This article is about the Craig David album. For other albums, see
The Time Is Now .
2018 studio album by Craig David
The Time Is Now
Released 26 January 2018 Recorded 2016–2017
Genre
Length 38 :31
Label
Producer
Rewind – The Collection (2017)
The Time Is Now (2018)
22 (2022)
"
Heartline " Released: 14 September 2017
"
I Know You " Released: 23 November 2017
"Magic" Released: 6 April 2018
[3]
The Time Is Now is the seventh studio album by British singer
Craig David , released on 26 January 2018.
[4]
[5] The album features guest appearances from
JP Cooper ,
Bastille ,
AJ Tracey ,
Ella Mai ,
Kaytranada and
GoldLink . The albums's first single, "
Heartline ", was released on 14 September 2017, through David's official YouTube account.
The album reached number two in the United Kingdom, making it David's fifth UK top 10 album.
Background
On 15 September 2017, less than a year after the release of his comeback album
Following My Intuition which became his first chart-topper for 16 years, David announced the follow-up, The Time Is Now . In an interview, David said: "The motivation and inspiration behind this album was all down to the huge realisation that even when I wasn't as focused, there were amazing lessons to be learnt."
[6]
The album features collaborations with
Bastille ,
AJ Tracey ,
Kaytranada and
GoldLink .
[7]
Singles
The first single from the album, "
Heartline ", was released on 14 September 2017, and peaked at 24 in the UK. The second single, "
I Know You ", featuring the British band
Bastille , was released on 23 November 2017, and was commercially more successful than his recent singles, peaking at five in the UK.
Critical reception
The Time Is Now received mixed reviews from music critics. At
Metacritic , which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 56 based on 12 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
[8]
Commercial performance
The Time Is Now reached number two on the
UK Albums Chart , debuting with sales of 16,874 copies, behind the
soundtrack of
The Greatest Showman .
[16]
Tour
David embarked on a tour and made appearances at music festivals around England, the United States, the Middle East and Europe to promote the album.
[17]
Track listing
Standard edition Title Writer(s) Producer(s) 1. "Magic"
Tre Jean-Marie 2:52 2. "
Heartline "
Jonas Blue 3:12 3. "Brand New"
Steve Mac 2:44 4. "Going On"
Fraser T Smith 3:24 5. "Love Me Like It's Yesterday" Fraser T Smith 3:32 6. "For the Gram"
Diztortion 3:54 7. "Get Involved" (featuring
JP Cooper ) Tre Jean-Marie 3:09 8. "
I Know You " (featuring
Bastille ) David
Dan Smith Thorneycroft-Smith Helen "Carmen Reece" Culver Fraser T Smith 3:34 9. "Live in the Moment" (featuring
GoldLink ) Kaytranada Tre Jean-Marie
[a] 3:06 10. "Love Will Come Around" David Josiah Dixon Thorneycroft-Smith Tyrell Paul Fraser T Smith 3:14 11. "Somebody Like Me" (featuring
AJ Tracey )
Blonde 2:54 12. "Focus" David Furner Thorneycroft-Smith Tyrell Paul Fraser T Smith 2:56 Total length: 38:31
Deluxe edition bonus tracks Title Writer(s) Producer(s) 13. "Reload" (with
Chase & Status )
Chase & Status 3:10 14. "Talk to Me" Tre Jean-Marie 3:55 15. "Talk to Me, Pt. II" (featuring
Ella Mai ) David Jean-Marie Riley Ella Mai Nosa Obasohan 3:22 Total length: 48:58
Japanese edition bonus tracks
[18] Title Writer(s) Producer(s) 16. "Armour" Tre Jean-Marie 3:31 17. "Heartline" (acoustic) Fraser T Smith 3:12 18. "I Know You" (acoustic; featuring
Bastille ) David
Dan Smith Thorneycroft-Smith Helen "Carmen Reece" Culver Fraser T Smith Tobie Tripp Dan Smith Sophie Gledhill 3:58 Total length: 59:39
Notes
^[a] signifies a vocal producer.
Personnel
Credits adapted from album’s liner notes.
