''Better Than Heaven'' is the debut studio album by American singer
Stacey Q, released on October 17, 1986 by
Atlantic Records. Produced by
Jon St. James
Jon St. James is an American guitarist, songwriter–composer, producer and recording engineer. His Casbah Recording Studio was a part of Orange County, California's new music scene in the late 1970s and early to mid-1980s. St. James' first albu ...
, ''Better Than Heaven'' is predominantly a
dance-pop album with elements of
Hi-NRG
Hi-NRG (pronounced "high energy") is a genre of uptempo disco or electronic dance music (EDM) that originated in the United States during the late 1970s and early 1980s.
As a music genre, typified by fast tempo, staccato hi-hat rhythms (and the ...
,
freestyle and
new wave music. She collaborated with the same line-up of musicians with whom she had previously performed in the band
SSQ SSQ may refer to:
* La Sarre Airport, the IATA code for the Canadian airport
* Shell Lake Municipal Airport, the FAA code for the United States airport
* '' Social Science Quarterly'', a peer-reviewed social science journal
* Society for Software ...
. They later continued to work on her other solo albums, ''
Hard Machine
''Hard Machine'' is the second studio album by American singer Stacey Q, released in February 1988 by Atlantic Records. After the international success of her song " Two of Hearts" and debut album ''Better Than Heaven'' (1986), Swain began work ...
'' (1988) and ''
Nights Like This'' (1989).
Released during the rise of popularity of the lead single, "
Two of Hearts", ''Better Than Heaven'' received generally positive reviews from
music critics
Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...
and peaked at number 59 on the
''Billboard'' 200.
Three singles from the album were released. The lead single "
Two of Hearts" peaked at number three on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 and also did well on the
Hot Dance Club Songs, landing at number four. It became one of the highest-selling singles of
1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
**Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
**Spain and Portugal enter ...
, selling over one million copies. The second single, "
We Connect
"We Connect" is a song recorded by American singer Stacey Q for her debut studio album ''Better Than Heaven'' (1986). Written by Willie Wilcox and produced by Jon St. James and Wilcox, the song was the follow-up to her hit single " Two of Heart ...
", was also successful in charts, peaking at number 35 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 14 on the Hot Dance Club Songs. Stacey Q performed both songs on the television series ''
The Facts of Life'' where she guest starred as Cinnamon, an aspiring singer.
On 16 September 2022, "Better Than Heaven" was re-released with bonus remixes and extra tracks through Cherry Pop Records.
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Track listing
Credits and personnel
SSQ
* Stacey Q
* Skip Hahn
* Karl Moet
* Rich West
* Jon St. James
Production
* Frank Del Rio - associate producer (track 7)
* William J. Walker :- associate producer (track 1)
* Jeff C. Fishman - associate producer (track 1)
* Willie Wilcox - associate producer (track 2), additional synth programming
* Keith Cowen - production coordinator
* Kirk Henry - production assistance
* Nancy Wendland - production assistance
* Keith Zajic - production assistance
* Gary Mraz - additional synth programming
* Dave Sitz - additional synth programming
* Dave Guccione - additional synth programming
* Aaron Rapoport - photography
* Danny Mendellin - hair & make-up
* Ed Jensen - hair & make-up
* Charlotte McGinnes - hair & make-up
* Tish & Gina - band stylists
* Jodi Rovin - design
* Barry Diament - CD mastering
Charts and certifications
* These are the peak positions and certifications from chart providers.
References
External links
*
''Better Than Heaven''at
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 databa ...
*
{{Authority control
1986 debut albums
Atlantic Records albums
Stacey Q albums