''Never Felt So Good'' is the second full-length album by
R&B singer-songwriter
James Ingram
James Edward Ingram (February 16, 1952 – January 29, 2019) was an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He was a two-time Grammy Award-winner and a two-time Academy Awards, Academy Award nominee for Academy Award for Best Original ...
, released in 1986. It reached number 123 on the US charts, and peaked at number 37 on the R&B charts. It reached number 72 in Britain.
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 ...
'' wrote that the album "is dominated by inferior upbeat material and undermined by punchless production. The few ballads should be the high points but they're woefully schmaltzy."
Track listing
All songs written by James Ingram and Keith Diamond, except where noted.
#"
Always
Always may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Always'', a 1985 film directed by Henry Jaglom
* ''Always'' (1989 film), a 1989 romantic comedy-drama directed by Steven Spielberg
* ''Always'' (2011 film), a 2011 South Korean film, also known as '' ...
" - 4:17
#"Never Felt So Good" (Diamond, Ingram,
Howard Hewett) - 4:03
#"Red Hot Lover" - 3:50
#"Lately" - 4:15
#"Wings of My Heart" - 3:12
#"Trust Me" - 4:17
#"Tuff" - 1:03
#"Say Hey" (Ingram, Bernard Taylor) - 4:02
#"Love's Been Here and Gone" (Ingram,
Leon Ware
Leon Ware (February 16, 1940 – February 23, 2017) was an American songwriter, producer, composer, and singer. Besides a solo career as a performer, Ware was best known for producing hits for other artists including Michael Jackson, Quincy ...
,
Cynthia Weil
Cynthia Weil (born October 18, 1940) is an American songwriter who wrote many songs together with her husband Barry Mann.
Life and career
Weil was born in New York City, and was raised in a Conservative Jewish family. Her father was Morris Wei ...
) - 6:00
#"Right Back" (Ingram, Leon Ware) - 3:58
#"Crazy" - 3:40
Personnel
* James Ingram – lead vocals (all tracks), arrangements (all tracks), backing vocals (1-4, 6, 7, 8, 10), keyboards (4, 7, 8, 10), bass (4, 6, 8), synthesizers (8), drums (8), synth bass (10)
*
Keith Diamond – keyboards (1, 3, 5-8),
Fairlight CMI
The Fairlight CMI (short for Computer Musical Instrument) is a digital synthesizer, sampler, and digital audio workstation introduced in 1979 by Fairlight.
— with links to some Fairlight history and photos
It was based on a commercial lic ...
(1, 2, 4), bass (1-4, 7), drums (1-4, 6, 7), arrangements (1-7), synth solo (2, 4), percussion (2), backing vocals (2, 7),
Simmons drums (3), strings (5), rap (7)
* Ned Liben – Fairlight CMI (1, 2, 4)
* Bernard Taylor – keyboards (8), drums (8), backing vocals (8), arrangements (8)
*
Randy Waldman
Randy Waldman (born September 8, 1955, Chicago, Illinois, United States) is an American pianist, arranger, composer, and conductor. In 2019, Waldman's arrangement of the " Spider-Man Theme" on his ''Superheroes'' album garnered the Grammy Award f ...
– keyboards (9, 10), synth solo (9, 10)
*
Leon Ware
Leon Ware (February 16, 1940 – February 23, 2017) was an American songwriter, producer, composer, and singer. Besides a solo career as a performer, Ware was best known for producing hits for other artists including Michael Jackson, Quincy ...
– arrangements (9, 10), keyboards (10), backing vocals (10)
* Clarence Brice – guitar (1, 6)
*
Paul Pesco
Paul Pesco (born May 13, 1959) is an American session guitarist, singer-songwriter, film score composer and record producer.
Biography
Pesco was born in Canandaigua, New York, to a Sicilian father (an opera singer and voice instructor) and Kore ...
– guitar (2, 3, 4, 7)
*
Paul Jackson Jr. – guitar (10)
*
Timmy Allen – bass (2)
*
Nathan East
Nathan Harrell East (born December 8, 1955) is an American jazz, R&B, and rock bass player and vocalist. With more than 2,000 recordings, East is one of the most recorded bass players in the history of music. East holds a Bachelor of Arts degr ...
