Before the Rain (album)

Before the Rain is the third album by the British R&B vocal group Eternal, released in March 1997. The album includes the single "I Wanna Be the Only One" (a duet with BeBe Winans) which became Eternal's first and only number one hit in the United Kingdom. The album features lead vocals from Vernie Bennett ("Think About Me") and Kéllé Bryan ("I'm Still Crying", "All My Love"), and is their last to feature Bryan.

Before the Rain
Studio album by
Eternal
Released17 March 1997
Recorded1996–97
GenreR&B, soul
Length49:02
LabelEMI, First Avenue
Producer
  • Dennis Charles
  • Ronnie Wilson
  • Nigel Lowis
  • Simon Climie
  • Harvey Mason, Jr.
Eternal chronology
Power of a Woman
(1995)		 Before the Rain
(1997)		 Greatest Hits
(1997)
Singles from Before the Rain
  1. "Someday"
    Released: August 5, 1996
  2. "Don't You Love Me"
    Released: February 24, 1997
  3. "I Wanna Be the Only One"
    Released: May 19, 1997
  4. "Think About Me"
    Released: June 25, 1997 (Japan Only)

A commercial success, the album went Gold in its first week, debuting with sales of 100,000 copies before being certified Platinum. According to Billboard, a US release was planned for August 26, 1997, featuring 4 additional tracks. "Dreams", produced by Peter Mokran and Emosia was slated as the lead single and was serviced to R&B radio on June 9, 1997.[1]

Single releases

"Someday", which was the theme to Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame, was released as a single in 1996, the year before Before the Rain was released. "Don't You Love Me" was released just before the album's release, followed by the duet with American singer BeBe Winans "I Wanna Be the Only One" which reached #1 in the UK, becoming Eternal's first and only number one hit there. "How Many Tears" was scheduled for release as a single but plans were dropped due to the future release of the Greatest Hits. Australian version of the album includes the original mix of Dreams. Dreams was intended to be a single in the US where a repackaged version of Before The Rain would've been released, re-titled "Dreams" and including a further two new songs. These are thought to have been "Angel Of Mine" and "Talk About it".

Critical reception and sales

Before The Rain received a positive response from music critics and fans and it gained Eternal a MOBO Award. The album peaked at number 3 on the UK Albums Chart and was certified Platinum by the BPI for sales of over 300,000 copies.

Track listing
# Title Length
1. "Don't You Love Me" (Cynthia Biggs/Carolyn Mitchell/Terence Dudley/Christopher Kellum) 3:49
2. "I Wanna Be the Only One" (duet with BeBe Winans) (BeBe Winans/Rhett Lawrence) (Horns by Gary Barnacle, Stuart Brooks and Andy Rogers) 4:18
3. "How Many Tears" (St. Paul Peterson/Oliver Leiber) 4:37
4. "Grace under Pressure" (Bruce Forest/John Themis/Beverley Skeete/Derek Green/Andy Whitmore) 4:41
5. "Someday" (Alan Menken/Stephen Schwartz) 4:21
6. "Think about Me" (featuring Basil Reynolds) (Michelle Lewis) 4:39
7. "Promises" (Easther Bennett/Vernie Bennett) 4:07
8. "I'm Still Crying" (Nigel Lowis/Kéllé Bryan/Graham Plato) 4:50
9. "All My Love" (featuring G-Man) (Nigel Lowis/Kéllé Bryan/Graham Plato) 3:06
10. "What Do You Mean When You Say" (Vernie Bennett) 4:58
11. "Why Am I Waiting" (Easther Bennett/Harvey Mason, Jr./Robert Gerald/Denis Ingoldsby) 4:16
12. "It's Never Too Late" (Interlude) (Easther Bennett) 1:14
13. "Dreams (Australian Bonus track) 4:13

Japanese Bonus Tracks
  • 1. "Finally" (On the Japanese Edition this was placed as the First Track)
  • 14. "12 Months"
  • 15. "I'll Take A Pass On Love"
  • 16. "I Wanna Be The Only One" (This version features only Easther on lead vocals)

Charts

Peak positions
Chart (1997) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[2] 36
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[3] 10
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[4] 4
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[5] 1
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[6] 50
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[7] 18
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[8] 42
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[9] 20
Scottish Albums (OCC)[10] 14
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[11] 33
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[12] 21
UK Albums (OCC)[13] 3
UK R&B Albums (OCC)[14] 1

Year-end charts
Chart (1997) Position
Danish Albums Chart[15] 32
Dutch Albums Chart[16] 39
UK Albums Chart[17] 42

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Japan (RIAJ)[18] N/A 77,400^
Netherlands (NVPI)[19] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[20] Platinum 300,000^

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

References
  1. Billboard (21 June 1997). Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 1997-06-21. p. 83. Retrieved 18 December 2017. eternal record sales.
  2. "Australiancharts.com – Eternal – Before the Rain". Hung Medien.
  3. "Austriancharts.at – Eternal – Before the Rain" (in German). Hung Medien.
  4. "Danishcharts.dk – Eternal – Before the Rain". Hung Medien.
  5. "Dutchcharts.nl – Eternal – Before the Rain" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  6. "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH.
  7. "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 1997-03-01" (in Japanese). Oricon.
  8. "Charts.nz – Eternal – Before the Rain". Hung Medien.
  9. "Norwegiancharts.com – Eternal – Before the Rain". Hung Medien.
  10. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  11. "Swedishcharts.com – Eternal – Before the Rain". Hung Medien.
  12. "Swisscharts.com – Eternal – Before the Rain". Hung Medien.
  13. "Eternal | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart.
  14. "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
  15. "Danishcharts – Jahreshitparade 1997". Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
  16. "Dutchcharts.nl – Jahreshitparade 1997". Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
  17. "Chart Archive – 1990s Albums". Retrieved 24 September 2011.
  18. "Japanese album certifications – Eternal – Always & Forever" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  19. "Dutch album certifications – Eternal – Before the Rain" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved July 15, 2012. Enter Before the Rain in the "Artiest of titel" box.
  20. "British album certifications – Eternal – Before the Rain". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 25 July 2012. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Before the Rain in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.


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