Innocence (Millie Reynolds album)

*Shadow Lovers (album)*  (1990)
 You're Mine

*Innocence* is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Millie Reynolds, released on February 3, 1992, by Bad Bitch Records. Following the success of her debut album, Reynolds wanted to become the record producer of her next album. However, her label was not ready to give her the artistic freedom and she chose Walter Haltz instead to produce the album due to his work with Sandra Akwa. Reynolds wrote all songs on the record, three of which feature Halts as a co-writer. The album was recorded at Abbey Road in London at a quick pace. Haltz enlisted the help of his former Duckling bandmates Bernard San Jose, who was the bassist, and Tony Reyes, who played drums. Natividad Shay, the record's audio engineer, persuaded Haltz to use digital recording, a new technique introduced at that time.

Upon its release, *Innocence* polarized the music critics, while some praised the album's production, while other found the lyricism standard, and a few criticized Reynolds breathy vocals. In retrospect, the album has been positively reviewed, with some contemporary music critics citing it amongst Reynolds' best works. Commercially, the album was a moderate success, failing to top the chart in the United States, where it debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, surprising many critics following the success of Reynolds' debut, which already sold 7 million copies that time. Outside the United States, it was a massive hit, topping the charts of many European countries, becoming her first album to achieve that feat on the region. Globally, it sold 12 million copies worldwide.

Four singles were released to promote the album. The album's lead single, Up All Night, became Reynolds' fourth chart topper on the Billboard Hot 100. Additionally, it became Reynolds' third chart topper in Canada, and reached the top three in Canada and reached top ten on Australia. "Nothing Like It" was released as the second single from *Innocence*. Due to Bad Bitch Record's removal of the single from stores in an attempt to boost the album's sales, "Nothing Like It" failed to become her fifth chart topper and even became her first song to not reach top three in the US, peaking at number four, though it was a bigger hit globally than "Up All Night". "Insane" was released as the third single of the album and at that time became her biggest global hit and made Reynolds a better known global icon. While it only peaked at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100, it peaked number one on many countries overseas. "You're Mine" was released as the fourth and final single, receiving moderate success around the globe but in the United States, it only peaked at number five.

## Background

A former TV child star and personality, Millie Vanity Reynolds became known to the world simply as Millie Reynolds, with the release of her 1990 debut album *Shadow Lovers*. Fueled by hit songs like "Bang Bang", "Shadow Lovers" and "Slash Beat", the album was one of the best selling of the year and helped Reynolds become one of the most exciting new artists of the 1990s. When she started work on her second album, Reynolds felt that her first album had succeeded in introducing her "wise mind pop princess" persona, and she wanted to solidify and build upon that concept. According to her, "My work, my dedication—the stubbornness for getting *Shadow Lovers* released—had paid off. Now it was time to solidify my future."

For *Innocence*, Reynolds attempted to become one of the primary record producers, feeling the need to control the various aspects of her music. She believed that depending on a particular producer for her album was not something that suited her. Reynolds said "I learnt my lesson while creating my debut album, and the way [Payami, the producer of her debut project] Ali left me in the water with the project, you can't trust men"—referring to the incident, when due to a certain difference of opinion between producer Ali Payami and Reynolds, Lucas had left the project half-way. However, Bad Bitch Records was not ready to give her the artistic freedom that she wanted. In T. Jowell McConnel's biography of Reynolds, she commented,

> Bad Bitch Records is a hierarchy of old men and it's a chauvinist environment to be working in because I'm treated like this sexy little girl. I had to prove them wrong, which meant not only proving myself to my fans but to my record company as well. That is something that happens when you're a girl. It wouldn't happen to Prince or Michael Jackson. I had to do everything on my own and it was hard trying to convince people that I was worth a record deal. After that, I had the same problem trying to convince the record company that I had more to offer than a one-shot singer. I had to win this fight.
>
>

Ultimately, Walter Haltz was chosen by Reynolds as the producer of the album, with the approval of the Bad Bitch couple. Reynolds chose Haltz mostly because of his work as a member of the 1980s band Duckling, and his most recent production work with Sandra Akwa on her self-titled debut album. She commented, "When I was making the record, I was just so thrilled and happy to be working with Walter Haltz. I idolized Walter because of the whole Duckling thing. I couldn't believe that the record company gave me the money so that I could work with him."

