Black Angel (album)

Black Angel
Black Angel
Studio album by Mica Paris
Released	10 August 1998
Recorded	1996–1998
Studio	Jam Shack Recordings; Eden Studios; Blah Street Studios; Roundhouse Studios; Marcus Studios; The Green Room;
Genre	R&B; pop;
Length	59:24
Label	Cooltempo; Chrysalis;
Producer	Richie Stevens; Stephen Simmonds; Julian Jackson; Mica Paris; Boy George; Guy Farley; Omar;
Mica Paris chronology
Singles from Black Angel
	"Stay"; Released: 11 May 1998; "Carefree"; Released: 3 August 1998; "Black Angel"; Released: 14 November 1998;

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
The Guardian	^[1]

Black Angel is the fourth studio album by British singer-songwriter Mica Paris. It was released on 10 August 1998 by Cooltempo / Chrysalis, her first and last for these labels, and features production from Boy George and Raphael Saadiq.

Recording

In the book, Straight, Boy George expressed, 'I wrote and produced "Black Angel" for Brit soul diva Mica Paris. Working with such a soaring voice — which could reach notes I could only dream of — was a thrilling experience.'^[2]

Reception

Critical

Reviewing the single "Carefree" for Billboard, Larry Flick wrote, "Carefree" 'shows the enduring chanteuse in tip-top vocal form, floating a glorious, deceptively simple performance over a deliciously soulful groove. Equally appropriate for club turntables and home sound systems, this Cooltempo U.K. release leaves you desperate for a full-length album.'^[3] In the book Companion to Contemporary Black British Culture, Derek A. Bardowell heralded Paris as 'UK R'n'B's most respected vocalist. Despite struggling to find a market to fit her raspy but classically soulful voice, Paris has been a major musical force'. Bardowell also wrote that 'Paris found musical liberation in 1998 and assumed more creative control on her fourth effort [...] Black Angel is the greatest illustration of Paris' innovative talent.^[4]

Commercial

Black Angel debuted and peaked at number fifty-nine on the UK Albums Chart^[5] making it Paris' first album to miss out on a place in the UK Top 40. The album only charted for one week,^[5] meaning it failed to live up to the sales of her previous three studio albums. Black Angel was Paris' last album to chart in the UK until Gospel in 2020.

Singles

Three singles were released from Black Angel. The lead single, "Stay", fared poorly in the charts, especially for a lead single from an album, entering and peaking at number forty then falling to number seventy-two the next week before dropping out of the charts completely.^[5] The second single from the album, "Carefree", performed worse than the previous release and became Paris' first single to fail to chart within the UK Top 200. The third and final single to be released from the album was the title track, "Black Angel". This performed better than the previous single, however it only managed to chart at number seventy-two, before falling off the charts the following week.^[5] This was Mica's last single to chart in the UK to date.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Interlude"	Gerry Brown Nicholas Moroch	1:49
2.	"Stay"	Sylvester Stewart	4:21
3.	"Is It Good Enough?"	Mica Paris Julian Jackson Alex Turnbull Johnny Turnbull	5:12
4.	"Carefree"	Paris A. Turnbull J. Turnbull William Clark Willie Hale	4:13
5.	"Let Me Inside"	Stephen Simmonds	3:55
6.	"Black Angel"	John Themis George O'Dowd	5:33
7.	"Perfect"	Paris C. Samuel Bob Marley	4:37
8.	"Hate to Love"	Simmonds	4:27
9.	"Waiting"	Paris Samuel	4:09
10.	"I'll Give You More"	Paris Samuel	4:29
11.	"Love's Gone"	Jackson James Ingram	5:18
12.	"Don't Say Goodnight"	Ernie Isley Marvin Isley Chris Jasper Ronald Isley O'Kelly Isley Jr. Rudolph Isley	7:01
13.	"Baby Angel"	Guy Farley Tony McAnaney	4:20
14.	"I Should've Known Better"	Omar Hammer Paris	5:05
Total length:			59:24

