''Take It to Heart'' is the third solo

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by American singer-songwriter Michael McDonald. It was released on May 15, 1990, on the label

Reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any repea ...

, five years after his previous studio album, ''

No Lookin' Back ''No Lookin' Back'' is the second solo studio album by American musician Michael McDonald. It was released on July 30, 1985 by Warner Bros. Records, three years after his debut studio album, '' If That's What It Takes'' (1982); this was his l ...

''. The album was slated to be titled “Lonely Talk” to be issued in August 1989. It also had a different track list, containing a song called “Plain of Jars” and a cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground” (which ended up on his 1st Greatest Hits collection); there were also different versions of current tracks that made the official album. About 3 weeks prior to its original planned issue date, Reprise/WB decided there were not enough potential singles; therefore, “Tear It Up,” “All We Got” and “Get the Word Started” were added, with “Take It to Heart” recorded and added, which meant some songs and some versions were removed or changed (details unknown).

Track listing

Personnel

* Michael McDonald – lead and backing vocals, synthesizer programming and sequencing (1, 4, 10), keyboards (2, 6-9, 11) * Peter Leinheiser – synthesizer programming and sequencing (1), guitars (1) * Michael Hanna – keyboards (2), synthesizer programming and sequencing (4) *

John Tesh John Frank Tesh (born July 9, 1952) is an American pianist and composer of pop music, as well as a radio host and television presenter. He hosts the ''Intelligence for Your Life'' radio show. In addition, since 2014, he has hosted ''Intelligen ...

– synthesizer programming and sequencing (4) *

Don Was Don Edward Fagenson (born September 13, 1952), known professionally as Don Was, is an American musician, record producer and record executive. Primarily a bass player, Was co-founded the funk-rock band Was (Not Was). In later years he produced s ...

– synthesizer programming and sequencing (4) * Michael Mason – synthesizer programming and sequencing (4) *

Gardner Cole Gardner Cole (born Gardner Kain Christopher Cole) is an American songwriter, keyboard player and music producer. He is best known as songwriter of 1980s and early 1990s songs for Cher, Michael McDonald, Tina Turner, Jody Watley, and Madonna. H ...

– synthesizer programming and sequencing (5) *

David Gamson David Gamson is an American keyboardist/musician (also a producer, songwriter, arranger, engineer). Originally hailing from New York, he has worked with, among others, Kesha, Kelly Clarkson, Jessie J, Adam Lambert, Chaka Khan, Charli XCX, Meshell ...

– synthesizer programming and sequencing (5) *

Bernie Chiaravalle Bernie Chiaravalle (born August 11, 1953) is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter. He is known for backing up Michael McDonald. Career Chiaravalle was born in Port Hueneme, California. He studied piano as a child and still plays it. Ac ...

– guitars (2, 4, 7, 11),

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in ...

(4) *

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 (3, 5-9, 11) * Charles Frichtel – bass (2) *

Abraham Laboriel Abraham Laboriel López Sr. (born July 17, 1947) is a Mexican-American bassist who has played on over 4,000 recordings and soundtracks. ''Guitar Player'' magazine called him "the most widely used session bassist of our time". Laboriel is the f ...

– bass (3, 6-9, 11), acoustic guitar (11) * George Perilli – drums (2, 4) *

Jeff Porcaro Jeffrey Thomas Porcaro (; April 1, 1954 – August 5, 1992) was an American drummer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his work with the rock band Toto but is one of the most recorded session musicians in history, working on ...

– drums (3, 6-9, 11), percussion (6, 7, 10, 11), African log drum (11) * Debra Dobkin –

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest). ...

s (2) * Paulinho da Costa – percussion (4) *

Terry McMillan Terry McMillan (born October 18, 1951) is an American novelist. Her work centers around the experiences of Black women in the United States. Early life McMillan was born in Port Huron, Michigan. She received a B.A. in journalism in 1977 from ...

