| So Close | |
| Type: | Studio |
| Artist: | Dina Carroll |
| Cover: | Dinasoclose.jpg |
| Released: | 18 January 1993 |
| Genre: |
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| Length: | 53:47 |
| Label: | A&M |
| Producer: | Nigel Lowis |
| Next Title: | Only Human |
| Next Year: | 1996 |
So Close is the debut album by British soul–dance singer Dina Carroll, released in January 1993 on the A&M label.[1] The album made its chart debut at #2 and remained in the top 20 of the UK Albums Chart for six months.[2] It was shortlisted for the 1993 Mercury Prize. It ended 1993 as the fourth-best-selling album of the year in the United Kingdom, and its success continued into 1994 as it remained in the top 20 for another three months and again rose to a peak of #2. It eventually sold 1.5 million copies and was the highest selling debut album by a British female singer in UK chart history, a record it held until 2001 when it was overtaken by Dido's No Angel.
Among the session musicians on the album are the Blues Brothers' horn section, Mariah Carey's bass player Anthony Jackson and Cissy Houston's New Hope Baptist Choir. On the album release, Music & Media wrote, "Here we have a real soul singer, as sophisticated and sensual as Lisa Stansfield, who fits both the trendy club scene as well as the plush surroundings of chic nightclubbing."[3]
Three tracks from So Close ("Ain't No Man", "Special Kind of Love" and "So Close") had already been Top 20 hits in the UK Singles Chart during 1992, before the album was released in January 1993. "This Time" and "Express" also became Top 30 hits after the release of the album; then towards the end of 1993 the ballad "Don't Be a Stranger" was released as a single and turned out to be the album's biggest seller, reaching #3 on the UK Singles Chart.
| Rank | ||
| UK Albums (OCC)[4] | 3 |
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