It's About Time (Chic album)

It's About Time
Studio album by
Nile Rodgers & Chic
ReleasedSeptember 28, 2018[1]
Recorded2014–2018[2]
StudioAbbey Road, London
GenreR&B, disco
Length38:58
LabelVirgin EMI[3]
Producer
Nile Rodgers & Chic chronology
A Night in Amsterdam
(2006) 		It's About Time
(2018)
Singles from It's About Time
  1. "Till the World Falls"
    Released: June 22, 2018
  2. "Sober"
    Released: September 7, 2018

It's About Time is the ninth studio album by the American band Chic released on September 28, 2018 through Virgin EMI Records. It was written and conducted by Chic guitarist Nile Rodgers.[4][5][6] It’s About Time is the first album to be released in over two decades for the group, and is the first Chic album to not feature founding member Bernard Edwards who died in 1996. Originally scheduled for a 2015 release, heralded by the single "I'll Be There", the album concept kept changing and the release delayed for three years, partly due to the deaths of Prince and David Bowie. Eventually released on Virgin EMI Records in September 2018, the album cover is a homage to the group’s 1977 self titled debut album Chic. The lead single, "Till the World Falls", featuring Mura Masa, Cosha and Vic Mensa, was released on June 22, 2018.[2][7]

According to Rodgers, It's About Time is the first of two albums that make up the "new Chic experience". The second album Executive Realness[8] was originally scheduled for February 2019, and will "bring to a close the journey of Chic". It was later postponed to May 2019,[9] but it was unreleased. As of 2024, nothing is confirmed for the tenth and final album. One of the songs, "I Believe In Music", was broadcast on the BBC, but never released.[10]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic64/100[14]
Review scores
SourceRating
Consequence of SoundB−[15]
NME[16]
The Observer[17]
Consequence of Sound(B-)[18]
The Guardian[19]
MusicOMH[20]
The Independent[11]
The Times[12]
Financial Times[13]

It's About Time received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 64 based on seven reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[14]

The album earned Chic a nomination for the Brit Award for International Group at the 2019 Brit Awards.[21]

Track listing

It's About Time track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Till the World Falls" (featuring Mura Masa, Cosha and Vic Mensa)
5:17
2."Boogie All Night" (featuring Nao)
3:30
3."Sober" (featuring Craig David and Stefflon Don)
  • Rodgers
  • Charles Harrison
  • Lonnell Corbett
  • Rodgers
  • Graham
3:08
4."Do You Wanna Party" (featuring LunchMoney Lewis)
3:21
5."Dance with Me" (featuring Hailee Steinfeld)
  • Rodgers
  • Curtis Williams
  • Sha Sha Jones
  • Rodgers
  • Graham
3:30
6."I Dance My Dance"
  • Rodgers
  • Alexandra Forbes
  • Jerry Barnes
  • Melissa Sanley[22]
  • Rodgers
  • Graham
  • Barnes
3:27
7."State of Mine (It's About Time)" (featuring Philippe Saisse)
  • Rodgers
  • Graham
  • Saisse
4:42
8."Queen" (featuring Elton John and Emeli Sandé)Rodgers
  • Rodgers
  • Graham
3:55
9."I Want Your Love" (featuring Lady Gaga)
  • Rodgers
  • Graham
  • Rene Arsenault
  • Riot City
4:56
10."'New Jack' Sober" (Teddy Riley version (featuring Craig David and Stefflon Don))
  • Rodgers
  • Harrison
  • Corbett
  • Edward Riley
  • Jonathan Kerr
  • Thomas Robertson
3:12
Total length:38:58
Japanese edition bonus tracks[23]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
9."I Want Your Love" (featuring Lady Gaga)
  • Rodgers
  • Graham
  • Rene Arsenault
  • Riot City
4:56
10."'New Jack' Sober" (Teddy Riley version (featuring Craig David and Stefflon Don))
  • Rodgers
  • Harrison
  • Corbett
  • Edward Riley
  • Jonathan Kerr
  • Thomas Robertson
3:12
11."Message from Nile Rodgers"  4:22
Total length:43:27

Notes

  • ^[a] signifies an additional producer.

