''Music City Soul'' is the fifth studio album by British singer-songwriter

Beverley Knight Beverley Knight (born Beverley Anne Smith, 22 March 1973) is an English recording artist and musical theatre actress. She released her first album, '' The B-Funk'', in 1995. Heavily influenced by American soul music icons such as Sam Cooke an ...

. It was released on

Parlophone Records Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...

on 7 May 2007 in the United Kingdom. The album contains the singles " No Man's Land", "

After You After You may refer to: Songs * "After You" (Dionne Warwick song), 1979 * "After You" (Dan Seals song), 1983 * "After You" (Beverley Knight song), 2007 * "After You" (Pulp song), 2013 *" After You, Who?", a 1932 song by Cole Porter *"After You", a ...

" and " The Queen of Starting Over", and features

Ronnie Wood Ronald David Wood (born 1 June 1947) is an English rock musician, best known as an official member of the Rolling Stones since 1975, as well as a member of Faces and the Jeff Beck Group. Wood began his career in 1964, playing guitar with a ...

on a number of tracks. The album became Knight's second highest charting album in the UK, peaking at number eight.

Background

The majority of ''Music City Soul'' was recorded and produced by Mark Nevers at The Beech House studio in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

in the United States in just five days in late October 2006. All the songs on the album were written beforehand the previous summer and then recorded back to back in the studio with an array of different musicians. The intention was to create an organic sound reminiscent of classic 1960s soul albums that epitomised releases by artists such as Aretha Franklin, Sam Cooke and Al Green, who had influenced Knight as a child.Hodgkinson, Will
Interview
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''. 25 October 2002. The album was titled ''Music City Soul'' to reflect the fact that Knight has returned to her soul and gospel roots. It was also intended to pay homage to Nashville, the city it was recorded in, which is often referred to as 'The Music City' due to its rich musical heritage.Press release
Official website
Retrieved 29 January 2007.

Crtitical reception

''Music City Soul'' received generally mixed to positive reviews from music critics.

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 databa ...

editor Jon O'Brien rated the album three stars out of five and remarked that "whether it's a knee-jerk response to the disappointing sales of her 'all-bases-covered' predecessor, or a genuine affectionate homage to the likes of Al Green, Sam Cooke, and Aretha Franklin, its 15 tracks are undeniably and authentically old-school, thanks to Mark Nevers' organic production, Knight's full-throttled soulful vocals, and an inspired choice of collaborators and song choices."

Track listing

Personnel

* Paul Bruce – bass * Paul Burch – percussion and acoustic guitar * Jamal Carter – backing vocals * Bryan Chambers – backing vocals * Janice Coeder – backing vocals * Pete Cummings – electric guitar * Ann McCrary – backing vocals * Brian Kotzur – drums * Duane Denison – electric guitar * Alex Garnett – saxophone * Billy Godfrey – backing vocals * Carlos Hercules – drums *

Jimmy Hogarth Jimmy Hogarth (born 1974, Orkney Islands, Scotland) is a London-based producer and songwriter, whose production and writing credits include, Amy Winehouse, Sia, Tom Grennan, Paolo Nutini, Duffy, Corinne Bailey Rae, Ren Harvieu, Estelle, Tina ...

– guitar * James Long – electric guitar * Derrick Lee – piano, keyboards * Daniel Marsden – trumpet * Louise Marsden – backing vocals * Mark Nevers – engineering, production * Paul Reide – guitar * Luke Smith – Hammond B3 organ * Bunt Stafford Clark – mastering * Nichol Thomsom – trombone * Stewart Trotman – Fender Rhodes * Eg White – instruments * Bobby Woods – piano, keyboards *

- guitar on "Every Time You See Me Smile", "Ain't That a Lot of Love" and "Black Butta"

Background

Crtitical reception

Track listing

Personnel

Charts

Certifications

References

External links