''Back with a Heart'' is the sixteenth studio album by British-Australian singer
Olivia Newton-John
Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles on the ...
. It was released by
MCA Nashville
Universal Music Group Nashville is Universal Music Group's country music subsidiary. Some of the labels in this group include MCA Nashville Records, Mercury Nashville Records, Lost Highway Records, Capitol Records Nashville and EMI Records Nash ...
on 12 May 1998 in the United States. Her first album in four years, it marked her return to
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
after two decades.
Production and release
''Back with a Heart'' was recorded in Nashville and marked Newton-John's return to the US Country chart after an absence of almost twenty years.
Singles
''Back with a Heart'' was preceded by the single "
I Honestly Love You
"I Honestly Love You" is a song recorded by Olivia Newton-John released in 1974 on the album '' Long Live Love'' in United Kingdom and ''If You Love Me, Let Me Know'' in the United States. The song became a worldwide pop hit, her first number- ...
", a re-recording of Newton-John's 1974 number-one hit. MCA Nashville initially intended to release "Precious Love" as the album's lead single to country radio but eventually settled on the updated version of "I Honestly Love You".
Selected by Newton-John,
David Foster
David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...
agreed to produce the remake, who in turn asked
Babyface Babyface or Baby Face can refer to:
Nicknames
* Lester Joseph Gillis a.k.a. Baby Face Nelson, an infamous 1930s bank robber
* Roosevelt "Baby Face" Willette (1933–1971), an American hard bop and soul-jazz musician
* "Baby Face", Jimmy McLarnin ...
to contribute backing vocals to the song.
"I Honestly Love You" was released in two versions; the album version for pop and adult contemporary radio, and a remix for country radio. "Precious Love" was eventually released as the album's second single, while title track "Back with a Heart" was issued as a vinyl 45 RPM single in the United States. Album cut "Love Is a Gift" won a 1999
Daytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...
for Outstanding Original Song after appearing on the American television soap opera ''
As the World Turns
''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other s ...
''.
Critical reception
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
editor
Stephen Thomas Erlewine rated the album three stars out of five and found that Newton-John "put a great deal of effort into the making of ''Back with a Heart'' – the record is her best in years. It's much slicker than even her polished country-pop from the '70s, but a team of producers
..have created an appealingly smooth sound that gives her a platform to showcase her mature craftsmanship. None of the songs immediately stand out, but the album has a consistent quality that is thoroughly winning."
Track listing
Personnel
Performers and musicians
* Olivia Newton-John – lead vocals, backing vocals (6, 8, 9, 10)
*
Steve Nathan
Steven Jay Nathan is an American keyboardist. He is known for his session work in Muscle Shoals and Nashville studios.
Biography
Nathan was born and raised in Buffalo, New York. In 1977, Nathan moved to Muscle Shoals, Alabama. After touring w ...
– keyboards (1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9),
Hammond B3 organ (3)
* Dennis Burnside – acoustic piano (1, 3, 7)
*
Sean Callery
Sean Callery (born 1964) is an American musician and composer, best known for composing the music for the action/drama '' 24'' and the Marvel adaptation ''Jessica Jones''. Other projects include the 2004 James Bond video game, '' James Bond 007: ...
–
Synclavier (2)
* Barry Walsh – synthesizers (4), acoustic piano (10)
* John Hobbs – acoustic piano (8)
*
David Foster
David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...
– keyboards (11), arrangements (11)
* Felipe Elgueta – synthesizer programming (11)
* Mark Casstevens – acoustic guitar (1, 3, 7)
*
Brent Mason
Brent Mason (born July 13, 1959) is an American, Nashville, Tennessee-based recording studio guitarist and songwriter, performing primarily country music. Guitar World Magazine listed him as one of the "Top Ten Session Guitarists of All Time". ...
