Always (Pebbles album)

Always
Always
Studio album by Pebbles
Released	September 11, 1990
Recorded	1989–1990
Studio	Various Elumba Recording Studios, Skip Saylor Recording, Summa Music Group, Wide Tracks Studios and Galaxy Sound Studios; (Hollywood, California); Encore Studios; (Burbank, California); Soundscape Studios and Cheshire Sound Studios; (Atlanta, Georgia); Electric Lady Studios; (New York, New York); ;
Genre	R&B; new jack swing;
Length	53:23
Label	MCA
Producer	L.A. Reid; Babyface; Daryl Simmons; Kayo; Pebbles;
Pebbles chronology
Singles from Always
	"Giving You the Benefit"; Released: August 11, 1990; "Love Makes Things Happen"; Released: November 6, 1990; "Backyard"; Released: March 12, 1991; "Always"; Released: June 10, 1991;

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]
Entertainment Weekly	C−^[2]

Always is the second studio album by American recording artist Pebbles. It was released on September 11, 1990, by MCA Records and spawned two Top 20 hits on the U.S. Hot 100, which also hit #1 on the R&B chart: "Giving You the Benefit" (US #4 pop, #1 R&B) and "Love Makes Things Happen" (a duet with Babyface, US #13 pop, #1 R&B), as well as the top-five R&B hit "Backyard" (featuring Salt-N-Pepa), and the top 20 R&B hit "Always".

Track listing

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Giving You the Benefit"	Kenneth Edmonds, Antonio Reid	5:41
2.	"Backyard" (featuring Salt-N-Pepa)	Edmonds, Reid, Cheryl James	5:56
3.	"Love Makes Things Happen" (with Babyface)	Edmonds, Reid	5:10
4.	"Say a Prayer for Me"	Edmonds, Reid	5:15
5.	"Why Do I Believe" (Prelude)	Edmonds	1:05

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
6.	"Give It to Me"	Edmonds, Reid	4:10
7.	"Why Do I Believe"	Edmonds	3:53
8.	"Always"	Danny Sembello, Pebbles	5:33
9.	"Stay with Me"	Kevin Roberson, Daryl Simmons, Pebbles	4:38
10.	"Good Thang"	Edmonds, Reid, Roberson, Simmons, Pebbles	4:25

CD bonus track
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
11.	"Giving You the Benefit" (Extended Club Mix)	Edmonds, Reid	7:41

Production

L.A. & Babyface – executive producers, producers (1–8)
Pebbles – executive producer, co-producer (8)
Daryl Simmons & Kayo – producers (9, 10)
Jon Gass – recording (1–9), mix engineer, mixing
Jimmy Dutt – recording (4, 10)
L.A. Reid – mixing
Ron Christopher, Ryan Dorn, Jimmy Dutt, Thom "TK" Kidd and Barney Perkins – additional engineers
Michael Alvord, Steve Battle, Mike Baumgartner, Kyle Bess, Rich Caughron, Jim Champagne, Milton Chan, Ross Donaldson, Fred Law, Ted Malia, Joe Shay, Donnell Sullivan, Michael White, Bill Zalin and Jim "Z" Zumpano – assistant engineers
Donnell Sullivan – mix assistant
Eddy Schreyer – mastering at Future Disc (Hollywood, California)
Donald Parks – production manager
Zetra Smith – production manager (4, 9)
Jeff Adamoff – art direction
September – art direction
Randee St. Nicholas – photography
Gallin Morey Associates – management

Personnel

Pebbles – lead vocals, backing vocals, vocal arrangements
Babyface – keyboards (1–8), keyboard programming (1–8), rhythm arrangements (1–8), vocal arrangements (1–9), backing vocals (2, 3, 4, 8), lead vocals (3), Moog bass (4), Fender 5-string bass (5, 7), guitars (8), guitar solo (9)
Donald Parks – Fairlight CMI (1–4, 8, 10), Synclavier programming (1, 3, 8, 10), Synclavier (5, 6, 7, 9)
Danny Sembello – keyboards (8)
Daryl Simmons – backing vocals (4, 9, 10), keyboards (9, 10), keyboard programming (9, 10), guitars (9), rhythm arrangements (9, 10), vocal arrangements (9, 10)
Kayo – Moog bass (1, 2, 6, 8, 9, 10), Fender 5-string bass (3), percussion (5, 7), backing vocals (9, 10), vocal arrangements (9, 10), keyboards (10, keyboard programming (10), drums (10)
L.A. Reid – drums, percussion, backing vocals (1, 9), rhythm arrangements (1–8), vocal arrangements (1–4, 6, 8)
After 7 – backing vocals (1, 2, 6, 10)
Natisse "Bambi" Jones – backing vocals (1, 6, 8)
Salt 'N' Pepa – raps (2)
Johnny Gill – backing vocals (4, 8)
Karyn White – backing vocals (4)
Cherrelle – backing vocals (8)

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1990)	Peak position
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)^[3]	68
US Billboard 200^[4]	37
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[5]	12

Year-end charts

Chart (1991)	Position
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[6]	25

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)^[7]	Gold	500,000^{^}
^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

^ Hogan, Ed. Always review at AllMusic. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
^ Sandow, Greg (September 14, 1990). "Always review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 9070". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
^ "Pebbles Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
^ "Pebbles Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1991". Billboard. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
^ "American album certifications – Pebbles – Always". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved January 16, 2023.

[allmusic-1] Hogan, Ed. Always review at AllMusic. Retrieved March 23, 2013.

[ew-2] Sandow, Greg (September 14, 1990). "Always review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 23, 2013.

[group=-3] "Top RPM Albums: Issue 9070". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 22, 2022.

[ac_Billboard200_Pebbles-4] "Pebbles Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 9, 2021.

[ac_BillboardRandBHipHop_Pebbles-5] "Pebbles Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 9, 2021.

[6] "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1991". Billboard. Retrieved November 9, 2021.

[United_StatesPebblesAlwaysalbumCertRef-7] "American album certifications – Pebbles – Always". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved January 16, 2023.

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v t e Pebbles
Studio albums	Pebbles (1987) Always (1990) Straight from My Heart (1995)
Singles	"Girlfriend" "Mercedes Boy" "Giving You the Benefit" "Love Makes Things Happen" "Backyard"
Related	Discography