Peace Beyond Passion is the second studio album by American musician Me'shell Ndegeocello, released on June 25, 1996, on Maverick Records. The album peaked at No. 63 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and No. 15 on the Top R&B Albums chart in 1996. It went on to become Ndegeocello's most commercially successful album. Widely acclaimed at the time of its release, the album received numerous awards and accolades including a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best R&B Album at the 39th Grammy Awards in 1997.
| Peace Beyond Passion | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 25, 1996 | |||
| Recorded | 1995–1996 | |||
| Studio | Alpha Studios, Conway Studios, David Gamson Studios, Ocean Way, RPM Studios, The Sound Factory | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 59:10 | |||
| Label | Maverick | |||
| Producer | David Gamson | |||
| Me'shell Ndegeocello chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Peace Beyond Passion | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Entertainment Weekly | C+[2] |
| The Guardian | [3] |
| Los Angeles Times | [4] |
| Muzik | [5] |
| NME | 6/10[6] |
| Q |  [7] |
| Rolling Stone | [8] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [9] |
| The Village Voice | B+[10] |
The first single, "Leviticus: Faggot" peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard Dance Music/Club Play chart in 1996. The second single, a cover of "Who Is He (And What Is He to You)?" by Bill Withers, reached No. 1 on the Billboard Dance Music/Club Play chart in November 1996 and No. 34 on the R&B singles chart. The album's third single, a remix of the ballad "Stay", peaked at No. 15 on the Dance Music/Club Play chart and No. 67 on the R&B singles chart.
The album was released on vinyl for the first time on June 12, 2021, as part of Record Store Day.
Track listing
editAll songs written by Me'shell Ndegéocello, except where noted.
- "The Womb" – 1:25
- "The Way" – 4:58
- "Deuteronomy: Niggerman" – 4:01
- "Ecclesiastes: Free My Heart" (Ndegéocello, Torri Ruffin) – 5:22
- "Leviticus: Faggot" – 6:08
- "Mary Magdalene" – 5:51
- "God Shiva" (Ndegéocello, Wendy Melvoin) – 4:09
- "Who Is He and What Is He to You" (Bill Withers, Stan McKinney) – 4:49
- "Stay" – 4:30
- "Bittersweet" – 5:17
- "A Tear and a Smile" – 3:49
- "Make Me Wanna Holler" (Ndegéocello, Federico González Peña, Melvin Ragin, Marvin Gaye, James Nyx) – 8:51
Personnel
edit- Me'Shell Ndegéocello – bass guitar, percussion (#1), drum programming (#2, 11), lead guitar (#5), and all other instruments (#1–11)
- David Gamson – drum programming (#1–3, 9–11), drums and atmosphere (#6)
- Wah Wah Watson – guitar (#1), "wah guitar" (#5, 8, 12), acoustic guitar (#8)
- Wendy Melvoin – guitar (#2, 7, 10), guitar arrangement (#2, 7), acoustic guitar (#6)
- David Fiuczynski – guitar solo (#4, 7)
- Allen Cato – guitar (#4)
- Billy Preston – organ (#3, 8, 11)
- Federico González Peña – Fender Rhodes piano (#4, 5, 12), percussion (#1)
- Joshua Redman – saxophones (#2, 3, 6, 10)
- Bennie Maupin – bass clarinet (#3)
- Oliver Gene Lake – drums (#1, 3–5, 8, 10, 12)
- Luis Conte – percussion (#3–5, 7, 10, 12)
- Daniel Sadownick – percussion (#1)
Arranged by David Gamson and Me'Shell Ndegéocello
Vocals arranged by David Gamson
String arrangements for tracks #5, 8 an 11 by Paul Riser
Production
- Produced by David Gamson
- Recording engineer – Rail Jon Rogut
- Additional engineering – David Gamson and Charles Nasser
- Recording engineer for track #4 – Mike Krowiak, assisted by Suzanne Dyer
- Mixing – Bob Power
- Mastering – Tom Coyne
- Gregory-Trevor Gilmer – art direction
- Guzman (Constance Hansen & Russell Peacock) – photography
Charts
edit| Chart (1996) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[11] | 30 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[12] | 32 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[13] | 56 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[14] | 46 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[15] | 100 |
| US Billboard 200[16] | 63 |
| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[17] | 15 |
References
edit- ^ Gallucci, Michael. "Peace Beyond Passion – Meshell Ndegeocello". AllMusic. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
- ^ Browne, David (July 12, 1996). "Peace Beyond Passion". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
- ^ Wells, Chris (June 7, 1996). "CD of the week: Me'shell Ndegeocello". The Guardian.
- ^ Hilburn, Robert (June 23, 1996). "'Passion' Comes Through". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 17, 2015. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
- ^ Jones, Bob (July 1996). "Me'shell Ndegeocello: Peace Beyond Passion (WEA)" (PDF). Muzik. No. 14. p. 141. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
- ^ Fortnam, Ian (June 22, 1996). "Me'shell Ndegeocello – Peace Beyond Passion". NME. p. 50. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
- ^ "Me'shell Ndegeocello: Peace Beyond Passion". Q. No. 118. July 1996. p. 120.
- ^ Hardy, Ernest (July 11, 1996). "Me'Shell Ndegeocello: Peace Beyond Passion". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on August 20, 2008. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
- ^ Himes, Geoff (2004). "Meshell Ndegeocello". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 571. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (July 23, 1996). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
- ^ "Australiancharts.com – Me'shell Ndegéocello – Peace Beyond Passion". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
- ^ "Charts.nz – Me'shell Ndegéocello – Peace Beyond Passion". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Me'shell Ndegéocello – Peace Beyond Passion". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Me'shell Ndegéocello – Peace Beyond Passion". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
- ^ "Meshell Ndegeocello Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
- ^ "Meshell Ndegeocello Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 1, 2022.