Time & Faith

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Time & Faith
Studio album by
Released1992
GenreR&B, soul
LabelUrgent!/Ichiban[1]
ProducerDanny Jones, Tim Whitsett
Jerry Butler chronology
Iceman: The Mercury Years
(1992)
Time & Faith
(1992)
Simply Beautiful
(1994)

Time & Faith is an album by the soul musician Jerry Butler, released in 1992.[2][3] Butler's first studio album in almost a decade, it was recorded during his tenure as a Cook County commissioner.[4][5]

The album peaked at No. 92 on Billboard's Top R&B Albums chart.[6]

Production[edit]

Recorded in Memphis, the album was produced by Danny Jones and Tim Whitsett.[7][8] It includes covers of Willie Nelson's "Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground", Jimmy Cliff's "Sitting in Limbo", and Curtis Mayfield's "Need to Belong".[9][10]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
Chicago Tribune[9]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[12]
MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide[13]

The Chicago Tribune noted that "Butler sings about the enduring virtues of adult love like few other singers, and his backing musicians are restrained but soulful-far removed from the synth-drenched wallpaper that passes for R&B these days."[9] USA Today stated that Butler is back to "caressing smooth ballads with his infectious rasp."[14]

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution thought that the "title song, with a '90s beat and a catchy little chorus, is almost hypnotic ... [the album is] a hodgepodge of styles, but in the hands of the Ice Man, somehow it gels."[8] The Fort Worth Star-Telegram deemed Time & Faith "a sort of low-key concept album about growing older alone and realizing how hard it is to find lasting love."[15]

AllMusic wrote that "Time & Faith is fairly unpredictable; while 'Trying to Break the Habit' is a bluesy soul number, the ballads 'I Was Right About You' and 'You're the Only One' are essentially adult contemporary."[11]

Track listing[edit]

No.TitleLength
1."Time & Faith" 
2."Need to Belong" 
3."Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground" 
4."Trying to Break the Habit" 
5."I Was Right About You" 
6."You're the Only One" 
7."Sure Feels Good" 
8."Sitting in Limbo" 
9."Time & Faith (Reprise)" 

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Top R&B Albums". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. November 28, 1992.
  2. ^ Heim, Chris (18 Dec 1992). "Politics, music and Jerry Butler's return to recording". Friday. Chicago Tribune. p. N.
  3. ^ Bingham, Carolyn (19 Nov 1992). "'The Iceman' Hasn't Cooled Down". Los Angeles Sentinel. p. B1.
  4. ^ Sokolic, William H. (23 Mar 1993). "Ice Man Returneth". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. E1.
  5. ^ Kupcinet, Irv (January 6, 1993). "Jerry Butler, Cook County commissioner known as...". Chicago Sun-Times. p. 44.
  6. ^ "Jerry Butler". Billboard.
  7. ^ "Album Reviews — Time & Faith by Jerry Butler". Billboard. Vol. 104, no. 50. Dec 12, 1992. p. 48.
  8. ^ a b Weaver, Teresa K. (January 30, 1993). "Album Reviews". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. L24.
  9. ^ a b c Kot, Greg (19 Nov 1992). "Rave recordings". Tempo. Chicago Tribune. p. 7.
  10. ^ Kostanczuk, Bob (April 23, 1993). "Butler Performs Saturday". Post-Tribune. p. D6.
  11. ^ a b "Time & Faith". AllMusic.
  12. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 2. MUZE. p. 92.
  13. ^ MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1998. p. 88.
  14. ^ Jones IV, James T. (21 Dec 1992). "Booming Baritones". USA Today. p. 6D.
  15. ^ Ferman, Dave (November 20, 1992). "Southern soul lives, and some of it is good". Star Time. Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. 8.