''Matters of the Heart'' is the sixth studio album by American

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, ...

group

Restless Heart Restless Heart is an American country music band established in 1984. The band's members are Larry Stewart (lead vocals), John Dittrich (drums, vocals), Paul Gregg (bass guitar, vocals), Dave Innis (piano, keyboards, guitar, vocals), and Greg Je ...

. It was released by

RCA Nashville RCA Nashville is an American country music record label based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is distributed by Sony Music Nashville which is part of Sony Music. Current artists *Kane Brown *Andrew Jannakos *Miranda Lambert *Niko Moon (RCA/River Hou ...

in 1994. "Baby Needs New Shoes" was the only single released from the album. This is also the band's first album not to feature keyboardist Dave Innis, who left in 1993. ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' gave the album a "C", with critic

Alanna Nash Alanna Nash is an American journalist and biographer. Born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1950, Nash holds a master's degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and is the author of several acclaimed books. She is a 1972 graduat ...

saying that it had "more interesting country material" but that the band's sound was still "by the book".

Track listing

#"In This Little Town" (John Dittrich, Rick Bowles, Josh Leo) - 3:16 #"Love Train" (Paul Gregg,

Rob Crosby Rob Crosby (born Robert Crosby Hoar; April 25, 1954) is an American country music artist. Between 1990 and 1996, Rob charted eight singles on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. He has also recorded six studio albums, wi ...

Scott Hendricks Scott Hendricks (born July 26, 1956) is an American record producer who has produced over 30 country music artists. His productions have garnered 121 Top 10s, and 78 Number One hits. Between 1995 and 1997, he was President and Chief Executive Off ...

) - 2:58 #"Mind Over Matters of the Heart" (Gary Cotton, Crosby) - 3:10 #"Baby Needs New Shoes" (Ronnie Guilbeau,

Billy Crain William Sherwood Crain (born August 9, 1954 in Nashville, Tennessee) is an American songwriter and musician. He has been a staple performer in the Southern rock scene since the early 1970s. He is the younger brother to former Charlie Daniels Ban ...

, Thom McHugh) - 3:11 #"Hold You Now" (Greg Jennings,

Stan Lynch Stanley Joseph "Stan" Lynch (born May 21, 1955) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. He was the original drummer for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers for 18 years until his departure in 1994. Early years Lynch was born in ...

, Rafe Van Hoy) - 3:25 #"She's Still in Love" (Tommy Polk,

Johnny Neel Johnny Neel is an American vocalist, songwriter, and musician based in Nashville, Tennessee. He is best known for his songwriting, stage, and being a member of the Allman Brothers Band and the Dickey Betts Band. As a songwriter, in addition to ...

) - 3:33 #"You're a Stronger Man Than I Am" (Dittrich, Bowles,

Marc Beeson Marc Beeson (born December 20, 1954 in Champaign, Illinois) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Beeson has co-written several singles which have reached the Hot Country Songs charts. Life and career Beeson moved to Nashville, Te ...

) - 3:23 #"Hometown Boy" (

Kerry Chater Kerry Michael Chater (August 7, 1945 – February 4, 2022) was a Canadian musician and songwriter who was best known as a member of Gary Puckett & The Union Gap, but he was a successful Nashville songwriter for many years. Musician Chater was ...

, Lynn Gillespie Chater, Tom Paden) - 3:30 #"Sweet Whiskey Lies" (Dittrich, Bowles, Beeson) - 3:30 #"I'd Cross the Line" (Dittrich, Gregg, Jennings, Bowles) - 3:24

Personnel

Adapted from ''Matters of the Heart'' liner notes. Restless Heart * John Dittrich – vocals, drums (2-10) * Paul Gregg – vocals, bass guitar (1, 3-8, 10) * Greg Jennings – vocals, guitars,

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

Additional musicians * Bill Cuomo – keyboards * Carl Marsh – keyboards *

Hawk Wolinski David James "Hawk" Wolinski (born May 13, 1948) is an American keyboardist, songwriter and record producer, best known for his work with the funk band Rufus and their lead singer Chaka Khan. Biography Wolinski grew up in Chicago, Illinois, an ...

– acoustic piano,

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 ...

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 B ...

–

steel guitar A steel guitar ( haw, kīkākila) is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conve ...

Mike Brignardello Giant is an American melodic rock band that was formed in 1987. The band originally consisted of founding members Dann Huff (lead vocals and guitar) and Alan Pasqua (keyboard), and had Dann's brother David Huff on drums and Mike Brignardello on ...

– bass guitar (2) *

Roy Huskey Jr. Roy Milton Huskey (December 17, 1956 – September 6, 1997) was a prominent American upright bass player in country music from Nashville, Tennessee. Huskey performed alongside musicians such as Chet Atkins, Garth Brooks, Johnny Cash, Vince Gi ...

–

upright bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

(2) * Duncan Mullins – bass guitar (9) *

Chad Cromwell Chad Cromwell (born June 14, 1957) is an American rock drummer whose music career has spanned more than 30 years. He is the founding member of a band called Fortunate Sons, which released a self-titled album in 2004. Cromwell has worked with m ...

– drums (1) *

Stuart Duncan Stuart Duncan (born April 14, 1964) is an American bluegrass musician who plays the fiddle, mandolin, guitar, and banjo. Life Duncan was born in Quantico, Virginia, and raised in Santa Paula, California, where he played in the school band. He ...

–

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

Production * Restless Heart – producers * Josh Leo – producer * Steve Marcantonio – recording, mixing * Pete Martinez – second engineer * John Hurley – additional mix engineer * Don Cobb – digital editing * Denny Purcell – mastering * Georgetown Masters (Nashville, Tennessee) – editing and mastering location * Joe Johnston – production coordinator * Mary Hamilton – art direction * Julie Wanca – art design * Tamara Reynolds – photography * Ann Rice – stylist * Deborah Wingo – make-up * The Fitzgerald/Hartley Co. – management

References

External links

* ''Matters of the Heart''at

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 ...

{{Authority control 1994 albums Restless Heart albums RCA Records albums Albums produced by Josh Leo