''The Witness Tree'' 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 ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n singer

Wendy Matthews Wendy Joan Matthews (born 13 January 1960) is a Canadian-born Australian singer-songwriter who has been a member of Models and Absent Friends and is a solo artist. She released Top 20 hit singles in the 1990s including "Token Angels", "Le ...

, released in Australia by

rooArt rooArt was an Australian independent record label, founded in 1988 by INXS's then-manager, Chris Murphy. The label's roster included several well-known Australian bands and artists such as Crow, Ratcat, Screaming Jets, You Am I, Wendy Matthews ...

on 14 November 1994. It is a non-traditional

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

album, with Matthews stating "the spirit of gospel is so uplifting, I have a lot of faith, but for me it's more nature and the elements." ''The Witness Tree'' debuted inside the Australian

ARIA Albums Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

top twenty, but sales fell considerably short of those of Matthews's 1992 album ''

Lily ''Lilium'' () is a genus of Herbaceous plant, herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. They are the true lilies. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in mu ...

''. The album was nominated for an

ARIA Award The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

in 1995 for "Best Adult Contemporary Album" and yielded three singles; "Standing Strong", "Love Will Keep Me Alive" and "Say a Prayer". ''The Witness Tree'' debuted at number sixteen on the Australian

, becoming Matthews's fourth top twenty album."The Witness Tree - Australian chart run"
''Australian-charts.com''. Retrieved 5 June 2009. The album dropped out of the top fifty after two months, and spent a total of twenty-one weeks in the top one hundred. The

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing th ...

awarded the album a platinum certification for shipping 70,000 copies."Wendy Matthews ~ From Émigré to Stepping Stones ~"
. Wendymatthews.com.au. Retrieved 5 June 2009. At the

ARIA Music Awards of 1995 The Ninth Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as the ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAS) was held on 20 October 1995 at the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre. There had been a 18-month gap since the ...

, the album was nominated for

ARIA Award for Best Adult Contemporary Album The ARIA Music Award for Best Adult Contemporary Album, is an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards, which recognises "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", since 1987. It is handed out by the Australian Reco ...

but lost the award to "I've Got a Plan" by

My Friend The Chocolate Cake My or MY may refer to: Arts and entertainment * My (radio station), a Malaysian radio station * Little My, a fictional character in the Moomins universe * ''My'' (album), by Edyta Górniak * ''My'' (EP), by Cho Mi-yeon Business * Market ...

."1995: 9th Annual ARIA Awards"
. ''

s''. Retrieved 5 June 2009.

Background and content

''The Witness Tree'' was recorded in 1994 at The Plant in

Sausalito, California Sausalito (Spanish language, Spanish for "small willow grove") is a city in Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States, located southeast of Marin City, California, Marin City, south-southeast of San Rafael, California ...

and produced by

Booker T. Jones Booker Taliaferro Jones Jr. (born November 12, 1944) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and arranger, best known as the frontman of the band Booker T. & the M.G.'s. He has also worked in the studios with many well-known art ...

. Matthews states she chose Jones for the producer because "we got along very, very well and he's just steeped in music and rhythm and soul. He was the first person I thought of with this slight gospel, for want of a better word, flavoured album, and he was really into it.""Wendy Matthews, with a little help from God and Elvis" by Polle Coufos. ''X-Press''. 25 June 1996. Retrieved 5 June 2009. The idea for the album came about as Matthews found her interests and motivations "have a connection to the things that I'm feeling are very important as I get older, which are family, the seasons and our connections to the earth." She explaines "I've got a lot of trust in myself and in something higher, so I wanted to make a non-traditional gospel album. The spirit of gospel is so uplifting. They celebrate, y'know? I have a lot of faith, but for me it's more nature and the elements. My grandfather taught me that every question you've ever had can be answered in nature but we have lost the ability to look, let alone ask." Matthews admitted that a few people from her label

had tried to dissuade her from creating the album but she remained firm. She explains "I suppose people tend to be scared off by that kind of stuff. Having said that I wasn't trying to make a traditional gospel album at all. I mean I'm very interested in all kinds of spiritual matters, but I'm not a traditionally religious person at all. I don't know ... maybe they got a little bit thrown by that one."

Track listing

#"Quiet Joys of Brotherhood" (

Richard Fariña Richard George Fariña (Spanish IPA: ) (March 8, 1937 – April 30, 1966) was an American folksinger, songwriter, poet and novelist. Early years and education Fariña was born in Brooklyn, New York, United States, the son of an Irish mother, T ...

) – 3:18 #"God Watch Over You" (

Paddy McAloon Patrick Joseph McAloon (born 7 June 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and a founder of the band Prefab Sprout. Early life McAloon was born and grew up in Witton Gilbert in County Durham, England. He was trained to be a Catholic priest bef ...

) – 4:31 #"

Love Will Keep Me Alive Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of meanings is that the lov ...

" (

Jim Capaldi Nicola James Capaldi (2 August 1944 – 28 January 2005) was an English singer-songwriter and drummer. His musical career spanned more than four decades. He co-founded the progressive rock band Traffic in 1967 with Steve Winwood with whom he co ...

Paul Carrack Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

, Peter Vale) – 4:14 #"

Standing Strong "Standing Strong" is a song by Australian recording artist Wendy Matthews. It was released in September 1994 as the lead single from her third studio album, ''The Witness Tree''. The song peaked at number 37 on the Australian charts. At the APR ...

" (Matthews, Glenn Skinner) – 4:54 #"Hymn of the Big Wheel" (

Horace Andy Horace Andy (born Horace Hinds, 19 February 1951) is a Jamaican roots reggae songwriter and singer, known for his distinctive vocals and hit songs such as "Government Land", as well as "Angel", "Spying Glass" and "Five Man Army" with English tri ...

Neneh Cherry Neneh Mariann Karlsson (born 10 March 1964), better known as Neneh Cherry, is a Swedish singer-songwriter, rapper, occasional DJ and broadcaster. Her musical career started in London in the early 1980s, where she performed in a number of punk roc ...

Grantley Marshall Grantley Evan Marshall (born 18 December 1959), also known by the stage name Daddy G, is a British DJ and a founding member of the band Massive Attack. Biography Born in Bristol to West Indian parents, Marshall joined the Bristol music scen ...

, A. Vowles, Del Naja) – 5:22 #"

If I Can Dream "If I Can Dream" is a song made famous by Elvis Presley, written by Walter Earl Brown for the singer and notable for its similarities with Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech. The song was published by Elvis Presley's music pub ...

" (Walter Earl Brown) – 3:47 #"

O Happy Day "Oh Happy Day" is a 1967 gospel music arrangement of the 1755 hymn by clergyman Philip Doddridge. Recorded by the Edwin Hawkins Singers, it became an international hit in 1969, reaching No. 4 on the US Singles Chart, No. 1 in France, Germany, an ...

" (

Edwin Hawkins Edwin Reuben Hawkins (August 19, 1943 – January 15, 2018) was an American gospel musician, pianist, choir master, composer, and arranger. He was one of the originators of the urban contemporary gospel sound. He (as leader of the Edwin Hawkins S ...

) – 4:48 #"Stand Back" (

Tim Finn Brian Timothy Finn (born 25 June 1952) is a New Zealand singer and musician. His musical career includes forming 1970s and 1980s New Zealand rock group Split Enz, a number of solo albums, temporary membership in his brother Neil's band Crowde ...

, Matthews) – 3:05 #"It Ain't Wrong" (

, Matthews, Don Walker) – 3:56 #"Happy" (Finn, Matthews) – 3:26 #"Ride" (McAloon) – 4:41 #"Say a Prayer" (Jordan Knutson) – 3:20 #"Ruins (Jesu, Joy of Man's Desire)" (Robbie James, Matthews) – 4:20

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Personnel

The following people contributed to ''The Witness Tree'': *Johnnie Bamont —

baritone saxophone The baritone saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass. It is the lowest-pitched saxophone in common use - the bass, contra ...

. *Kitty Beethoven — voice. *Marquinho Brazil —

shaker Shaker or Shakers may refer to: Religious groups * Shakers, a historically significant Christian sect * Indian Shakers, a smaller Christian denomination Objects and instruments * Shaker (musical instrument), an indirect struck idiophone * Cock ...

caxixi A caxixi () is a percussion instrument consisting of a closed basket with a flat bottom filled with seeds or other small particles. The round bottom is traditionally cut from a dried gourd. The caxixi is an indirectly struck idiophone. Like the ...

udu The udu is a plosive aerophone (in this case implosive) and an idiophone of the Igbo of Nigeria. In the Igbo language, ''ùdù'' means 'vessel'. Actually being a water jug with an additional hole, it was played by Igbo women for ceremonial uses ...

. *Ndugu Chancler —

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

s. *Jeff Cressman —

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...

. *Louis Fasman —

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

flugelhorn The flugelhorn (), also spelled fluegelhorn, flugel horn, or flügelhorn, is a brass instrument that resembles the trumpet and cornet but has a wider, more conical bore. Like trumpets and cornets, most flugelhorns are pitched in B, though some ...

. *

— voice. *Nikita Germaine — voice. *

—

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

. *John Lacey —

didgeridoo The didgeridoo (; also spelt didjeridu, among other variants) is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgeridoo was developed by ...

. *Tony Lindsay — voice. *Bennie Reitvelo —

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

. *Marc Russo —

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 ...

. *Larry Sampson — voice. *Rick Wilson —

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...