Affirmation (Beverley Knight album)

Affirmation is the fourth studio album by British singer-songwriter Beverley Knight. It was released by Parlophone Records on 28 June 2004 in the United Kingdom. The album peaked at number 11 on the UK Albums Chart, while reaching number 83 in Switzerland. Affirmation was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on 2 July 2004, less than a week after the album was released,[1] and had reached gold staus by December 2004.[2] It features three hit singles, "Come As You Are", "Not Too Late for Love" and "Keep This Fire Burning", which all entered the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart.

Affirmation
Studio album by
Released28 June 2004
Length59:34
LabelParlophone
Producer
Beverley Knight chronology
Who I Am
(2002)
Affirmation
(2004)
Voice – The Best of Beverley Knight
(2006)
Singles from Affirmation
  1. "Come as You Are"
    Released: 21 June 2004
  2. "Not Too Late for Love"
    Released: 27 September 2004
  3. "Keep This Fire Burning"
    Released: 14 March 2005

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [3]
The Independent     [4]

Affirmation received generally mixed to positive reviews. AllMusic editor Jon O'Brien rated the album three and a half stars out of five and remarked that "Affirmation clearly has one eye on dominating the airwaves." He found that "inevitably, with the attempt to cover several bases, [it] may alienate fans of her more soulful first two records [...] But overall, there are enough gems on here to suggest that Affirmation may achieve the commercial success it so obviously craves."[3]

Track listing

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Affirmation – Standard edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Come As You Are"
Chambers3:43
2."Not Too Late for Love"
  • Knight
  • Chris Braide
Braide4:19
3."First Time"
Jimmy Hogarth4:42
4."Straight Jacket"Vettese3:26
5."Keep This Fire Burning"
Ghost3:53
6."No One Ever Loves In Vain"
  • Knight
  • Chambers
  • Chambers
  • Richard Flack
3:23
7."Affirmation"
  • Knight
  • Chambers
  • Chambers
  • Flack
3:25
8."Supasonic"
  • Knight
  • Hogarth
Hogarth3:47
9."Tea & Sympathy"
  • Knight
  • Braide
Braide3:57
10."Below My Radar"
  • Knight
  • Howard
  • Vettese
Vettese4:47
11."Under the Same Sun"
  • Knight
  • Chambers
  • Chambers
  • Flack
3:43
12."Till I See Ya"
  • Knight
  • Vettese
  • Michelle Escoffery
Vettese3:26
13."Salvador" (featuring Al Di Meola)
  • Knight
  • Munro Craig
  • David Nicholson
DJ Munro4:35
14."Remember Me"KnightKnight3:50
15."Fatal Factor" (hidden track)
  • Knight
  • Craig
DJ Munro3:42
Total length:59:34

Main personnel

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  • Beverley Knight – vocals, production, backing vocals, producer, piano
  • Guy Chambers – piano, keyboards, production, bass guitar, arrangement, organ, synthesizer, clavinet, acoustic guitar
  • Chris Braide – production, keyboards, guitars, backing vocals
  • Dominic Glover – trumpet
  • Richard Flack – drum programming, production, arrangement, engineer, mixer
  • Phil Spalding – electric guitar, bass guitar
  • Jimmy Hogarth – guitar, production, programming, percussion
  • Andy Ross – saxophone
  • Julian Burdock – electric guitar
  • Sam Dixon – bass guitar
  • David Nicholson – keyboards, programming, guitar
  • Jeremy Stacey – drums
  • Paul Reid – guitar
  • Frank Ricotti – percussion
  • Peter John Vettese – drums, guitar, production, programming
  • Ghost – production
  • Martin Slattery – piano
  • Al Di Meola – guitar
  • Ashley Kingsley – keyboards, electric piano
  • Paul Stanborough – additional acoustic guitar
  • DJ Munro – production
  • Ian Thomas – drums
  • Billie Godfrey – backing vocals
  • Bryan Chambers – backing vocals

Charts

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Chart (2004) Peak
position
Scottish Albums (OCC)[5] 15
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[6] 83
UK Albums (OCC)[7] 11
UK R&B Albums (OCC)[8] 11

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[9] Gold 100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ [1] Archived September 28, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ [2] Archived September 28, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ a b https://www.allmusic.com/album/r703758
  4. ^ Andy Gill (25 June 2004). "Album: Beverley Knight - Reviews - Music". The Independent. Archived from the original on 11 November 2012. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
  5. ^ July 2004/40/ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  6. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Beverley Knight – Affirmation". Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  7. ^ "Beverley Knight | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  8. ^ July 2004/115/ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  9. ^ "British album certifications – Beverley Knight – Affirmation". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 11 June 2020.