''If I Have to Stand Alone'' is the debut album by

Hi-NRG Hi-NRG (pronounced "high energy") is a genre of uptempo disco or electronic dance music (EDM) that originated in the United States during the late 1970s and early 1980s. As a music genre, typified by fast tempo, staccato hi-hat rhythms (and the ...

and

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

singer

Lonnie Gordon Lonnie Gordon (born November 8, 1965, Philadelphia) is an American female dance, pop and Contemporary R&B, R&B singer and songwriter. She scored several record chart, chart hit record, hits during the 1990s, most notably for her 1990 United King ...

, released in 1990 on Supreme Records. It includes Gordon's breakthrough hit "

Happenin' All Over Again "Happenin' All Over Again" is a song written and produced by Stock Aitken & Waterman for American singer Lonnie Gordon's first album, '' If I Have to Stand Alone'' (1990). It was released as the album's second single on January 15, 1990, and rea ...

", which was a top 10 hit in the UK and Ireland. However, the two follow-up singles, "

Beyond Your Wildest Dreams "Beyond Your Wildest Dreams" is a ballad written by British hitmaking team Stock Aitken & Waterman, which was recorded by three of their artists, Lonnie Gordon, Sybil, and Nancy Davis. The songwriters have cited this song as one of the best the ...

" and " If I Have to Stand Alone" did not fare as well. The album was released in parts of continental Europe in late 1990, and Japan and Australia in early 1991, albeit in limited quantity, and wasn't released in the UK until a

Cherry Pop "Cherry Pop" is a song recorded by Romanian singer Alexandra Stan for her second studio album '' Unlocked'' (2014). It was made available for digital download on 28 May 2015 through Roton as the record's second single. The track was written by t ...

reissue in 2009.

Background and production

Most of the album was produced by British hitmaking team

Stock Aitken Waterman Stock Aitken Waterman (abbreviated as SAW) are an English songwriting and record production trio consisting of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken, and Pete Waterman. The trio had great success from the mid-1980s through the early 1990s. SAW is considered ...

or their associates Phil Harding and Ian Curnow. The album also includes Gordon's debut single for the label, "It's Not Over", which was released in September 1989. The album incorporates Stock Aitken Waterman's typical

Europop Europop (also spelled Euro pop) is a style of pop music that originated in Europe during the mid-to-late 1960s and developed to today's form throughout the late 1970s. Europop topped the charts throughout the 1980s and 1990s, with revivals and ...

sound, but also adding influences of the

Italo house Italo house (often simply referred to as "Italian" or "Italian house" in the UK) is a form of house music originating in Italy. Typically popular in Italy, Britain, and United States since the late 1980s, it fuses house music and Italo disco. Th ...

scene that was big in the UK charts in late 1989/1990. Gordon recorded two more tracks which were not included on the album: "How Could He Do This to Me" (produced by Stock Aitken Waterman, and originally the planned follow-up to "Happenin' All Over Again"), and "Just a Matter of Time" (produced by Harding and Curnow). The former was later issued in the late 1990s on a dance compilation. Both were later released through

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

in 2009.

Critical reception

In July 2018, Mark Elliot of ''

Classic Pop Traditional pop (also known as classic pop and pre-rock and roll pop) is Western pop music that generally pre-dates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The most popular and enduring songs from this era of music are known as pop standards ...

'' considered ''If I Have to Stand Alone'' as the 12th best album ever produced by

and lamented about the poor chart performances of the last two singles. A review published in 2021 on the ''Pop Rescue'' site gave the album three stars out of five, adding that it is curious that "Happenin' All Over Again" was the only hit single from the album, since SAW and their team are highly recognisable in this work which uses "a few drums sequences, synths, samples, or vocal styles, that were incorporated into what became hits for Kylie,

Sonia Sonia, Sonja or Sonya, a name of Greek origin meaning wisdom, may refer to: People * Sonia (name), a feminine given name (lists people named, Sonia, Sonja and Sonya) :* Sonia (actress), Indian film actress in Malayalam and Tamil films :* Sonia ...

, and Big Fun throughout this album". The review also noted Gordon's powerful vocals which perfectly fit with dance songs, praised many tracks but considered "Best of Friends", "I Need You" and "Right Before My Eyes" as the weakest songs from the album.

