World Power
Encyclopedia
World Power is the debut album
of German Eurodance
project Snap!
, released in 1990 on Bookmark/Ariola Records
. The album received generally positive reviews from music critics, as the project's musical style and its vocalists, Turbo B
and Penny "Tiny" Ford
, were well-received. It also achieved considerable commercial success with the help of four international top-ten hits, including its best-selling single "The Power
".
, number 25 on Australia's ARIA Charts
, number four on the Ö3 Austria Top 40
, number 20 on the Topplistan
chart in Sweden, number four on the Swiss Music Charts
, number 10 on the UK Albums Chart
, and number 30 on the US Billboard 200
chart. Although it did not chart on the Dutch MegaCharts
, it earned gold certification
from the NVPI
, for sales in excess of 60,000 copies in the Netherlands. World Power has also been certified gold in Austria, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States, while it has received platinum certifications in both Germany and Switzerland.
writer Mitchell May gave it 3 out of 4 stars and called it "a dance record you can listen to", noting that "pulsating synth chords, slashing guitar riffs, thundering drums and the gospel-like wails of Tinny Ford
combine to give Snap a riveting sound". Greg Sandow
of Entertainment Weekly
called the album "smart dance/rap, full of surprises". In his consumer guide for The Village Voice
, critic Robert Christgau
gave World Power an A- rating, indicating "the kind of garden-variety good record that is the great luxury of musical micromarketing and overproduction. Anyone open to its aesthetic will enjoy more than half its tracks". Christgau noted it as "in the great transcultural Technotronic
tradition" and described its music as "crazy and radio-ready at the same time. Also funny". In a retrospective review, Allmusic writer Andrew Hamilton gave the album 3 out of 5 stars and perceived rapper Turbo B
's enunciation
as a flaw, but commended his "energy" and singer Penny Ford's vocals.
Reissue bonus tracks
(United States)
Singles — Billboard (United States)
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
of German Eurodance
Eurodance
Eurodance is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s or early 1990s primarily in Europe. It combines many elements from House, Techno, Hi-NRG and especially Italo-Disco...
project Snap!
Snap!
Snap! is a German Eurodance project formed in 1989 by Frankfurt-based producers Michael Münzing and Luca Anzilotti. The act has been through a number of line-up changes over the years, but was most successful when fronted by rapper Turbo B, who performed on the UK number 1 singles "The Power" and...
, released in 1990 on Bookmark/Ariola Records
Ariola Records
Ariola Records is a German record label. As of the late 1980s, it was a subsidiary label of BMG which in turn has since become a part of the international media conglomerate Sony Music Entertainment...
. The album received generally positive reviews from music critics, as the project's musical style and its vocalists, Turbo B
Turbo B
Turbo B Turbo B Turbo B (born Durron Maurice Butler, April 30, 1967, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is an American musician, rapper and beatboxer, best known for his time fronting the electronic music group, Snap!.-Early years:...
and Penny "Tiny" Ford
Penny Ford
Penny Ford is an American singer. Also known as 'Pennye Ford', she is the daughter of veteran record company executive and producer Gene Redd, Sr., and evangelist/pastor Carolyn Ford-Griffith . She is also the younger half-sister of the late singer Sharon Redd...
, were well-received. It also achieved considerable commercial success with the help of four international top-ten hits, including its best-selling single "The Power
The Power (Snap! song)
"The Power" is an electronic pop hit song by the German music group Snap! from their album World Power. It was released as a single in 1990 and reached No. 1 in the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, as well as the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play and Hot Rap charts...
".
Commercial performance
The album reached number seven on Germany's Media Control ChartsMedia Control Charts
The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie...
, number 25 on Australia's ARIA Charts
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
, number four on the Ö3 Austria Top 40
Ö3 Austria Top 40
Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann...
, number 20 on the Topplistan
Sverigetopplistan
Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association ....
chart in Sweden, number four on the Swiss Music Charts
Swiss Music Charts
The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75...
, number 10 on the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
, and number 30 on the US Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart. Although it did not chart on the Dutch MegaCharts
MegaCharts
MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top...
, it earned gold certification
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
from the NVPI
NVPI
The NVPI is the Dutch tradeassociation of the entertainment industry...
, for sales in excess of 60,000 copies in the Netherlands. World Power has also been certified gold in Austria, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States, while it has received platinum certifications in both Germany and Switzerland.
