''Ralph Tresvant'' is the debut album by American singer

Ralph Tresvant Ralph Edward Tresvant (born May 16, 1968) is an American singer, songwriter, actor and record producer, best known as the lead singer of R&B group New Edition. As a solo artist, Tresvant released the album ''Ralph Tresvant'' (1990). In 2008, he ...

. The album was released by

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...

on November 20, 1990 in the United States. It went to number one on the

Irish Albums Chart The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA). The charts were previously compiled on behalf of IRMA by Chart-Track, and have been compiled by the ...

for 12 weeks, and on the US Top R&B Albums chart for two weeks and peaked into the top 20 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart. It features the number one single, " Sensitivity" along with two more top five R&B hits: "

Do What I Gotta Do "Do What I Gotta Do" is a song performed by American contemporary R&B singer Ralph Tresvant, issued as the third single from his eponymous debut album. The song peaked at No. 2 on the '' Billboard'' R&B singles chart in 1991. Although it failed ...

" and "

Stone Cold Gentleman "Stone Cold Gentleman" is a song performed by American contemporary R&B singer Ralph Tresvant, issued as the second single from his eponymous debut album. It originally appeared on the album under the title "Stone Cold Gentleman (Rizz's Interlude) ...

", which featured labelmate

Bobby Brown Robert Barisford Brown (born February 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter and dancer. Brown, alongside frequent collaborator Teddy Riley, is noted as one of the pioneers of new jack swing: a fusion of hip hop and R&B. Brown started h ...

, and has been

certified Platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA) within its first year of release, and achieved double-platinum status a few years after.

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 Alex Henderson found that Tresvant's "self-titled R&B/pop release isn't as distinguished or as confident as the music

Bell Biv DeVoe Bell Biv DeVoe, also known as BBD, is an American music group from Boston, Massachusetts, formed from members of New Edition, consisting of Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins and Ronnie DeVoe. The band is best known for their debut album, the multi-pl ...

and

Johnny Gill Johnny Gill Jr. (born May 22, 1966) is an American singer and actor. He is the sixth and final member of the R&B/ pop group New Edition and was also a member of the supergroup called LSG, with Gerald Levert and Keith Sweat. Gill has released ...

had been doing on their own, but it has its moments .. Some of urban contemporary's hottest producers (

Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III (born June 6, 1959) and Terry Steven Lewis (born November 24, 1956) are an American R&B/ pop songwriting and record production team. They have enjoyed great success since the 1980s with various artists, most ...

and Wolf & Epic, among others) are employed, and yet, the overall results aren't as strong as one might expect. None of the material is really bad; it's just that most of it isn't that far above average." Ian Cranna in Q Magazine echoed this sentiment noting that the "album is a rather uneasy amalgam of dance grooves, strings, hip hop and lush ballads".

Track listing

Notes *"Rated R" samples "Masterpiece" as performed by

The Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

. *Rap lyrics on "Stone Cold Gentleman" written by Ralph Tresvant and Bobby Brown.

Personnel

Unless otherwise noted, information based on the CD edition's liner notes

Performance

* Lead vocals (sung by): Ralph Tresvant * Rap performed by: Bobby Brown (4), Ralph Tresvant * Background vocals: Ralph Tresvant (1–11), Tabitha Brace (7–8), Cedric "K-Ci" Hailey (7–8), Terri Robinson (7–8), Dewayne Omarr (9), Redg Green (9), Karen Y. Mayo (9), Altitude (9), Deah Dame (6), Richard Wolf (9), Alton "Wokie" Stewart (10), Vassal Benford (11), Sue Ann Carwell (11),

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

(12) * All Instruments: Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (3, 5), Kyle West (7–8), Timmy Gatling (10), Howie Hersh (10) * All other instruments: Vassal Benford (11) * Additional instruments: Jimmy Jam (1–2) Terry Lewis (1) * Drum machine: Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (3), L.A. Reid, Kyle West, Timmy Gatling, Vassal Benford, L.A. Jay * Drums: L.A. Reid (4), Daryl Simmons (6), Kayo (6), Bret "Epic" Mazur (9) * Percussion: L.A. Reid (4), Daryl Simmons (6), Kayo (6), Ted Thomas (additional on 11) * Keyboards: Daryl Simmons (4, 6), Richard Wolf (9), Vassal Benford, Jimmy Jam, L.A. Jay, Kyle West * Synclavier: John Barnes (12) * Guitar: Richard Wolf (9), Charles Fearing (12) * Bass played by: Kayo (4, 6)

Production and technical

* Music programming: Bret "Epic" Mazur (9) * Keyboard programming: Daryl Simmons (4, 6), Kayo (4, 6) * Vocals programmed by: Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (2) * Musical arrangement: Vassal Benford (11) * Rhythm arrangement: Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (1–3, 5), Daryl Simmons (4, 6), Kayo (4, 6) * Vocal arrangement: Ralph Tresvant (1), Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (1–3, 5), Daryl Simmons (4, 6), Kayo (4), Babyface (6), Vassal Benford (11), Ron Spearman (11) * Recording engineers: Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (1–3), Donnell Sullivan (4, 6), Ron Christopher (4, 6), Barney Perkins (4), Steve Hodge (5), Wade Norton (7–8), Elliott Peters (7–8), Jon Guggenheim (10), John Hedges (11), Larold Rebhun (11), Neal Pogue (11), Jack Rouben (12) * Assistant engineers: Milton Chan (4), Ted Malia (4, 6), Jim Zumpano (4, 6), David Betancourt (7), Steve Gallagher (7), Tom Twiss (7–8), Derek Marcil (9), Eugene Dixon (12) * Mixing: Steve Hodge (1–3, 5), David Bianco (4), L.A. Reid (4), Daryl Simmons (4, 6), Kayo (4, 6), Elliott Peters (7–8), Dave Pensado (9), Jon Guggenheim (10), Louil Silas Jr. (12), Peter Arata (12), Skip Saylor * Mixing assistance: Jim Zumpano (4), Milton Chan (6), David Betancourt (7–8), Steve Gallagher (7–8) * Mastering: Herb Powers, Jr.

Other

* Art direction: Jeff Adamoff * Design: Drennon Advertising * Photography: Carol Friedman

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1990 debut albums MCA Records albums Ralph Tresvant albums Albums produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis