Always & Forever (Eternal album)

Always & Forever is the debut studio album by British girl group Eternal. It was released through EMI on 29 November 1993 before Louise Nurding left to embark on a solo career, before Eternal's follow up album Power of a Woman (1995). The album became a commercial success, selling over one million copies in the UK alone and yielding six top 20 single releases. As of 1997, the album has sold over 4 million copies worldwide.[3]

Always & Forever
Studio album by
Eternal
Released28 November 1993
Recorded1992–1993
StudioPrime Time Studios
(Los Angeles)
Sarm West Studios
Roundhouse Studios
(London)
Mad Fly Productions
(New York)
Genre
Length58:32
LabelEMI
Producer
Eternal chronology
Always & Forever
(1993)		 Power of a Woman
(1995)
Singles from Always & Forever
  1. "Stay"
    Released: 20 September 1993
  2. "Save Our Love"
    Released: 3 January 1994
  3. "Just a Step from Heaven"
    Released: 18 April 1994
  4. "So Good"
    Released: 8 August 1994
  5. "Oh Baby I..."
    Released: 24 October 1994
  6. "Crazy"
    Released: 12 December 1994
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The ObserverNegative[2]

Single releases

Always & Forever yielded two Top 5 singles; "Stay" and "Oh Baby I..."[4] "Stay" was the first single to be released from the album, peaking at No. 4 in the UK Singles Chart. This was followed by "Save Our Love" and "Just A Step From Heaven", both of which peaked at No. 8. "So Good" was the next single, peaking at No. 13, followed by "Oh Baby I..." which reached No. 4. "Crazy" was the final single released from the album, peaking at No. 15 in the UK Singles Chart.

Sales

Always & Forever was a huge success, peaking at number 2 on the UK Albums Chart and was later certified 4x Platinum by the BPI for sales of over 1.2 million copies. It was 1994's third best-selling album in the UK,[5] spending over 76 weeks in the charts. The album broke records for being the first to sell over 1 million copies in the UK by a female group.[6] As of 2015, it is the only album by a debut act to contain six top 15 hits and the first album by a female group to be nominated for best album at the BRIT Awards. The album had an American release in March 1994, selling 81,000 copies by December 1994.[7]

Track listing
  1. "Stay" – 3:56 (Bobby Khouzouri, Mark Steven)
  2. "Crazy" – 4:02 (BeBe Winans)
  3. "Save Our Love (West End Mix)" – 4:21 (Ann Preven, Eddie Chacon, Scott Cutler)
  4. "Oh Baby I..." – 5:29 (Lotti Golden, Tommy Faragher)
  5. "I'll Be There" – 5:13 (Geoffrey Williams, Simon Stirling)
  6. "Sweet Funky Thing" – 4:46 (Evelyn "Champagne" King, Lotti Golden, Tommy Faragher)
  7. "Never Gonna Give You Up" – 3:58 (Maria Christanson, Lotti Golden, Tommy Faragher)
  8. "Just a Step from Heaven" – 4:16 (Shepard Solomon, Wayne Cohen)
  9. "Let's Stay Together" – 4:38 (Al Green, Willie Mitchell, Al Jackson Jr.)
  10. "This Love Is for Real" – 3:44 (Lotti Golden, Robbie Nevil, Tommy Faragher)
  11. "So Good" – 3:57 (Easther Bennett, Vernie Bennett, Kéllé Bryan, Louise Nurding)
  12. "If You Need Me Tonight" – 4:00 (Dennis Charles, Easther Bennett, Vernie Bennett, Kéllé Bryan, Louise Nurding, Ronnie Wilson)
  13. "Don't Say Goodbye" – 4:14 (Dennis Charles, Easther Bennett, Vernie Bennett, Kéllé Bryan, Louise Nurding, Ronnie Wilson)
  14. "Amazing Grace" – 1:50 (John Newton)

Charts and certifications

Peak positions
Chart (1993–95) Peak
position
scope="row"Australian Albums (ARIA)[8] 48
scope="row"Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[9] 35
scope="row"Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[10] 12
scope="row"French Albums (SNEP)[11] 43
scope="row"German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[12] 85
scope="row"Irish Albums (IRMA)[13] 48
scope="row"Japanese Albums (Oricon)[14] 25
scope="row"New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[15] 46
scope="row"Scottish Albums (OCC)[16] 6
scope="row"UK Albums (OCC)[17] 2
scope="row"UK R&B Albums (OCC)[18] 1
scope="row"US Billboard 200[19] 152
scope="row"US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[20] 59
scope="row"US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[21] 5

Year-end charts
Chart (1994) Position
UK Albums Chart[22] 4
Chart (1995) Position
Dutch Albums Chart[23] 61
UK Albums Chart[22] 52

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Ireland (IRMA)[24] Gold 7,500^
Japan — 100,000[7]
Netherlands (NVPI)[25] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[26] 4× Platinum 1,200,000^
United States — 81,000[7]
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[27] Platinum 1,000,000*

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References
  1. Wynn, Ron. "Review: Always & Forever – Eternal". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
  2. Spencer, Neil. "Review: Eternal – Always & Forever (EMI CDEMD 1053)". The Observer Review. Guardian Media Group (12 December 1993): 9.
  3. Billboard (6 September 1997). Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 6 September 1997. p. 62. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  4. "Eternal". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
  5. Spencer, Neil. "Feature: Arts Review Of 1994: Pop". The Observer Review. Guardian Media Group (18 December 1994): 8.
  6. "Eternal". ArtInBase. Archived from the original on 12 March 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
  7. Eternal Hopes Hits Go 'Forever': E.M.I. UK Group Breaking In US. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 3 December 1994. p. 3. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  8. "Australiancharts.com – Eternal – Always & Forever". Hung Medien.
  9. "Ultratop.be – Eternal – Always & Forever" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  10. "Dutchcharts.nl – Eternal – Always & Forever" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  11. "Lescharts.com – Eternal – Always & Forever". Hung Medien.
  12. "Offiziellecharts.de – Eternal – Always & Forever" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts.
  13. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week {{{week}}}, {{{year}}}". Chart-Track. IRMA.
  14. "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 1994-03-30" (in Japanese). Oricon.
  15. "Charts.nz – Eternal – Always & Forever". Hung Medien.
  16. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  17. "Eternal | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart.
  18. "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
  19. "eternal Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  20. "eternal Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard.
  21. "eternal Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard.
  22. "Chart Archive – 1990s Albums". Retrieved 24 September 2011.
  23. "Dutchcharts.nl – Jahreshitparade 1995". Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
  24. "Irish album certifications – Eternal – Always & Forever". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  25. "Dutch album certifications – Eternal – Always & Forever" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 15 July 2012. Enter Always & Forever in the "Artiest of titel" box.
  26. "British album certifications – Eternal – Always & Forever". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 25 July 2012. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Always & Forever in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  27. "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 1995". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Missing or empty |url= (help)


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