Acoustic Soul

Acoustic Soul
Studio album by
India Arie
ReleasedMarch 27, 2001 (2001-03-27)
Recorded2000–2001
Studio
Various
GenreR&B
Length61:16
LabelMotown
Producer
India Arie chronology
Acoustic Soul
(2001) 		Voyage to India
(2002)
Singles from Acoustic Soul
  1. "Video"
    Released: February 6, 2001
  2. "Brown Skin"
    Released: June 11, 2001[1]
  3. "Strength, Courage & Wisdom"
    Released: October 16, 2001[2]
  4. "Ready for Love"
    Released: 2002

Acoustic Soul is the debut studio album by American singer India Arie. It was released on March 27, 2001, by Motown. The album received seven nominations at the 44th Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year and Best R&B Album. Acoustic Soul was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on December 17, 2003, denoting shipments in excess of two million copies in the United States.[3]

Critical reception

Upon its release, the album received acclaim from music critics.[4]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
BillboardFavorable[6]
Entertainment WeeklyA[7]
Mixmag[8]
NME9/10[9]
PopMattersFavorable[10]
Rolling Stone[11]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[12]
USA Today[13]
The Village VoiceMixed[14]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Intro"India Arie 0:50
2."Video"
  • Carlos "6 July" Broady
  • Arie
4:09
3."Promises"
  • Arie
  • Blue Miller
  • Miller
  • Arie
4:37
4."Brown Skin"
  • Batson
  • Arie
4:56
5."Strength, Courage & Wisdom"Arie
  • Batson
  • Arie
4:57
6."Nature"
  • Arie
  • Batson
  • Batson
  • Arie
4:24
7."Back to the Middle"
  • Arie
  • Miller
  • Miller
  • Arie
5:11
8."Ready for Love"
  • Arie
  • Miller
  • Miller
  • Arie
4:28
9."Interlude"Arie 1:24
10."Always in My Head"
  • Arie
  • Miller
4:40
11."I See God in You"Arie
  • Broady
  • Arie
3:17
12."Simple"
  • Arie
  • The Unit
  • Batson
  • Batson
  • Arie
3:26
13."Part of My Life"Tony Harrington
  • Batson
  • Arie
4:03
14."Beautiful"
  • Arie
  • Kerisha Hicks
  • Miller
  • Miller
  • Arie
4:05
15."Outro"Arie 1:18
16."Wonderful (Stevie Wonder Dedication)" (bonus track)
  • Arie
  • Cornelius Barnes
  • Batson
  • Batson
  • Arie
5:31
Japanese edition bonus track
No.TitleLength
17."Butterfly"4:07
UK edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
17."Strength, Courage & Wisdom" (live)5:57
18."Brown Skin" (Bedroom Rockers Remix)3:36
Special edition bonus disc
No.TitleLength
1."Video" (DJ Dodge Remix) 
2."Video" (Urban Wolves/Dream Team Remix (featuring Super Cat)) 
3."Brown Skin" (Bedroom Rockers Radio Remix) 
4."Brown Skin" (E-London Club Remix) 
5."Brown Skin" (Mind Trap Mix) 
6."Strength, Courage & Wisdom" (Remix) 
7."Strength, Courage & Wisdom" (live from Paradiso) 

Sample credits

Personnel

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for Acoustic Soul
Region Certification Certified units/sales
South Africa (RISA)[37] Gold 25,000*
United States (RIAA)[3] 2× Platinum 1,860,000[38]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release history for Acoustic Soul
Region Date Format
United States March 27, 2001 CD
United Kingdom October 22, 2001
Japan December 11, 2001
United States July 17, 2007 CD (special edition)

Notes

  1. ^ Tracks 1, 5, 9 and 15
  2. ^ Track 2
  3. ^ Tracks 3 and 7
  4. ^ Tracks 4–6, 12, 13 and 16
  5. ^ Tracks 7, 8 and 14; vocals on track 11
  6. ^ Tracks 8 and 11
  7. ^ Strings on track 10
  8. ^ a b Track 10

