When in Rome is the debut album of English dance group When in Rome, released in 1988 by 10 Records in the UK and Virgin Records internationally. It is the only studio album by the original lineup to date. The album includes the song "The Promise", which was the group's biggest hit. The album peaked at No. 84 on the Billboard 200.

Background

In a 1988 interview with the Evening Times, keyboardist Michael Floreale spoke of the album, "Ben Rogan was great to work with - his ideas on the backing tracks were quite complementary to our own. The songs are the best from our first couple of years, so whenever the album comes out they should still stand up as songs. We just want to be able to sell enough copies of our first album to be offered the chance to do another one."

Critical reception

On its release, Curt Anderson of the Daily Union considered When in Rome to "sound like a lot of today's pop music: synthesizer-based, danceable and rather empty-headed". They added, "The two singers harmonize perfectly, singing lead vocals together on nearly every tune. The music is generally bright and perky, sort of what the Pet Shop Boys probably sound like when they've had too much coffee. Most of the record thumps along in this vein, although on Side 2 there is a greater reliance on real instruments that makes things more interesting." In a retrospective review, William Cooper of AllMusic concluded, "Like many one-hit wonders of the '80s, When in Rome failed to maintain the momentum set by its only hit song by releasing a dud of an album. 'The Promise' starts things off nicely, but the remainder of the album is embarrassingly weak."

Track listing

Personnel

When in Rome

Additional personnel

Production

Charts