Hearsay (album)

Hearsay is the second solo studio album by American recording artist Alexander O'Neal. It was originally released in July 1987, on the labels Tabu and Epic as the follow-up to O'Neal's critically and commercially successful 1985 album Alexander O'Neal. Hearsay explores similar genres to those of Alexander O'Neal including pop, R&B, soul, post-disco, funk, and adult contemporary music, while also incorporating a newer genre, new jack swing. The songs were recorded from 1986 to 1987 in sessions that took place at Flyte Time Productions, Inc. Studio A & B in Minneapolis, Minnesota, assisted by R&B songwriting and record production team Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. It features contributions from guest musicians, including Cherrelle, David Eiland, and Lisa Keith, and is generally regarded as the culmination of the smoother, more adult-oriented sound of O'Neal's early work.

On release, the album was received favourably by the majority of music critics. O'Neal's most commercially successful solo album, in the United States it went on to peak at number 29 on the Billboard 200 and number two on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. The album was even more successful in the United Kingdom, peaking at number four and producing seven charting singles, including five top 40 hits. "Fake" peaked at number 33 on the UK Singles Chart; "Criticize" peaked at number four; "Never Knew Love Like This" at number 26; "The Lovers" at number 28; "(What Can I Say) To Make You Love Me" at number 27; "Sunshine" at number 72. Several remixes of the album's songs also charted: "Fake '88", (No. 16); "Hearsay '89", (No. 56). Two of the tracks, "Fake" and "Criticize", were also popular anthems in UK dance clubs. The album went on to be certified gold by the RIAA on October 20, 1987. In the UK, it sold more than 900,000 copies, being certified 3× Platinum by the BPI.

The album was re-released on 6 May 2013 on Tabu's new Re-born imprint featuring rare bonus content. The reissue is a 2-CD set with the original album digitally remastered from the original 1/2" mix tapes; the bonus content consists of associated 7" and 12" mixes.

Composition
Hearsay has the overtones of a concept album, being loosely set around the attendees of a house party being hosted by O'Neal. Over the course of the album, the themes that are played out include O'Neal's advances towards a particular woman in the room ("What Can I Say To Make You Love Me"), as well as his observations on other attendees of the party – for instance a courting couple ("The Lovers"), a spiteful gossip-monger ("Hearsay"), a loudmouth – implied to be a groupie ("Fake"), and a nagging ex-lover ("Criticize"), unrequited admiration ("Crying Overtime"), and culminating in the finale ("When the Party's Over"), where O'Neal finally persuades the woman to stay after the party is over. Interspersed between the tracks are "interludes" consisting of general background noise and conversation between the partygoers which sets up the theme of the next song.

Critical reception
Hearsay was well received by most critics, and was hailed as a major breakthrough for O'Neal, while receiving critical recognition. In his consumer guide for The Village Voice, Robert Christgau gave the album a B+ and commented that "Jam & Lewis are letting their love man play the nasty guy--"Fake" and "Criticize" take the offensive after "Hearsay" puts it sweetly." and also commented that "unlike Jam & Lewis's nasty girl, O'Neal has the vocal muscle (and biceps) to back his nasty up."

Retrospective reviews
Today, the album is still viewed in a positive light by critics some three decades later. Ron Wynn of AllMusic gave the album four and a half out of five stars and wrote that "Jam and Lewis linked the material with "party" dialogue and patter, providing their finest and tightest production for any O'Neal record." adding that "the beats were catchy, the songs hook-laden, and O'Neal's voice alternately explosive, sensitive and bemused." And Daryl Easlea of BBC iPlayer gave a positive review writing that it was "Dismissed by the cognoscenti but adored by the masses." noting that "Hearsay is very much of its time, but that doesn't mean it has dated. It sounds as fresh now as it did then. Had it been 20 years earlier, Alexander O'Neal would have been compared to Otis Redding."

In popular culture
In 2008, "Criticize" appeared on Grand Theft Auto IV's fictional Soul/R&B radio station The Vibe 98.8. In 2017, "Fake" was used in Black Mirror's "San Junipero" episode, during the first scene at the night club Tucker's.

Track listing

 * On original CD pressings, the interlude before "Crying Overtime" was included as part of "Sunshine". It was restored as its own track for the 2013 reissue.
 * A 2003 reissue resequenced the album so that all intros and interludes (except for those to "(What Can I Say) To Make You Love Me" and "Never Knew Love Like This") were made part of the track that directly followed them, yielding an 11 track album.

Personnel
Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.
 * Alexander O'Neal – vocals; arranger; rhythm arrangements
 * Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis – percussion; arranger; keyboards; backing vocals; handclapping; producer; drum programming; rhythm arrangements; keyboard programming; synthesizer programming
 * Jellybean Johnson – percussion; keyboards; background vocals; handclapping; drum programming; rhythm arrangements; keyboard programming; synthesizer programming on "Criticize"
 * Additional personnel
 * Cherrelle – arrangements, lead vocals and backing vocals on "Never Knew Love Like This"
 * Spencer Bernard – programming; sequencing
 * David Eiland – saxophone soloist on "Never Knew Love Like This"
 * Steve Hodge – percussion on "The Lovers"; engineer
 * Lisa Keith – backing vocals on "(What Can I Say) To Make You Love Me", "The Lovers" and "Criticize"; vocal arrangements on "Criticize"
 * Randy Ran – backing vocals on "The Lovers", "Never Knew Love Like This", "Sunshine" and "When the Party's Over"
 * Kelli Anderson – handclaps on "Hearsay" and "The Lovers"
 * Jerome Benton – chants on "Fake"
 * James Greer – handclapping on "The Lovers", chants on "Fake"
 * Karen Williams, Cheryl Yvette Woodard, Delinda Miller, Trish A. Woods, Margie Abrahamson, Carra Wallace - party guests on interludes
 * Clarence Avant – executive producer
 * A. Scott Galloway – liner notes (2003 reissue)
 * Brian Gardner – mastering
 * Stafford – photography
 * Dale Wehlacz – art direction, design