EV3

For other uses, see Air engine and Lego Mindstorms EV3.
EV3
Studio album by En Vogue
Released June 17, 1997
Recorded September 1996—May 1997
Genre R&B, pop, hip hop
Length 59:00
Label eastwest
Producer Denzil Foster & Thomas McElroy, Babyface, En Vogue, Andrea Martin, Chris Bolden, Ivan Matias, Organized Noize, Pro-Jay
David Foster
En Vogue chronology
Funky Divas
(1992)		 EV3
(1997)		 Masterpiece Theatre
(2000)
Singles from EV3
  1. "Don't Let Go (Love)"
    Released: October 22, 1996
  2. "Whatever"
    Released: May 13, 1997
  3. "Too Gone, Too Long"
    Released: September 23, 1997
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Robert Christgau(B-)[2]
Chicago Tribune 6/97, p.7[3]
Entertainment Weekly(C+)[4]
Los Angeles Times[5]
Newsweek(favorable)[6]
Rolling Stone[7]
Spin(7/10)[8]
The State[9]

EV3 is the third studio album by American female vocal group En Vogue released on June 17, 1997 on East West Records. The album features the three US Pop & R&B hits; "Don't Let Go (Love)", "Whatever" and "Too Gone, Too Long".

Background

Originally called Friendship, the album was En Vogue's first project that was not fully produced by Thomas McElroy and Denzil Foster; the then quartet called on hitmakers Babyface, David Foster, Diane Warren, and Ivan Matias among others to provide the group with a new modern sound.

EV3 was the last album recorded with Dawn Robinson who decided to leave the group for a solo career. Her abrupt departure from En Vogue forced the remaining trio to re-record several of Dawn's original lead vocals; however, not every track was re-recorded, with Dawn's leads remaining intact on several tracks and her background vocals still appearing on every song with the exception of "Does Anybody Hear Me".

The album was recorded at Brandon's Way Recording Studio, Doppler Recording Studios, The Record Plant, Music Grinder, FM Studios, Chartmaker Studios & Westlake Studios.

The track "Let It Flow" reuses the main riff of the 1977 hit single "Slide" by funk band Slave.[3]

The album was certified 2x platinum by the RIAA and sold over five million copies worldwide.

Singles

EV3 spawned three hit singles. The lead single, "Don't Let Go (Love)" was worldwide hit and peak #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. The single sold 1.3 million copies in the United States and was certified platinum by the RIAA.[10]

The second single, "Whatever" peaked at #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #8 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The single was certified gold by the RIAA after sales of over 500,000 copies.[11]

"Too Gone, Too Long" was the official final single released, the song was a top 40 hit on both Billboard's Hot 100 at #33 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs at #25. Although, "Let It Flow" was a contender to be the final single, plans for a single release never materialized, but it did appear the following year on their greatest hits compilation album, Best of En Vogue, released in 1999.

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s)Producer(s) Length
1. "Whatever"  
  • Babyface
 4:20
2. "Don't Let Go (Love)"  
 4:52
3. "Right Direction"  
  • Chris Bolden
  • J.B. Eckl
  • Andrea Martin
  • Chris Bolden
  • Ivan Matias
 5:07
4. "Damn, I Wanna Be Your Lover"  
  • Pro-Jay
  • Andrea Martin
  • Ivan Matias
  • Andrea Martin
  • Ivan Matias
  • Pro-Jay
 5:24
5. "Too Gone, Too Long"  
 4:42
6. "You're All I Need"  
  • Ivan Matias
  • Ivan Matias
 3:36
7. "Let It Flow"  
  • Denzil Foster
  • Thomas McElroy
 5:38
8. "Sitting By Heaven's Door"  
  • Foster
  • McElroy
  • Foster
  • McElroy
 4:34
9. "Love Makes You Do Thangs"  
  • Foster
  • McElroy
  • Foster
  • McElroy
 4:27
10. "What a Difference a Day Makes"  
  • Foster
  • McElroy
  • Foster
  • McElroy
 4:12
11. "Eyes of a Child"  
  • Cindy Herron
  • Terry Ellis
  • Maxine Jones
  • Foster
  • McElroy
 4:32
12. "Does Anybody Hear Me"  
  • Ivan Matias
  • Terry Ellis
  • Cindy Herron
  • Maxine Jones
  • Andrea Martin
  • Ivan Matias
 3:09

The impact of Dawn's departure

Dawn Robinson's lead vocals still appear on all of the Thomas McElroy and Denzil Foster produced songs, with the only exceptions being "Eyes of a Child" (her background vocals still remain) and "Does Anybody Hear Me" on which none of her vocals appear.