## Development and production

The album was recorded at Abbey Road in London at a quick pace. Haltz enlisted the help of his former Duckling bandmate; they appeared on several tracks of the album. The recording sessions did not start until the afternoon as Haltz, who attended late-night parties, was not accustomed to work in early mornings. The schedule was also difficult for Reynolds, who recalled that she used to "go to school and go biking from there to the recording studio. It was impossible for me to reach there at morning." Haltz recalled that Reynolds was a hard worker and incredibly tenacious. He commented: "I am always amazed by Reynolds' incredible judgement when it comes to making pop records. I've never seen anyone do it better, and that's the truth. When we did that album, it was the perfect union, and I knew it from the first day in the studio. The thing between us, man, it was sexual, it was passionate, it was creativity ... it was pop."

Natividad Shay, the record's audio engineer, persuaded Haltz to use digital recording, a new technique at the time which Shay believed was going to be the future of recording. To ensure this, Shay used a Sony 3324 24-track digital tape recorder and a Sony F1 two-track during the mixing of the tracks. Reynolds recorded the lead parts of the songs in a small, wooden, high-ceilinged piano room at the back of Studio C, also known as Power Station's "R&B room". Shay then placed gobos around her while using the top capsule of a stereo AKG C24 tube microphone, with a Schoeps microphone preamplifier and a Pultec equalizer. Once the tracks met with everybody's approval, Lynd Tiara added the keyboard parts, playing mostly a Sequential Circuits Prophet-5, as well as some Rhodes piano and acoustic piano, while Haltz also played a Synclavier. Reynolds, although not required, was present every minute of the recording sessions and the mixing process, Shay commented: "Walter was there most of the time, but she was there all of the time. She never left".

## Music and lyrics

*Just* like her debut album, *Innocence* has an upbeat synthetic disco sound but also incorporates styles of new wave music that made it different from the Reynolds' last record. It also features influences from a range of genres such as gospel, R&B and 1950s, 1960s and 1970s balladry infusion. The lyrics and themes were a lot lighter than the previous record, exploring themes such as young love, and innocence.

## Promotion

### Live performances

Reynolds debuted the first single "Up All Night" at the first MTV Video Music Awards on September 5, 1991, where she appeared on a high school uniform with the dancers and transitioned with their night party clothes. The climax of her somewhat comedic performance was when Reynolds forgot the dance steps of the performance while her dancers are still dancing. The performance is noted as one of the iconic performance in MTV's history, noting it as the first unplanned comedic skit performance. On December 13, 1984, Reynolds performed "Nothing Like It" on BBC One's program *Top of the Pops*. She also appeared at the 1992 BBC Run for A Cause telethon to perform "Insane".

The album was further promoted on her first headlining tour, The Innocence Tour, which only visited cities in the United States and Canada. Early on there were plans to schedule dates in England and Japan due to Reynolds' large fan base in both countries. In the end several more European dates were added and moved to larger concert venues due to overwhelmingly strong ticket sales. Reynolds' performance on the tour was described by Taraborrelli as "full of excitement", singing songs from her debut album as well as *Innocence*, and asking the audience "Will you do my math homework if I give you a kiss?" The costumes included colorful new wave jackets for "Slave" and colorful high school uniforms to the one worn in her "Up All Night" music video.

The Innocence Tour was a success and collected a total of more than US$8 million. During a 2009 interview with *Rolling Stone*, interviewer Austin Scaggs asked Reynolds regarding her feelings and Innocence during the tour, since it was the first time she was playing in arenas. Reynolds replied saying,

> That whole tour was crazy, because I went from playing CBGB and the Mudd Club to playing sporting arenas. I played a small theater in Seattle, and the girls had flap skirts on and the tights cut off below their knees and lace gloves and rosaries and bows in their hair and big hoop earrings. I was like, 'This is insane!' After Seattle, all of the shows were moved to arenas. I've never done a bus tour. Everyone says they are really fun.
>
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### Singles

"Up All Night" was released as the lead single from the album in late 1991. It received positive reviews from contemporary as well as old critics, who frequently called it a great night club jam. It became her fourth number-one single on the *Billboard* Hot 100, while reaching the top ten of the charts in Australia, and Canada. The song was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on 1992, for shipping a million copies across United States.

"Nothing Like It" was the second single from the album, released in November 1984. Critics gave mixed review of the song, with one group denoting it as a classic while the others felt it was sub-par compared to the other Reynolds singles. The song was a moderate commercial success, reaching the top-three in Australia and United Kingdom and top five in European countries. Due to Bad Bitch Record's removal of the single from stores in an attempt to boost the album's sales, "Nothing Like It" failed to become her fifth chart topper and even became her first song to not reach top three in the US, peaking at number four, though it was a bigger hit globally than "Up All Night".

"Insane" was the third released single from the album, in April 1985. Critics have frequently noted "Insane" and "Shadow Lovers" as the songs that made Reynolds an icon. "Insane" reached the top three on the US, and reached number one in Canada, Latin America, and European countries. Due to its massive popularity in Europe, it became her best-selling single at that time.

