When a Woman Loves (album)

When a Woman Loves
Studio album by Patti LaBelle
Released	October 24, 2000
Genre	R&B
Length	53:33
Label	MCA
Producer	Hex Hector Randy Jackson Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis Khris Kellow Patti LaBelle Mac Quayle James "Big Jim" Wright
Patti LaBelle chronology
Live! One Night Only (1998) When a Woman Loves (2000) Timeless Journey (2004)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Entertainment Weekly	B−
People	(average)
Vibe

When a Woman Loves is the fourteenth studio album released by American singer Patti LaBelle. Her sixth ever on the MCA Records label, it was released on October 24, 2000, in the United States.

Background

By 2000, Patti LaBelle had achieved solo success with at least one platinum album and four gold albums. Four of the certified successes were with MCA Records, a company she had been an artist with since 1985. With the guidance of the label and with her husband, Armstead Edwards, LaBelle had finally achieved the solo success that had mostly eluded her since leaving the flashy pop group, Labelle, in 1976. It had been three years since her last album, the platinum-certified Flame, which yielded the modestly popular hit, "When You Talk About Love".

After winning a second Grammy Award for her live album, Live! One Night Only, LaBelle laid low. The marriage of LaBelle and Edwards seemed to be solid but in early 2000, the couple made news by announcing a trial separation after 31 years of marriage. The news shocked fans of the singer, who had told the media that the couple's relationship was built on their opposite differences. Following news of the separation, LaBelle returned to the recording studio to work on her next studio album for MCA Records. Noting the modest success they had with LaBelle's original 1989 version of "If You Asked Me To", LaBelle and the song's writer, Diane Warren agreed to work together on LaBelle's new album.

Recording

When A Woman Loves featured production from not only Warren and friend Denise Rich, who co-wrote several tracks, but also longtime producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, producers of LaBelle's last two hits, "The Right Kinda Lover" and "When You Talk About Love". Upon its release, when critics heard the new tracks, they thought that LaBelle's impending divorce from her husband Edwards was the cause of the sound from the tracks and from the singer's voice, though LaBelle would later deny such stories. Because Edwards had also served as LaBelle's manager for nearly 30 years, Edwards also left his position as manager leaving that position to the couple's son Zuri.

Commercial reception

Upon its October 2000 release, When a Woman Loves failed to make an impact on the Billboard Hot 200 or the R&B albums chart, peaking at No. 63 on the former chart before dropping out of the charts after only ten weeks. The record became LaBelle's second album, since This Christmas (1990), to not be RIAA-certified.

The sole single from When a Woman Loves, "Call Me Gone", likewise failed to chart on the Hot 100, and was given poor radio promotion. Though the title track did receive some airplay, and LaBelle performed the song occasionally during the record's promotion, it was never released officially as a single.

Track listing

All tracks written by Diane Warren.

No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"The Kitchen"	Damascene Pierre Paul Patti LaBelle	0:57
2.	"When a Woman Loves"	Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis James "Big Jim" Wright (co.)	4:47
3.	"Make Tonight Beautiful"	Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis Wright (co.)	4:42
4.	"If I Was a River"	Khris Kellow	4:27
5.	"Why Do We Hurt Each Other"	Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis Wright (co.)	5:59
6.	"Too Many Tears, Too Many Times"	Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis Wright (co.)	5:30
7.	"Call Me Gone"	Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis Wright (co.)	4:46
8.	"Time Will"	Hex Hector Mac Quayle	5:47
9.	"Tell Me Where It Hurts"	Kellow	4:01
10.	"I'll Still Love You More"	Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis Wright (co.)	4:41
11.	"Love Will Lead You Back"	Kellow Randy Jackson	5:03
12.	"When a Woman Loves (Reprise)"	Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis Wright (co.)	2:53
Total length:			53:33

Charts

Chart (2000)	Peak position
US Billboard 200	63
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)	26