References

  1. ^ "Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1405. June 8, 2001. p. 51,59,63. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
  2. ^ "Going For Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. October 12, 2001. pp. 53, 63. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
  3. ^ a b "American album certifications – India.Arie – Acoustic Soul". Recording Industry Association of America. December 17, 2003.
  4. ^ Shellberg, Tim (June 27, 2003). "India.Arie revives her 'acoustic soul'". The Times of Northwest Indiana. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  5. ^ Duffy, John. "Overview: India Arie — Acoustic Soul". AllMusic. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  6. ^ Hall, Rashaun (March 31, 2001). "Spotlight: India.Arie — Acoustic Soul". Billboard. Vol. 113, no. 13. p. 19.
  7. ^ "Music Capsule Review: India.Arie (2009) — Acoustic Soul". Entertainment Weekly. March 30, 2001. Archived from the original on April 21, 2009. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  8. ^ "India.Arie: Acoustic Soul". Mixmag: 179. June 2001.
  9. ^ Evans, Diana (2001-04-05). "Album Reviews – India.Arie : Acoustic Soul". NME. Retrieved on August 12, 2009.
  10. ^ Bottomley, Maurice (2001-03-26). "India.Arie: Acoustic Soul". PopMatters. Retrieved on August 12, 2009.
  11. ^ Masuo, Sandy (June 5, 2001). "India.Arie: Acoustic Soul : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 1, 2007. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  12. ^ Cross, Charles R. (2004). "India.Arie". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 404. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  13. ^ "Old 97's No. 5; generic Sasha; 'Acoustic' India". USA Today: D.10. March 27, 2001.
  14. ^ Green, Tony (2001-07-03). "Who Isn't Jill Scott?" Archived October 17, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. The Village Voice. Retrieved on August 12, 2009.
  15. ^ "Australiancharts.com – India.Arie – Acoustic Soul". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  16. ^ "ARIA Urban Chart – Week Commencing 4th March 2002" (PDF). The ARIA Report. No. 627. March 4, 2002. p. 19. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 23, 2008. Retrieved January 24, 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  17. ^ "Albums : Top 100". Jam!. May 19, 2001. Archived from the original on December 14, 2004. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  18. ^ "R&B : Top 50". Jam!. July 18, 2001. Archived from the original on July 23, 2001. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  19. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – India.Arie – Acoustic Soul" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  20. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – India.Arie – Acoustic Soul" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  21. ^ "Charts.nz – India.Arie – Acoustic Soul". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  22. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – India.Arie – Acoustic Soul". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  23. ^ "Swisscharts.com – India.Arie – Acoustic Soul". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  24. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  25. ^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  26. ^ "India.Arie Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  27. ^ "India.Arie Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  28. ^ "Canada's Top 200 Albums of 2001". Jam!. January 8, 2002. Archived from the original on December 12, 2003. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
  29. ^ "Canada's Top 200 R&B; albums of 2001". Jam!. January 8, 2002. Archived from the original on November 22, 2002. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  30. ^ "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2001". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 18, 2020. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  31. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2001". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 16, 2020. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  32. ^ "ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Urban Albums 2002". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on April 2, 2019. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  33. ^ "Canada's Top 200 Albums of 2002". Jam!. January 14, 2003. Archived from the original on September 6, 2004. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  34. ^ "Canada's Top 200 R&B; albums of 2002". Jam!. January 14, 2003. Archived from the original on October 12, 2003. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
  35. ^ "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2002". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 19, 2020. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  36. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2002". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 15, 2020. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  37. ^ "Mi2N: Music Divas & Rock Bands Top South African Certifications". Music Industry News Network. May 2, 2002. Archived from the original on May 31, 2014. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  38. ^ "Best of Next". Vibe. Vol. 11, no. 9. September 2003. p. 168. ISSN 1070-4701 – via Google Books.

Further reading