Notes:

Track 4 contains a sample from "Let the Good Times Roll" by Little Beaver
Track 7 contains a sample from "Could You Be Loved" by Bob Marley and the Wailers

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's information on AllMusic^[6] and the liner notes.^[7]

Managerial

Executive producers – Mica Paris

Visuals and Imagery

Design – Ian Ross
Photography – Regan Cameron, Jamie Morgan
Video image – Zoe Broach
Calligraphy – Ruth Rowland

Performance credits

Lead vocals – Mica Paris
Background vocals – Mica Paris, Chris Ballin, Jackie Farris, Jackie Gouche, James Ingram, Julian Jackson, Yana Johnson, Marva King, Jackie Simley, Stephen Simmonds, Alisha Warren

Instruments

Bass – Boy George, Nick Hannan, Raphael Saadiq, Stuart Zender
Drums – Dodge, Julian Jackson, John Paris
Flugelhorn – Colin Graham
Flute – Chris Margary,
Guitar – Kevan Frost, Randy Hope-Taylor, John Themis
Keyboards – Peter Adams, Julian Jackson, Paul Johnson, Kojo
Percussion – Julian Jackson
Piano – Marcus Brown, James Ingram, Wayne Linsey,
Saxophone – Ben Castle, Chris Margary, Jay Work
Recorder – Gareth Lucking, Jummy Sloan
Trombone – Skip Waring
Trumpet – Raul d'Oliveira, Colin Graham, Skip Waring

Technical and production

Arrangement – Mica Paris, Richard Hewson (strings), Julian Jackson (guitar)
Engineering – Nick Hannan, Alan Jenkins, Avril MacKintosh, Bill Malina,
Engineering assistants – Paul Naguna
Mixing – Marcus Brown, Guy Farley,
Record producer – Boy George, Guy Farley, Richie Stevens, Stephen Simmonds, Julian Jackson, Mica Paris, Omar
Programming – Marcus Brown, Julian Jackson, Richie Stevens
Recorded at Jam Shack Recordings, Los Angeles; Eden Studios, London; Blah Street Studios, Hampshire; Roundhouse Studios, London; Marcus Studios, London; The Green Room

Charts

Chart (1998)	Peak position
UK Albums (OCC)^[8]	59
UK R&B Albums (OCC)^[9]	10

References

^ Walsh, Nick Paton (7 August 1998). "Music: This week's pop CD releases". The Guardian.
^ Boy George (31 August 2011). Straight. Random House. p. 224. ISBN 9781446494950. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
^ Flick, Larry (1 August 1998). "Dance Trax by Larry Flick: Essential Imports". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 31. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 27. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
^ Bardowell, Derek A. (20 September 2001). Alison Donnell (ed.). Companion to Contemporary Black British Culture. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781134700240. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "MICA PARIS | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.
^ "Black Angel – Mica Paris | Credits". AllMusic.
^ Black Angel (liner notes). Mica Paris. Cooltempo. 1998.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 December 2020.

[1] Walsh, Nick Paton (7 August 1998). "Music: This week's pop CD releases". The Guardian.

[Boy_George-2] Boy George (31 August 2011). Straight. Random House. p. 224. ISBN 9781446494950. Retrieved 31 August 2021.

[BB_Dance_Trax-3] Flick, Larry (1 August 1998). "Dance Trax by Larry Flick: Essential Imports". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 31. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 27. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 31 August 2021.

[Bardowell-4] Bardowell, Derek A. (20 September 2001). Alison Donnell (ed.). Companion to Contemporary Black British Culture. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781134700240. Retrieved 31 August 2021.

[auto-5] "MICA PARIS | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.

[6] "Black Angel – Mica Paris | Credits". AllMusic.

[7] Black Angel (liner notes). Mica Paris. Cooltempo. 1998.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)

[UKAlbums-8] "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 December 2020.

[UKR&BAlbums-9] "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 December 2020.

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