My Heart is the debut album by American R&B singer Donell Jones. It was released by LaFace Records and Arista Records on June 4, 1996, in the United States. After the dissolution of his group Porché, Jones turned to songwriting and production, writing songs for R&B group Jade from their 1994 second album Mind, Body & Song as well as co-writing for Usher's self-titled debut album in that same year. He signed a recording contract as a solo performer with LaFace under Untouchables Entertainment, a production company and record label founded by Heavy D. & The Boyz member Edward "Eddie F." Ferrell. Most of the album was produced by Jones with additional help from Ferrell's Untouchables Entertainment production team. The album featured three singles, including "In the Hood", "Knocks Me Off My Feet" and "You Should Know".
| My Heart | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 4, 1996 | |||
| Studio | Various
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| Length | 66:13 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer |
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| Donell Jones chronology | ||||
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| Singles from My Heart | ||||
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Critical reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
In a retrospective review, AllMusic editor Jason Birchmeier wrote: "Not only does Jones write the songs and sing them on his debut album; he also produces the album and programs both the drums and keyboards. Thus, comparisons to Wonder are somewhat inevitable, especially because Jones sings with a similarly soothing tone of voice. His later albums show him growing as an artist, but here you see Jones first blossoming."[1] BBC Music critic Daryl Easlea called My Heart a "good if occasionally naïve collection of originals and covers that often sounds like juvenilia in comparison to this, his largely self-penned masterpiece".[2]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "In the Hood" (Playas Version) |
| Jones | 4:22 |
| 2. | "Knocks Me Off My Feet" | Stevie Wonder | Darin Whittington | 3:43 |
| 3. | "No Interruptions" | Jones | Jones | 5:01 |
| 4. | "Waiting On You" |
|
| 4:02 |
| 5. | "I Want You to Know" | Jones | Jones | 4:33 |
| 6. | "My Heart" | Jones | Jones | 3:39 |
| 7. | "Yearnin'" |
| Jones | 4:16 |
| 8. | "Wish You Were Here" |
| Darin Whittington | 4:24 |
| 9. | "All About You" |
|
| 4:44 |
| 10. | "You Should Know" |
|
| 4:14 |
| 11. | "Natural Thang" | Jones | Jones | 5:10 |
| 12. | "Believe in Me" |
| Tonge | 4:42 |
| 13. | "In the Hood" (Remix) |
| Jones | 5:01 |
| 14. | "Don't Cry" |
| Donell Jones | 4:25 |
| 15. | "The Only One You Need" |
|
| 4:23 |
Sample credits
- "Waitin' on You" contains samples of "The Way We Were", as performed by Gladys Knight & the Pips and "Can It Be All So Simple", as performed by Wu-Tang Clan
- "All About You" contains a sample of "Summer Madness", as performed by Kool & the Gang
- "You Should Know" contains a sample of "Player's Anthem", as performed by Junior M.A.F.I.A.
- "In the Hood (Remix)" contains a sample of "Computer Love", as performed by Zapp
- "The Only One You Need" contains a sample of Shook Ones (Part II)", as performed by Mobb Deep
Personnel
edit- Keyboards: Donell Jones, Eddie F., Darin Whittington, Mookie, Mark Sparks, Kenny Tonge
- Drum Programming: Donell Jones, Eddie F., Darin Whittington, Mookie, Mark Sparks, Kenny Tonge
- Trumpet: Joseph Morant
- Background vocals: Donell Jones, Shelene Thomas, Tia Whittington, Chico DeBarge, Patria, Erik Milteer
- Recording engineer: Scott Hollingsworth, Darin Whittington, Joe Quinde, Jason DeCosta, Kenny Ifill, Kenny Tonge
- Mixing: Scott Hollingsworth, Kenny Ortiz, Paul Logus, Rich Travali, Dave Daschinger, Chris Tergersun
- Executive producer: Edward "Eddie F." Ferrell, Antonio M. Reid, Kenneth B. Edmonds
- Mastering: Herb Powers at The Hit Factory
- Photography: John F. Cooper
- Art direction: D.L. Warfield
- Design: Ron Jaramillo
Charts
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Birchmeier, Jason Review: My Heart. AllMusic. Retrieved on October 22, 2010.
- ^ Easlea, Daryl. "Donell Jones: Where I Wanna Be (Review)". BBC Music. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
- ^ "Donell Jones | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
- ^ "Donell Jones Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
- ^ "Donell Jones Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
- ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1996". Billboard. Retrieved October 24, 2020.