The Time | ||||
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Studio album by The Time | ||||
Released | July 29, 1981 | |||
Recorded | April 1979, April 1981 | |||
Genre | Funk, R&B | |||
Length | 42:34 | |||
Label | Warner Bros. | |||
Producer | Prince (as Jamie Starr), Morris Day | |||
The Time chronology | ||||
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Allmusic | link |
The Time is the 1981 debut album by The Time. The album proper was produced and arranged by Prince (using the moniker Jamie Starr) The Time produced three singles: "Get It Up", "Cool" and "Girl", with the first two charting within the top ten on the R&B charts. "Cool" was covered by Snoop Dogg for his ninth album, Ego Trippin'.
No songwriting credits are given on the album, but the album was largely written, recorded and produced by Prince (although production was credited to Morris Day and Jamie Starr), and contained little input from band members other than Morris Day, who provided lead vocals on all songs. Only one track, After Hi School, did not contain writing input by Prince, although he is believed to have performed all the instruments on the track. The album marked the first time Prince was involved in a full album other than his own.
Recording took place in Prince's Kiowa Trail Home Studio, Chanhassen, Minnesota, USA during April 1981, although Oh, Baby had originally been recorded during the Prince album sessions from late April to 13 June 1979, at Alpha Studios, Burbank, California, USA (the version on the album is from the April 1981, sessions). The credits list the recording studio as the fictional "Time Studio", however. The album was mixed at Hollywood Sound Recorders, Los Angeles, California, in late April 1981.
The album peaked at number 50 on the Billboard 200 and number seven on the Top Soul LPs charts. The album spent a total of 32 weeks on the Billboard 200 and 45 weeks on the R&B Albums chart. The album was eventually certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over 500,000 copies in the United States.
*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone