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Somewhere in My Lifetime

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Somewhere in My Lifetime
Studio album by
ReleasedJanuary 10, 1979
Recorded1977–1978
Genre
Length42:39
LabelArista
ProducerLarry Alexander, Skip Scarborough, Barry Manilow, Ron Dante, Theodore Life
Phyllis Hyman chronology
Sing a Song
(1978)
Somewhere in My Lifetime
(1979)
You Know How to Love Me
(1979)
Singles from Somewhere in My Lifetime
  1. "Somewhere in My Lifetime"
    Released: December 1978
  2. "Kiss You All Over" / "So Strange"
    Released: April 1979

Somewhere in My Lifetime is the third studio album by singer Phyllis Hyman. It was released by Arista Records in 1979, becoming Hyman's debut Arista release (see 1979 in music).

Background

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Six of the tracks first appeared on her previous album, Sing a Song, on Buddah Records. Three tracks were produced by Theodore Life, with the title track co-produced and arranged by Barry Manilow. "Kiss You All Over" was one of the newly recorded tracks for this album and was a cover of the hit single by the band Exile, which reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 a few months before the album was released.

Singles

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Both singles from this album were only released in North America.

The first single "Somewhere in My Lifetime" was released in December 1978. The single contained the album version with "Gonna Make Changes" as the B-side.[1] It peaked at no. 12 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, spending 16 weeks on that chart in total.[2]

The second single was a double A-side release containing "So Strange" and "Kiss You All Over". The 7" single contained edited versions of both songs.[3] A promotional 12" single was also released with extended versions of both songs.[4] The double A-side single did not chart on the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but did reach no. 75 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart, becoming her second entry on this chart.[2]

Reissues

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Somewhere in My Lifetime received its first Compact Disc release in Japan on September 22, 1999.[5] The first CD release in the United States did not come until 2010 when Reel Music released an expanded edition of the album with the 12" versions of "Kiss You All Over" and "So Strange" as bonus tracks.[6] SoulMusic Records released their own expanded edition in 2013 in the United Kingdom, with the aforementioned 12" versions added as bonus tracks, as well as the three songs from Sing a Song that did not make it onto Somewhere in My Lifetime on its original release.[7] SoulMusic Records expanded the album further in the 2021 boxset Old Friend: The Deluxe Collection 1976–1998 with a sixth bonus track – the song "As You Are" from the Pharoah Sanders album Love Will Find a Way.

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
The Virgin Encyclopedia of R&B and Soul[9]

The Bay State Banner deemed the album "black MOR," writing that most of the songs are "so marginal that Hyman's talents wind up buried in dross, stale arrangement and meandering production."[10]

Track listing

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Tracks 4, 6–10 were first released on Sing a Song.

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Kiss You All Over"5:14
2."Somewhere in My Lifetime"
  • Jesus Alvarez
3:30
3."Lookin' for a Lovin'"
  • Phyllis Brown
  • Barry Goldberg
2:58
4."The Answer Is You"
  • Mark Radice
5:09
5."So Strange"
  • Theodore Life
  • Billy Green
4:40
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Gonna Make Changes"
  • Phyllis Hyman
3:58
7."Living Inside Your Love"
6:14
8."Be Careful (How You Treat My Love)"
  • Garry Glenn
4:12
9."Soon Come Again"
  • Larry Alexander
  • Sandy Torano
3:36
10."Here's That Rainy Day"3:02
2010 U.S. Expanded edition bonus tracks – Arista/Reel Music A761660
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."Kiss You All Over" (12" version)
  • Mike Chapman
  • Nicky Chinn
6:18
12."So Strange" (12" version)
  • Theodore Life
  • Billy Green
9:02
2013 U.K. Expanded edition bonus tracks – SoulMusic Records SMCR 5092
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."So Strange" (12" version)
  • Theodore Life
  • Billy Green
9:02
12."Kiss You All Over" (12" version)
  • Mike Chapman
  • Nicky Chinn
6:18
13."Sweet Music"
  • Al Martinez
3:51
14."Love is Free"
  • Mark Radice
3:49
15."Sing a Song"
3:39

Personnel

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Production

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  • Producer: Larry Alexander and Skip Scarborough (Tracks 4, 6 and 8–10); Theodore Life (Tracks 1, 3 and 5); Barry Manilow and Ron Dante (Track 2)
  • Arranger: Monty Alexander, Dave Crawford, Onaje Allan Gumbs, Skip Scarborough
  • Engineers: Don Cody, Michael DeLugg, Rick Rowe, William Wittman
  • Mastering: Cozy Noda and Jack Skinner

Charts

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Chart (1979) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[11] 70
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[12] 15

References

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  1. ^ Somewhere in My Lifetime (liner notes). Phyllis Hyman. Arista. 1978. AS 0380.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  2. ^ a b "Phyllis Hyman Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
  3. ^ So Strange/Kiss You All Over (liner notes). Phyllis Hyman. Arista. 1979. AS 0412.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  4. ^ So Strange/Kiss You All Over (liner notes). Phyllis Hyman. Arista. 1979. SP-42.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  5. ^ Somewhere in My Lifetime (liner notes). Phyllis Hyman. Arista. 1999. BVCM-35042.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  6. ^ Somewhere in My Lifetime (liner notes). Phyllis Hyman. Arista/Reel Music. 2010. A761660.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  7. ^ Somewhere in My Lifetime (liner notes). Phyllis Hyman. SoulMusic Records. 2013. SMCR 5092.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. ^ "Somewhere in My Lifetime Phyllis Hyman". AllMusic. All Media Guide. Retrieved 2011-07-26.
  9. ^ Larkin, Colin (1998). The Virgin Encyclopedia of R&B and Soul. Virgin. p. 161.
  10. ^ Lane, George (22 Mar 1979). "Shades of Blue". Bay State Banner. No. 24. p. 14.
  11. ^ "Phyllis Hyman Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  12. ^ "Phyllis Hyman Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard.
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