Let the Truth Be Told is the debut album by Irish recording artist Laura Izibor. It was released on 8 May 2009, under Atlantic Records.
Background At the age of 15, Izibor was signed to Jive Records. She dropped out of school to record the album. From ages 17 to 18, Izibor recorded over half of the album. After a dispute with the Jive, she signed with Atlantic Records and subsequently moved to New York City after her mentor, Steve Lunt, was offered a job at the label.
Recording Let the Truth Be Told was recorded from 2005 to 2009; recording sessions took place in her hometown of Dublin, Ireland, to New York City, Atlanta and Philadelphia. Upon the album's UK release, noted R&B writer Pete Lewis of the award-winning 'Blues & Soul' stated "Anchored firmly in classic R&B, it effectively combines a reverence for the tradition of vintage, warm piano-driven soul with a fresh twist of modern sensibility. As can be heard on tracks ranging from the funky, uplifting 'From My Heart to Yours' and intense, groove-driven 'Don't Stay'; to the sincere, aching love lament 'If Tonight Is My Last'." The song "Shine" was originally written for The Nanny Diaries, but was added to the album after being pushed back several times.
Track listing All songs were written by Laura Izibor. #TitleLength1Shine3:352Don't Stay3:593If Tonight Is My Last3:354What Would You Do4:345From My Heart to Yours3:476Perfect World4:367The Worst Is Over3:148Yes (I'll Be Your Baby)3:419I Don't Want You Back3:1910Mmm...3:25 Deluxe edition bonus tracks #TitleLength11It Ain't Over ('Cos I Need You) (EP Version)3:2312From My Heart to Yours (DJ Premier Remix Version)3:4313Mmm... (Live From Crawdaddy, Dublin)4:01
Personnel
Jo Archard – strings Iyiola Babalola – programming Andre Bowman – bass Jarrett Boyd – background vocals Ciaran Byrne – engineer David Campbell — string arrangements (track 2) Jeff Chestek – string engineer Tom Coyne – mastering Mark Crown – brass Jack Daley – bass Jonnie Davis "Most" – mixing Darius de Haas – background vocals Graham Dominy – engineer Tim Donovan – mixing Rachelle Dupéré – art direction, design John Ellis and His SDB – keyboards Paul Bryan Farr – guitar Serban Ghenea – mixing Larry Gold – string arrangements, string conductor Rob Gold – art manager David Harrigan – design Tommy Hayes – assistant engineer Marva Hicks – background vocals Laura Izibor – piano, arranger, vocals, background vocals, producer, executive producer, string arrangements
Scott Jacoby – organ, bass, drums, Clavinet, producer, engineer, string arrangements, drum programming, mixing, Wurlitzer Tyrone Johnson – bass, guitar Joseph Joubert – organ, piano, arranger Craig Kallman – executive producer Edison Waters – executive producer Zev Katz – bass Jong On Oakki Lau – strings Darren Lewis – programming Cora Venus Lunny – violin, viola Steve Lunt – percussion, producer, executive producer, shaker, string arrangements, A&R P. Magnet Michael McElroy – choir arrangement Ken McHugh – vocal engineer Joi L. Pitts – marketing Gavin Ralston – guitar, programming, engineer Steven Wolf – drums, programming Brian Ranney – package production Clare Raybould – strings Tim Roberts – mixing assistant Saunders Sermons – trombone Chris Stang – marketing Billy Jay Stein – engineer, Wurlitzer, Hammond B3 Chris "Tricky" Stewart – producer Phil Tan – mixing Peter "Real Strings" Whitfield – string arrangements
Charts Chart (2009)PeakpositionFrench SNEP Albums Chart60Irish Albums Chart2Japan (Oricon)100Dutch Albums Chart64UK Album Chart100U.S. Billboard 20027U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums6 "Shine" ranked number 24 on the 2009 year-end for Billboards Japanese adult contemporary chart.
Release history RegionDateIreland8 May 2009Brazil20 May 2009United States16 June 2009
References