Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective
Pleasure & Pain (112 album)
2005 studio album by 112 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Remove ads
Pleasure & Pain is the fifth studio album by American R&B group 112. It was released by Def Soul on March 29, 2005, in the United States. Named after the song "Pleasure & Pain" on 112's 1996 eponymous debut album, 112, the album did not fare as well as their first three albums. It was the first 112 album to get a Parental Advisory sticker (although a few songs from earlier releases contain profanity as well).
Remove ads
Promotion
Pleasure & Pain was preceded by lead single "U Already Know".[1] Released on November 23, 2004, the song peaked at number 32 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number three on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, becoming the band's highst-charting single since "Peaches & Cream".[2] Def Soul issued several remixes of the song, including the Murder remix featuring rappers Ja Rule and Harry O and the official Roc-A-Fella remix featuring Foxy Brown.[1] Second single "What If", was released on March 11, 2005. It reached nunber 74 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.[2]
Remove ads
Critical reception
Summarize
Perspective
Kelefa Sanneh, writing for The New York Times, called Pleasure & Pain "delicious" and sumed it as "an hour of slick, well-written R&B; songs ranging from doo-wop to crunk."[7] Billboard magazine remarked that with the album, "112 recaptures the vocal magic that powered its multiplatinum predecessors [...] Group members Daron, Slim, Q and Mike leave no stone unturned as they mix contemporary R&B with its classic, soulful counterpart [...] After the disappointing 2003 album Hot & Wet, 112 is back on point."[8] USA Today critic Elysa Gardner rated the album three out of four stars. She noted that "these singers' strong suit is still the well-pressed romantic ballad. On the standout track, the plaintive "What If", their creamy voices pour out tension and regret without allowing for drippy excess. Such moments make this fifth album a pleasure for anyone who likes pop-soul smooth but not static."[6]
Al Shipley from Stylus Magazine noted that "although Daron Jones brings a reliable level of craftsmanship to his productions, the contributions of other producers tend to stand out from his in the context of the album [...] In fact, there seems to be a running thread of regret and ruined relationships throughout the album [but] the melancholy tracks never break up the overall soothing vibe enough to stop Pleasure and Pain from doing what an R&B; album’s supposed to do: set the mood."[5] Andy Kellman of AllMusic found that Pleasure & Pain "isn't much different from the previous albums, with a few standout singles and album tracks surrounded by a generous amount of forgettable moments, and a similar ratio of upbeat numbers and ballads to match."[3] Christian Hoard, writing for Rolling Stone, found that after four albums, the band "should at least be able to deliver a couple hot singles, but Pleasure & Pain doesn't even have that. 'If I Hit,' a limpid "Yeah!" rewrite featuring T.I., employs slinky pseudo-electro production; almost everything else is forgettable R&B mush."[4]
Remove ads
Commercial performance
Pleasure & Pain debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200 chart, with sales of 118,000 copies its first week of release.[9] This marked the group's second top-ten album on the chart.[10] On July 15, 2005, it was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments figures of over 500,000 copies in the United States.[11]
Track listing
Summarize
Perspective
Notes
- ^a denotes co-producer(s)
Sample credits
- "U Already Know" contains a sample of "Can We Fall in Love Again", as performed by Phyllis Hyman.
- "The Way" contains an interpolation of "Change the Game", as performed by Jay-Z featuring Memphis Bleek and Beanie Sigel.
- "That's How Close We Are" contains a sample of "That Sweet Woman of Mine", as performed by Leon Haywood.
Remove ads
Personnel
- 112 – vocals (background), executive producer
- L.A. Reid – executive producer
- Shakir Stewart – executive producer
- Marcus T. Grant – executive producer
- Daron Jones – producer
- Bryan-Michael Cox – producer
- The Track Boyz – producer
- Jermaine Dupri – producer, mixing
- Kevin Wales – producer
- Mario Winans – producer
- Ken Fambro – producer
- Sean Garrett – producer, vocal producer
- Focus... – producer
- Michael Keith – vocal producer
- Quinnes Parker – vocal producer
- Clifford Henson – vocal engineer
- Paul Osborn – vocal engineer
- Roxanne Estrada – vocals (background)
- Jeanne Allamby – production coordination
- Darrell "Delite" Allamby – producer, engineer, editing, mixing, tracking, vocal engineer, instrumentation
- Bam – producer, instrumentation
- Butch Bonner – guitar
- Floyd "Tag" Merriweather – guitar
- Vernon Mungo – engineer, mixing
- Alvin Speights – mixing
- Bruce Buechner – engineer
- Eric Hunter – engineer
- Tommy Jamin – engineer
- Brian Frye – engineer
- Manny Marroquin – mixing
- Phil Tan – mixing
- Ben Arrindell – mixing
- Jim Beeman – mixing
- Jean-Marie Horvat – mixing
- Ryan Evans – assistant engineer, assistant
- James M. Wisner – assistant engineer
- Josh Monroy – assistant engineer
- John Horesco IV – assistant
- Khary Menelik – assistant
- James Mungo – assistant
- Rob Skipworth – assistant
- Erica Bowen – recording director
- Sandra Campbell – project coordinator
- Warryn Campbell – programming, producer, instrumentation
- Sean Cooper – sound design
- Tom Coyne – mastering
- Nichell Delvaille – art producer
- Roger Erickson – photography
- Sybil Pennix – wardrobe
- Robert Sims – design, creative director
- Eric Weissman – sample clearance
- Matthew Betmalik – prop stylist
Remove ads
Charts
Remove ads
Certifications
Release history
Remove ads
References
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Remove ads