Wilson Phillips (album)

Wilson Phillips is the debut album by American vocal group Wilson Phillips, released in 1990 by SBK Records. The album was successful in the United States, where it peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 chart for 10 weeks starting August 4, 1990.^[1] It spent 125 weeks on the charts, including one year in the top 10.^[2][3] The album has sold five million copies in the United States and over eight million worldwide.^[4]

Wilson Phillips
Studio album by Wilson Phillips
Released	March 27, 1990 (1990-03-27)
Studio	Record One, Los Angeles Ocean Way, Hollywood Westlake, Los Angeles Studio Ultimo, Los Angeles Lion Share, Los Angeles Soundcastle, Santa Monica Music Grinder, Hollywood
Genre	Pop pop rock soft rock
Length	45:56
Label	SBK
Producer	Glen Ballard
Wilson Phillips chronology
Wilson Phillips (1990) Shadows and Light (1992)
Singles from Wilson Phillips
"Hold On" Released: February 27, 1990 "Release Me" Released: June 4, 1990 "Impulsive" Released: October 1, 1990 "You're in Love" Released: January 30, 1991 "The Dream Is Still Alive" Released: May 20, 1991

Five singles were released from the album, with "Hold On", "Release Me" and "You're in Love" all reaching number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. "Impulsive" reached number four, and the fifth single, "The Dream Is Still Alive", peaked at number 12. The album and its singles earned the group five Grammy Award nominations, including Album of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
Calgary Herald	D[6]
Robert Christgau	C[7]
Entertainment Weekly	C−[8]
NME	6/10[9]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[10]
Select	2/5[11]

The Globe and Mail called the album "a pleasant but lightweight collection of ditties that owes more to Stevie Nicks and (especially) Paula Abdul than it does to the respective artists' mamas and papas."^[12] The New York Times considered it "an engaging high-gloss album of pop-rock songs that deal mostly with the complications of young love."^[13] The Calgary Herald concluded that "slick production and the fact the gals harmonize nicely can't mask a shallowness so profound, it makes Martika seem deep."^[6]

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Hold On"	Glen Ballard Chynna Phillips Carnie Wilson	4:27
2.	"Release Me"	Phillips C. Wilson Wendy Wilson	4:56
3.	"Impulsive"	Steve Kipner Clif Magness	4:34
4.	"Next to You (Someday I'll Be)"	David Batteau Darrell Brown Madeline Stone	4:57
5.	"You're in Love"	Ballard Phillips C. Wilson W. Wilson	4:51

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
6.	"Over and Over"	Ballard Phillips C. Wilson W. Wilson	4:40
7.	"A Reason to Believe"	Tim Hardin	4:04
8.	"Ooh You're Gold"	Ballard Phillips C. Wilson W. Wilson	4:19
9.	"Eyes Like Twins"	Rupert Hine Jeanette Therese Obstoj	5:03
10.	"The Dream Is Still Alive"	Ballard Phillips C. Wilson W. Wilson	4:05

Personnel

Wilson Phillips

• Chynna Phillips – lead vocals (1, 2, 5–7, 9, 10), backing vocals
• Carnie Wilson – lead vocals (4, 6, 9, 10), backing vocals
• Wendy Wilson – lead vocals (3, 8), backing vocals

Musicians

• Glen Ballard – keyboards (1, 2, 4–10), rhythm arrangements (1, 2, 4–10)
• Randy Kerber – keyboards (1, 2, 4–10)
• Clif Magness – keyboards (3), rhythm guitar (3), arrangements (3)
• Bill Payne – organ (3, 10)
• Michael Landau – guitars (1, 2, 4–6, 8–10)
• Joe Walsh – additional rhythm guitar (1, 7), rhythm guitar (3), slide guitar solo (3)
• Steve Lukather – rhythm guitar (7), guitar solo (7, 9)
• Basil Fung – rhythm guitar (10)
• Jimmy Johnson – bass (1–4, 6–9)
• Abraham Laboriel – bass (5)
• Neil Stubenhaus – bass (10)
• John Robinson – drums
• Paulinho da Costa – percussion
• Vocals arranged by Glen Ballard and Wilson Phillips

Production

• Executive producer – Charles Koppelman
• Produced by Glen Ballard
• Recorded and mixed by Francis Buckley
• Additional recording – Glen Ballard, Tom Biener, Francis Buckley, Julie Last, Clif Magness, Gabriel Moffat and Rail Jon Rogut
• Second engineers – Dan Bosworth, Rick Butz, Daryll Dobson and Bill Malina
• Mixed at Garden Rake Studio (Sherman Oaks, California)
• Mastered by Bernie Grundman at Bernie Grundman Mastering (Hollywood)
• Design – Mark Larson
• Cover photography – Timothy White
• Inside photography – Alberto Tallot

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for Wilson Phillips Chart (1990–1991) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[14] 7 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[15] 19 Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[16] 1 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[17] 51 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[18] 15 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[19] 10 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[20] 16 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[21] 27 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[22] 16 UK Albums (OCC)[23] 7 US Billboard 200[24] 2

Year-end charts 1990 Year-end chart performance for Wilson Phillips Chart (1990) Position Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[25] 5 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[26] 48 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[27] 44 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[28] 22 US Billboard 200[29] 15 1991 Year-end chart performance for Wilson Phillips Chart (1991) Position Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[30] 50 US Billboard 200[31] 5 Decade-end charts Decade-end chart performance for Wilson Phillips Chart (1990–1999) Position US Billboard 200[32] 52 All-time charts All-time charts for Wilson Phillips Chart Position US Billboard 200 (Women)[33] 26

Certifications

Certifications for Wilson Phillips

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[34]	Gold	35,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[35]	7× Platinum	700,000^
Germany (BVMI)[36]	Gold	250,000^
Japan (RIAJ)[37]	Gold	100,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[38]	Gold	7,500^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[39]	Gold	50,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[40]	Gold	25,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[41]	Platinum	300,000^
United States (RIAA)[42]	5× Platinum	5,000,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.