Credits and personnel

  • Terry Ellis, Cindy Herron, Maxine Jones – Lead vocals, Backing vocals
  • Dawn Robinson – Lead vocal, Backing vocals
  • Denzil Foster, Thomas McElroy – Music arranger, Backing vocals
  • James Earley – Electric Guitar, Bass
  • Thomas McElroy, Denzil Foster – Keyboard, Drum machine
  • Norbet Stachel – Saxophone
  • Garry Barnes – Bass
  • Bernard Grobeman – Guitar
  • Marlon McClain – Electric guitar, Acoustic guitar
  • Chanz – Grand piano
  • Babyface – Synthesizer, Electric piano, Drum programming
  • Kevin Wyatt, Nate Phillips – Bass guitar
  • Giuliano Franco – Synthesizer, Drum programming
  • Lil John – Drums
  • Preston Crump – Bass
  • Martin Terry, Tommy Martin – Guitar
  • Mark Coleman – Electric guitar
  • Bill Ortiz – Trumpet
  • Ken Kessie – Mixer
  • Steve Counter – Engineer
  • Organized Noize – Producer
  • Jason Eckl – Guitar
  • NealIHPogue – Mixer
  • Dennis Bolden – Organ, Programmer
  • Andrea Martin – Producer
  • James Gass – Programming
  • JAH – Vocals [Rap]
  • Chris Bolden, Ivan Matias – Producer
  • Rudy Haeusermann – Engineer
  • David Foster – Keyboards, Producer
  • Dean Parks – Acoustic Guitar
  • Blake Eisenman – Engineer
  • Michael Thompson – Electric Guitar
  • Felipe Elgueta – Engineer
  • Adrion Sinclair – Programmer
  • Pro-Jay - Programmer, producer
  • Cindy Herron, Terry Ellis, Maxine Jones – Vocal arrangement
  • Denzil Foster, Thomas McElroy – Producer, Arranger and Composer
  • Sylvia Rhone – Executive producer
  • En Vogue – Executive producer

Charts and certifications

Charts

Chart (1992) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA Charts)[12] 66
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[13] 21
Finnish Albums (OFC)[14] 31
French Albums SNEP[15] 47
Swiss Albums (Schweizer)[16] 7
Germany Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[17] 58
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[18] 37
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[19] 36
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[20] 31
UK Albums (OCC)[21] 4
Canadian Albums (RPM)[22] 34
US Billboard 200[23] 8
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[24] 1

Certifications

Region Certification
United Kingdom (BPI) Silver[25]
Canada (CRIA) Platinum[26]
United States (RIAA) 2× Platinum[27]

References

  1. ↑ EV3 at AllMusic
  2. ↑ Rock Critic Music Review: En Vogue. Christgau, Robert
  3. 1 2 Eng, Monica. "Review: EV3". Chicago Tribune: 7. June 10, 1997.
  4. ↑ Entertainment Weekly. Review: EV3 - En Vogue. Review By Considine, J.D., June 20, 1997
  5. ↑ Los Angeles Times. Music: En Vogue's "EV3". Johnson, Connie. 15-June-1997
  6. ↑ The Daily Beast. EV3: And Then There Were Three.
  7. ↑ RollingStone. Music: En Vogue - EV3 - Review. Gardner, Eylsa. 24-June-1997
  8. ↑ En Vogue - "Ev3" Album. CD Universe
  9. ↑ EN VOGUE - AS A THREESOME - CHARTS NEW VOCAL GROUND. The State News
  10. ↑ "Best-Selling Records of 1996". Billboard. BPI Communications Inc. 109 (3): 61. January 18, 1997. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved May 9, 2015.
  11. ↑ US Singles Certifications > En Vogue. RIAA
  12. ↑ "AUS Charts > En Vogue". ARIA Charts. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
  13. ↑ "AUT Charts > En Vogue". Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 2015-10-18.
  14. ↑ "FIN Charts > En Vogue". The Official Finnish Charts. Retrieved 2014-08-06.
  15. ↑ "FRA Charts > En Vogue". Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 2012-10-20.
  16. ↑ "SWI Charts > En Vogue". Swiss Music Charts. Retrieved 2011-12-18.
  17. ↑ "GER Charts > En Vogue". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 2011-08-16.
  18. ↑ "NLD Charts > En Vogue". MegaCharts. Retrieved 2016-08-11.
  19. ↑ "NZ Charts > En Vogue". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 2011-08-16.
  20. ↑ "SWE Charts > En Vogue". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 2015-11-08.
  21. ↑ "En Vogue - UK Chart history". Official Charts Company, UK
  22. ↑ "CAN Charts > En Vogue". RPM Magazine. Retrieved 2011-08-16.
  23. ↑ "En Vogue - Chart history" Billboard Top Independent Albums
  24. ↑ "En Vogue - Chart history" Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
  25. ↑ "UK Certified Awards Search > En Vogue". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  26. ↑ "CAN Certifications > En Vogue". Music Canada. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  27. ↑ "US Certifications > En Vogue". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2016-09-30.

External links


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