury, Boston, Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1978 by singer/rapper Bobby Brown. Their name is taken to mean a new edition of the Jackson ...
. Released on September 10, 1996, it is the only album to date to feature all six members of New Edition—
Bobby Brown Robert Barisford Brown Sr. (born February 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and dancer. Alongside frequent collaborator Teddy Riley, he is recognized as a pioneer of new jack swing: a fusion of hip-hop and Contemporary R&B, R ...
, who had left the group in 1985, rejoined the lineup—and was their final recording for
MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...
. Highly anticipated, and being their first album since, ''
Heart Break ''Heart Break'' is the fifth studio album by American contemporary R&B, R&B quintet New Edition, released June 20, 1988, by MCA Records. It is the first album to return the Boston-reared band as a quintet after the public exit of original member ...
'' (1988), the album debuted on the US ''Billboard'' 200 at number one, becoming the group's first album to open at number one, selling 227,000 in its first week sales. It also topped the Irish Albums Chart, and the US ''Billboard'' R&B Albums Chart as the group's first album in twelve years to do so since their self titled album in 1984. The album's success spawned four singles that collectively received moderate ''Billboard'' chart success. It was certified double platinum by the
RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
, for sales and shipments of over two million copies on February 4, 1997.


Overview


History

After the successful 1988 album, ''
Heart Break ''Heart Break'' is the fifth studio album by American contemporary R&B, R&B quintet New Edition, released June 20, 1988, by MCA Records. It is the first album to return the Boston-reared band as a quintet after the public exit of original member ...
'', the lineup of New Edition:
Ralph Tresvant Ralph Edward Tresvant (born May 16, 1968) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer, best known as the lead singer of R&B group New Edition. As a solo artist, Tresvant released his double platinum-selling debut album '' Ralph Tres ...
, Johnny Gill, Ricky Bell,
Ronnie DeVoe Ronald Boyd DeVoe Jr. (born November 17, 1967), is an American singer and rapper known as one of the members of the R&B/ pop group New Edition, and the R&B/ hip hop group Bell Biv DeVoe. He was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts. Career DeVoe wa ...
, and
Michael Bivins Michael Lamont Bivins (born August 10, 1968) is an American singer, rapper, manager, and producer, and a founding member of New Edition and Bell Biv DeVoe. Biography Bivins was born and still lives in Boston. He and his wife, Teasha, have four ...
decided to go on hiatus as a group in order to pursue separate interests. With the exception of a surprise reunion of all six New Edition members performing at the
MTV Video Music Awards The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category ...
in 1990, and song and music video for Bell Biv DeVoe's 1991 single " Word to the Mutha!" (which featured Brown, Gill, and Tresvant), the group largely went their separate ways for the first half of the 1990s. Upon the advice of producers Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Bell, Bivins and DeVoe formed their own trio, Bell Biv DeVoe. Their album ''
Poison A poison is any chemical substance that is harmful or lethal to living organisms. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figurati ...
'', released in 1990, sold over three million copies. The same year, Johnny Gill—who had had a solo career before joining New Edition—revived it with his multi-platinum self-titled album. Also in 1990, Ralph Tresvant released his long-awaited solo debut album, which too went multi-platinum. In the mix, Bobby Brown, whose 1988 album, '' Don't Be Cruel'', had sold over eight million copies, continued his success with the triple-platinum '' Bobby'' album in 1992. By this point, the group members were becoming as known for their side projects as they were as New Edition. Though when pressed by fans and journalists, the now fragmented band mates intermittently assured that they had planned to reunite to record another New Edition album, years passed before such plans were put into action, leaving their fans to wonder if their 1988 album, ''Heart Break'', was in fact the group's swan song. However, by 1995, many of New Edition's subsequent solo projects were not as successful as their first ventures. Meanwhile, the year had been notable for Bobby Brown—who'd gained more media attention not for his music, but for his tumultuous marriage to
Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and no ...
, and various troubles with the law. The same year, Bell, Bivins, DeVoe, Gill, and Tresvant decided to come together and begin production on the long-awaited, long-promised sixth New Edition album. Despite his notorious reputation and worldwide tabloid fodder, the group invited Brown (who had not been featured on a New Edition album since 1985's '' All for Love'') back to join them, to which he agreed.


