''Vivian'' is the second

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 ...

singer

Vivian Green Vivian Sakiyyah Green (born May 22, 1979) is an American R&B singer-songwriter and pianist. Early life Green was born May 22, 1979 in the East Oak Lane neighborhood of Philadelphia, and took an interest in singing, playing the piano, and ...

, released by Columbia on May 31, 2005 in Japan and June 28, 2005 in the United States. The album involves production by

Scott Storch Scott Spencer Storch (born December 16, 1973) is an American record producer and songwriter. He started off as a keyboardist for the group the Roots. Early life Storch was born on Long Island, New York. He was raised in South Florida and Phila ...

and

James Poyser James Jason Poyser is an American songwriter, record producer, musician and current member of the hip hop band The Roots. Poyser has written and produced songs for various legendary and award-winning artists such as Erykah Badu, Mariah Carey, ...

with additional production from Anthony Bell, Junius Bervine, and Adam Black Stone, among others. ''Vivian'' spawned three singles: "

Gotta Go Gotta Leave (Tired) "Gotta Go Gotta Leave (Tired)" is a song co-written and performed by American contemporary R&B singer Vivian Green, issued as the lead single from her second studio album '' Vivian''. On July 30, 2005, it became her second song to reach #1 on the ...

", "I Like It (But I Don't Need It)" and "Cursed". The album debuted at number eighteen on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart on July 16, 2005 with first-week sales of 46,000 copies.

Critical reception

People A person (plural, : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of pr ...

'' magazine called the album a "satisfying sophomore outing" and wrote: "''Vivian'', with its more straightforward contemporary soul, lacks the jazzy shadings of the superior ''A Love Story'', and the last third of the disc suffers from a few forgettable tracks. By then, however, Green and her everywoman appeal have already left a winning impression."

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 Andy Kellman felt that Green "sounds more sure of herself here than on '' A Love Story'', and she's also more convincing, regardless of the scenario she's placed within. A few extraneous songs do weigh ''Vivian'' down, but it's still a marked improvement over her debut." ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'' critic Steve Horowitz found that while "''Vivian'' has many merits, the disc does suffer from too much of the same thing. Not only are the lyrics repetitive in nature, but the basic instrumentation and static beats get tiresome ..''Vivian'' may be more radio friendly as a result." ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' journalist Barry Walters remarked that "trading the jazzy retro-soul of her debut for overly familiar mainstream R&B; beats, Green now strains her pipes like every other overwrought wanna-be diva, with diminished results. Too many tortured relationship songs suggest Green should consider musical and couples counseling."

Chart performance

''Vivian'' debuted at number 18 on the US ''Billboard'' 200, and at number 5 on ''Billboard''s

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated J ...

chart, scoring first-week sales of 46,000 copies. The first single from the album, "

", peaked at number 24 on the US

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

. The single became Green's second top 40 hit on the chart and her second chart-topped on the

Hot Dance Club Songs 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 ...

after 2003's " Emotional Rollercoaster." The second single from the album was "I Like It (But I Don't Need It)," another number-one hit on the Hot Dance Club Songs. Third and final single from the album was "Cursed". Released in late 2005, the single didn't match the commercial success of the previous two singles, peaking at a number 2 on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, which is equivalent to number 102 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

Track listing

;Notes * denotes co-producer * denotes additional producer

Credits

*David Barnett –

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

*Anthony Bell – multi instruments, producer, engineer, string arrangements *Junius Bervine – multi instruments, producer *Zukhan Bey – programming, producer *

Adam Blackstone Adam Blackstone (born December 4, 1982, in Trenton, NJ) is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, producer, and bassist. He is the musical director for Nicki Minaj and Justin Timberlake. Blackstone has also directed and played in performances with ...

– multi instruments, producer *Jim Bottari – engineer *Jeff Bradshaw –

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...

*Alice Butts –

art direction Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the visi ...

, design *Angela Carter – A&R, management *Chauncey Childs –

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

, management *Carl Cox, Jr. –

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

*Kevin "KD" Davis – mixing *Jenny DLorenzo –

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

*Omar Edwards –

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

*Ghislaine Fleishman –

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

*Larry Gold – string arrangements *Conrad Golding – engineer *Steve Green – programming *Kevin Hanson –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

*Kam Houff – engineer, mixing *Gloria Justin – violin *Emma Kummrow – violin *Sandy Leem – viola *Keith Major –

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

*John McGlinchey – assistant engineer *Steve McKie –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, multi instruments, producer *Julie Miller – engineer *Ryan Moys – engineer *Ben ONeill – guitar *Kevin Patrick – producer, A&R *James Poyser –

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

, keyboards, programming, producer, string arrangements *Tony Prendatt – mixing *Clayton Sears – guitar, producer *Marni Senofonte – wardrobe *Eric Spearman – make-Up *Scott Storch – producer *Igor Szwec – violin *Chris Theis – mixing *Stephen Tirpak –

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

*Steve Tirpak – trumpet *Tish Hair – stylist *Chuck Treese – guitar *Che Vicious – programming, producer, mixing *Christopher Weatherbe – keyboards

Charts

Release history

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vivian (Vivian Green Album) 2005 albums Columbia Records albums Vivian Green albums