''Set the Mood'' is the debut studio album of British singer-songwriter David Jordan. Before the release of the album, Jordan had written between 60 and 100 songs. These songs were then whittled down to 11 for the final track listing of ''Set the Mood''. The album was produced by Trevor Horn, who has also worked with Seal and the English

dance-pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...

band Frankie Goes To Hollywood. "Place in My Heart" was released as ''Set the Moods lead single on 22 October. The album was released simultaneously in the UK, France and Germany a week later. ''Set the Mood'' and Jordan received many positive reviews following the album's 29 October release. The singer was dubbed the British version of

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is one of the world's best-selling music artists, with sales of over 88 million records. Timberlake is the recipient of numerous awards and ac ...

, and compared with artists such as

Lenny Kravitz Leonard Albert Kravitz (born May 26, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter. His style incorporates elements of rock, blues, soul, R&B, funk, jazz, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, pop and folk. Kravitz won the Grammy Award for Best Male Roc ...

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

and

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 ...

Production

Prior to recording ''Set the Mood'', Jordan had written between 60 and 100 songs, within a four-year time period. The singer's record company then chose the best 11 songs for the album. "Sun Goes Down" was written when the musician was 16 years old. Jordan stated that the song was about the parties he and his friends held at Old Street Studios in London, and what he would see there. "It's about when the sun goes down in London, all the madness starts." The album was produced by Trevor Horn, who has also produced for Seal and the English

band Frankie Goes To Hollywood. Horn assembled the album over 18 months before the final product was created. Jordan praised the producer, stating, "He's everything people say he is; he's a genius really and I'm having a great time working with him". Jordan discovered by Horn's wife, Jill Sinclair, co-founder of

ZTT Records ZTT Records is a British record label founded in 1983 by record producer Trevor Horn, Horn's wife and businesswoman Jill Sinclair, and ''New Musical Express'' (NME) journalist Paul Morley. The label's name was also stylised as ZANG TUMB TUUM and ...

. Initially, Jordan was not aware of who Horn was. "My reaction was, 'Who?' I'd never heard of

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

, Seal or Frankie Goes To Hollywood. I wasn't aware of Trevor's amazing track record but when I discovered who he'd been involved with I felt honoured."

Release and reception

"Place in My Heart" was released as ''Set the Moods lead single on 22 October. The album was released simultaneously in the UK, France and Germany a week later. ''Set the Mood'' and Jordan received many positive reviews following the album's release. The singer was dubbed the British version of

, and compared with artists such as

and

. ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' described the album as being "soft-rock nostalgia, with the odd nod to Justin Timberlake's crossover style". They noted that the "playground political" "Place in My Heart" was "pretty ace". Combined with the "naggingly catchy" "Move On" and the "positively Slavic" "Sun Goes Down", ''Set the Mood'' was summed up as being "enjoyably timewarped". "Love Song" was described by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' as being "strikingly, struttingly Jacko-esque". Nigel Gould of '' The Belfast Telegraph'' compared the album's 1980s-style pop to Michael Jackson and the soul to British funk group Linx. The BBC declared that ''Set The Mood'' "works" as a soul pop album. They added that the singer "could possibly have been made in a laboratory, cloned from the DNA of Lenny Kravitz, Prince and Michael Jackson". Despite the positive reviews, Jordan insisted that his success hadn't changed him. "I still go home, make my own dinner and clean out the cat litter. I've yet to taste the trappings of pop stardom."

Production

Release and reception

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References