''Better Days'' is the fourth studio album by American R&B singer

Joe Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...

. It was released by

Jive Records Jive Records was an American independent record label founded by Clive Calder in 1981 as a subsidiary to the Zomba Group. In the US, the label had offices in New York City and Chicago. Jive was best known for its successes with hip hop, R&B, an ...

on December 11, 2001, in the United States. The album reached number 32 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and number four on the

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated J ...

chart. It spawned three singles, including " Lets Stay Home Tonight", which reached number 18 on the US R&B chart; "

What If a Woman "What If a Woman" is a song by American R&B singer Joe. It was written by Joe, Joylon Skinner, and Allen "Allstar" Gordon for his fourth studio album '' Better Days'' (2001), while production as helmed by Joe and Gordon, with Joel Campbell provid ...

", which reached number 13 on the US R&B chart, and "Isn't This the World". ''Better Days'' became Joe's second album to receive a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

nomination in the

Best R&B Album The Grammy Award for Best R&B Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality works on albums in the R&B music genre. Honors ...

category, while "Let's Stay Home Tonight" was nominated for the

Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance was awarded between 1968 and 2011. The award has had several minor name changes: *In 1968 it was awarded as Best R&B Solo Vocal Performance, Male *From 1969 to 1994 it was awarded as Best R&B V ...

. On August 7, 2002, a Japanese limited version of the album was released together with "Joe Video Collection: I Wanna Know and More Video" content, named "Better Days & The Video Collection".

Critical reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

's Jason Birchmeier praised "Let's Stay Home Tonight" and "Ghetto Child" as highlights and Joe for carrying the record, but was critical of the track listing repeating various "songwriting techniques" and love story "motifs", concluding that "if you're looking for a few quality singles rather than a consistent album, you should find this to be an engaging album, even if its rushed and ultimately thin on original ideas." ''

Vibe ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down productio ...

'' contributor Dimitri Ehrlich gave praise to Joe's musical inventiveness in utilizing instrumentation, "lyrical wit" and telling stories from a woman's perspective, concluding with: "''Better Days'' is mostly a one-man show, a nice surprise in an era when few artists seem brave enough to resist all-star guests."

Track listing

;Sample credits * "Better Days" contains a portion of "

O-o-h Child "O-o-h Child" is a 1970 single, written by Stan Vincent, recorded by Chicago soul family group the Five Stairsteps and released on the Buddah label. The Five Stairsteps had previous peripheral success recording in Chicago with Curtis Mayfield ...

" written by Stan Vincent, performed by the

Five Stairsteps The Five Stairsteps, known as "The First Family of Soul" and later "The Invisible Man's Band", was an American Chicago soul group made up of five of Betty and Clarence Burke Sr.'s six children: Alohe Jean, Clarence Jr., James, Dennis, and Ken ...

. * "Isn't This the World" contains portions of " Theme from ''Close Encounters of the Third Kind''" by John Williams. * "Here She Comes" contains a portion of " Maneater" written by Daryl Hall, John Oates and Sara Allen, performed by

Hall & Oates Daryl Hall and John Oates, commonly known as Hall & Oates, are an American pop rock duo formed in Philadelphia in 1970. Daryl Hall is generally the lead vocalist; John Oates primarily plays electric guitar and provides backing vocals. The two ...

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Better Days''. ;Musicians * Marlene Rice – violin * Nioka Workman – cello * Judith Insell-Staack – viola * Hart Hollman and The Motown Romance Orchestra – orchestra * The Lord's Church Children's Cathedral Choir – choir ;Production * Andy Brooks – assistant engineer * Steef Van DeGevel – assistant engineer * Tim Roberts – assistant engineer * Tony Flores – assistant engineer * Allen "Allstar" Gordon – mixing * Andy Blakelock – mixing * Stephen George – mixing *

Serban Ghenea Șerban Ghenea (born October 13, 1969) is a Grammy award-winning Romanian-Canadian audio engineer and mixer. Early life and education Ghenea was born in Bucharest, Romania in 1969. In 1976 he moved to Montreal with his family. He later attended ...

– mixing *

Peter Mokran Peter Mokran is an American mixer, producer, engineer and musician. Early life Mokran was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. Growing up, he studied classical guitar, while also learning engineering and programming as a teen.Paul Tingen“Sec ...

– mixing *

Tom Coyne Tom Coyne may refer to: * Tom Coyne (writer), American writer and professor * Tom Coyne (broadcaster) (1930–2015), British television presenter * Tom Coyne (music engineer) (1954–2017), American mastering engineer * Thomas Coyne (cricketer) ( ...

– mastering ;Imagery * Denise Trotman – art direction and design *

Jonathan Mannion Jonathan Mannion (born December 3, 1970) is a photographer and film director. Mannion has shot over 300 album covers working with hip hop and R&B performers including Jay Z, Dr. Dre, Aaliyah, Outkast, Nas, Nicki Minaj, Brandy Norwood and Kendri ...

– photography * Wendall Haskins – stylist * Andrea Richter – grooming

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Better Days (Joe album) 2001 albums Joe (singer) albums Jive Records albums Albums produced by the Neptunes Albums recorded at Electric Lady Studios Albums recorded at MSR Studios