| The Lover in Me | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Sheena Easton |
| Cover: | The Lover in Me cover.jpg |
| Released: | November 1988 (US) February 1989 (UK)[1] |
| Recorded: | 1987–1988 |
| Length: | 49:43 |
| Label: | MCA |
| Prev Title: | No Sound But a Heart |
| Prev Year: | 1987 |
| Next Title: | What Comes Naturally |
| Next Year: | 1991 |
The Lover in Me is the ninth studio album by Scottish singer Sheena Easton. It was released in November 1988 and was her debut for MCA. The album has a more Urban/R&B sound than Easton's previous recordings due to the production by well-known acts such as L.A. Reid, Babyface and John "Jellybean" Benitez. The album's title track became a major hit, reaching number 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 15 on the UK Singles Chart. The album reached number 44 on the US Billboard 200 and number 30 on the UK Albums Chart, and was certified Gold by the RIAA. It is one of Easton's best selling albums to date and returned her to the US and UK charts. Significantly, in the UK it was her first charting album for over five years, with the lead single becoming her first top 20 hit in nearly eight years.
In 2006, Cherry Red Records (UK) re-released The Lover in Me, (Expanded Edition) remastered and with added bonus tracks. On May 27, 2016, the album was officially released in the US for digital download on iTunes.
The album's title track was the first single from the album to be released, reaching number 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100, number 5 on Billboard's Hot Black Singles chart, and number 15 on the UK Singles Chart. Other singles from the album include "Days Like This" (No. 35 on the US R&B chart, UK No. 43) and "101" (UK No. 54, US Dance No. 2). "101" was written for Easton by Prince under the pseudonym Joey Coco (as was album track "(Cool Love"). One last single was released in the US; "No Deposit, No Return", but failed to chart.
"Follow My Rainbow" made number 14 on the Dutch Single Top 100 and the top 40 in the Flanders region of Belgium.[2] It is featured in an episode ("Deliver Us from Evil") of Miami Vice in which Easton's character (Caitlin Davies-Crockett) is singing the song minutes before her character is eliminated.
Billboard magazine, December 1988: "The Lover in Me" shows Sheena Easton taking her career in a new direction. With production by L.A. & Babyface, Angela Winbush, Jellybean Benitez, and Prince, the album is smart, sexy, and soulful.
People magazine, December 5, 1988: Anyone who likes to see Maseratis used to plow snow or filet mignon ground into hamburger may like this record, in which Easton does a convincing imitation of a fourth-rate R&B singer. Maybe she got turned around by her collaboration with Prince, in which—during the U Got the Look video—she groveled around in a fashion that would have been humiliating to the most desperate starlet, let alone to a singer of Easton's stature and talent. Prince produced two of this album's 10 tracks (with little of the distinction he often shows on his own records), and the rest were done by such dance poppers as Babyface and Jellybean Benitez. Easton just blares away, fighting a losing battle against the rhythm backgrounds on the hotter tracks and sounding nondescript on the ballads, except Without You, where she sounds so much like Streisand it seems an outright imitation. That just accentuates the revolting developments of Easton's recent career.[3]
Rolling Stone magazine, 1989: "The Lover In Me" (MCA) by Sheena Easton has got to be one of the most satisfying comeback albums this year. A new label and a clearer musical vision stretches Easton's vocal gifts considerably. Adopting a genuine R&B dance mode, the album's material overall is quite strong and is destined to garner Easton many new fans. Of the L.A. & Babyface productions on the album, the hit title track, "Days Like This" and "No Deposit, No Return" are the standouts featuring the production duo's customary style. One of our favorites is the Angela Winbush penned and produced "Fire and Rain," a sultry, soulful and very Isley-ish slow number that we hope clicks at radio.
Side one
Side two
2006 re-release bonus tracks
| Peak position | ||
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[4] | 94 | |
|---|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart[5] | 30 | |
| US Billboard 200[6] | 44 |
| 1988 | "The Lover in Me" | US Billboard Hot 100[7] | 2 |
| US Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales[8] | 1 | ||
| US Hot Dance Club Play[9] | 2 | ||
| US Hot Black Singles[10] | 5 | ||
| 1989 | UK Singles Chart | 15 | |
| "Days Like This" | US Hot Black Singles | 35 | |
| UK Singles Chart | 43 | ||
| "101" | US Hot Dance Club Play | 2 | |
| US Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales | 25 | ||
| UK Singles Chart | 54 |