– electric guitar (1, 3, 7), lead electric guitar (10)
*
Bruce Bouton – pedal steel guitar (1, 3, 7), lap steel (4), slide guitar (10)
*
Larry Byrom
Steppenwolf was an American-Canadian rock band that was prominent from 1968 to 1972. The group was formed in late 1967 in Los Angeles by lead singer John Kay, keyboardist Goldy McJohn, and drummer Jerry Edmonton, all formerly of the Canadian ...
– electric guitar (2, 5, 6, 9)
* Steve Gibson – acoustic guitar (2, 9), electric guitar (5, 6)
*
John Farrar
John Clifford Farrar ( ; born 8 November 1946) is an Australian music producer, songwriter, arranger, singer, and guitarist. As a musician, Farrar is a former member of several rock and roll groups including The Mustangs (1963–64), The Stra ...
– electric guitar (2, 5), backing vocals (5)
*
Paul Franklin – steel guitar (2, 5, 8)
*
Gary Burr
Gary Burr, born in Meriden, Connecticut, is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, primarily in the country music genre. Many of the songs he has written have become Top-10 hits, the first of which was " Love's Been A Little B ...
– acoustic guitar (4), backing vocals (4)
* B. James Lowry – acoustic guitar (4, 10)
*
Dan Dugmore
Dan Dugmore is an American session musician known primarily for playing the pedal steel guitar
Born in 1949, Dugmore was raised in Pasadena, California. Influenced by the Flying Burrito Brothers, he learned to play steel guitar after Flying Bur ...
– electric guitar (6), steel guitar (9)
* Chris Farren – acoustic guitar (8), mandolin (8), backing vocals (8)
*
Darrell Scott
James Darrell Scott, known as Darrell Scott (born August 6, 1959), is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. The son of musician Wayne Scott, he moved as a child to East Gary, Indiana (known today as Lake Station, Indiana). ...
– acoustic guitar (8)
*
Brent Rowan
Brent Rowan (born May 28, 1956 in Waxahachie, Texas) is an American session musician and record producer who works primarily in country music. Active since the 1970s, Rowan began working with John Conlee through the recommendation of record produce ...
– electric guitar (8)
* Cary Park – electric guitar solo (8)
* Chris Leuzinger – electric guitar (10)
*
Dean Parks
Weldon Dean Parks (born December 6, 1946) is an American session guitarist and record producer from Fort Worth, Texas.
Albums
Parks was member of the North Texas State One O'clock Lab Band before moving to Los Angeles to work with Sonny and Cher ...
– guitar (11)
*
Michael Thompson – guitar (11)
*
Michael Rhodes – bass guitar (1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9)
* Duncan Mullins – bass guitar (4, 10)
*
Joe Chemay
Joe Chemay is an American bassist and background singer, known for his recording session work.
Biography
Chemay started out working as a session and touring support musician in Los Angeles, but moved to Nashville in 1989.
Chemay has worked wi ...
– bass guitar (8)
*
Eddie Bayers
Eddie Bayers (born January 28, 1949) is an American session drummer who has played on 300 gold and platinum albums. He received the Academy of Country Music 'Drummer of the Year Award' for fourteen years, has three times won the Nashville Music ...
– drums (1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10)
*
Paul Leim
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
* Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
* Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chr ...
– drums (6, 8, 9), percussion (9)
*
Terry McMillan
Terry McMillan (born October 18, 1951) is an American novelist. Her work centers around the experiences of Black women in the United States.
Early life
McMillan was born in Port Huron, Michigan. She received a B.A. in journalism in 1977 from ...
– percussion (4, 10)
*
Mark Leggett
Mark Leggett is an American guitarist/composer who has composed music for hundreds of television and documentary productions in the U.S.
Credits include television series My Name Is Earl, theme music for The Pretender (TV series), The Pretender (E ...
– percussion (8), programming (8)
* Rob Hajacos – fiddle (4, 10)
*
Larry Franklin
The Lawrence Franklin espionage scandal involved Lawrence Franklin passing classified documents regarding United States policy towards Iran to Israel. Franklin, a former United States Department of Defense employee, pleaded guilty to several espi ...
