''Kim Carnes'' is the second studio album by

Kim Carnes Kim Carnes (; born July 20, 1945) is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, she began her career as a songwriter in the 1960s, writing for other artists while performing in local clubs and working as a sess ...

, released in 1975 (see

1975 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1975. __TOC__ Specific locations * 1975 in British music * 1975 in Norwegian music Specific genres * 1975 in country music * 1975 in heavy metal music *1975 in jazz Event ...

). The album gave Carnes her first hit, with "You're a Part of Me" (solo version) peaking in 1976 at #34 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary charts. Although this album hasn't been released on CD, eight of the album's eleven songs can be found on the European CD "Master Series".

Background

After releasing her debut album ''

Rest on Me ''Rest on Me'' is the first studio album by Kim Carnes. It was released in 1971 (see 1971 in music) on Amos Records and reissued on A&M Records in the late 1970s. The album (minus the opening song) was also released on CD on many European budget ...

'' through

Amos Records Amos Records was an independent record label established in Los Angeles, California by Jimmy Bowen, in 1968. The label was located on 6565 Sunset Boulevard, and had an additional office branch in New York City. With Bowen producing most of Amos Rec ...

in 1971, Carnes signed to

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

in early 1975. She described ''Kim Carnes'' as a "much more even" record than her debut, owing to her increased experience with writing and recording demos. "You're a Part of Me" was released as the lead single, having originally been recorded by

Susan Jacks Susan Jacks ( Pesklevits; 19 August 1948 – 25 April 2022) was a Canadian singer-songwriter and record producer. Career Susan Pesklevits was born on 19 August 1948 to a family of eight children in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Her family moved t ...

in 1974. Carnes' version reached number 32 on the ''Billboard'' Adult Contemporary chart in February 1976. Two years later, a re-recording of the song in duet with

Gene Cotton Gene Cotton (born June 30, 1944 in Columbus, Ohio) is an American pop and folk singer-songwriter. He is best known for his four ''Billboard'' top 40 entries during the years 1976–1978. In the UK, he is most famous for the song "Me and the E ...

reached number 36 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, and number 6 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

Critical reception

In a positive review, '' Cash Box'' commended the "soul" in Carnes' voice, stating that "an aura of feel and sensitivity between singer and song predominates throughout". In a review of the single, '' Billboard'' likened "You're a Part of Me" to the music of

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 ...

, describing it as a "pretty ballad".

Track listing

Personnel

Adapted from the album liner notes. *

– lead vocals, backing vocals, Fender Rhodes * Mentor Williams – production, backing vocals *

Jim Keltner James Lee Keltner (born April 27, 1942) is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session work. He was characterized by Bob Dylan biographer Howard Sounes as "the leading session drummer in America". Howard Sounes. ''Dow ...

– drums *

Leland Sklar Leland Bruce Sklar (born May 28, 1947) is an American bassist and session musician. Sklar rose to prominence as a member of James Taylor's backing band, which coaleced into a group in its own right, The Section. This group of musicians so frequ ...

– bass *

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 ...

– guitars *

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 ...

– piano, clavinet, Fender Rhodes * Steve Forman – percussion *

Michael Utley Michael Edward Utley is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer for Jimmy Buffett's Coral Reefer Band. He is the musical director of the band. Born in Blytheville in Mississippi County, Arkansas, he graduated from the Univer ...

– organ, Moog synthesizer * Maxine Willard – backing vocals * Julia Tillman – backing vocals * Dave Ellingson – backing vocals * David Briggs – string arrangements * Steve Dorff – string arrangementsstring arrangements

Technical

* Rick Porter –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

* Chuck Trammel – second engineer *

Bernie Grundman 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 ...

– mastering

Design

* Roland Young – art direction, photography * Chuck Beeson – album design

References

{{Authority control 1975 albums Kim Carnes albums A&M Records albums