Charts

Chart performance for It's About Time
Chart (2018) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[24] 25
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[25] 41
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[26] 66
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[27] 72
Irish Albums (IRMA)[28] 72
Japan Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[29] 67
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[30] 49
Scottish Albums (OCC)[31] 16
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[32] 74
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[33] 28
UK Albums (OCC)[34] 10

References

  1. ^ "'I have some form of synaesthesia. I always have music in my head' - Nile Rodgers". Independent.ie.
  2. ^ a b Yoo, Noah (June 21, 2018). "Listen to Nile Rodgers & Chic's New Song "Till the World Falls"". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  3. ^ Peacock, Tim (June 13, 2018). "NEWSChic & Nile Rodgers To Release New Album 'It's About Time' In September". uDiscoverMusic. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  4. ^ Ball, James (June 13, 2018). "Nile Rodgers and Chic Know 'It's About Time' With Their First Album in 25 Years". Mixmag. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  5. ^ Stine, Gwenda (June 13, 2018). "Nile Rodgers & Chic Finally Set 'It's About Time' LP Release Date, Debut New Song". HitMusic. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  6. ^ Kreps, Daniel (June 22, 2018). "Hear Nile Rodgers & Chic Team With Vic Mensa on Ecstatic 'Till the World Falls'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  7. ^ Reilly, Nick (June 22, 2018). "Till The World Falls: Nile Rodgers & Chic debut new track with Vic Mensa & Mura Masa". NME. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  8. ^ Ritchie, Kevin (January 23, 2019). "Interview: Nile Rodgers dreams his ideal world". Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  9. ^ Amorosi, A. D. (September 27, 2018). "Nile Rodgers on Leaving Warner Music for Universal After 40 Years, New Chic Album 'It's About Time'". Variety.com.
  10. ^ McGoran, Peter. "New Nile Rodgers documentary, How To Make It In The Music Business, airs on BBC". Hotpress.com. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  11. ^ Brown, Helen (September 27, 2018). "Chic – 'It's About Time' album review: A love-in that fails to freshen the formula". The Independent. Retrieved November 27, 2024.
  12. ^ Hodgkinson, Will (September 28, 2018). "Pop review: Nile Rodgers and Chic: It's About Time". The Times. Retrieved November 27, 2024.
  13. ^ Hunter Tinley, Ludovic (September 28, 2018). "Chic: It's About Time — punchy production". The Times. Retrieved November 27, 2024.
  14. ^ a b "Reviews for It's About Time by Chic". Metacritic. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  15. ^ Clark, Tyler (September 28, 2018). "Nile Rodgers & Chic Groove with Some New Rump-Shakers on It's About Time". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  16. ^ "Nile Rodgers & Chic – 'It's About Time' review". NME. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  17. ^ Mongredien, Phil (September 30, 2018). "Nile Rodgers and Chic: It's About Time review – masterly floor-fillers". The Observer. Retrieved November 27, 2024.
  18. ^ Clark, Tyler (September 28, 2018). "Album Review: Nile Rodgers & Chic Groove with Some New Rump-Shakers on It's About Time". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved November 27, 2024.
  19. ^ Petridis, Alexis (September 27, 2018). "Chic: It's About Time review – first album in 26 years lunges for relevance". The Guardian. Retrieved November 27, 2024.
  20. ^ Devlin, Ben (September 27, 2018). "Nile Rodgers & Chic – It's About Time". MusicOMH. Retrieved November 27, 2024.
  21. ^ "Brit Awards 2019: Full list of winners". Bbc.co.uk. February 20, 2019.
  22. ^ "I Dance My Dance". YouTube. September 20, 2018. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
  23. ^ "イッツ・アバウト・タイム [SHM-CD][CD]" (in Japanese). Universal Music Japan. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  24. ^ "Ultratop.be – Nile Rodgers & Chic – It's About Time" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  25. ^ "Ultratop.be – Nile Rodgers & Chic – It's About Time" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  26. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Nile Rodgers & Chic – It's About Time" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  27. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Nile Rodgers & Chic – It's About Time" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  28. ^ "Irish Albums Chart: 5 October 2018". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  29. ^ "It's About Time on Billboard Japan Hot Albums". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  30. ^ "It's About Time". Oricon. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  31. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  32. ^ "Top 100 Álbumes – Semana 40: del 28.9.2018 al 4.10.2018" (PDF) (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
  33. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Nile Rodgers & Chic – It's About Time". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  34. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 6, 2018.