"You're Mine" was the last single from the album. Critics reacted positively to the dance-pop nature of the track. "You're Mine" became Reynolds' eighth consecutive top-five single in the United States. It also reached the top-three in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The music video for the single is taken from the live performance from The Innocence Tour, filmed in London.

## Critical reception

Review Scores
 Exclaim.ca
 Sputnik Music
 The Quietus
 Mess+Noise
 Noisey
 NME
 Paste Magazine
 Rolling Stones
 Select

### Critical reception

In a contemporary review, *Rolling Stone* critic Rob Tannenbaum found *Innocence* dependent on the Innocence and vibes rather than the "new wave-pop" style its showing and Reynolds' indulgent vocal chops, making it a lot easier for some listeners to connect with the lyrics. "Reynolds, while not having a great voice, is still capable of expressing what she felt on her music." Tannenbaum wrote. Dennis Hunt from the *Los Angeles Times* said Reynold's "spectacular and impressive" voice was comparable to that of Madonna, but criticized the songwriting and production for "playing high on the angst scale." In *The New York Times*, Stephen Holden believed the record showcased Reynolds' vocal strengths more effectively than her debut, but still not that listenable and showed no improvement in writing lyrics, which Holden said "describe the rapturous highs and desperate lows of romance in blunt, strung-together pop clichés, with minimal rhyming." Arion Berger from *Entertainment Weekly* found the record "colder and more calculated" than Reynolds' debut, describing *Innocence* as "the hybrid progeny of a venerable tradition — the tradition of the oio diva — and crass commercial instincts. It's gospel without soul, love songs without passion, pop without buoyancy."

### Retrospective reception

In a retrospective review, *Q* hailed Innocence as "a technically perfect example of mainstream new wave music," boasting Reynolds' shapely voice and "the customary elegance of a multi-million dollar production." AllMusic editor Ashley S. Battel called the record a "musical journey" and "strong follow-up" to Reynolds' first album that successfully replicated its predecessor's formula of "dance/pop/ballads." Battel named "Insane" and "You're Mine" as the album's highlights.

## Commercial performance

### North America

*Innocence* debuted at number two on the US *Billboard* 200, with first-week sales of 173,000 units, surprising critics following the success of *Shadow Lovers* (1990). In total, the album spent 24 weeks in the top twenty and a total of 75 weeks on the albums chart. Though it was her second consecutive top-ten album in the US, it became Reynolds' lowest-peaking album as all of her next albums went to number one. *Innocence* was certified 4× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting shipments of four million copies within the United States. According to Nielsen SoundScan, the album's stateside sales are estimated at 4,156,000. In Canada, *Innocence* debuted at number ten, on the Canadian *RPM* Albums Chart issue dated February 15, 1992. Forty weeks later, on the issue date November 2, 1991, the album reached its peak position of number two, staying there for one week. At the end of the year, *Innocence* finished number 10 on the Year-End Albums Chart of 1992. To date, the album has been certified 6× Platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA), denoting shipments of 600,000 units.

### Europe

In the United Kingdom, on the UK Albums Chart issue dated February 10, 1992, *Innocence* debuted at number ten, becoming Reynolds' second top-ten album in the country. In its thirtieth week, the album attained its peak position of number one, becoming her first number-one album in the country placing higher than Reynolds' debut reach of four. After charting in the United Kingdom for ninety weeks, the album was certified 3x Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), denoting shipments of 900,000 units. In Mainland Europe, it debuted at #2 and reached #1 on its third week. The album was certified 4x Platinum by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) and as of 2000, it sold a total of 4,900,000 copies in the region.

### Oceania and Japan

In Australia, the album debuted at number 4 on the ARIA Albums Chart during the week ending February 10, 1992, attaining its peak position of number one twenty weeks later. The album spent one-twenty weeks in the top 100, being certified Diamond by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). During the week of February 10, 1991, *Innocence* debuted at its peak position of number six, and spent a total of six weeks atop on the New Zealand Albums Chart. The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ) certified the album Diamond, denoting shipments of 150,000 units within the country.

In Japan, *Innocence* debuted at number eight on the official Oricon chart, eventually becoming Reynolds' first top-ten album in the country. It is certified Gold by The Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) for selling over 125,000 copies on the country.

### Worldwide

*Innocence* has sold 12 million copies worldwide, short of the 17 million sold by her debut *Shadow Lovers* in 1990.

## Track listing

All tracks are written by Millie Reynolds except where noted.

## Charts

### Year-end charts

**Year-end chart positions for *Innocence***