''Paradise'' (named ''Big Fun'' in the US) is the debut album by

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

-based

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

duo

Inner City The term ''inner city'' has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Sociologists some ...

, released in 1989. The album was a great success in the UK and in US clubs, and was one of the first

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...

albums to cross over to the mainstream charts, particularly in Europe. Group member

Kevin Saunderson Kevin Maurice Saunderson (born September 5, 1964) is an American electronic dance music Dj and record producer. He is famous for being a member of a trio, along with Juan Atkins and Derrick May, who came to be known as The Belleville Three, w ...

(along with

Juan Atkins Juan Atkins (born September 12, 1962), also known as Model 500 and Infiniti, is an American record producer and DJ from Detroit, Michigan. ''Mixmag'' has described him as "the original pioneer of Detroit techno." He has been a member of The Belle ...

, who produced one track) is renowned as one of the originators the

Detroit techno Detroit techno is a type of techno music that generally includes the first techno productions by Detroit-based artists during the 1980s and early 1990s. Prominent Detroit techno artists include Juan Atkins, Eddie Fowlkes, Derrick May, Jeff Mil ...

sound. The vocals on ''Paradise'' were performed by the group's other member, Paris Grey. The album was retitled ''Big Fun'' for its US release, and the

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

"Power of Passion" was replaced with " Whatcha Gonna Do with My Lovin'" when that song became popular in the US. The original US pressing, however, contains the former. A top-three success in the UK, ''Paradise'' spun off four top-twenty singles (three of which hit the UK top ten). The first four singles released from the album topped the US

Hot Dance Club Play Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

chart. A

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

album featuring songs from ''Paradise'' was released in the UK later in 1989.

Track listing

:All songs produced by Saunderson, except for “And I Do,” produced by Atkins.

''Paradise/Big Fun''

#"Inner City Theme" (K. Saunderson) — 2:50 #"Paradise" (K. Saunderson, A. Saunderson, P. Grey) — 4:05 #" Ain't Nobody Better" (K. Saunderson, P. Grey) — 4:01 #"Power of Passion" (K. Saunderson, P. Grey) — 5:00 #" Big Fun" (K. Saunderson, P. Grey, J. Pennington, A. Forrest) — 3:25 #"

Do You Love What You Feel "Do You Love What You Feel" is a soul/ disco song by Rufus and Chaka. Background "Do You Love What You Feel" was released in late 1979 from the Quincy Jones produced album, '' Masterjam''. Charts "Do You Love What You Feel" spent three weeks a ...

" (K. Saunderson, P. Grey) — 5:01 #" Good Life" (K. Saunderson, P. Grey, R. Holmon) — 4:05 #"Set Your Body Free" (K. Saunderson, A. Saunderson, C. Damier) — 4:01 #"And I Do" (J. Atkins, P. Grey) — 4:09 #"Secrets of the Mind" (K. Saunderson, P. Grey) — 4:55 #" Whatcha Gonna Do with My Lovin'" (R. Lucas, J. Mtume) — 4:14 (Radio Mix) (Japan only bonus track) #"Whatcha Gonna Do With My Lovin'" (R. Lucas, J. Mtume) — 8:28 (Def Mix) (Japan only bonus track)

''Big Fun'' (second pressing)

#"Inner City Theme" (K. Saunderson) — 2:50 #"Paradise" (K. Saunderson, A. Saunderson, P. Grey) — 4:05 #"Ain't Nobody Better" (K. Saunderson, P. Grey) — 4:01 #"Whatcha Gonna Do With My Lovin'" (R. Lucas, J. Mtume) — 4:15 #"Big Fun" (K. Saunderson, P. Grey, J. Pennington, A. Forrest) — 3:25 #"Do You Love What You Feel" (K. Saunderson, P. Grey) — 5:01 #"Good Life" (K. Saunderson, P. Grey, R. Holmon) — 4:04 #"Set Your Body Free" (K. Saunderson, A. Saunderson, C. Damier) — 4:01 #"And I Do" (J. Atkins, P. Grey) — 4:09 #"Secrets of the Mind" (K. Saunderson, P. Grey) — 4:55

Charts

Singles

*1988 " Big Fun", #8 UK, #1 U.S. Dance *1988 " Good Life", #4 UK, #73 U.S., #1 U.S. Dance *1989 "Ain't Nobody Better", #10 UK, #1 U.S. Dance *1989 "Do You Love What You Feel", #16 UK, #1 U.S. Dance *1989 "Whatcha Gonna Do with My Lovin'", #12 UK, U.S. #76, #8 U.S. Dance

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paradise (Inner City Album) 1989 debut albums Inner City (band) albums Virgin Records albums