– fiddle (8)
* Ronn Huff – string arrangements and conductor (8)
*
The Nashville String Machine
Nashville String Machine is a musical collective comprising session musicians, based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Members of the group have been credited on records dating from 1972 to the present, although the group was formally formed ...
– strings (8)
* Wes Hightower – backing vocals (1, 3, 7)
* Liana Manis – backing vocals (1, 3, 7)
* Dennis Wilson – backing vocals (1, 3, 7)
* Christina Nichols – backing vocals (2)
* Tabitha Fair – backing vocals (6, 9)
* Kim Fleming – backing vocals (6, 9)
*
Chris Rodriguez – backing vocals (6, 9)
*
Babyface Babyface or Baby Face can refer to:
Nicknames
* Lester Joseph Gillis a.k.a. Baby Face Nelson, an infamous 1930s bank robber
* Roosevelt "Baby Face" Willette (1933–1971), an American hard bop and soul-jazz musician
* "Baby Face", Jimmy McLarnin ...
– backing vocals (11)
Technical
* Producers – Don Cook (Tracks 1, 3 and 7); John Farrar (Tracks 2 and 5); Gary Burr (Tracks 4 and 10); Tony Brown (Tracks 6 and 9); Chris Farren (Track 8); David Foster (Track 11)
* Production assistance on Tracks 1, 3 and 7 – Scott Johnson
* Project coordinators – Patty Nichols (Tracks 2 and 5); Jessie Noble (Tracks 2, 5, 6 and 9); Bill Nemuth (Tracks 4 and 10); Kelly Giedt (Track 8); Felipe Elgueta (Track 11)
* Executive producers – Rory S. Kaplan and Bill Neighbors
* Recording – Mike Bradley (Tracks 1, 3 and 7); Chuck Ainlay (Tracks 2, 5, 6 and 9); Greg Kane (Tracks 4 and 10); Steve Marcantonio (Track 8); Felipe Elgueta (Track 11)
* Assistant recording – Mark Capps (Tracks 1, 3 and 7); Tim Roberts (Tracks 1, 3 and 7); Aaron Swihart (Tracks 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7 and 9); Mark Ralston (Tracks 2, 5, 6 and 9); King Williams (Tracks 4 and 10); John Saylor (Track 8); Chris Davie (Track 8);
* Additional recording – Mike Bradley (Tracks 1, 3 and 7); Mark Capps (Tracks 1, 3 and 7); Tim Roberts (Tracks 1, 3 and 7); Pat McMakin (Tracks 1, 3 and 7); Al Grassmick (Tracks 4 and 10); John Saylor (Track 8); Shawn Allan (Track 8); Steve Marcantonio (Track 8); Tom Harding (Track 8); Alejandro Rodriguez (Track 8); Dan Shike (Track 10)
* Overdub tracking – Steve McMillan (Tracks 2 and 5); Al Grassmick and Steve Marcantonio (Tracks 6 and 9)
* Additional overdub recording on Tracks 6 and 9 – Tony Green and Russ Martin
* Mixed by Chuck Ainlay at Masterfonics (Tracks 1, 3 and 6–11) and Moonee Pond Studios (Tracks 2 and 5), assisted by Mark Ralston
* Editing – Don Cobb
* Encoding by Jeff Levinson and Ric Wilson
* Technical support – H.G. Hollans and John Saylor
* Mastered by Denny Purcell at Georgetown Masters (Nashville, TN), assisted by Jonathan Russell
* Art direction – Gabrielle Raumberger
* Design – Joseph Kiely
* Photography – Michelle Day, Caroline Greyshock and Patrick McDermott
* Stylist – Mini DeBlasio
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Release history
References
{{Authority control
1998 albums
Olivia Newton-John albums
Albums produced by John Farrar
Albums produced by David Foster
Albums produced by Tony Brown (record producer)