| Radio Music Society | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 20, 2012 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 57:54 | |||
| Label | Heads Up International | |||
| Producer | Esperanza Spalding | |||
| Esperanza Spalding chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Radio Music Society | ||||
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Radio Music Society is the fourth studio albumbyEsperanza Spalding, which was released through the record label Heads Up International on March 20, 2012.[1][2][3][4] The album earned Spalding Grammy Awards for Best Jazz Vocal Album and Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) for the track, "City of Roses".
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 6.2/10[5] |
| Metacritic | 74/100[6] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| All About Jazz |   [7] |
| AllMusic |  [8] |
| The Austin Chronicle | [9] |
| Blurt Magazine |   [10] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B[11] |
| The Guardian | [12] |
| Rolling Stone | [13] |
| Slant | [14] |
| The Telegraph | [15] |
| The Times | [16] |
Radio Music Society was well received by music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 74, based on 15 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[6] John Bungey of The Times noted the album's "journey through soul, gospel, balladry and big-band swing", and complimented Spalding's "light, airy voice".[16] He wrote in conclusion: "For those who have hitherto found her considerable abilities easier to admire than enjoy, this is the most convincing display yet".[16] A review in the monthly Kulturspiegel extra of the German Spiegel magazine noted that the poppy arrangements of the songs might help the album to become successful beyond the jazz genre.[4] Jeff Artist of Okayplayer wrote "With her new companion LP, Radio Music Society, the young virtuoso branches out sonically, injecting her jazz roots with some modern soul and pop juice, maybe even inspiring the Bieber faithful to check in on what all the fuss is about... At just 11 tracks, this record flexes serious range, but what’s even more impressive is that it rarely sounds overextended".[17]
In the United States, Radio Music Society became Spalding's first Top 10 album. It debuted at number 10 on the Billboard 200 chart and number one on the Top Jazz Albums chart with first week sales of 25,000 copies.[18] The album has sold 135,000 copies in the US as of January 2016.[19]
All tracks are written by Esperanza Spalding except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Radio Song" | 6:32 | |
| 2. | "Cinnamon Tree" | 5:36 | |
| 3. | "Crowned & Kissed" |
| 4:35 |
| 4. | "Land of the Free" | 1:54 | |
| 5. | "Black Gold" (featuring Algebra Blessett & Lionel Loueke) | 5:17 | |
| 6. | "I Can't Help It" (featuring Joe Lovano) |
| 4:42 |
| 7. | "Hold On Me" | 3:40 | |
| 8. | "Vague Suspicions" | 5:51 | |
| 9. | "Endangered Species" (featuring Lalah Hathaway) |
| 6:38 |
| 10. | "Let Her" | 4:21 | |
| 11. | "City of Roses" | 4:35 | |
| 12. | "Smile Like That" | 4:18 | |
| Total length: | 57:52 | ||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Jazz Ain't Nothin but Soul" (featuring Joe Lovano) | Norman Mapp | 3:37 |
| Chart (2012) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[20] | 59 |
| French Albums (SNEP)[21] | 54 |
| Japanese Albums Chart[22] | 39 |
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[23] | 33 |
| Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[24] | 40 |
| Swedish Jazz Albums[25] | 4 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[26] | 75 |
| USBillboard 200[27] | 10 |
| USTop Jazz Albums (Billboard)[28] | 1 |
| USTop Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[29] | 4 |
| Year | Title | Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | "Black Gold" | USTop Jazz Songs[30] | 20 |
| 2012 | "Black Gold" | Japan Hot 100[30] | 21 |
| 2012 | "I Can't Help It" | USTop Jazz Songs[30] | 26 |
