Acoustic Soul

Acoustic Soul is the debut studio album by American singer India Arie. It was released on March 27, 2001, by Motown. The album received seven nominations at the 44th Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year and Best R&B Album. Acoustic Soul was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on December 17, 2003, denoting shipments in excess of two million copies in the United States.^[3]

Acoustic Soul
Studio album by India Arie
Released	March 27, 2001 (2001-03-27)
Recorded	2000–2001
Studio	Various Electric Lady (New York City)[a] Sound Kitchen (Franklin, Tennessee)[b] Music Mill (Nashville, Tennessee)[c] Access (Atlanta, Georgia)[d] Blues House[e] New Reflections (Nashville, Tennessee)[f] The Studio (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)[g] Worldbeat[h] Battery (New York City)[h]
Genre	R&B
Length	61:16
Label	Motown
Producer	India Arie Mark Batson Carlos "6 July" Broady Blue Miller Bob Power
India Arie chronology
Acoustic Soul (2001) Voyage to India (2002)
Singles from Acoustic Soul
"Video" Released: February 6, 2001 "Brown Skin" Released: June 11, 2001[1] "Strength, Courage & Wisdom" Released: October 16, 2001[2] "Ready for Love" Released: 2002

Critical reception

Upon its release, the album received acclaim from music critics.^[4]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
Billboard	Favorable[6]
Entertainment Weekly	A[7]
Mixmag	[8]
NME	9/10[9]
PopMatters	Favorable[10]
Rolling Stone	[11]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[12]
USA Today	[13]
The Village Voice	Mixed[14]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Intro"	India Arie		0:50
2.	"Video"	Arie Shannon Sanders Carlos Broady	Carlos "6 July" Broady Arie	4:09
3.	"Promises"	Arie Blue Miller	Miller Arie	4:37
4.	"Brown Skin"	Arie Sanders Mark Batson	Batson Arie	4:56
5.	"Strength, Courage & Wisdom"	Arie	Batson Arie	4:57
6.	"Nature"	Arie Batson	Batson Arie	4:24
7.	"Back to the Middle"	Arie Miller	Miller Arie	5:11
8.	"Ready for Love"	Arie Miller	Miller Arie	4:28
9.	"Interlude"	Arie		1:24
10.	"Always in My Head"	Arie Miller	Bob Power Arie	4:40
11.	"I See God in You"	Arie	Broady Arie	3:17
12.	"Simple"	Arie The Unit Batson	Batson Arie	3:26
13.	"Part of My Life"	Tony Harrington	Batson Arie	4:03
14.	"Beautiful"	Arie Kerisha Hicks Miller	Miller Arie	4:05
15.	"Outro"	Arie		1:18
16.	"Wonderful (Stevie Wonder Dedication)" (bonus track)	Arie Cornelius Barnes Batson	Batson Arie	5:31

Japanese edition bonus track

No.	Title	Length
17.	"Butterfly"	4:07

UK edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
17.	"Strength, Courage & Wisdom" (live)	5:57
18.	"Brown Skin" (Bedroom Rockers Remix)	3:36

Special edition bonus disc

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Video" (DJ Dodge Remix)
2.	"Video" (Urban Wolves/Dream Team Remix (featuring Super Cat))
3.	"Brown Skin" (Bedroom Rockers Radio Remix)
4.	"Brown Skin" (E-London Club Remix)
5.	"Brown Skin" (Mind Trap Mix)
6.	"Strength, Courage & Wisdom" (Remix)
7.	"Strength, Courage & Wisdom" (live from Paradiso)

Sample credits

• "Video" contains an interpolation of "Fun" by Brick.
• "Nature" contains an interpolation of "Quiet Storm" by Mobb Deep.

Personnel

Musicians India Arie – vocals, acoustic guitar Mark Batson – organ, synthesizer, bass, percussion, drums, keyboards, programming, Mellotron, Fender Rhodes Carlos "6 July" Broady – programming John Catchings – cello Larry Goldings – organ, Wurlitzer, string contractor Steve Grossman – percussion, drums Tony Harrell – keyboards Kerisha Hicks – background vocals Judeth Insel – viola Avery Johnson – bass Bashiri Johnson – percussion Doug Kahan – bass Terry MacMillan – percussion Blue Miller – acoustic guitar, guitar, electric guitar, programming, vocals, background vocals Bob Power – bass, guitar, conductor, programming Marlene Rice – violin Ralph Rolle – drums Joyce Simpson – background vocals David Spak – percussion Laurneá Wilkerson – background vocals Nioka Workman – cello

Technical Producers: India Arie, Mark Batson, Carlos "6 July" Broady, Blue Miller, Bob Power Executive producer: Kedar Massenburg Engineers: Kevin Haywood, Avery Johnson, Jim Lightman, Blue Miller, Mark Niemiec, Bob Power, Lovis Scalise, Mike Tocci Mixing: Kevin Haywood, George Karras, Jim Lightman, Chris Mazer, Blue Miller, Bob Power, Mike Shipley, Alvin Speights, Dave Way Mastering: Chris Athens Programming: Mark Batson Assistant producer: Jason Breckling String arrangements: Mark Batson String engineer: Jon Smeltz Creative director: Sandy Brummels Product manager: Liz Loblack Art direction: Annalee Valencia Design: Annalee Valencia Photography: Kwaku Alston, Michael Benabib

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for Acoustic Soul Chart (2001–2002) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[15] 36 Australian Urban Albums (ARIA)[16] 4 Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[17] 21 Canadian R&B Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[18] 9 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[19] 48 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[20] 50 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[21] 19 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[22] 43 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[23] 85 UK Albums (OCC)[24] 55 UK R&B Albums (OCC)[25] 10 US Billboard 200[26] 10 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[27] 3

Year-end charts 2001 year-end chart performance for Acoustic Soul Chart (2001) Position Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[28] 95 Canadian R&B Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[29] 22 US Billboard 200[30] 97 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[31] 39 2002 year-end chart performance for Acoustic Soul Chart (2002) Position Australian Urban Albums (ARIA)[32] 19 Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[33] 136 Canadian R&B Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[34] 26 US Billboard 200[35] 96 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[36] 49

Certifications

Certifications for Acoustic Soul

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
South Africa (RISA)[37]	Gold	25,000*
United States (RIAA)[3]	2× Platinum	1,860,000[38]
* Sales figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release history for Acoustic Soul

Region	Date	Format
United States	March 27, 2001	CD
United Kingdom	October 22, 2001
Japan	December 11, 2001
United States	July 17, 2007	CD (special edition)

Notes

1. Tracks 1, 5, 9 and 15
2. Track 2
3. Tracks 3 and 7
4. Tracks 4–6, 12, 13 and 16
5. Tracks 7, 8 and 14; vocals on track 11
6. Tracks 8 and 11
7. Strings on track 10
8. Track 10