[19]
Mark Asari – backing vocals (tracks 9, 14), chant vocals (track 1)
Jonas Blue – producer and mixing (track 2)
Raoul Chen – producer, engineer, mixing, backing vocals, drum programming, and instruments (track 6)
Wez Clarke – mixing (tracks 1, 3, 7, 14, 15)
JP Cooper – vocals (track 7)
Craig David – vocals (all tracks)
Ed Drewett – chant vocals (track 1)
Phebe Edwards – backing vocals (tracks 4, 5, 12)
Lauren Faith – backing vocals (track 4)
Rachel Furner – backing vocals (track 12)
GoldLink – vocals (track 9)
Manon Grandjean – engineer (tracks 4, 5, 8, 10, 12)
Stuart Hawkes – mastering (all tracks)
Tre Jean-Marie – producer (tracks 1, 7, 14, 15); vocal production, vocal mixing, and background vocals (track 9); chant vocals (track 1)
Kaytranada – producer and mixing (track 9)
William Kennard – producer, mixing, instrumentation, and programming (track 13)
Chris Laws – engineer, drums, and percussion (track 3)
Tim Laws – guitar (track 3)
Colin Lester – executive producer
Andy Mac – talkbox (track 14)
Steve Mac – producer and keyboards (track 3)
Rob MacFarlane – engineer (tracks 8, 13)
Ella Mai – vocals (track 15)
Jacob Manson – producer, engineer, mixing, guitar, keyboards, and drum programming (track 11)
Brandon Michael – chant vocals (track 1)
Saul Milton – producer, mixing, instrumentation, and programming (track 13)
Nosaappollo – producer (track 15)
Tyrell "169" Paul – producer (tracks 4, 10, 12), drum programming (tracks 4, 10)
Dann Pursey – engineer (track 3)
Carmen Reece – backing vocals (track 8)
Sillkey – additional production (track 14)
Dan Smith – vocals (track 8)
Fraser T Smith – producer, mixing, keyboards, and drum programming (tracks 4, 5, 8, 10, 12); guitar (tracks 4, 10)
AJ Tracey – vocals (track 11)
Charts
Release history
References
^ Beta, Andy (25 January 2018).
"Craig David: The Time Is Now Album Review" .
Pitchfork . Retrieved 26 January 2017 .
^ Hodgkinson, Will (26 January 2018).
"Pop review: Craig David: The Time is Now" .
The Times . Retrieved 26 January 2018 .
^
"BBC – Radio 1 – Playlist" .
BBC Radio 1 . Archived from
the original on 13 April 2018. Retrieved 14 April 2018 .
^
"Craig David releases new single 'Heartline' and announces new album and tour" .
NME . 15 September 2017.
^
"Craig David Releases New Single 'Heartline', Announces New Album 'The Time Is Now' " .
Capital XTRA . 15 September 2017.
^ Kelly, Emma (15 September 2017).
"Craig David announces seventh album and drops brand new single" .
Metro . Retrieved 15 September 2017 .
^ Renshaw, David (15 September 2017).
"Craig David Announces New Album The Time Is Now" . The FADER. Retrieved 9 April 2018 .
^
a
b
"Reviews for The Time Is Now by Craig David" .
Metacritic . Retrieved 30 January 2018 .
^ Kellman, Andy.
"AllMusic Review" .
AllMusic . Retrieved 22 July 2020 .
^ Rivers, Joe (22 January 2018).
"Clash Magazine Review" .
Clash . Retrieved 22 July 2020 .
^ Hogwood, Ben (26 January 2018).
"MusicOMH Review" .
MusicOMH . Retrieved 22 July 2020 .
^ Cooper, Leonie (2 February 2018).
"NME Review" .
NME . Retrieved 22 July 2020 .
^ Beta, Andy (25 January 2019).
"Pitchfork Review" .
Pitchfork . Retrieved 22 July 2020 .
^ Schiller, Mike (26 February 2018).
"PopMatters Review" .
PopMatters . Retrieved 22 July 2020 .
^ Moayeri, Lily (6 February 2018).
"Under the Radar Review" .
Under the Radar . Retrieved 22 July 2020 .
^ Myers, Justin (2 February 2018).
"The Greatest Showman denies Craig David a third Number 1 album" .
Official Charts Company . Retrieved 9 April 2018 .
^
"Craig David Tour 2018" . craigdavid.com . Retrieved 12 January 2018 .
^
"CDJapan : The Time Is Now Craig David CD Album" .
cdjapan.co.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 31 January 2018 .
^ The Time Is Now (booklet). Speakerbox, Insanity,
RCA . 2018.
^
"Australiancharts.com – Craig David – The Time Is Now" . Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
^
"Ultratop.be – Craig David – The Time Is Now" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
^
"Ultratop.be – Craig David – The Time Is Now" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
^
"Czech Albums – Top 100" .
ČNS IFPI . Note : On the chart page, select 05.Týden 2018 on the field besides the words "CZ – ALBUMS – TOP 100 " to retrieve the correct chart. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
^
"Dutchcharts.nl – Craig David – The Time Is Now" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
^
"Lescharts.com – Craig David – The Time Is Now" . Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
^
"Offiziellecharts.de – Craig David – The Time Is Now" (in German).
GfK Entertainment Charts . Retrieved 2 February 2018.
^
"Irish-charts.com – Discography Craig David" . Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
^
"Craig David" .
Oricon . Retrieved 12 September 2020 .
^
"The Time Is Now on Billboard Japan Hot Albums" .
Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved 12 September 2020 .
^
"NZ Heatseeker Albums Chart" .
Recorded Music NZ . 5 February 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2018 .
^
"Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100" .
Official Charts Company . Retrieved 3 February 2018.
^
"Spanishcharts.com – Craig David – The Time Is Now" . Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
^
"Swisscharts.com – Craig David – The Time Is Now" . Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
^
"Official Albums Chart Top 100" .
Official Charts Company . Retrieved 3 February 2018.
^
"Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40" .
Official Charts Company . Retrieved 13 April 2023.
Studio albums Compilation albums Singles Featured singles Related articles