Even Closer
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox album
| name = Even Closer
| type = studio album
| artist = Goapele
| cover = Closer (Goapele album).jpg
| alt =
| released = {{Start date|2002|09|10}}
| recorded =
| venue =
| studio =
| genre = Neo soul
| length = {{Duration|m=50|s=36}}
| label = {{hlist|Skyblaze|Columbia|BBE}}
| producer = {{hlist|Adam Smirnoff|Amp Live|Eric Krasno|Jeff Bhasker|Johnson|Mike Tiger|Nate Greenberg|Shaka Ramsay|Soulive}}
| prev_title = Closer
| prev_year = 2001
| next_title = Change It All
| next_year = 2005
| misc = {{Singles
| name = Even Closer
| type = studio album
| single1 = Closer
| single1date = 2002
| single2 = Got It
| single2date = 2003
}}
}}
{{Music ratings
| rev1 = AllMusic
| rev1score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/even-closer-mw0000661568|title=Goapele - Even Closer|work=AllMusic|first=Todd|last=Kristel|accessdate=April 10, 2015}}
| rev2 = Exclaim!
| rev2score = mixed{{cite web|url=http://exclaim.ca/Music/article/goapele-even_closer|title=Goapele - Even Closer|work=Exclaim!|first=Cheryl|last=Thompson|date=June 1, 2004|accessdate=April 10, 2015}}
| rev3 = PopMatters
| rev3score = favorable{{cite web|url=http://www.popmatters.com/review/goapele-even/|title=Goapele: Even Closer|work=PopMatters|first=Mark Anthony|last=Neal|date=June 3, 2003|accessdate=April 10, 2015}}
}}
Even Closer is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Goapele. It is essentially an expanded version of her self-released debut album, Closer (2001). Originally released in 2002, it was re-released in 2004.
Critical reception
Todd Kristel of AllMusic gave the album 3 stars out of 5, commenting that it treads "a thin line between appealingly eclectic and insufficiently cohesive". Mark Anthony Neal of PopMatters said: "Nothing on Goapele's Even Closer is likely to ever be an MTV buzzclip, but throughout her debut she exhibits striking vocals and solid song writing skills, suggesting that she will be a figure that will be heard from again and again, likely outlasting many of her neo-soul peers and some of the independent labels they record for."
Meanwhile, Cheryl Thompson of Exclaim! commented that "[the] only problem with the album is the one tone Goapele maintains throughout; each track on its own is conceivably thought-provoking, a testament to Goapele's writing abilities but as a commercial package it lacks a certain positive transgression into the realm of something new."
Track listing
{{Track listing
| extra_column = Producer(s)
| title1 = Closer
| extra1 = {{hlist|Amp Live|Mike Tiger}}
| length1 = 3:49
| title2 = Ease Your Mind
| note2 = featuring Pep Love
| extra2 = Johnson
| length2 = 3:35
| title3 = Got It
| extra3 = Amp Live
| length3 = 3:15
| title4 = Romantic
| extra4 = Soulive
| length4 = 5:37
| title5 = Too Much the Same
| extra5 = Eric Krasno
| length5 = 3:56
| title6 = Catch 22
| extra6 = {{hlist|Nate Greenberg|Shaka Ramsay}}
| length6 = 4:09
| title7 = The Daze
| note7 = featuring Zion I and Casual
| extra7 = Amp Live
| length7 = 3:07
| title8 = Things Don't Exist
| extra8 = {{hlist|Adam Smirnoff|Jeff Bhasker}}
| length8 = 4:32
| title9 = Childhood Drama
| extra9 = Johnson
| length9 = 3:14
| title10 = Salvation
| extra10 = Jeff Bhasker
| length10 = 3:43
| title11 = Back to You
| extra11 = Nate Greenberg
| length11 = 4:17
| title12 = Butterflykisses
| extra12 = Jeff Bhasker
| length12 = 3:20
| title13 = It Takes More
| extra13 = Johnson
| length13 = 3:57
| title14 = Red, White, & Blues
| extra14 = Mike Tiger
| length14 = 5:29
| title15 = Childhood Drama (Remix)
| note15 = 2004 re-release bonus track
| extra15 = Johnson
| length15 = 3:24
}}
Charts
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="text-align:center;" border="1"
!scope="col"| Chart !scope="col"| Peak |
| scope="row"| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard){{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/goapele/chart-history/blp/|title=Goapele - Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums|work=Billboard|accessdate=December 4, 2017}}
| 60 |
|---|
| scope="row"| US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard){{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/goapele/chart-history/tln/|title=Goapele - Heatseekers Albums|work=Billboard|accessdate=December 4, 2017}}
| 41 |
| scope="row"| US Independent Albums (Billboard){{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/goapele/chart-history/ind/|title=Goapele - Independent Albums|work=Billboard|accessdate=December 4, 2017}}
| 24 |
References
{{Reflist}}