So Close (album)

So Close
Studio album by
Dina Carroll
Released18 January 1993
Genre
Length53:47
LabelA&M
ProducerNigel Lowis
Dina Carroll chronology
So Close
(1993) 		Only Human
(1996)
Singles from So Close
  1. "Ain't No Man"
    Released: 29 June 1992
  2. "Special Kind of Love"
    Released: 28 September 1992
  3. "So Close"
    Released: 23 November 1992
  4. "This Time"
    Released: 15 February 1993
  5. "Express"
    Released: 3 May 1993
  6. "Don't Be a Stranger"
    Released: 4 October 1993
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[2]
Music Week[3]
NME5/10[4]

So Close is the debut album by British soul–dance singer Dina Carroll, released in January 1993 on the A&M label.[5] The album made its chart debut at #2 and remained in the top 20 of the UK Albums Chart for six months.[6] It was shortlisted for the 1993 Mercury Prize. It ended 1993 as the fourth-best-selling album of the year in the United Kingdom, and its success continued into 1994 as it remained in the top 20 for another three months and again rose to a peak of #2. It eventually sold 1.5 million copies and was the highest selling debut album by a British female singer in UK chart history, a record it held until 2001 when it was overtaken by Dido's No Angel.

Among the session musicians on the album are the Blues Brothers' horn section, Mariah Carey's bass player Anthony Jackson and Cissy Houston's New Hope Baptist Choir. On the album release, Music & Media wrote, "Here we have a real soul singer, as sophisticated and sensual as Lisa Stansfield, who fits both the trendy club scene as well as the plush surroundings of chic nightclubbing."[7]

  1. ^ a b Sharon Mawer. So Close at AllMusic. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  2. ^ a b Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. p. 211.|quote=upbeat dance album "So Close" by British R&B and dance diva Dina Carroll
  3. ^ a b Jones, Alan (23 January 1993). "Market Preview: Mainstream - Albums — Pick of the Week" (PDF). Music Week. p. 25. Retrieved 29 January 2023. set of mediocre R&B songs.
  4. ^ McCann, Ian (30 January 1993). "Long Play". NME. p. 31. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  5. ^ Dina Carroll — So Close
  6. ^ "Official Charts Company". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 March 2010.
  7. ^ "A&M Tries To Break Carroll With First Album" (PDF). Music & Media. 13 February 1993. p. 10. Retrieved 21 February 2020.