''Ivory'' is the ninth album by the American singer-songwriter

Teena Marie Mary Christine Brockert (March 5, 1956 – December 26, 2010), known professionally as Teena Marie, was an American singer-songwriter, musician, composer, arranger, and producer. She was known by her childhood nickname Tina before taking the sta ...

, released on July 17, 1990. It was her last album for

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

. Marie supported the album with a North American tour. The album reached No. 27 on the US Black Albums chart and No. 132 on the ''Billboard'' 200 (her lowest-placing album on both charts up to that date). Two singles from the album, "If I Were a Bell" and "Here's Looking at You", performed respectably on the Black Singles chart, peaking at No. 8 and No. 11 respectively. "Since Day One" reached No. 69 in the UK, Marie's highest charting single in that country since "I Need Your Lovin'" ten years previously.

Production

The album was produced primarily by Marie; she considered it to have a rawer sound than previous albums. "Since Day One" was produced by

Jazzie B Trevor Beresford Romeo OBE, (born 26 January 1963) better known as Jazzie B, is a British DJ and music producer. He is the founder of Soul II Soul. Life and career Jazzie was born in London UK to parents of Antiguan descent in Hornsey, Londo ...

Soul II Soul Soul II Soul are a British musical collective formed in London in 1988. They are best known for their two major hits; 1989's UK number five and US number eleven " Keep On Movin'", and its follow-up, the UK number one and US number four " Back to ...

. Marie and

Michael Bivins New Edition is an American R&B/Pop group from the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1978 by Bobby Brown. Their name is taken to mean a 'new edition' of the Jackson 5. The group reached its height of popularity in the 198 ...

rapped on "Here's Looking at You".

Critical reception

The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' noted that "longtime fans should find the title cut inviting—it resembles one of those I-am-womanhood-personified poems that Nikki Giovanni used to write back in the early '70s." The ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' wrote that "the ballads ... are crushed beneath the weight of Marie's tedious new age philosophizing." The ''

Los Angeles Daily News The ''Los Angeles Daily News'' is the second-largest-circulating paid daily newspaper of Los Angeles, California. It is the flagship of the Southern California News Group, a branch of Colorado-based Digital First Media. The offices of the ''Dai ...

'' deemed ''Ivory'' "another singular collection of soul ballads and rhythmic dance numbers."

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

''Ivory''
on

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ivory (Teena Marie Album) Teena Marie albums 1990 albums Epic Records albums