''Maria Vidal'' is the debut studio album by American singer

Maria Vidal Maria Elena Vidal (born August 1, 1960) is an American singer songwriter. She is known for her hit single "Body Rock", which reached No. 8 on the US Dance Charts, No. 48 on the Hot 100, No. 5 on the Springbok Charts in South Africa, and No. 11 i ...

, released by A&M in 1987. The album's first single was "House of Love". The song was written by Sandy Stewart and originally recorded by Blue Yonder, the name of her duo with David Munday. Blue Yonder's version was released earlier in 1987 as the second single from their self-titled debut album. The second and final single "Do Me Right" was written and produced by

Desmond Child John Charles Barrett (born October 28, 1953), known professionally as Desmond Child, is an American songwriter and producer. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2008. His hits as a songwriter include Kiss's "I Was Made for Lovi ...

. The song's music video was directed by

David Fincher David Andrew Leo Fincher (born August 28, 1962) is an American film director. His films, mostly psychological thrillers and biographical dramas, have received 40 nominations at the Academy Awards, including three for him as Best Director. Fin ...

and achieved medium rotation on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

Critical reception

On its release, ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' commented, "Strong-voiced dance-oriented thrush makes a potent album debut with upbeat material." They added that tracks such as "The Real Feel", "Do Me Right" and "House of Love" "harbinger well for radio and club acceptance". Jack Lloyd, writing for ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

'', felt that Vidal displays "an abundance of talent" on the album and added that she "demonstrat sthat she can handle a rocker as well as a ballad". He noted "several strong numbers" but was critical of the various producers involved which he felt resulted in "a lack of cohesion". Hugh Wyatt of the '' Daily News'' noted the presence of various musicians and producers on the album who "all contribute well to the background and instrumentation", but believed that the music receives "its biggest boost" from the "mellow, lyrical and assertive vocalese" of Vidal. He felt Vidal was inspired by

Laura Nyro Laura Nyro ( ; born Laura Nigro; October 18, 1947 – April 8, 1997) was an American songwriter, singer, and pianist. She achieved critical acclaim with her own recordings, particularly the albums ''Eli and the Thirteenth Confession'' (1968 ...

and

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...

and added, "Vidal's most appealing asset is that she can create a genuine rock feeling while propelling a scintillating dance beat." ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' praised the album as "good, sophisticated stuff" and picked "The Real Feel", "Soul Love" and "I Am a Girl in Spain" as the highlights. They noted that the influences "vary from

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...

Stevie Nicks Stephanie Lynn Nicks (born May 26, 1948) is an American singer, songwriter, and producer known for her work with the band Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist. After starting her career as a duo with her then-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham, releasi ...

" and added that the producers involved "is like a Who's Who of top studio technicians". In a retrospective review, Alex Henderson of

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 ...

described ''Maria Vidal'' as a "solid pop/rock effort" which "didn't do nearly as well as it should have". He recommended the album to "fans of 1980s pop/rock if they're able to track down a copy".

Track listing

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the LP album sleeve notes. *

– vocals (1–10), backing vocals (1–6, 8–10) * Diana Grasselli – backing vocals (2, 5) * Alex Brown – backing vocals (2) * Katrina Perkins – backing vocals (2) * The Spinners – backing vocals (7) * Joe Chambers – backing vocals (10) *

Willie Chambers Willie Chambers (born March 3, 1938) is a singer, guitarist, and former member of The Chambers Brothers, a rock band in the 1960s with hits "In The Midnight Hour", " I Can't Turn You Loose", and "Time Has Come Today". He continues to be a regular ...

– backing vocals (10) * Charles Judge – synthesizer (1–2, 4–6, 10), programmer (1–2, 4–6, 10), additional keyboards (3) * Robbie Seidman – additional keyboards (1, 4, 6, 10), backing vocals (4, 8, 10) *

– keyboards (3), backing vocals (3) *

Jeff Bova Jeff Bova (born Jeffrey Bova in 1953) is an American musician. He has been active in the music industry since the mid-1970s, contributing to recordings by significant mainstream artists like Celine Dion, Michael Jackson, Blondie, Eric Clapton, ...

– synthesizers (7) *

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 (1–2, 4, 6, 10) *

Rick Nowels Richard Wright Nowels Jr. is an American songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist and arranger. He has co-written and co-produced over 90 hit singles with multiple artists Marty Walsh Martin Joseph Walsh (born April 10, 1967) is an American politician and former union official. He has been the 29th United States Secretary of Labor since March 23, 2021. A Democrat, he previously served as the 54th mayor of Boston from 2014, ...

– guitars (2) * John Putnam – guitars (3), bass (3) *

Bruce Kulick Bruce Howard Kulick (born December 12, 1953) is an American guitarist and since 2000 a member of the rock band Grand Funk Railroad. Previously, Kulick was a long-time member of the band Kiss (19841996). He was also a member of Union with John Cor ...

