The Comfort Zone (album)

The Comfort Zone is the second studio album by American singer and actress Vanessa Williams, released on August 20, 1991, by Mercury's Wing Records Label.

Singles
The first single from the album was "Running Back to You", an uptempo song that peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. "The Comfort Zone", the second single, peaked at number 62 on the Hot 100 and number two on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

The third single, "Save the Best for Last" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for five consecutive weeks. "Just for Tonight" was the fourth single from the album, reaching number 26 on the Hot 100, followed by "Work to Do", which achieved moderate success.

Critical reception
Arion Berger from Entertainment Weekly gave the album an A, writing, "With 14 longish songs, beautifully sequenced and warmly sung, The Comfort Zone is less a pop record than the soundtrack to a giddy, heartfelt R&B stage musical about love — minus the man."

He highlighted "The Comfort Zone", "Running Back to You", "Save the Best for Last", "What Will I Tell My Heart", "Freedom Dance" and "Goodbye", and concluded, "Through it all, the keyboard romps, the drums get busy, and a flute adds occasional breathy punctuation. Give the lady a great big hand."

Commercial performance
The album peaked at number 17 on the US Billboard 200 and reached number one on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. In the United Kingdom, it peaked at number 24 upon its release in April 1992 before quickly falling out of the top 50.

The album has since been certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and gold by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA).

Awards
The album was nominated for five Grammy Awards: Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female for "Runnin' Back to You" in 1992; Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female, Record of the Year and "Song of the Year" for "Save the Best for Last" and Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female for "The Comfort Zone" in 1993.

Track listing
The tracks "Work to Do" and "What Will I Tell My Heart?" both appeared in the film Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man; the latter also appeared on the film's soundtrack album.

Musicians

 * Vanessa Williams - vocals
 * DJ L.A. Jay, Dr. Jam, Mark Hammond, Harvey Mason Sr. - drums
 * Dave Darlington, DJ L.A. Jay, Trevor Gale, Kenni Hairston, Mark Hammond, Reggie Stewart, Keith Thomas - drum programming
 * D.J. LA Jay, Bob Rosa, Rob Von Arx - "beats"
 * Phase 5, Bob Rosa, Rob Von Arx - samples
 * Greg Arnold, Derek Bramble, Merv DePyere, DJ L.A. Jay, Dr. Jam, David Frank, Alan Friedman, Trevor Gale, Kenni Hairston, Fred McFarlane, Monty Seward, Keith Thomas - keyboards
 * Jorgen Kaufman, Brian McKnight, Randy Waldman - piano
 * Stanley Clarke, Fred McFarlane, Cornelius Mims, Jimmie Lee Sloas, Keith Thomas - bass
 * David Frank - synthesized bass
 * Dann Huff, Paul Jackson, Jr., Jerry McPherson, Wah Wah Watson, Peter "Depete" Meldgaard - guitar
 * Jerry McPherson - mandolin
 * Gerald Albright, Pete Christlieb, Mark Douthit, Thomas Haas, Scott Mayo - saxophone
 * Fernando Pullum - trumpet
 * Duane Benjamin - trombone
 * Hubert Laws - flute
 * The Nashville String Machine - strings
 * Horns arranged by Scott Mayo
 * Strings arranged by Keith Thomas
 * Debbie Cole, Lori Fulton, Vicki Hampton, Kipper Jones, Donna McElroy, Rick Nelson, Valerie Pinkston-Mayo, Angel Rogers, Andres "Dres" Vargas-Titus, Tata Vega - backing vocals
 * Vocals arranged by Gerry Brown, Kipper Jones, Brian McKnight, Mark Stevens, Keith Thomas and Vanessa Williams

Technical

 * Produced by Vanessa Williams (also executive), Ed Eckstine (executive), Keith Thomas, Brian McKnight, Kenni Hairston, Derek Bramble, Gerry Brown, Bruce Carbone, Dave Darlington, DJ L.A. Jay, Kipper Jones, Phase 5, Mark Stevens and Reggie Stewart
 * Engineers – Derek Bramble, Claude Demers, Joe Schiff, Will Schillinger, Allen Sides, Kieran Walsh, Matt Wells, Gerry Brown
 * Assistant engineers – Steve Charles, Foley, Roy Gamble, Marty Lester, Todd Moore, Gary Paczosa, Mike Piersante, Brian Soucey
 * Mixing – Gerry Brown, Bruce Carbone, Dave Darlington, Humberto Gatica, Bill Whittington, Vanessa L. Williams
 * Mix assistants – Jeff Gledt, John Kunz, John David Parker, Brian Soucey
 * Mastering – Herb Powers

Certifications
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