Anytime (Brian McKnight album)

Anytime marked McKnight's third studio album with Mercury Records. While his previous album I Remember You (1995) was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), it only sold half as much as its predecessor Brian McKnight (1992).[2] Feeling initially pressured after what he called "the pseudo-failure of the I Remember You album,”[2] McKnight, who was used to writing and producing most of his music by himself, decided to work with a wider range of musicians on the Anytime, including Sean "Puffy" Combs, Keith Thomas, Poke & Tone, Diane Warren, and Peter Black.[2] With Anytime exposing McKnight to a wider audience, McKnight elaborated in a 2012 interview: "If Anytime was the spark, then Back at One became the fire. I was doing things then that I had never done before, that an audience had never heard or seen."[2]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	[3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[4]
Vibe	mixed[5]

Anytime garnered generally mixed reviews from music critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine from Allmusic felt that McKnight "continues with the mellow, romantic urban R&B that has become his trademark, but there's a new twist [...] McKnight hasn't exhausted its possibilities yet – Anytime is as strong as its predecessor – but "You Should Be Mine" and "Hold Me" suggest that he may be better off pursuing a new, hip-hop-influenced direction."[1] In a contemporary review, The Rolling Stone Album Guide wrote that Anytime "signaled the start of a new phase in McKnight's career."[4] In his review for Vibe, Darren McNeill called Anytime a "collection of mostly tired joints [...] McKnight's solo effort pales in comparison to work by emerging-soul craftsmen like Eric Benét and Rahsaan Patterson."[5] In his consumer guide for The Village Voice, critic Robert Christgau gave Anytime a "cut" rating,[3] indicating "an album that isn't worth your time or money – sometimes a Neither, more often a Dud."[3]

In the United States, Anytime became McKnight's highest-charting album yet, peaking at number 13 on the Billboard 200.[6] McKnight's first album to do so, it also reached the top on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, spending three weeks at number one.[7] According to Soundscan, Anytime had sold 1.7 million copies by January 1999.[8] It was eventually certified double pltianum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), indicating sales in excess of 2.0 million copies.[9] Billboard ranked the album fourth on its 1998 Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums year-end chart.[10]

The lead single "You Should Be Mine (Don't Waste Your Time)" became McKnight's biggest hit in four years, peaking at number 17 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 4 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. It featured rapper Mase, whose own career was at its peak during 1997.[8] The title track was an even bigger hit, reaching number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart in May 1998. Since it was not released as a physical single, it was ineligible to chart on the Hot 100, but was still one of the most played songs on the radio during 1998.[8] Anytime's third single "The Only One for Me" hit number 14 on the Rhythmic Top 40, as again no physical single was released for it.[8] The fourth and final single was "Hold Me" hit number 35 on the Hot 100 and number 12 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.[8] The music video for "Hold Me" was released for the week ending on November 8, 1998.

Samples[11]

• "Anytime" contains an uncredited sample of "Outside Your Door" performed by Meshell Ndegeocello.
• "You Should Be Mine (Don't Waste Your Time)" contains a sample from "I Got Ants in My Pants", written and performed by James Brown.
• "Hold Me" contains an interpolation of "I Get Around", written by Roger Troutman, Larry Troutman, Shirley Murdock, Tupac Shakur, Ronald R. Brooks, and Gregory E. Jacobs.
• "Jam Knock" contains an interpolation of "I Can't Wait", written by John Robert Smith.

Musicians[11]

Technical[11]

• Anytime at Discogs (list of releases)