Track listing

*All songs written by Stock, Aitken & Waterman, except where noted. #" If I Have to Stand Alone" 3:25 #"

" 3:21 #"Better Off Without You" 3:41 #"

" 6:48 #"I Need You" (Bill Clift, Phil Harding, Ian Curnow) 4:07 #"That's No Reason" 3:27 #"Best of Friends" 4:00 #"It's Not Over" (Bruce Gray, Bruce Hawes) 3:51 #"Watching You" (Lonnie Gordon) 3:36 #"Helpless Hearts" (Clift) 3:32 #"

Right Before My Eyes "Right Before My Eyes" is a 1988 song by Patti Day. It was remixed in New York by Bruce Forest and became a major club hit in the US and UK. Track listing ;UK/US vinyl (Bruce Forest mixes) :A1. "Right Before My Eyes" (House Vocal) - 4:57 :B1. "R ...

" (NY Mix) onus track on CD editions(Alexandra Forbes,

Michael Zager Michael Zager (born January 3, 1943) is an American record producer, composer, and arranger of original music for commercials, albums, network television, and theme music for films. He teaches music at Florida Atlantic University. Zager was a m ...

) 5:47

2009 Special Edition

In April 2009, UK label

reissued the album, including several bonus tracks, marking the first time for the album to be available worldwide. The reissue includes "How Could He Do This to Me", a track Gordon recorded for the album but was not originally included, as well as several remixes, some of them previously unreleased.

Track listing

#" If I Have to Stand Alone" #"Happenin' All Over Again" #"Better Off Without You" #"Beyond Your Wildest Dreams" #"I Need You" #"That's No Reason" #"Best of Friends" #"It's Not Over (Let No Man Put Asunder)" #"Watching You" #"Helpless Hearts" ;Bonus tracks #"How Could He Do This to Me" (7" Mix) #"Happenin' All Over Again" (Tony King 1990 Mix) #" If I Have to Stand Alone" (Original 12" Mix) #"Better Off Without You" (Extended Version) #"Happenin' All Over Again" (Dave Ford 1990 Mix) #"How Could He Do This to Me" (Extended Version) #"Best of Friends" (Extended Version)

Personnel

Adapted from

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 databas ...

. *

Matt Aitken Matthew James Aitken (born 25 August 1956) is an English songwriter and record producer, brought up in Astley, Greater Manchester, best known as the creative force behind the 1980s and early 1990s songwriting/production trio Stock Aitken Waterman ...

– guitar, keyboards *Rodney Ascue – mixing, producer *Patrick Boothe – background vocals *Bill Clift – background vocals *Ian Curnow – drums, engineer, keyboards, mixing, producer *

Paul Dakeyne Paul David Dakeyne (born 30 January 1961), known by his stage name Tinman, is an English house music producer/ remixer from Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire. In 1994, his single "Eighteen Strings" (also written as "18 Strings") became an inte ...

– producer * Peter Day – engineer *Gordon Dennis – assistant engineer *Richard Dowling – assistant engineer *Dave Ford – mixing *Alan Friedman – programming *Dillon Gallagher – assistant engineer *

Julian Gingell Julian Gingell (born 29 December 1969), known as Jules, is a British songwriter and record producer, best known for his partnership with fellow writer and producer Barry Stone under the name Jewels and Stone. Gingell moved to London to work with ...

– assistant engineer *

– primary artist *Peter Hammond – mixing * Phil Harding – bass, engineer, mixing, producer *Karen Hewitt – engineer *Tony King – remixing *A. Linn – drums *Chris McDonnell – assistant engineer *Mae McKenna – background vocals *John Michael Palmer – design, remastering *John Parthum – assistant engineer *Les Sharma – assistant engineer * Mike Stock – keyboards, background vocals *

Miriam Stockley Miriam Arlene Stockley (born 15 April 1962) is a British singer. She was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and her work is influenced by the African music of her home country. Her distinctive ''vocal warm up#Vocalise, vocalise'' style gained in ...

– background vocals *Barry Stone – assistant engineer *Philip Todd – saxophone *Yvonne Turner – mixing, producer, background vocals *Paul Waterman – assistant engineer * Russell Young – photography

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:If I Have to Stand Alone 1991 debut albums Lonnie Gordon albums House music albums by American artists Albums produced by Stock Aitken Waterman