"Where It All Begins" is the fifth studio album by American singer Lalah Hathaway. It was released on Stax Records and Concord Music Group on October 18, 2011.

Background

An homage to her father

Donny Hathaway Donny Edward Hathaway (October 1, 1945 – January 13, 1979) was an American soul singer, keyboardist, songwriter, and arranger whom ''Rolling Stone'' described as a "soul legend". His most popular songs include " The Ghetto", "This Christmas ...

, the artwork for ''Where It All Begins'' features a collage of her father album covers, with Hathaway inserted in place of her father on most of them. In addition to family photos depicted throughout the booklet, the album features a cover version of Donny Hathaway's "You Were Meant for Me," the original of which was issued as a single a few months prior to his tragic passing. ''Where It All Begins'' also features a remake of the song "I'm Coming Back" with

Rachelle Ferrell Rachelle Ferrell (born May 21, 1961) is an American vocalist and musician. Although she has had some success in the mainstream R&B, pop, gospel and classical music scenes, she is noted for her talents as a contemporary jazz singer. In contem ...

, originally recorded by

Vesta Williams Mary Vesta Williams (December 1, 1957 – September 22, 2011) was an American singer-songwriter, who performed across genres such as pop, jazz, adult contemporary and R&B. Originally credited as Vesta Williams, she was simply known as Vesta begin ...

for her 1986 album '' Vesta'' as well a remake of Hathaway's own "I’m Coming Back," first released in 1991.

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 Andy Kellman found that ''Where It All Begins'' "picks up where 2008's''

Self Portrait A self-portrait is a representation of an artist that is drawn, painted, photographed, or sculpted by that artist. Although self-portraits have been made since the earliest times, it is not until the Early Renaissance in the mid-15th century tha ...

'' left off, though the pop-R&B-type moves – buzzing synthesizers, harder beats – are a little more pronounced. "If You Want To," a gleaming disco-funk track co-written by Rahsaan Patterson, is the best of that lot; the remainder of the album’s highlights are relatively subdued, led by the gliding, atmospheric title track – a stunning throwback to lyrically inward, sonically otherworldly soul-jazz of the '70s." Elias Leight from ''

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 ...

'' felt that "though athawaytries her hand at a number of styles, her results are all similarly unimaginative. It is hard to pinpoint exactly where Hathaway goes wrong, but ''Where It All Begins'' is uninteresting. At a time when exciting new things are happening on many fronts of R&B, Hathaway offers a dull tour through the overdone and the bland."

Chart performance

''Where It All Begins'' debuted and peaked at number 32 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 in the week of November 5, 2011, becoming Hathaway's highest-charting album yet. It also reached number seven on the ''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 ...

Background

Critical reception

Chart performance

Track listing

Charts

Release history

References