Before the Rain (album)

Before the Rain
Studio album by
Eternal
Released17 March 1997
Recorded1996–1997
Genre
Length49:02
Label
Producer
  • Dennis Charles
  • Ronnie Wilson
  • Nigel Lowis
  • Simon Climie
  • Harvey Mason Jr.
Eternal chronology
Power of a Woman
(1995) 		Before the Rain
(1997) 		Greatest Hits
(1997)
Singles from Before the Rain
  1. "Someday"
    Released: 5 August 1996[1]
  2. "Don't You Love Me"
    Released: 24 February 1997[2]
  3. "Finally"
    Released: 16 April 1997 (Japan only)[3]
  4. "I Wanna Be the Only One"
    Released: 19 May 1997[4]
  5. "Think About Me"
    Released: 25 June 1997 (Japan only)[5]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
Music Week[7]

Before the Rain is the third album by the British R&B vocal group Eternal, released on 17 March 1997. The album includes the single "I Wanna Be the Only One" (a duet with BeBe Winans), which became Eternal's first and only number one hit in the United Kingdom. "Someday" and "Don't You Love Me" were also issued as singles, and two other songs, "Finally" and "Think About Me", were released only in Japan. The album features lead vocals from Vernie Bennett ("Think About Me") and Kéllé Bryan ("I'm Still Crying", "All My Love"), and is their last to feature Bryan.

A commercial success, the album went Gold in its first week, debuting with sales of 100,000 copies before being certified Platinum. In June 2019, Before the Rain was ranked at number 35 on the Official Charts Company's list of the "top 40 biggest girl band studio albums of the last 25 years".[8] According to Billboard, a US release was planned for 26 August 1997, featuring 4 additional tracks. "Dreams", produced by Peter Mokran and Emosia was slated as the lead single and was serviced to R&B radio on 9 June 1997.[9]

  1. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 3 August 1996. p. 27.
  2. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 22 February 1997. p. 41.
  3. ^ "ファイナリー | エターナル" [Finally | Eternal] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  4. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 17 May 1997. p. 36.
  5. ^ "シンク・アバウト・ミー | エターナル" [Think About Me | Eternal] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  6. ^ "Review: Before the Rain – Eternal". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  7. ^ "Reviews: Albums" (PDF). Music Week. 8 March 1997. p. 29. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  8. ^ "The Official Top 40 biggest girl band studio albums of the last 25 years". Official Charts Company. 13 June 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  9. ^ "Billboard (21 June 1997)". Billboard. 21 June 1997. p. 83. Retrieved 18 December 2017. eternal record sales.