Breathless (Kenny-G album)

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Breathless
Studio album by Kenny G

Publication
(s)

October 20, 1992

Label (s) Arista Records

Format (s)

CD, vinyl record, music cassette, download, streaming

Genre (s)

Smooth jazz

Title (number)

14th

running time

69:57

occupation

production

Kenny G, Walter Afanasieff , David Foster , Dan Shea

chronology
Assembly Breathless Miracles: The Christmas Album
Single releases
1992 Forever in Love
1993 By the Time This Night is Over
1993 Sentimental
1993 Even If My Heart Would Break

Breathless is the sixth studio album by the American saxophonist Kenny G . It was released on October 20, 1992.

backgrounds

Kenny G composed and produced all twelve instrumentals on the album himself. By the Time This Night is Over was written by Andy Goldmark , Diane Warrick and Michael Bolton , while Even If My Heart Would Break was written by Adrian Gurvitz and Frannie Golde . Both were produced by David Foster and Walter Afanasieff , who co-produced other titles alongside Dan Shea . The singers Peabo Bryson and Aaron Neville appear as guest performers on these songs .

Four singles were released from the album: Forever in Love , By the Time This Night is Over , Sentimental and Even If My Heart Would Break . With the exception of the last title, all of them were able to place themselves in the US charts; the first two also in the UK . However, no top ten positions were achieved.

music

Except for the title By the Time This Night is Over and Even If My Heart Would Break all the tracks on the album are entirely instrumental kept, also can be without exception, all the genre of Smooth Jazz assign and presented, other than the piece G-Bop , Ballads is In addition to the saxophone, which is used as the lead instrument on all songs , soft keyboards mixed in the background and drum computers, some of which Kenny G programmed himself, are featured on the tracks.

Cover design

The cover artwork shows a black and white picture of Kenny G from the chest up. He is wearing a denim jacket and a light shirt and is smiling at the camera. The upper part of a saxophone can be seen in front of him. In the upper left corner you can see a black text box with a white bar on the left and right . In it is the name of the artist in red and underneath the album title in white.

Track list

Breathless 
No. title length
1. The Joy of Life 4:20
2. Forever in Love 4:59
3. In the rain 5:00
4th Sentimental 6:35
5. By the Time This Night is Over (feat. Peabo Bryson ) 4:45
6th End of the night 5:22
7th Alone 5:25
8th. Morning 5:13
9. Even If My Heart Would Break (Kenny G & Aaron Neville ) 4:59
10. G-bop 4:05
11. Sister Rose 6:13
12. A Year Ago 5:17
13. Homeland 4:33
14th The Wedding Song 3:21

criticism

Breathless received mostly negative reviews. After its release, the album, like all of Kenny G's oeuvre, was severely panned and rejected by the jazz scene due to its proximity to pop music . Retrospective reviews differentiate here and rate Breathless as a pop album within its smooth jazz genre. However, according to them, it does not matter in the end, as the album would lack soul and innovation in one style as well as the other. It would sound like the performer was on autopilot . Even if one wants to counter the hatred that has meanwhile become a cliché and which is shown towards the artist, one must ultimately understand that the criticism is not accidental. In a ranking published by Billboard of the 92 albums that were awarded a diamond in the USA by the end of September 2016, Breathless came in last. The only positive thing about the work, according to the magazine, would be that at least it wouldn't sound uncomfortable.

success

Breathless has been a huge commercial success in some countries. It sold particularly well in the US. It reached number 2 in the charts, was the second most successful album in 1993 and is among the 100 best-selling albums of all time. It has been awarded diamond and double platinum in the country. In Australia , the album even climbed to the top of the charts and was the fourth most successful album of the year. It was crowned triple platinum there. It also reached number 1 in New Zealand , number 4 in the United Kingdom and number 11 in the Netherlands . In the German-speaking countries, it was unable to make it into the charts.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Album credits. Retrieved October 29, 2019 .
  2. ^ "Forever in Love" single. Retrieved October 29, 2019 .
  3. ^ "By the Time This Night is Over" single. Retrieved October 29, 2019 .
  4. ^ "Sentimental" single. Retrieved October 29, 2019 .
  5. ^ "Even If My Heart Would Break Tonight" single. Retrieved October 29, 2019 .
  6. ↑ "Forever in Love" US charts. Retrieved October 29, 2019 .
  7. ↑ "By the Time This Night is Over" US charts. Retrieved October 29, 2019 .
  8. ^ "Sentimental" US charts. Retrieved October 29, 2019 .
  9. ↑ "Forever in Love" UK charts. Retrieved October 29, 2019 .
  10. ↑ "By the Time This Night is Over" US charts. Retrieved October 29, 2019 .
  11. ↑ "Breathless" on Discogs. Retrieved October 29, 2019 .
  12. ↑ album cover. Retrieved October 29, 2019 .
  13. ^ AllMusic review. Retrieved October 29, 2019 .
  14. ↑ Entertainment Weekly Review. Retrieved October 29, 2019 .
  15. ^ Billboard's "Certified Albums Ranked From Worst to Best: Critic's Take". Retrieved October 29, 2019 .
  16. ↑ US charts. Retrieved October 29, 2019 .
  17. ↑ US annual charts 1993. Accessed October 29, 2019 .
  18. ^ Billboard's "Certified Albums Ranked From Worst to Best: Critic's Take". Retrieved October 29, 2019 .
  19. ↑ The 100 Most Successful Albums in the US + Awards. Retrieved October 29, 2019 .
  20. ↑ Charts. Retrieved October 29, 2019 .
  21. ↑ Australian annual charts 1993 + awards. Retrieved October 29, 2019 .
  22. ↑ UK charts. Retrieved October 29, 2019 .