Happy 25th Anniversary to CeCe Peniston’s third studio album I’m Movin’ On, originally released September 9, 1996.
CeCe Peniston was just a regular girl from Phoenix—that is, until she turned a poem she wrote in high school into “Finally,” the international dance smash of 1991. Though her sunny debut was rush-recorded to seize the moment, the finished product paid off in spades. The gold-selling album of the same name yielded multiple hit singles including two additional #1s: “We Got A Love Thang” and “Keep On Walkin’.” Her sophomore outing Thought ‘Ya Knew (1994) kept the wins coming with another pair of chart-toppers: “I’m In The Mood” and “Hit By Love.”
When the time came to record again, Peniston wanted to step away from the dancefloor and focus on R&B, but A&M Records told her, “’Finally’ was such a big hit! Why don’t you give us more of that?” She responded, “I don’t mind giving you more of that, but I also want to be able to do this!” Although “Finally” did so much for her, little is said of how it threatened to drag her away from the soul music she loved most. The sole goal of her third effort I’m Movin’ On was to get them back together.
This new album would favor harder beats, slower tempos, and sample-driven tracks that push forward by first reaching back. When its lead single “Movin’ On” arrived in July 1996, the artwork featured a slimmed-down CeCe, sharp, sleek, and battle-ready. This bass-bountiful cut was composed by writer Gordon Chambers and Dave “Jam” Hall, the knob-twiddler behind hits for Mariah Carey, Madonna, and Mary J. Blige.
“Movin’ On,” a smoother execution of Da Youngstas’ “Hip Hop Ride” via Patrice Rushen’s “All We Need,” artfully employs the motif of creating R&B songs based on hip-hop hits. To appease dance fans though, Junior Vazquez reworked Peniston’s fiery vocal into club mixes throbbing and fevered. Although only released in the United States, “Movin’ On” sounded the alarm loud enough to be heard at #29 on the R&B charts, #10 Dance, and #83 Pop. The diva was back.
Peniston dons a svelte, body-hugging white suit on I’m Movin’ On, the picture of urbane self-confidence. This time around, she rolls the dice on a fresh sound from newcomers Darren “Nitro” Clowers, Rom Malco, and Bradley & Storm, along with more experienced tracksmiths Danny Sembello, Darryl Pearson, and Oji Pierce. As R&B evolved in the mid ‘90s, dances changed, styles changed, and Peniston was changing too.
It would have been great if those were the only elements in flux.
Around this time, A&M began using Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis’ imprint Perspective Records as its Black Music Department. Just when I’m Movin’ On was ready for release, A&M laid off the entire department save for one executive, according to Billboard. For the next year, not a soul on the payroll knew what to do with I’m Movin’ On. That meant from the moment it hit stores, if it needed to call 911, there would be no one to pick up the phone.
Peniston’s camp urged the label to release “Somebody Else’s Guy” as the next single. Instead, they chose “Before I Lay (You Drive Me Crazy)” (#52 R&B), a sweltering duet with JoJo Hailey of Jodeci in November 1996. Hailey, who co-created the ballad, was rumored to have shared a secret romance with Peniston. As it turns out, the only thing they shared was a microphone, and a manager who concocted the story to drum up press for his artists. Peniston now laughs off that thin tactic, but little else was funny. From here on, her orphaned CD had to subsist on its own merit.
To its credit, I’m Movin’ On takes smart risks to get Peniston’s reedy, trumpeting voice into new territory. Those experiments succeed best on the disc’s first half. Peniston nasties up her approach to match the massive beats of “Try”; it gains extra hump from Detroit Emeralds’ “You're Getting A Little Too Smart” thumping beneath it. Before actor Romany Malco hit the big time (Weeds, The 40-Year Old Virgin), he and Darren “Nitro” Clowers produced the winsome “Looking For A Love That’s Real” that coasts on The Spinners’ “Could It Be I’m Falling In Love.”
Do you recall Montell Jordan ad-libbing “Oji’s got the flavor, and Monty does it like nobody does it” on “This Is How We Do It?” He was referring to Oji Pierce who brings that same flavor to Peniston’s “House Party.” Its celebratory, West Coast vibe is perfect for doing the Electric Slide while sipping brown liquor from a red Solo cup. The set also makes a refreshing detour with the jazz heavy “Sprung on You (Groove Me)” that reaches halfway into neo-soul à la Erykah Badu’s Baduizm (1997).
Prior to this album, Steve “Silk” Hurley would take a more dominant role supplying uptempos like Finally’s “Keep On Walkin’” and Thought ‘Ya Knew’s “I’m Not Over You.” Here, his only contributions are the bouncing, blackened barbecue house of “Don’t Know What To Do,” and “The Last To Know,” a sonic cousin to Chantay Savage’s chilled-out take on “I Will Survive.”
The lack of promotion was infuriating, but nothing incensed more than A&M overlooking her masterful cover of Jocelyn Brown’s “Somebody Else’s Guy.” That club classic is the zenith of I’m Movin’ On. Backed by an uncredited chorale of impressive, Fonzi Thornton-caliber vocalists, Peniston shines. From the essential piano/vocal intro (“I can’t get off my high horse / And I can’t let you go”) to the church-house passion in its third act (“I loved you so much baby that I can’t let you go / You are the one who makes me feel so real!”), she proves herself worthy to step into Brown’s imposing vocal shoes.
All while I’m Movin’ On flagged at #48 on the R&B charts, “Somebody Else’s Guy” sat benched, begging to be put into the game. A&M did release the single almost 18 months later to promote The Best of CeCe Peniston (1998) in the UK. Even without a music video, the song—and its remixes by David Morales (downtempo), Tuff Jam (garage), and Eric Kupper (house)—reached #13 in the British charts. It was a smash and the label let it slip right through their fingertips in the US. An “I told you so” was very much in order.
Examining the Japanese pressing reveals even more missed opportunities. That version included a Hurley house mix of “Don’t Know What To Do” and a more pop-sheened “Looking For A Love That’s Real” courtesy of David Morales. These commissioned remixes were quite likely the vestiges of planned single releases that were ultimately abandoned.
This stings more when one considers Peniston revamped her look partially because A&M asked her to; they thought weight loss might help her sales. The miscarriage of this album was disappointing, and though she never returned to it as a format, it didn’t stop her from steadily recording singles. By 2000, she was back on the dance charts at #2 with “Lifetime To Love,” and of course, the popularity of “Finally” has kept her touring non-stop.
After Peniston’s early success, many artists would rather sell their souls than chance to change the formula, even if they have to create work they don’t love. Peniston refused. I’m Movin’ On was the wild card, her now-or-never album. She had to shift direction or wither creatively. It was brave to declare her needs no matter what. When she said I’m Movin’ On, she didn’t mean only if her record company agreed to move with her. She said what she said.
Note: As an Amazon affiliate partner, Albumism may earn commissions from purchases of vinyl records, CDs and digital music featured on our site.
LISTEN via Apple Music | Spotify: