I Need You is the third compilation album from American recording artist LeAnn Rimes. The album was first released on January 30, 2001, through Curb Records to help satisfy Rimes' recording contract obligations during litigation with the label and her management, without Rimes' knowledge or input. This caused Rimes to publicly disowned the album just days after its release, which then led to it being discontinued. However, the album was officially released and recognized by Rimes on March 26, 2002, and included four bonus remix tracks and a new recording: "Light the Fire Within". In 2008, the album was released as a package with Rimes' debut album, Blue (1996).
I Need You received mixed reviews by music critics, who praised its pop appeal but criticized the selection of the songs, noting that none of them made a significant impact on the listeners. Despite the mixed reviews the album, however, did well on the charts. In the United States, the album peaked at number one on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, and reached number ten on the Billboard 200. Internationally, it peaked at number four on the Finnish Albums Chart, number ten on the Canadian Albums Chart, and number eleven on both the Austrian Albums Chart and the Irish Album Chart. The album was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), among other organizations, and was certified platinum by both Music Canada and the IFPI Finland.
The tracks on I Need You were taken from various studio tracks released between 1999 and 2001, as well as B-sides tracks to help satisfy Rimes' recording contract obligations during litigation with the label[1] and her management.[2] During the litigation with her label, Rimes asked "that Curb give Rimes the rights to all past recordings and videos, give up all publishing interests in her compositions and destroy all currently available recordings."[3] The album was publicly disowned by Rimes four days after its 2001 release, with Rimes stating that: "[t]his album was made without my creative input, it consists largely of unfinished material and songs that didn't make other albums ... I want to make abundantly clear to you that this album is not a reflection of myself as an artist but is solely the conception of Curb Records, and for that I am truly and deeply sorry."[4]
Songs
The duet with Elton John, called "Written in the Stars", was released as a single on February 23, 1999[5] from the Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida concept album.[6] The album contains the alternate version featured on the single.[7] "I Need You" was slated on theMusic From and Inspired by Jesus: The Epic Mini-Series soundtrack released on March 8, 2000.[8] It was released as a single on July 18, 2000, for the soundtrack.[9] "But I Do Love You" and "Can't Fight the Moonlight" were included on the soundtrack for Coyote Ugly on August 1, 2000.[10] "Can't Fight the Moonlight" was released as a single for the soundtrack on August 22, 2000,[11] and the B-side track, "But I Do Love You", was released as a single from the soundtrack internationally on February 11, 2002.[12] and in the US two weeks later on February 26.[13]
Release and promotion
Original 2001 cover.
The album was illegitimately released on January 30, 2001, by Curb Records.[14] and featured an alternate country version of "But I Do Love You".[15] "You Are" was released on the soundtrack for Angel Eyes after the album's release.[16] "Soon" was also launched after the release of the album on the soundtrack for Driven.[17] "I Believe in You" was also released after the album release on the compilation album, Wings of a Dove 2.[18] After Rimes disowned the 2001 release, it was discontinued, and she officially re-issued the album on March 26, 2002.[19] It contained all ten original tracks from the 2001 release with an extended version of "You Are"; a bonus song, "Light the Fire Within",[19] which Rimes performed at the 2002 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Salt Lake City;[20] and four bonus remixes.[19] The 2002 release also contains the version of "But I Do Love You" featured on the Coyote Ugly soundtrack.[19] On May 13, 2008, the 2002 release was packaged together with Rimes' debut album, Blue (1996).[21]
Two promotional singles were released from the album. "You Are" was released in 2001.[22] The song was featured on the soundtrack for Angel Eyes on May 15, 2001,[16] and was included on the Asian release of The Best of LeAnn Rimes,[23] as well as the remixed edition.[24] "You Are" is a pop song[25][26] with a duration of four minutes and fifty-eight seconds,[19] and it was written by Laurie Webb.[27] Mark Huxley at Barnes & Noble.com called the song a "full-on dance-pop".[25] "Soon" was released in 2001[28] as a promotional CD single that consisted of the album version of the song and the Graham Stack Radio Edit of the song.[29] "Soon" is a ballad[25] of three minutes and fifty-three seconds.[19] The song, which was written by Diane Warren, is in the key of D-flat major with Rimes' vocals spanning two octaves, from G3 to E5.[30] The song was featured on the soundtrack for Driven, which was released on April 27, 2001.[17] Mark Huxley at Barnes & Noble.com praised the song, claiming that "Rimes is back on more familiar turf on the big ballad[s]."[25] A review in Billboard stated that the song "leans more towards the AC side then anything resembling true country."[31] It peaked at fourteen on the Billboard Adult Contemporary Chart.[32]
Critical response