Critical response
Upon its release, World Power received generally positive reviews from music critics. Chicago TribuneChicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
writer Mitchell May gave it 3 out of 4 stars and called it "a dance record you can listen to", noting that "pulsating synth chords, slashing guitar riffs, thundering drums and the gospel-like wails of Tinny Ford
Penny Ford
Penny Ford is an American singer. Also known as 'Pennye Ford', she is the daughter of veteran record company executive and producer Gene Redd, Sr., and evangelist/pastor Carolyn Ford-Griffith . She is also the younger half-sister of the late singer Sharon Redd...
combine to give Snap a riveting sound". Greg Sandow
Greg Sandow
Greg Sandow is an American music critic and composer. He is a graduate of Harvard University, with a bachelor's degree in government, and of Yale University, with a master's degree in composition....
of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
called the album "smart dance/rap, full of surprises". In his consumer guide for The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
, critic Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...
gave World Power an A- rating, indicating "the kind of garden-variety good record that is the great luxury of musical micromarketing and overproduction. Anyone open to its aesthetic will enjoy more than half its tracks". Christgau noted it as "in the great transcultural Technotronic
Technotronic
Technotronic is a Belgian studio-based music project formed in 1988 by Jo Bogaert , who had already made his musical mark in the beginning of the 1980s as a part of a cover band and as a solo artist under various New Beat projects, including The Acts of Madmen and Nux Nemo...
tradition" and described its music as "crazy and radio-ready at the same time. Also funny". In a retrospective review, Allmusic writer Andrew Hamilton gave the album 3 out of 5 stars and perceived rapper Turbo B
Turbo B
Turbo B Turbo B Turbo B (born Durron Maurice Butler, April 30, 1967, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is an American musician, rapper and beatboxer, best known for his time fronting the electronic music group, Snap!.-Early years:...
's enunciation
Enunciation
In phonetics, enunciation is the act of speaking. Good enunciation is the act of speaking clearly and concisely. The opposite of good enunciation is mumbling or slurring. See also pronunciation which is a component of enunciation. Pronunciation is to pronounce sounds of words correctly....
as a flaw, but commended his "energy" and singer Penny Ford's vocals.
Track listing
- "The PowerThe Power (Snap! song)"The Power" is an electronic pop hit song by the German music group Snap! from their album World Power. It was released as a single in 1990 and reached No. 1 in the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, as well as the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play and Hot Rap charts...
" (Benites, C., Garrett) – 5:44 - "Ooops Up" (Butler, Simmons, Taylor, Wilson, Wilson, Wilson) – 6:42
- "Cult of Snap!" (Benites, Butler, Garrett) – 5:21
- "Believe the Hype" (Benites, Butler, Garrett) – 4:50
- "I'm Gonna Get You (To Whom It May Concern)" (Benites, Butler, Garrett) – 5:20
- "Witness the Strength" (Benites, Butler, Garrett) – 4:57
- "Mary Had a Little Boy" (Benites, Butler, Ford, Garrett) – 4:53
- "Blasé Blasé" (Benites, Butler, Garrett) – 4:30
Reissue bonus tracks
- "Only Human" (Butler) – 3:11
- "The Power" (Jungle Fever Mix) (Benites, C., Garrett) – 7:23
Personnel
- Artwork – Ariola-Studios, Tom
- Lyrics – Durron Butler (tracks: 3 to 10)
- Music – Benito Benites, John "Virgo" Garrett III
- Original sound – Master Musikproduktion GmbH
- Photography – Markus Löffel
- Producer – Snap!
Charts
Album — BillboardBillboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
(United States)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | The Billboard 200 | 30 |
| Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums | 13 |
Singles — Billboard (United States)
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | "The Power The Power (Snap! song) "The Power" is an electronic pop hit song by the German music group Snap! from their album World Power. It was released as a single in 1990 and reached No. 1 in the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, as well as the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play and Hot Rap charts... " |
The Billboard Hot 100 | 2 |
| Hot Rap Singles | 1 | ||
| Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Tracks | 4 | ||
| Hot Dance Music/Club Play | 1 | ||
| "Ooops Up" | The Billboard Hot 100 | 35 | |
| Hot Rap Singles | 3 | ||
| Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Tracks | 18 | ||
| "Ooops Up"/"Believe the Hype" | Hot Dance Music/Club Play | 4 | |
| 1991 | "Mary Had a Little Boy" | Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Tracks | 56 |
| Hot Dance Music/Club Play | 4 | ||
External links
- World Power at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...