– bass (9)
* Bob Rosa – drums (3), cymbal (5)
*
Ricky Lawson
William Riser III (November 8, 1954 – December 23, 2013), better known as Ricky Lawson, was an American drummer and composer. A native of Detroit, Michigan, he worked extensively as a session musician, collaborating with Stevie Wonder, Mich ...
– drums (9)
*
John Robinson – drums (10)
*
Paulinho da Costa – percussion (8), wind chimes (9)
* Richard Marrero – percussion (10)
*
Leon Pendarvis
Leroy Leon Pendarvis (born 1945) is an American session musician. He plays keyboards and is a background vocalist. He is also an occasional guitarist. The artists he has worked with over the years include Bonnie Raitt on her ''Streetlights'' albu ...
– horn arrangements (2, 4), string arrangements (2, 4), conductor (2, 4)
* Debbie McDuffie – horn and string contractor (2, 4)
*
Jeremy Lubbock
Jeremy Michael Lubbock (4 June 1931 – 29 January 2021) was a Grammy-winning English pianist, conductor, orchestrator, music producer, arranger, composer, and songwriter.
Life and career
Born in Berkshire, he learned piano as a child, and ...
– arrangements (9), string arrangements and conductor (9)
* Jules Chakin – string contractor (9)
* Lawrence Feldman – saxophone (2, 4)
*
Alex Foster – saxophone (2, 4)
*
Lenny Pickett
Lenny Pickett (born April 10, 1954) is an American saxophonist and musical director of the ''Saturday Night Live'' band. From 1973 to 1981 he was a member of Tower of Power.
He is known for his skill in the altissimo register (executed by using ...
– saxophone (2, 4)
* Jeff Smith – saxophone (6)
*
Jerome Richardson
Jerome Richardson (November 15, 1920 – June 23, 2000) was an American jazz musician, tenor saxophonist, and flute player, who also played soprano sax, alto sax, baritone sax, clarinet, bass clarinet, alto flute and piccolo. He played with Ch ...
– flute solo (8), soprano saxophone (9)
*
Dave Bargeron
David W. Bargeron (born September 6, 1942) is an American trombonist and tuba player who was a member of the jazz-rock group Blood, Sweat & Tears.
Career
Bargeron was lead trombonist with Clark Terry's Big Band and played bass trombone and tub ...
– trombone (2, 4)
*
Tom Malone – trombone (2, 4)
*
Earl Gardner – trumpet (2, 4)
* Joe Shepley – trumpet (2, 4)
* Rahmlee Michael Davis – trumpet (8)
*
Harry Kim – trumpet (8)
* Strings (2, 4) – Jonathan Abramowitz, Sanford Allen, Julien Barber, Alfred Brown, Harold Coletta, Peter Dimitriades, Theodore Israel, Harold Kohan, Isadora Kohan, Jesse Levy, Louann Montesi,
Kermit Moore
Kermit Moore (March 11, 1929 – November 11, 2013) was an American conductor, cellist, and composer.
Early life and education
Of African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an eth ...
,
Gene Orloff
Gene Orloff (June 14, 1921 – March 23, 2009) was an American violinist, concertmaster, arranger, contractor and session musician.
Background
The son of a Russian immigrant violin maker, Orloff would try and get his father's violin down from th ...
, Noel Pointer and Marylin Wright.
* Strings (9) – Marylin Baker, Mari Botnick, Denyse Buffman, Thomas Buffman, Ronald Cooper, Assa Drori, Ernie Ehrhardt, Henry Ferber, Edward Green III, Allan Harshman, Reg Hill, Paula Hochholter, Bill Hybel, Susie Katayama, Gordon Marron, Don Palmer, Sheldon Sanov, David Schwartz, Frederick Seykora, Marshall Sosson, David Speltz, Robert Sushel, Gerard Vinci and Shari Zippert.
* Vocal Contractors – Laura Chan, Vicki Genfan, Curtis King and Gigi Weatherspoon.
*
El DeBarge
Eldra Patrick "El" DeBarge (born June 4, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. He was the focal point and primary lead singer of the family group DeBarge. Popular songs led by El DeBarge include "Time Will Reveal", "Who's Holding ...