Mark Huxley at Barnes & Noble gave a positive review of the album, saying that Rimes is "comfortably adopting some distinctly modern sonic elements without sacrificing her tradition-steeped country roots."[25] Alanna Nash of Entertainment Weekly gave a mixed review about the album, saying "The good news about Rimes' latest: It reprises two songs, 'But I Do Love You' and 'Can't Fight the Moonlight,' from the Coyote Ugly soundtrack. Now the bad: You'll snooze through the rest, except 'Written in the Stars', her slugfest duet with Elton John. If only you could sleep through that."[33] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic also gave a mixed review, stating that "Rimes' impressive voice sounds restrained in this setting, too self-consciously mature. In a nutshell, that's the problem with I Need You -- it's a teenager attempting to make a thirtysomething album. That she occasionally succeeds is a testament to her vocal talents and the skills of her producers, but it shouldn't be surprising that it also feels awkward for large stretches, never quite becoming as alluring as Breathe, because this is a sound that she needs to grow into to be totally convincing."[26]Rolling Stone gave the album two-and-a-half out of five stars and called the album "synthetic-feeling."[34] Trisha Huenke of About.com gave the album four out of five stars[35] and praised it for its pop sound, stating that, "Finally we have an artist who is straightforward about the fact that she wants to sing pop music."[20] A review in Country Music magazine gave it one star out of five and stated "No wonder [LeAnn] Rimes is suing her record label and her father. If those legal maneuvers fail, I Need You suggests she should file charges on purely artistic grounds. This cheaply assembled collection cheats Rimes' fans and mistreats her capable voice. Curb presents the CD with shoddy graphics and amateurish packaging, and Wilbur Rimes' pop-dance production is clumsy and out-of-date. The CD is built around three of the singer's previously released hit soundtrack contributions: "I Need You" from the mini-series Jesus, "Can't Fight the Moonlight" from Coyote Ugly and "Written in the Stars", a duet with Elton John that appeared on the soundtrack for the Broadway musical adaption of Aida. The remaining tracks were leftovers from past recording sessions, and all of them are substandard. Both LeAnn's record company and her father - until recently, the dominant career advisers for this talented teen singer - should be ashamed."[36]
Commercial performance
Despite the mixed reviews the album performed well on the charts. I Need You debuted at number ten on Billboard 200; with 84,915 copies sold in its first week, falling to number twenty-three in its second week with 54,877 copies sold, number twenty-six with 63,792 copies in its third week, and number forty-two with 40,720 copies in its fourth week.[37] It spent four weeks in the top fifty and a total of thirty weeks in Billboard 200.[38] It also debuted at number one on the Billboard Top Country Albums.[39]
Internationally, the album performed well, peaking at number four on the Finnish Albums Chart,[40] number ten on the Canadian Albums Chart,[41] and number eleven on both the Austrian Albums Chart[40] and the Irish Album Charts.[42] The album also peaked at number five on the Swedish Albums Chart[40] and number six on the Swiss Albums Chart.[40] It peaked at number seven on both the UK Albums Chart and the European Top 100 Albums.[43][44]
I Need You also peaked at number five on the year-end charts in Finnish Albums Chart,[45] and thirteen on the Billboard Top Country Albums.[46] The album was certified Gold by the RIAA[47] as well the IFPI Denmark, the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and the British Phonographic Industry[48] and was certified Platinum by both Music Canada and the IFPI Finland.[49]
"—" denotes singles which did not chart or were not released in the region.
Release history
Country
Date
Label
Format
Catalog
Canada
Curb Records
Compact disc
January 30, 2001
D2-77979
March 26, 2002
D2-78738
South Korea
WEA Records
April 13, 2001
80927401292
Japan
Curb Denon Records
February 21, 2001
COCB-50492
April 20, 2002
COCB-53019
United States
Curb Records
Compact disc, cassette tape
January 30, 2001
D2-77979
March 26, 2002
D2-78738
United Kingdom
Curb Records, London Records
Compact disc
April 2, 2001
8573876382
Australia
Curb Records, Sony BMG Music Entertainment (re-issue only)
2001/2002
5019752000
Notes/trivia
In Japan the 2002 re-issue is called the "Saltlake Edition" due to the song "Light the Fire Within" which Rimes performed at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
Although the 2002 re-issue in the US features an extended version of "You Are" on it the track listing on the back cover of the CD still gives the 2001 issue duration. This does not appear on the Japanese re-issue. The reason why it does in the US but doesn't in Japan is unknown.
Also regarding "You Are" the Amazon version has the original 2001 version[85] while the Apple Music has the extended version.[86] The 2001 version also appears on Rimes' official YouTube channel.[87]
Rimes as she appears in the Coyote Ugly soundtrack liner notes.
The 2001 cover is a recycled image, taken from the picture featured in the Coyote Ugly soundtrack's original liner booklet, the image has since been removed from later copies of the soundtrack. It was also used as the cover art for the single, "Can't Fight the Moonlight". The 2002 cover uses the same image just with the background changed to purple and other alterations.
Within the liner booklet of the 2002 re-issue the lyrics for "Can't Fight the Moonlight" are slightly altered and features the line "It will take you in tonight" which came from the Coyote Ugly film, when Piper Perabo's character, Violet, was performing the song at the Bowery Ballroom.
Please note that out of respect for Ms. LeAnn Rimes, this wikia does not acknowledge the original 2001 release as the official release of the compilation album and only recognizes the 2002 re-issue as the official version, due to Rimes disowning the original release shortly after it's release. The 2001 release is mentioned only for the purpose of the album's history.
↑The version of "But I Do Love You" featured on the 2001 release of I Need You uses a more acoustic version of the song with a piccolo also used in the instrumental, as well as violins this is not featured on the soundtrack and the 2002 release uses the soundtrack version.
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