Let the Truth Be Told (Laura Izibor album)

Let the Truth Be Told
Studio album by Laura Izibor
Released	8 May 2009 (see release history)
Recorded	2005–2009 Dublin, Ireland New York Atlanta, Georgia Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Genre	R&B, soul
Length	37:51
Label	Atlantic
Producer	Laura Izibor (exec.), Steve Lunt (exec.), Scott Jacoby, Craig Kallman, Chris "Tricky" Stewart
Singles from Let the Truth Be Told
""From My Heart to Yours"" Released: November 3, 2008 ""Shine"" Released: March 16, 2009 ""Don't Stay"" Released: May 11, 2009 ""If Tonight Is My Last"" Released: TBA

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
About.com	[1]
Allmusic	[2]
The Belfast Telegraph	[3]
The Boston Globe	(favorable)[4]
GQ	(favorable)[5]
The Observer	(mixed)[6]
Paste	(74/100)[7]
Sunday Mercury	(favorable)[8]

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.^[9] She dropped out of school to record the album. From ages 17 to 18, Izibor recorded over half of the album.^[10][11] After a dispute with the Jive, she signed with Atlantic Records and subsequently moved to New York after her mentor, Steve Lunt, was offered a job at the label.^[9][10]

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, Atlanta and Philadelphia.^[12] 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'."^[13] The song "Shine" was originally written for The Nanny Diaries, but was added to the album after being pushed back several times.^[14]

Track listing

All songs were written by Laura Izibor.

#	Title	Length
1	Shine	3:35
2	Don't Stay	3:59
3	If Tonight Is My Last	3:35
4	What Would You Do	4:34
5	From My Heart to Yours	3:47
6	Perfect World	4:36
7	The Worst Is Over	3:14
8	Yes (I'll Be Your Baby)	3:41
9	I Don't Want You Back	3:19
10	Mmm...	3:25

Deluxe edition bonus tracks^[15]

#	Title	Length
11	It Ain't Over ('Cos I Need You) (EP Version)	3:23
12	From My Heart to Yours (DJ Premier Remix Version)	3:43
13	Mmm... (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)	Peak position
French SNEP Albums Chart[16]	60
Irish Albums Chart[16]	2
Japan (Oricon)[17]	100
Dutch Albums Chart[18]	64
UK Album Chart	100
U.S. Billboard 200[19]	27
U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[19]	6

Release history

Region	Date
Ireland[20]	8 May 2009
Brazil[21]	20 May 2009
United States[22]	16 June 2009

References

1. Carson, Timothy Michael. "Laura Izibor - 'Let the Truth Be Told'". About.com. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
2. Donnelly, Dave. "Let the Truth Be Told - Review". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
3. Meagher, John (2009-05-22). "Laura Izibor - Let The Truth Be Told (Atlantic)". The Belfast Telegraph. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
4. Capobianco, Ken (2009-06-15). "Laura Izibor, 'Let the Truth Be Told'". The Boston Globe. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
5. Mee, Nick. "Album review: Laura Izibor". GQ. Condé Nast Publications. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
6. Montgomery, Hugh (2009-05-17). "Pop review: Laura Izibo: Let the Truth Be Told". The Observer. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
7. Freeland, Henry (2009-06-16). "Laura Izibor: Let the Truth Be Told". Paste. Paste Media Group. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
8. Smith, Daniel (2009-05-10). "Laura Izibor: Let the Truth be Told". Sunday Mercury. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
9. Birchmeier, Jason. "Laura Izibor - Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
10. Haider, Arwa (2009-05-11). "Laura Izibor is blessed to be young". Metro. Associated Newspapers. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
11. Frehsée, Nicole. "Artists to Watch". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
12. Lester, Paul (2008-10-17). "No 412: Laura Izibor". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
13. Lewis, Pete (2009-03-02). "Born To Shine - Pete Lewis Interviews Laura Izibor". Blues & Soul. Blues & Soul. Retrieved 2009-09-21.
14. Clayton-Lea, Tony (2009-05-01). "The truth is out there, finally". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
15. "Let The Truth Be Told [Deluxe]: MP3 Downloads: Laura Izibor". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
16. "Laura Izibor - Let The Truth Be Told - Music Charts". αCharts. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
17. "ローラ・イジボアのCD・DVDリリース情報、ローラ・イジボアのプロフィールならオリコン芸能人事典-ORICON STYLE". Oricon. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
18. "Laura Izibor - 'Let the Truth Be Told' (album)". Ultratop. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
19. "Let the Truth Be Told - Laura Izibor". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
20. Clayton-Lea, Tony (2009-05-01). "The truth is out there, finally". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
21. "Let the Truth Be Told - Laura Izibor (Brazilian release date)". cdpoint.com.br. Retrieved 2010-08-02.
22. "Let the Truth Be Told: Laura Izibor: Music". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2009-07-31.