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The Comfort Zone (album)

The Comfort Zone is the second studio album by American singer and actress Vanessa Williams. It was released on August 20, 1991, by Mercury's Wing Records Label.

The Comfort Zone
Studio album by
Vanessa Williams
ReleasedAugust 20, 1991 (1991-08-20)
Studio
  • Bennett House, Nashville, TN
  • Blondahl Studio, Copenhagen, Denmark
  • Creative Source Studios, Studio City, CA
  • D&D Recording Studios, New York, NY
  • Digital Recorders, Nashville, TN
  • Hollywood Sound, Los Angeles, CA
  • Home Base Recording, New York, NY
  • Marathon Studios, New York, NY
  • Nightingale Recording Studio, Nashville, TN
  • Ocean Way Recording, Hollywood, CA
  • Right Track Recording Studios, New York, NY
  • Summa Music Group, Los Angeles, CA
  • Sunset Sound Studios, Los Angeles, CA
  • Teen Town Studio, Copenhagen, Denmark
  • Westlake Audio, Los Angeles, CA
GenreR&B[1][2]
Length66:27
Label
Producer
Vanessa Williams chronology
The Right Stuff
(1988) 		The Comfort Zone
(1991) 		The Sweetest Days
(1994)
Singles from The Comfort Zone
  1. "Running Back to You"
    Released: July 16, 1991
  2. "The Comfort Zone"
    Released: October 29, 1991
  3. "Save the Best for Last"
    Released: January 14, 1992
  4. "Just for Tonight"
    Released: April 21, 1992
  5. "Work to Do"
    Released: July 21, 1992
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Chicago Tribune[4]
Entertainment WeeklyA[1]

Singles

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The first single from the album, called "Running Back to You", was released on July 16, 1991. For an uptempo song, the track peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

The second single from the album, called "The Comfort Zone", was released on October 29. Upon its release, the song peaked at number 62 on the Hot 100 and number two on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

The third single from the album, "Save the Best for Last", was released on January 14, 1992. Upon its release, the song reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 for five consecutive weeks.

"Just for Tonight" was released as the fourth single from the album on April 21. Upon its release, that song reached at number 26 on the Hot 100, followed by the fifth and final single from the album, "Work to Do", in which was released on July 21 and achieved a moderate success.

Critical reception

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Arion Berger from Entertainment Weekly gave the album an A, writing, "With 14 longish songs, beautifully sequenced and warmly sung, The Comfort Zone is less a pop record than the soundtrack to a giddy, heartfelt R&B stage musical about love — minus the man."

He highlighted "The Comfort Zone", "Running Back to You", "Save the Best for Last", "What Will I Tell My Heart", "Freedom Dance" and "Goodbye", and concluded, "Through it all, the keyboard romps, the drums get busy, and a flute adds occasional breathy punctuation. Give the lady a great big hand."[1]

Commercial performance

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The album peaked at number 17 on the US Billboard 200 and reached number one on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. In the United Kingdom, it peaked at number 24 upon its release in April 1992 before quickly falling out of the top 50.

The album has since been certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and gold by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA).

Awards

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The album was nominated for five Grammy Awards: Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female for "Runnin' Back to You" in 1992; Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female, Record of the Year and "Song of the Year" for "Save the Best for Last" and Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female for "The Comfort Zone" in 1993.

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."The Comfort Zone"
  • Kipper Jones
  • Reggie Stewart
3:59
2."Running Back to You"
  • Trevor Gale
  • Kenni Hairston
  • Bob Rosa
  • Hairston
  • DJ L.A. Jay
  • Rob Von Arx
  • Gale
4:39
3."Work to Do" (featuring Dres)
4:36
4."You Gotta Go" (featuring Brian McKnight)
  • Dr. Jam
  • McKnight
  • Mark Stevens
  • McKnight
  • Dr. Jam
  • Brown
6:21
5."Still in Love"Derek BrambleBramble5:22
6."Save the Best for Last"
Keith Thomas3:38
7."What Will I Tell My Heart?"
  • Brown
  • Williams
4:17
8."Strangers Eyes"
  • Dr. Jam
  • Brown
  • Stevens
  • Dr. Jam
  • Brown
  • Stevens
6:16
9."2 of a Kind"
  • Dr. Jam
  • Williams
  • Dr. Jam
  • Brown
  • Williams
5:16
10."Freedom Dance (Get Free!)"
  • Jones
  • Stewart
  • Bruce Carbone
  • Dave Darlington
  • Brown
  • Jones
4:14
11."Just for Tonight"
Thomas4:28
12."One Reason"
  • Thomas
  • Weil
Thomas4:52
13."Better off Now"
  • Thomas
  • Bryndle
Thomas4:14
14."Goodbye"
Thomas4:21
European edition bonus track[5]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
15."The Right Stuff" (Norman Cook 12″ remix)
  • Rex Salas
  • Kipper Jones
  • Salas
  • Norman Cook
6:18
Japanese edition bonus track[6]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
16."Running Back to You" (DNA 7″ mix)
  • Gale
  • Kenni Hairston
  • Rosa
  • Hairston
  • Jay
  • Von Arx
  • Gale
  • DNA
3:25

The tracks "Work to Do" and "What Will I Tell My Heart?" both appeared in the film Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man; the latter also appeared on the film's soundtrack album.

Personnel

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Musicians

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  • Vanessa Williams - vocals
  • DJ L.A. Jay, Dr. Jam, Mark Hammond, Harvey Mason - drums
  • Dave Darlington, DJ L.A. Jay, Trevor Gale, Kenni Hairston, Mark Hammond, Reggie Stewart, Keith Thomas - drum programming
  • D.J. LA Jay, Bob Rosa, Rob Von Arx - "beats"
  • Phase 5, Bob Rosa, Rob Von Arx - samples
  • Greg Arnold, Derek Bramble, Merv DePyere, DJ L.A. Jay, Dr. Jam, David Frank, Alan Friedman, Trevor Gale, Kenni Hairston, Fred McFarlane, Monty Seward, Keith Thomas - keyboards
  • Jorgen Kaufman, Brian McKnight, Randy Waldman - piano
  • Stanley Clarke, Fred McFarlane, Cornelius Mims, Jimmie Lee Sloas, Keith Thomas - bass
  • David Frank - synthesized bass
  • Dann Huff, Paul Jackson, Jr., Jerry McPherson, Wah Wah Watson, Peter "Depete" Meldgaard - guitar
  • Jerry McPherson - mandolin
  • Gerald Albright, Pete Christlieb, Mark Douthit, Thomas Haas, Scott Mayo - saxophone
  • Fernando Pullum - trumpet
  • Duane Benjamin - trombone
  • Hubert Laws - flute
  • The Nashville String Machine - strings
  • Horns arranged by Scott Mayo
  • Strings arranged by Keith Thomas
  • Debbie Cole, Lori Fulton, Vicki Hampton, Kipper Jones, Donna McElroy, Rick Nelson, Valerie Pinkston-Mayo, Angel Rogers, Rocq-E Harrell, Andres "Dres" Vargas-Titus, Tata Vega - backing vocals
  • Vocals arranged by Gerry Brown, Kipper Jones, Brian McKnight, Mark Stevens, Keith Thomas and Vanessa Williams

Technical

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  • Produced by Vanessa Williams (also executive), Ed Eckstine (executive), Keith Thomas, Brian McKnight, Kenni Hairston, Derek Bramble, Gerry Brown, Bruce Carbone, Dave Darlington, DJ L.A. Jay, Kipper Jones, Phase 5, Mark Stevens and Reggie Stewart
  • Engineers – Derek Bramble, Claude Demers, Joe Schiff, Will Schillinger, Allen Sides, Kieran Walsh, Matt Wells, Gerry Brown
  • Assistant engineers – Steve Charles, Foley, Roy Gamble, Marty Lester, Todd Moore, Gary Paczosa, Mike Piersante, Brian Soucey
  • Mixing – Gerry Brown, Bruce Carbone, Dave Darlington, Humberto Gatica, Bill Whittington, Vanessa L. Williams
  • Mix assistants – Jeff Gledt, John Kunz, John David Parker, Brian Soucey
  • Mastering – Herb Powers

Charts

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Certifications

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Certifications for The Comfort Zone
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[19] Gold 50,000^
Japan (RIAJ)[20] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[21] 3× Platinum 3,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Berger, Arion (September 6, 1991). "The Comfort Zone". Entertainment Weekly.
  2. ^ Breihan, Tom (December 22, 2021). "The Number Ones: Vanessa Williams' "Save The Best For Last". Stereogum. Retrieved July 20, 2024. Vanessa Williams released her sophomore album The Comfort Zone in 1991, and most of the record was clubby, uptempo R&B.
  3. ^ https://www.allmusic.com/album/r21917
  4. ^ May, Mitchell (November 7, 1991). "Vanessa Williams The Comfort Zone". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  5. ^ "The Comfort Zone: Vanessa Williams: Music". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2011-12-26.
  6. ^ "The Comfort Zone: Vanessa Williams: Music". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2012-11-10.
  7. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Vanessa Williams – The Comfort Zone". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 12, 2011.
  8. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 2129". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  9. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Vanessa Williams – The Comfort Zone" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 27, 2011.
  10. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Vanessa Williams – The Comfort Zone" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  11. ^ "コンフォート・ゾーン" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on March 16, 2023. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  12. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Vanessa Williams – The Comfort Zone". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 27, 2011.
  13. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  14. ^ "Vanessa Williams Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 12, 2011.
  15. ^ "Vanessa Williams Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved August 12, 2011.
  16. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1991". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 9, 2021. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
  17. ^ "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1992". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 30, 2021. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
  18. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1992". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 21, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  19. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Vanessa Williams – The Comfort Zone". Music Canada. May 29, 1992.
  20. ^ "Japanese album certifications – Vanessa Williams – The Comfort Zone" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved March 23, 2020. Select 1994年2月 on the drop-down menu
  21. ^ "American album certifications – Vanessa Williams – The Comfort Zone". Recording Industry Association of America. October 30, 1996. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
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