– backing vocals (1)
*
Howard Hewett – backing vocals (1, 10)
*
David Pack
David Robert Pack (born July 15, 1952) is an American singer and musician who co-founded the rock band Ambrosia in the 1970s.
Career As performer
Pack was co-founder, guitarist and main vocalist for the band Ambrosia. His collected works as a ...
– backing vocals (1)
* Dennis Collins – backing vocals (2)
*
Lillo Thomas
Lillo Thomas (born 1961) is an American soul musician. He reached the peak of his success as a recording artist in the 1980s. His most famous songs include "Sexy Girl" and "I'm in Love."
Career
Early in his life, Thomas was a competitive sprint ...
– backing vocals (2)
*
Tawatha Agee
Tawatha Agee (born November 14, 1954) is an American backing vocalist and songwriter. Her voice has been described in ''The New York Times'' as an "acrobatic, gospel-charged soprano." She was the lead singer of funk and soul band Mtume; her soulf ...
– backing vocals (3)
*
Michael Bolton
Michael Bolotin
, The Jewish Historical Society of New Haven, 1998. (born February 26, 1953), known professio ...
– backing vocals (3)
* Sandy Farina – backing vocals (3)
* Curtis King – backing vocals (3)
* Marilyn Redfield – backing vocals (3)
* April Lang – additional vocals (4)
* Toni Smith – additional vocals (4)
* Cindy Mizelle – backing vocals (6)
*
Renee Diggs – additional vocals (6)
* Michelle Gold – backing vocals (7), rap (7)
* James Smith – backing vocals (7)
*
Lynn Davis – backing vocals (9)
* Maxi Anderson – backing vocals (10)
*
Phillip Ingram
Phillip Ingram (born 1958) is an American musician. He is perhaps best known as one of the founding members of the Motown Group "Switch" and is the younger brother of James Ingram.
Biography
Ingram was raised in Akron, Ohio. He came from a musi ...
– backing vocals (10)
*
Phil Perry
Philip Eugene Perry (born January 12, 1952) is an American R&B singer, songwriter, musician and a former member of the soul group, The Montclairs, from 1971 to 1975. He was also known for performing the opening song to Disney’s sitcom, ''Goof ...
– backing vocals (10)
Production
* Producers – Keith Diamond (Tracks 1-7); James Ingram (Tracks 8, 9 & 10).
* Executive Producer –
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...
* Recording and Mixing – Keith Diamond (Tracks 1-7); Bob Rosa (Tracks 1-8);
Tommy Vicari
Thomas Vicari (born August 24, 1948) is an American recording engineer, mixing engineer, record producer and scoring mixer known for his work with Quincy Jones, Gino Vannelli, Nicholas Britell, Thomas Newman, Prince, George Duke and Barbra Streisan ...
(Tracks 8, 9 & 10); James Ingram (Tracks 9 & 10).
* Additional Engineers – J. C. Convertino, Ken Fink, Matt Forger and Acar Key.
* Assistant Engineers – Ed Bruder, Acar Key, Fernando Kral, Laura Livingston, Ralph Sutton, Mike Webber and Jeffrey Woodruff.
* Mastered by
Bernie Grundman
Bernie Grundman is an American audio engineer.
He is most known for his mastering work and his studio, Bernie Grundman Mastering, which he opened in 1984 in Hollywood. The studio, which includes engineers Chris Bellman, Patricia Sullivan, and Mi ...
at
Bernie Grundman Mastering
Bernie Grundman is an American audio engineer.
He is most known for his mastering work and his studio, Bernie Grundman Mastering, which he opened in 1984 in Hollywood. The studio, which includes engineers Chris Bellman, Patricia Sullivan, and Mi ...
(Hollywood, CA).
* Art Direction – Jeri McManus
* Design – Kim Champange and Jeri McManus
* Photography –
Matthew Rolston
Matthew Russell Rolston is an American artist, photographer, Music video director, director and creative director, known for his lighting techniques and detailed approach to art direction and design. Rolston has been identified throughout his care ...
* Stylist – Raymond Lee
* Liner Notes – Keith Diamond, James Ingram and Quincy Jones.
Charts
References
{{Authority control
1986 albums
James Ingram albums
Qwest Records albums
Warner Records albums