– percussion (6, 7), backing vocals (6) * Vince Denham –

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

and solo (2) *

Kirk Whalum Kirk is a Scottish and former Northern English word meaning "church". It is often used specifically of the Church of Scotland. Many place names and personal names are also derived from it. Basic meaning and etymology As a common noun, ''kirk'' ...

– saxophone (3) *

Stan Getz Stanley Getz (February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of ...

– saxophone (11) *

Paul Riser Paul Riser (born September 11, 1943) is an American trombonist and Motown musical arranger who was responsible for co-writing and arranging dozens of top ten hit records. His legacy as one of the "Funk Brothers" is similar to that of most of the ...

– string arrangements (2, 4) *

Brian McKnight Brian Kelly McKnight (born June 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, radio host and multi-instrumentalist. He is most recognized for his strong head voice, high belting range and melisma. McKnight is known for h ...

– backing vocals (1) * Chuck Sabatino – backing vocals (1, 6) *

Sweet Pea Atkinson Hillard "Sweet Pea" Atkinson (September 20, 1945 – May 5, 2020) was an American R&B singer known as one of the vocalists for the band Was (Not Was). Biography Atkinson was born in Oberlin, Ohio, and moved to Detroit as a child. He worke ...

– backing vocals (2, 4, 5) * Harry Bowens – backing vocals (2, 4, 5) *

David Lasley David Eldon Lasley (August 20, 1947 – December 9, 2021) was an American recording artist, singer, musician and songwriter. He was best known as a touring background singer for James Taylor, as a session singer on recordings by artists including ...

– backing vocals (2, 4) * Kathy Walker – backing vocals (2) *

Amy Holland Amy Celeste Boersma, known professionally as Amy Holland, is an American pop rock singer, songwriter, and composer. Holland's music career spans more than 30 years. She received a Grammy Award nomination for Best New Artist in 1981, following h ...

– backing vocals (3) *

David Pack David Robert Pack (born July 15, 1952) is an American singer and musician who co-founded the rock band Ambrosia (band), Ambrosia in the 1970s. Career As performer Pack was co-founder, guitarist and main vocalist for the band Ambrosia (band), A ...

– backing vocals (5, 7) * Maureen McDonald – backing vocals (7)

Production

* Producers – Michael McDonald and Ted Templeman (tracks 1, 3 & 6-11); Don Was (tracks 2 & 4); David Gamson and Gardner Cole (track 5). * Engineers –

Ed Cherney Edward Cherney (1950 – October 22, 2019) was an American recording engineer and record producer, based in Los Angeles, California, United States. Over his career, he earned four Grammy awards, one Emmy Award, and five TEC Awards. Cherney was a ...

, Jeff Hendricksen, Ross Pallone and Bob Schaper. * Additional engineering – Ed Goodreau, Bob Schaper and Brian Schuble. * Assistant engineers – Elaine Anderson, Michael Douglass, Lori Fumar, John Jackson, Rob Jaczko, Calvin Loser, Michael Mason, Eric Rudd, Scott Symington, Michael Tacci and Toby Wright. * Remix on track 1 –

Shep Pettibone Robert "Shep" Pettibone (born 10 July 1959) is an American record producer, remixer, songwriter and club DJ, one of the most prolific of the 1980s. Career Shep Pettibone surfaced after his work with Arthur Baker on Afrika Bambaataa & the Jazz ...

* Additional recording at Circle Seven Recording (Pacific Palisades, California);

Ocean Way Recording Ocean Way Recording was a series of recording studios established by recording engineer and producer Allen Sides with locations in Los Angeles, California, Nashville, Tennessee, and Saint Barthélemy. Ocean Way Recording no longer operates record ...

(Hollywood, California); John Tesh Studios (Santa Monica, California). * Mastered by

George Marino George Marino (April 15, 1947 – June 4, 2012) was an American mastering engineer known for working on albums by rock bands starting in the late 1960s. Biography Marino was born on April 15, 1947, in the New York City borough The Bronx. He at ...

at Sterling Sound (New York City, New York). * Production coordinator – Joan Parker * Photography – Andy Earl * Art direction – Martyn Atkins, T&CP Associates, Hollywood, London.

Chart performance

References

External links