"Where It All Begins" is the fifth studio album by American singer Lalah Hathaway. It was released on Stax Records and Concord Music Group on October 18, 2011.[1]
An homage to her father Donny Hathaway, the artwork for Where It All Begins features a collage of her father album covers, with Hathaway inserted in place of her father on most of them.[1] In addition to family photos depicted throughout the booklet, the album features a cover version of Donny Hathaway's "You Were Meant for Me," the original of which was issued as a single a few months prior to his death.[1]Where It All Begins also features a remake of the song "I'm Coming Back" with Rachelle Ferrell, originally recorded by Vesta Williams for her 1986 album Vesta as well a remake of Hathaway's own "I’m Coming Back," first released in 1991.[1]
AllMusic editor Andy Kellman found that Where It All Begins "picks up where 2008'sSelf Portrait left off, though the pop-R&B-type moves – buzzing synthesizers, harder beats – are a little more pronounced. "If You Want To," a gleaming disco-funk track co-written by Rahsaan Patterson, is the best of that lot; the remainder of the album’s highlights are relatively subdued, led by the gliding, atmospheric title track – a stunning throwback to lyrically inward, sonically otherworldly soul-jazz of the '70s."[1]
Elias Leight from PopMatters felt that "though [Hathaway] tries her hand at a number of styles, her results are all similarly unimaginative. It is hard to pinpoint exactly where Hathaway goes wrong, but Where It All Begins is uninteresting. At a time when exciting new things are happening on many fronts of R&B, Hathaway offers a dull tour through the overdone and the bland."[2]
Where It All Begins debuted and peaked at number 32 on the US Billboard 200 in the week of November 5, 2011, becoming Hathaway's highest-charting album yet.[3] It also reached number seven on the Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, making it her second album to reach the top ten.[4]
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