"Livin' in the Light" is a song from British singer Caron Wheeler's debut solo album '' UK Blak'' (1990). Wheeler wrote the song with N. P. Hail, and produced it with Afrika Baby Bam and Blacksmith. "Livin' in the Light" is a soul song that incorporates elements of

neo soul Neo soul (sometimes called progressive soul) is a genre of popular music. As a term, it was coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music that emerged from soul and contempo ...

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...

, and 1970s-style

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

music. Its lyrics describe people being dragged away from their culture and having to survive within a new surrounding. The song references

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

and

reparations Reparation(s) may refer to: Christianity * Restitution (theology), the Christian doctrine calling for reparation * Acts of reparation, prayers for repairing the damages of sin History *War reparations **World War I reparations, made from G ...

Background

EMI Records EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company of the same name in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succ ...

released "Livin' in the Light" on 27 August 1990 as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

from ''UK Blak''. The song spent a total of six weeks on the chart and peaked number 14 on 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 ...

. It was a number-one hit on

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

's dance chart, and achieved top-twenty peaks on several other countries' record charts. The song went on to sell over thirty-thousand copies worldwide. The success of the song invited Wheeler to perform on

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

in mid-1990.

Critical reception

In his review of '' UK Blak'', Alex Henderson from

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 ...

described the song as a "riveting" and "moving" neosoul treasure. Bill Coleman from ''

'' wrote, "Produced by Afrika Baby Bam of the Jungle Brothers, lyrically uplifting cut shuffles down a

/swing groove path somewhat similar to SIIS, though Wheeler's own unique sense of melody and vocal arrangements ultimately shine through. A smash."

Music video

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

was shot for both the original version and the remix version of the song. The video for the original version of song features Wheeler performing the song in close-up frame shots. The imagery of the video showcases many African people in a new surrounding. As they learning to adapt to the new surrounding, many of them are shown on a beach with the sun shining on them. The video also features many different men in the water. Wheeler is also shown wearing a traditional reddish-orange outfit. The video for the remix version of the song features a similar video with the same settings and imagery.

Formats and track listings

* UK single CD Single #Livin' In The Light (The Larger Than Light Mix) – 6:56 #Livin' In The Light (Red Zone Mix) – 6:16 #Livin' In The Light (The Sensual Mix) – 5:42 * UK Vinyl, 7" Single #Livin' In The Light (7") – 4:33 #Livin' In The Light (The Original Story) – 4:55 * US Maxi-CD single #Livin' In The Light (Brixton Bass 12" Mix) #Meewonjammin' #Livin' In The Light (The Original Story) #Livin' In The Light (Single) * European CD Single #Livin' In The Light (7") – 4:33 #Livin' In The Light (The Original Story) – 4:55 #Livin' In The Light (Brixton Bass Mix) – 8:52

Charts

References