A Change Is Gonna Come (Leela James album)

A Change Is Gonna Come is the debut album by American soul singer–songwriter Leela James. It was released on Warner Bros. Records on June 21, 2005 in the United States.[1]

A Change Is Gonna Come
Studio album by Leela James
Released	June 21, 2005
Studio	Various Bennett Studios (Englewood, New Jersey) Platinum Sound Recording Studios (New York City, New York)
Length	64:54
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer	Leela James (exec.) Commissioner Gordon (exec.) Bobby Ross Avila Iz Avila Vikter Duplaix Jerry Duplessis Aaron Harris Wyclef Jean James Poyser Raphael Saadiq Chucky Thompson Kanye West
Leela James chronology
A Change Is Gonna Come (2005) Let's Do It Again (2009)
Singles from A Change Is Gonna Come
"Music" Released: 2005 "My Joy" Released: 2006

Overview

James covers Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come" and No Doubt's "Don't Speak" on the album.[2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Boston Globe	(favourable)[4]
People	(favourable)[5]
Vibe	[6]

Allmusic editor Andy Kellman wrote that the album "retains a nostalgic tint. James has the stature of a woman who should possess a squeaky voice, but she sings with demonstrative grit. More importantly, she doesn't see her inspirations merely as artists to mimic; she sees how they learned from the past and applied it to the present. The past is built upon (if only a little), rather than simply revisited [...] There's plenty of thematic range, whether there are blue lights in the basement, tears on the pillow, sweat on the dancefloor, or sun showers on the porch."[7]

Track listing

Credits adapted from the liner notes of A Change Is Gonna Come.[1]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Intro"			1:25
2.	"Music"	Leela James Louis "Buster" Brown II Scott "Shavoni" Parker	Bobby Ross Avila Issiah Avila	4:03
3.	"Good Time"	James Gordon Williams Kenton Nix Puff Johnson	Commissioner Gordon	4:16
4.	"Ghetto"	James Wyclef Jean Jerry Duplessis	Jean Duplessis	3:50
5.	"Slappy" (Interlude)			0:57
6.	"Soul Food"	James Raphael Saadiq	Saadiq	3:18
7.	"Rain"	James Saadiq	Saadiq Jake and the Phatman^[A]	4:08
8.	"Married" (Interlude)			1:40
9.	"When You Love Somebody"	James Williams Johnson	Commissioner Gordon	4:30
10.	"Mistreating Me"	James Aaron Harris Ahmad A. Lewis	Harris Commissioner Gordon	5:13
11.	"Don't Speak"	Gwen Stefani Eric Stefani	Harris Commissioner Gordon James^[A]	4:46
12.	"Bummy" (Interlude)			0:52
13.	"My Joy"	James James Poyser Vikter Duplaix Carvin Haggins Tend Lewis	Poyser Duplaix	4:57
14.	"It's Alright"	James Kanye West Williams Renée Neufville	Commissioner Gordon West James^[A]	4:03
15.	"Didn't I"	James West	Commissioner Gordon West	3:17
16.	"Prayer"	James Johnson Chucky Thompson	Thompson	3:57
17.	"I Know I've Been Changed" (Interlude)			2:05
18.	"A Change Is Gonna Come"	Sam Cooke	Commissioner Gordon James	3:35
19.	"Long Time Coming"	James Williams	Commissioner Gordon James^[A]	4:02

Notes

• ^{^[A]} denotes co-producer

Sample credits[1]

• "Good Time" contains replayed elements from "Funky Sensation", written by Kenton Nix, performed by Gwen McCrae.
• "When You Love Somebody" contains elements of "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know", written by Al Kooper.
• "Didn't I" embodies portions of "I Can't Fake It Anymore", written by D. Monda and T. Taylor.
• "Long Time Coming" embodies portions of "The Truth", written by Dwight Grant, Kanye West and Graham Nash.

Charts

Chart (2005)	Peak position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[8]	43
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[9]	26
French Albums (SNEP)[10]	97
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[11]	52
US Billboard 200[12]	148
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[13]	42

References

1. A Change Is Gonna Come. Leela James . Warner Bros. Records. 2005.CS1 maint: others (link)
2. "Leela James: A Change Is Gonna Come". secondhandsongs.com.
3. Kellman, Andy. "A Change Is Gonna Come > Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 2009-11-22.
4. Graham, Renee (July 11, 2005). "CD Report". boston.com. Boston Globe.
5. "Picks and Pans Review: Leela James". people.com.
6. Checkoway, Laura (May 2005). Leela James: A Change Is Gonna Come. 13. Vibe. p. 141.
7. "A Change Is Gonna Come > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-11-17.
8. "Ultratop.be – Leela James – A Change Is Gonna Come" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
9. "Dutchcharts.nl – Leela James – A Change Is Gonna Come" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
10. "Lescharts.com – Leela James – A Change Is Gonna Come". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
11. "Swedishcharts.com – Leela James – A Change Is Gonna Come". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
12. "Leela James Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
13. "Leela James Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 1, 2017.

External links

• A Change Is Gonna Come at Discogs