– additional guitars (3) * James Harrah – guitars (5) *

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 (7) *

John McCurry John McCurry (born June 24, 1957) is an American musician and composer, a guitarist, songwriter and singer based in New York City. He has worked with many well-known musical artists, including Chicago, Cyndi Lauper, Billy Joel, David Bowie, Al ...

– guitars (7) *

Dweezil Zappa Dweezil Zappa (born Ian Donald Calvin Euclid Zappa; September 5, 1969) is an American rock guitarist and occasional actor. He is the son of musical composer and performer Frank Zappa. Exposed to the music industry from an early age, Dweezil dev ...

– guitars (8) *

Larry Klein Larry Klein (born March 17, 1956) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is based in Los Angeles. He began his career as a bassist, playing with jazz artists Willie Bobo, Freddie Hubbard, Carmen McRae, Joe Henderson, Bobby ...

– bass (4) *

Neil Jason Neil is a masculine name of Gaelic and Irish origin. The name is an anglicisation of the Irish ''Niall'' which is of disputed derivation. The Irish name may be derived from words meaning "cloud", "passionate", "victory", "honour" or "champion".. ...

– bass (7) *

Patrick O'Hearn Patrick John O'Hearn (born September 6, 1954) is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, and recording artist. Known primarily as a bass guitarist and keyboardist, O'Hearn came to prominence with Frank Zappa and co-founded the early 1980s ...

– bass (10) *

Russ Kunkel Russell Kunkel (born September 27, 1948) is an American drummer who has worked as a session musician with many popular artists, including Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell, Jimmy Buffett, Harry Chapin, Rita Coolidge, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Da ...

– drums (7) * Paulinho da Costa – percussion (4, 10) * Frank Vilardi – drum programming (3) * Dave Ervin – drum programming (3) * Jimmy Bralower – drum programming (7) * Chas Sandford – all instruments (9) Production * Rick Nowels – producer (1–2, 4–6, 10) * Maria Vidal – producer (1, 4–6, 8, 10) * Robbie Seidman – producer (1, 4, 6, 8, 10) * Desmond Child – producer (3) *

Jimmy Iovine James Iovine ( ; ; born March 11, 1953) is an American entrepreneur, record executive, and media proprietor best known as the co-founder of Interscope Records. In 2006, Iovine and rapper-producer Dr. Dre founded Beats Electronics, which produces ...

– producer (7), executive producer * Jimmy Bralower – producer (7) * Chas Sandford – producer (9), mixing engineer (9) *

Brian Malouf Brian Malouf (born September 8, 1955) is an American producer, engineer, and mixer who has worked with acts such as Michael Jackson, Queen, Madonna, Pearl Jam, Stevie Wonder, Dave Matthews Band, Tokio Hotel, Wolfmother, and All Time Low. Also ...

– engineer (1, 4, 6, 10) * John Kovarek – engineer (2) * Stacy Baird – engineer (5, 8), additional engineering * Rob Jacobs – engineer (5), additional engineering * Dan Nash – engineer (5), additional engineering * Malcolm Pollack – engineer (7) * Roey Shamir – engineer (7) * Thom Panunzio – engineer (7) * Robert de la Garza – engineer (10), additional engineering * Tom Banghart – assistant engineer (5) * Mark McKenna, Robert Feist – additional engineering * Brian McGee – mixing engineer (1, 4, 8, 10) * Steve MacMillan – mixing engineer (2, 6) * Scott Litt – mixing engineer (3) * Paul Lani – mixing engineer (5) * Matthew Kasha – mixing engineer (7) * Gary McGachon – mixing engineer (9) * Jay Healy – assistant mixing engineer (1, 4) * Michael Ross – assistant mixing engineer (2, 6, 10) * Marc de Sisto – assistant mixing engineer (3), additional engineering * Carey Butler – assistant mixing engineer (5, 7) * Stan Katayama – assistant mixing engineer (8) * Jay Willis – mastering *

Shelly Yakus Sheldon Gershon "Shelly" Yakus (born November 1945) is an American music engineer and mixer. Formerly chief engineer and vice president of A&M Records, he was nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999. Yakus is referenced ...

– mastering Other * Chuck Beeson – art direction * Melanie Nissen – art direction, design *

Greg Gorman Greg Gorman (born 1949) is an American portrait photographer of Hollywood celebrities. His work has been seen in national magazine features and covers, including ''Esquire'', '' GQ'', ''Interview'', ''Life'', ''Vogue'', ''Newsweek'', ''Rolling Ston ...

– photography

References

{{Authority control 1987 debut albums A&M Records albums Albums produced by Rick Nowels Albums produced by Desmond Child Albums produced by Jimmy Iovine