Right In The Middle Of It

''Right in the Middle of It'' is a studio album by American country artist Chely Wright. The album was released January 9, 1996 on PolyGram/Mercury Records and contained 11 tracks. The album was co-produced by Ed Seay and Harold Shedd. Although critically acclaimed, the album was not successful. Three of its singles charted in lower-end positions on the North American country charts, which later influenced Wright to leave the label.

Background

''Right in the Middle of It'' was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee at the Music Mill and Money Pit studios. It was co-produced by Ed Seay and Harold Shedd. This was unlike her previous Polydor release entitled ''Woman in the Moon'', which was co-produced by both Shedd and Barry Beckett. ''Right in the Middle of It'' contained 11 tracks of material. Three out of the album's eleven tracks were either written or co-written by Wright: the title track, "The Other Woman", and "Gotta Get Good at Givin' Again". The album's production and sound mainly consisted of a traditional country sound that included both uptempo and ballad songs. Charlotte Dillon of ''Allmusic'' commented that the album's production included much of "natural country twang". The tenth track on the recording entitled "It's Not Too Late" was co-written by American country artist Tracy Byrd. The sixth track " What I Learned from Loving You" was originally recorded by Lynn Anderson and was a Top 20 country single for her in 1983.

Critical reception

''Right in the Middle of It'' received a positive critical response upon its initial release in January 1996. Charlotte Dillon of ''Allmusic'' gave ''Right in the Middle of It'' four and a half out five stars, calling it Wright's "album pick". Dillon praised Wright for having the ability to record both ballads and have enough energy to record uptempo country numbers as well. Dillon also stated that many of Wright's musical influences (such as Connie Smith and Buck Owens) have shown influence on many of the album's individual tracks. In addition, Dillon praised Wright's musical experience, stating, "This might only be her second album, but she's had plenty of singing experience, starting with family get-togethers when she was a small child, where singalongs with fiddles and guitars were the norm. Before she hit her teens she had already formed a country band of her own. Early on Wright was exposed to music greats like Loretta Lynn, Buck Owens, Connie Smith, and Conway Twitty. Many of those influences can be heard in the songs on ''Right in the Middle of It''."

Release and chart performance

''Right in the Middle of It'' spawned three singles between 1995 and 1996, all of which charted on the ''Billboard Magazine'' country singles chart. The album's lead single entitled "Listenin' to the Radio" was released in October 1995, peaking at number 66 on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart and number 84 on the Canadian ''RPM'' Country Singles chart. The album's second track "The Love That We Lost" was released as the second single in January 1996, which peaked at number 41 on the ''Billboard'' country chart and number 51 on the Canadian ''RPM'' country chart. The final single released was "The Love He Left Behind" in 1996, which failed to chart any ''Billboard'' chart or in Canada. ''Right in the Middle of It'' was officially released on January 9, 1996 on PolyGram/Mercury Records. It was issued originally as a compact disc and a cassette. With the lack of the record's commercial success, Wright would later leave PolyGram/Mercury. She would then sign a deal with MCA Nashville.

Track listings

Compact disc and digital versions

Cassette versions

Personnel

All credits for ''Right in the Middle of It'' are adapted from Allmusic.

Musical personnel

* Eddie Bayers – drums
* Larry Byrom – electric guitar
* Butch Carr – triangle
* Joe Chemay – bass
* Tod Culross – clapping
* Cindy Fee – background vocals
* Larry Franklin – fiddle, mandolin
* Paul Franklin – dobro, steel guitar
* John Hobbs – hammond organ, piano, synthesizer, wurlitzer
* Dann Huff – electric guitar
* Mark Lambert – programming
* Anthony Martin – background vocals
* Joey Miskulin – accordion

* Wendell Mobley – background vocals
* John Wesley Ryles – background vocals
* Ed Seay – acoustic guitar
* Mitch Shedd – clapping
* Jimmy Stewart – clapping
* Billy Joe Walker, Jr. – acoustic guitar, electric guitar
* Cindy Richardson Walker – background vocals
* Biff Watson – acoustic guitar, electric guitar
* Dennis Wilson – background vocals
* Chely Wright – background vocals, lead vocals
* Curtis Young – background vocals
* Russ Zavitson – clapping

Technical personnel

* Don Cobb – editing
* Todd Culross – assistant engineer
* Carlos Grier – editing
* Erik Hellerman – assistant engineer
* Mark Lambert – programmer
* Anthony Martin – assistant engineer
* Denny Purcell – mastering
* Ed Seay – engineer, mixing, producer
* Harold Shedd – producer

Release history

References

{{Authority control

1996 albums
Albums produced by Harold Shedd
Chely Wright albums
Mercury Records albums
PolyGram albums