''Special Love'' is the second full-length gospel album by American R&B singer Deniece Williams, released in 1989. The album was distributed by both MCA Records (conventional record stores) and Sparrow Records (Christian bookstores). Williams was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group for the track "We Sing Praises" with R&B singer Natalie Cole at the

32nd Grammy Awards The 32nd Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 21, 1990, and hosted by Garry Shandling. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Performers * Bette Midler - Wind Beneath My Wings * Gloria Estefan - Don't Wan ...

. The track "Every Moment" was serviced to both mainstream Contemporary R&B and

CCM CCM may refer to: * Cubic centimetre (''ccm''), metric unit of volume * Climate change mitigation (''CCM''), climate change topic Biology and medicine * Calcium concentration microdomains, part of a cell's cytoplasm * Photosynthesis#Carbon ...

radio stations accompanied by a music video. Williams re-recorded the track "Healing" from her 1986 album ''Hot on the Trail'' for this album. Some North American CD editions of ''Special Love'' contained a bonus track of " Do You Hear What I Hear?", originally recorded for the 1988 Sparrow Records Christmas album, simply titled '' Christmas'' co-produced by

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

singer-songwriter Roby Duke. Williams' then-husband Brad Westering produced the album. ''Special Love'' peaked at number 11 on the ''

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 ...

'' Top Christian Albums chart.

Critical reception

In a review for the '' Chicago Tribune'', Mitchell May rated the album three out of four stars. May wrote that ''Special Love'' avoids "excessive fanfare or overkill" and makes good use of Williams' "rich soprano" on every track. In the New York ''Daily News'', Hugh Wyatt wrote that the album has "a refreshing absence of soap opera lyrics and other pop-music trash."

Track listings

Note: "Do You Hear What I Hear?" was produced by Brad Westering and Roby Duke; all other tracks produced by Westering.

Charts

Radio singles

References

{{Authority control 1989 albums Deniece Williams albums Sparrow Records albums MCA Records albums