Release and reaction

New Edition's first new album in eight years, ''Home Again'', was released in September 1996—debuting at number one on both the Billboard Top 200 and the Top R&B/Hip-Hop album chart. The first single, "Hit Me Off", peaked at number one on the R&B chart and reached number three on the pop chart. Another top ten hit, "I'm Still in Love With You" was released toward years end. Other hits include: " You Don't Have to Worry" and " One More Day". Another song "Shop Around" was not released as a single, but still found moderate airplay on R&B stations. ''Home Again'' went on to be certified double platinum, with sales of over two million, and became the group's greatest commercial success. In the UK, the album peaked at number 22 on the Albums Chart and spawned two top 20 singles in "Hit Me Off" and "Something About You". The group originally recorded twenty songs for the project. However, their reunion tour was tainted by some of the members' egos. One evening as Brown extended his solo set, Ronnie DeVoe attempted to pull Brown off the stage. Eventually, Brown responded by dropping his microphone and a fist fight between the two ensued. This led to both members' security guards confronting each other, gun play was brought in, and the concert was halted. Bivins and Brown left the tour early, while DeVoe, Bell, Gill and Tresvant finished out the rest of the tour as a quartet. Brown later admitted during an interview that he was intoxicated during the tour. In the UK the album was released on September 2, 1996.https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1996/Music-Week-1996-08-31.pdf (Page 30)


Track listing

Notes * signifies a co-producer *"Oh, Yeah, It Feels So Good" contains a sample from " The Payback" by
James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...
. *"Hit Me Off" contains a sample from "I Got Cha Opin" by Black Moon, and from " Storm King" by Bob James. *"You Don't Have to Worry" contains a sample from " Your Love" by
James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...
. *"Tighten It Up" contains a sample from " Slow Down" by Loose Ends, and from " Westchester Lady" by Bob James. *"Something About You" contains a sample from " What I Am" by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians. *"Try Again" contains a sample from " Lick the Balls" by
Slick Rick Richard Martin Lloyd Walters (born January 14, 1965), better known as Slick Rick, is an English-American rapper and record producer. He rose to prominence as part of Doug E. Fresh & the Get Fresh Crew in the mid-1980s. His songs " The Show" and ...
. *One More Day" contains a sample from "Sunny Monday" by Booker T. & the M.G.'s.


Personnel

*
Ronnie DeVoe Ronald Boyd DeVoe Jr. (born November 17, 1967), is an American singer and rapper known as one of the members of the R&B/ pop group New Edition, and the R&B/ hip hop group Bell Biv DeVoe. He was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts. Career DeVoe wa ...
: vocals *
Bobby Brown Robert Barisford Brown Sr. (born February 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and dancer. Alongside frequent collaborator Teddy Riley, he is recognized as a pioneer of new jack swing: a fusion of hip-hop and Contemporary R&B, R ...
: vocals * Ricky Bell: vocals *
Michael Bivins Michael Lamont Bivins (born August 10, 1968) is an American singer, rapper, manager, and producer, and a founding member of New Edition and Bell Biv DeVoe. Biography Bivins was born and still lives in Boston. He and his wife, Teasha, have four ...
: vocals *
Ralph Tresvant Ralph Edward Tresvant (born May 16, 1968) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer, best known as the lead singer of R&B group New Edition. As a solo artist, Tresvant released his double platinum-selling debut album '' Ralph Tres ...
: vocals * Johnny Gill: vocals, acoustic guitar, producer, engineer, mixing *
New Edition New Edition is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B/Pop music, pop group from the Roxbury, Boston, Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1978 by singer/rapper Bobby Brown. Their name is taken to mean a new edition of the Jackson ...
and Brooke Payne: executive producers


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


See also

* List of Billboard 200 number-one albums of 1996 * List of Billboard number-one R&B albums of 1996


References

{{Authority control 1996 albums New Edition albums Albums produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis Albums produced by Jermaine Dupri Albums produced by Sean Combs MCA Records albums