''Evolution'' is the fourth album (second published worldwide) by the American vocalist, pianist and songwriter

Oleta Adams Oleta Adams (born May 4, 1953) is an American singer and pianist. She found limited success during the early 1980s, before gaining fame via her contributions to Tears for Fears's international chart-topping album ''The Seeds of Love'' (1989). Her ...

and was released in 1993. The album is the follow-up to Adams' worldwide hit album ''

Circle of One ''Circle of One'' is the third album by American vocalist, pianist, and songwriter Oleta Adams and was released in 1990. ''Circle of One'' was Adams' first album to receive wide distribution; her two earlier albums (an untitled album in 1982 an ...

'' and is fully produced by Stewart Levine. Like its predecessor, ''Evolution'' consists of songs with a mix of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

and

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

. ''Evolution'' features three cover versions: the

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, havi ...

song "

Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter James Taylor, from his 1972 album '' One Man Dog''. The song has been included on three of Taylor's greatest-hits collection albums: ''Greatest Hits' ...

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...

's "

New York State of Mind "New York State of Mind" is a song written by Billy Joel that initially appeared on the album ''Turnstiles'' in 1976. Although it was never released as a single, it has become a fan favorite and a song that Joel plays regularly in concert. Joel ...

" and Ivan Lins' "Evolution". Adams wrote six of the twelve album tracks, and it also features a song written by songwriter

Diane Warren Diane Eve Warren (born September 7, 1956) is an American songwriter. She has received several awards including a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, three ''Billboard'' Music Awards and an Honorary Academy Award. Wa ...

Commercial performance

''Evolution'' entered the top 10 in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

. However, without the aid of a big hit single, the album dropped quickly and only stayed in the charts for seven weeks. In the US, the album peaked at #67 and stayed only 13 weeks in the charts. It had more success in continental Europe, most notably in the Netherlands where it peaked at #6 and stayed in the chart for almost a year.

Singles

Five singles were taken from the album. The lead single, "

I Just Had to Hear Your Voice "I Just Had to Hear Your Voice" is a song by American singer Oleta Adams Oleta Adams (born May 4, 1953) is an American singer and pianist. She found limited success during the early 1980s, before gaining fame via her contributions to Tears for ...

", failed to become a big hit as "

Get Here "Get Here" is a pop ballad written by American singer and songwriter Brenda Russell. The title track of her fourth studio album, '' Get Here'' (1988), it became a moderate hit on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart on the heels of the album's massive ...

" had been for her previous album. It peaked at #42 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and did not chart in the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Other singles failed to chart in both countries. However, they sold better in continental Europe. These were the gospel-tinged "Window of Hope", "Easier to Say (Goodbye)", "My Heart Won't Lie" and "The Day I Stop Loving You".

Track listing

Non-album tracks

"Oh Me, Oh My" was one of the b-sides of the "Window of Hope" single, the others being "You Won't Get Away" and "I Believe You". "Oh Me, Oh My" was also used as a b-side for "My Heart Won't Lie", along with "Let Me Be The One" and "I Believe You". "You Won't Get Away" (a song that had already featured on Oleta's self-released 1983 album '' Going on Record'') also appeared on the "Easier to Say Goodbye" single, alongside two more non-album tracks: "Blessed With You" and "No Secrets". "The Day I Stop Loving You" was released as a remix by David Foster, which is a minute shorter than the album version.

Personnel

* Oleta Adams – lead vocals, arrangements, acoustic piano (1, 2, 4, 5, 7-12), synthesizers (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12),

Fender Rhodes The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, th ...

(3), backing vocals (6, 7) *

Aaron Zigman Aaron Zigman (born January 6, 1963) is a classically-trained American composer, producer, arranger, songwriter, and musician who has scored music for films including ''The Notebook'', ''The Company Men'', '' Bridge to Terabithia'', ''John Q.'', ...

– keyboards (1, 6), synthesizers (1, 5), programming (2, 4, 8, 10, 12), horns (7), strings (11) *

Neil Larsen Neil Larsen (born August 7, 1948) is an American jazz keyboardist, musical arranger and composer. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio and grew up in Sarasota, Florida before relocating to New York and then, in 1977, Los Angeles. Early life Larsen was ...

–

Hammond B3 organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs ...

(3, 5, 10) *

Michael Landau Michael Christopher Landau (born June 1, 1958) is an American musician, audio engineer, and record producer. He is a session musician and guitarist who has played on many albums since the early 1980s with Boz Scaggs, Minoru Niihara, Joni Mitch ...

– guitars (1-6, 10, 11), guitar solo (7), acoustic guitar and solo (9) * Ray Fuller – guitars (4, 7, 8, 12) * Freddie Washington – bass guitar (1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 10, 11), fretless bass (3, 9) * Jerry Knight – bass guitar (6), backing vocals (6) * Larry Kimpel – bass guitar (8, 12) * Richie Stevens – drums (1-5, 7-12), programming (4, 7, 11, 12), additional programming (6) *

Gota Yashiki is a Japanese musician, both an independent acid jazz artist and drum/bass player, as a member of the band Simply Red. Biography He was born in Kyoto, Japan, on 26 February 1962, where at a young age he learned how to play traditional Japan ...

– drums (6), programming (6) *

Lenny Castro Lenny or Lennie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Lenny (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Lennie (surname), a list of people * Lenny (singer) (born 1993), Czech songwriter Arts and entertainment Music * ''L ...

– percussion (2, 4, 6-9, 12) * Tom Scott – tenor saxophone (2, 10, 11) * David Sanborn – alto saxophone (3) *

Chuck Findley Charles B. Findley (born December 13, 1947 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania) is an American trumpet player known for his diverse work as a session musician. He also plays other brass instruments such as flugelhorn and trombone. His technical abilities ...

– flugelhorn solo (4),

muted trumpet A mute is a device attached to a musical instrument which changes the instrument's tone quality (timbre) or lowers its volume. Mutes are commonly used on string and brass instruments, especially the trumpet and trombone, and are occasionall ...

(6), trumpet (10) * Stewart Levine – arrangements (all tracks) * Paulette Brown – backing vocals (7, 12) * Bunny Hill – backing vocals (7, 12) * Arnold McCuller – backing vocals (7, 12) * Ricky Nelson – backing vocals (7, 12) * Valerie Pinkston-Mayo – backing vocals (7, 12) * Fred White – backing vocals (7, 12) * Perri (Carolyn, Darlene, Lori and Sharon Perry) – backing vocals (12)

Production

* Producer – Stewart Levine * Recorded and Mixed by Daren Klein at Andora Studios (North Hollywood, CA). * Second Engineer – Gonzalo "Bino" Espinoza * Mastered by Bernie Grundman at

Bernie Grundman Mastering Bernie Grundman is an American audio engineer. He is most known for his mastering work and his studio, Bernie Grundman Mastering, which he opened in 1984 in Hollywood. The studio, which includes engineers Chris Bellman, Patricia Sullivan, and Mi ...

(Hollywood, CA). * Design – Peter Barrett and Andrew Biscomb * Photography – Randee St. Nicholas

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Authority control 1993 albums Oleta Adams albums Albums produced by Stewart Levine Fontana Records albums