Before the Rain (album)

Before the Rain is the third album by the British R&B vocal group Eternal, released in 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. 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.

Before the Rain
Studio album by Eternal
Released	17 March 1997
Recorded	1996–97
Genre	R&B, soul
Length	49:02
Label	EMI, First Avenue
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
"Someday" Released: August 5, 1996 "Don't You Love Me" Released: February 24, 1997 "I Wanna Be the Only One" Released: May 19, 1997 "Think About Me" Released: June 25, 1997 (Japan Only)

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 Top 40 biggest girl band studio albums of the last 25 years.[1] According to Billboard, a US release was planned for August 26, 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 June 9, 1997.[2]

Single releases

"Someday", which was the theme to Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame, was released as a single in 1996, the year before Before the Rain was released. "Don't You Love Me" was released just before the album's release, followed by the duet with American singer BeBe Winans "I Wanna Be the Only One" which reached #1 in the UK, becoming Eternal's first and only number one hit there. "How Many Tears" was scheduled for release as a single but plans were dropped due to the future release of the Greatest Hits. Australian version of the album includes the original mix of Dreams. Dreams was intended to be a single in the US where a repackaged version of Before The Rain would've been released, re-titled "Dreams" and including a further two new songs. These are thought to have been "Angel Of Mine" and "Talk About it".

Critical reception and sales

Before The Rain received a positive response from music critics and fans and it gained Eternal a MOBO Award. The album peaked at number 3 on the UK Albums Chart and was certified Platinum by the BPI for sales of over 300,000 copies.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Don't You Love Me"	Cynthia Biggs Carolyn Mitchell Terence Dudley Christopher Kellum	Dennis Charles Ronnie Wilson	3:49
2.	"I Wanna Be the Only One" (duet with BeBe Winans)	Winans Rhett Lawrence	Andy Bradfield	4:18
3.	"How Many Tears"	St. Paul Peterson Oliver Leiber	Harvey Mason, Jr.	4:37
4.	"Grace Under Pressure"	Bruce Forest John Themis Beverley Skeete Derek Green Andy Whitmore	Charles Wilson	4:41
5.	"Someday"	Alan Menken Stephen Schwartz	Simon Climie	4:14
6.	"Think About Me" (featuring Basil Reynolds)	Michelle Lewis	Charles Wilson	4:39
7.	"Promises"	Easther Bennett Vernie Bennett	Charles Wilson	4:07
8.	"I'm Still Cryin"	Nigel Lowis Kéllé Bryan Graham Plato	Lowis	4:50
9.	"All My Love" (featuring G-Man)	Lowis Bryan Plato	Lowis	3:06
10.	"What Do You Mean When You Say"	Vernie Bennett	Charles Wilson	4:58
11.	"Why Am I Waiting"	E. Bennett Mason Robert Gerald Denis Ingoldsby	Mason	4:16
12.	"It's Never Too Late" (Interlude)	E. Bennett	Charles Wilson	1:14

Australian bonus track

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
13.	"Dreams"	Fleetwood Mac Ken Caillat Richard Dashut	Charles Wilson	4:13

Japanese Bonus Tracks

• 1. "Finally" (On the Japanese Edition this was placed as the First Track)
• 14. "12 Months"
• 15. "I'll Take A Pass On Love"
• 16. "I Wanna Be The Only One" (This version features only Easther on lead vocals)

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1997) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[3] 36 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[4] 10 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[5] 4 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[6] 1 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[7] 50 Japanese Albums (Oricon)[8] 18 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[9] 42 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[10] 20 Scottish Albums (OCC)[11] 14 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[12] 33 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[13] 21 UK Albums (OCC)[14] 3 UK R&B Albums (OCC)[15] 1

Year-end charts Chart (1997) Position Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[16] 32 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[17] 39 UK Albums (OCC)[18] 42

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Japan (RIAJ)[19]	N/A	77,400^^
Netherlands (NVPI)[20]	Gold	50,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[21]	Platinum	300,000^^
^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "The Official Top 40 biggest girl band studio albums of the last 25 years". Official Charts Company. 13 June 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
2. Billboard (21 June 1997). Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 1997-06-21. p. 83. Retrieved 18 December 2017. eternal record sales.
3. "Australiancharts.com – Eternal – Before the Rain". Hung Medien.
4. "Austriancharts.at – Eternal – Before the Rain" (in German). Hung Medien.
5. "Danishcharts.dk – Eternal – Before the Rain". Hung Medien.
6. "Dutchcharts.nl – Eternal – Before the Rain" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
7. "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH.
8. "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 1997-03-01" (in Japanese). Oricon.
9. "Charts.nz – Eternal – Before the Rain". Hung Medien.
10. "Norwegiancharts.com – Eternal – Before the Rain". Hung Medien.
11. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
12. "Swedishcharts.com – Eternal – Before the Rain". Hung Medien.
13. "Swisscharts.com – Eternal – Before the Rain". Hung Medien.
14. "Eternal | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart.
15. "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
16. "Danishcharts – Jahreshitparade 1997". Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
17. "Dutchcharts.nl – Jahreshitparade 1997". Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
18. "Chart Archive – 1990s Albums". Retrieved 24 September 2011.
19. "Japanese album certifications – Eternal – Always & Forever" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
20. "Dutch album certifications – Eternal – Before the Rain" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved July 15, 2012. Enter Before the Rain in the "Artiest of titel" box.
21. "British album certifications – Eternal – Before the Rain". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 25 July 2012. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Before the Rain in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.