''In the Blood'' is the second album by British-American dance band

Londonbeat Londonbeat is a British dance-pop band who scored a number of pop and dance hits in the early 1990s. Band members are American Jimmy Helms (who also had a successful solo career and sang radio jingles for Radio Hallam and Hereward Radio in th ...

, released in September 1990. It includes the single "

I've Been Thinking About You "I've Been Thinking About You" is a song by British-American band Londonbeat from their second studio album, '' In the Blood'' (1990), produced by record producer Martyn Phillips. It was written by band members Jimmy Chambers, George Chandler, ...

", which reached number 2 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in 1990 and number one on a number of world charts, including the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 the following year. The album reached number 21 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and number 34 in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

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 ...

editor Jim Smith said, "Whether they're sensitive balladeers making a soulful

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

single ("

"), or lewd, jilted lovers making a soulful dance single ("She Broke My Heart (in 36 Places)"), Londonbeat's pleasant harmonies and pumping flow are undeniably catchy. Although their lyrics are sometimes criminally obtuse, ''In the Blood'' is a better album, musically, than it's ever been given credit for." Marisa Fox from ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' encouraged, "Check out the foot-stomping "She Broke My Heart (in 36 Places)", inspired by

Edwin Starr Charles Edwin Hatcher (January 21, 1942 – April 2, 2003), known by his stage name Edwin Starr, was an American singer and songwriter. Starr was famous for his Norman Whitfield-produced Motown singles of the 1970s, most notably the number-on ...

’s "

Twenty-Five Miles "Twenty-Five Miles" is a song written by Johnny Bristol, Harvey Fuqua, and Edwin Starr for Starr's second album, ''25 Miles'' (1969). The song was considered sufficiently similar to "32 Miles out of Waycross" by Hoagy Lands (also recorded as "Moj ...

"; the churning "It’s in the Blood"; and the exuberant "She Said She Loves Me". Londonbeat’s powerful dance rhythms and soulful blues songs recapture the long-lost spirit of early R&B." Parry Gettelman from ''

Orlando Sentinel The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by parent company, '' Tribune P ...

'' highlighted "I've Been Thinking About You" ("

Cannibalistic Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species In biology, a species is the basic ...

"), "She Said She Loves Me" ("a touch of

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

"), "Getcha Ya Ya" ("zydeco flavor d), "This Is Your Life" ("a pretty acoustic number with beautiful harmonies"), "Crying in the Rain" ("echoes the

Philly sound Philadelphia soul, sometimes called Philly soul, the Philadelphia sound, Phillysound, or The Sound of Philadelphia TSOP, is a genre of late 1960s–1970s soul music characterized by funk influences and lush instrumental arrangements, often featu ...

the Dramatics The Dramatics are an American soul music vocal group, formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1964. They are best known for their 1970s hit songs " In the Rain" and "Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get", both of which were Top 10 Pop hits, as well as their late ...

") and "

No Woman No Cry "No Woman, No Cry" is a reggae song by Bob Marley and the Wailers. The song was recorded in 1974 and released on the studio album ''Natty Dread''. The live recording of this song from the 1975 album ''Live!'' was released as a single and is t ...

". He concluded that the band "shows a lot of promise". Tom Harrison from ''

The Province ''The Province'' is a daily newspaper published in tabloid format in British Columbia by Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network, alongside the ''Vancouver Sun'' broadsheet newspaper. Together, they are British Columbia's only ...

'' wrote, "Virtually perfect balance of old-style

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

and modern production techniques resulting in a crafty contemporary dance music that embraces the

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

classic "No Woman No Cry", the Africa-via-New Orleans gumbo of "Getcha Ya Ya", the retro Philly soul of "She Broke My Heart (in 36 Places)" and more. With its second record, Londonbeat jumps ahead of such U.K. contemporaries as The Christians and

Brother Beyond Brother Beyond were a British pop band who had success in the pop rock genre in the late 1980s. Biography The group's first four singles, "I Should Have Lied", "How Many Times", "Chain-Gang Smile" (produced by Don Was), and an early version of ...

." David Bauder from ''

St. Petersburg Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single ...

'' said, "It's not hard to cringe at the thought of a

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

version of

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

's "No Woman No Cry", with sampled sounds of whales and dolphins. What's hard is making that idea work. Londonbeat pulls it off, as well as most everything else, in its impressive American debut. ..''In the Blood'' is a deft mix of dance and hip-hop beats that doesn't skimp on soulful melodies. Led by the hit single, "I've Been Thinking About You", this disc is brimming with clever hooks."

Track listing

UK version

*"Step Inside My Shoes" available on CD versions only. It was also the B-side of the "No Woman, No Cry" single. *On the LP release, track 8 begins side B.

US version

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Personnel

Londonbeat

Jimmy Helms James D. Helms (born September 27, 1941) is an American soul singer, known as a member of Londonbeat but who also had solo hits such as " Gonna Make You an Offer You Can't Refuse". Early years James D. Helms was born in Florida, United States. ...

– lead vocals and backing vocals *Jimmy Chambers – backing vocals *George Chandler – backing vocals *William Henshall – guitars, synthesizers, drum machine and sampler ;Additional personnel: *Ian Green – synthesizers

References

{{Authority control 1990 albums Londonbeat albums Albums produced by David A. Stewart Radioactive Records albums