Blue (LeAnn Rimes album)

Blue
Studio album by
ReleasedJuly 9, 1996 (1996-07-09)
GenreCountry
Length34:52
LabelCurb
ProducerWilbur C. Rimes, Chuck Howard, Johnny Mulhair
LeAnn Rimes chronology
All That
(1994)
Blue
(1996)
Unchained Melody: The Early Years
(1997)
Singles from Blue
  1. "Blue"
    Released: June 4, 1996
  2. "Hurt Me"
    Released: August 13, 1996
  3. "One Way Ticket (Because I Can)"
    Released: October 15, 1996
  4. "Unchained Melody"
    Released: December 24, 1996
  5. "The Light in Your Eyes"
    Released: April 1, 1997
"Put a Little Holiday in Your Heart"
Put a Little Holiday in Your Heart bonus CD-single
Promotional single by LeAnn Rimes
B-side"Unchained Melody"
ReleasedNovember 23, 1996 (1996-11-23)
Recorded1996
GenreCountry
Length3:29
LabelCurb
Songwriter(s)Greg Wojohn, Roger Wojohn, Scott Wojohn
Producer(s)Wilbur C. Rimes, Roger Wojohn

Blue is the debut studio album by American country music singer LeAnn Rimes, released in the United States on July 9, 1996, by Curb Records. It peaked at number three on the US Billboard 200, and number one on the Top Country Albums chart.

Singles released from this album include, in order of release: "Blue", "Hurt Me", "One Way Ticket (Because I Can)", "Unchained Melody" and "The Light in Your Eyes". These songs all charted on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart between 1996 and 1997; "Blue" and "The Light in Your Eyes" both reached top 10, while "Hurt Me" fell short off top 40. "One Way Ticket" is Rimes's only number one hit on the country music charts.

A special Target edition was released during the 1996 Christmas season, which included a bonus single of "Put a Little Holiday in Your Heart", with "Unchained Melody" on the B-side. "Unchained Melody" peaked at number three on the Country Songs chart while "Put a Little Holiday in Your Heart" peaked at number 51 on the same chart in 1997.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic
Billboard(favorable)
Cash Box(favorable)
Entertainment WeeklyB+
Los Angeles Times
Robert Christgau(neither)

The album was met with some positive reviews. AllMusic rated Blue four out of five stars. Shawn M. Haney, who reviewed the album, called it "a glorious free-for-all of sassy pick-me-up country", and stated that "perhaps people of any age or style of interest will feel youthful again after a good listen and a half." Similarly, Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B+ and stated that "such raw, old-fashioned country music, with such a big, twangy, sexy voice at the center, wouldn't be making such a stir in bland '90s Nashville if LeAnn Rimes weren't 13. In other words, the hype machine has inadvertently coughed up a gem." Los Angeles Times gave the album two-and-a-half stars out of four and said that "Rimes displays the unbridled power and freshness you'd expect from a teenager. In an ideal world, she'd bring all that to bear on songs that tap her youthful zeal. Instead, too many on this major-label debut require a level of experience that's clearly beyond her years. There's no question Rimes has been blessed with a magnificent voice. Let's hope she'll be given a few years--say, at least until she's out of high school--to let her natural talent mature." In his Consumer Guide, however, Robert Christgau gave the album a "neither" score, and said it "may impress once or twice with consistent craft or an arresting track or two. Then it won't."

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Blue"Bill MackWilbur C. Rimes2:49
2."Hurt Me"Deborah Allen, Bobby Braddock, Rafe Van HoyW. Rimes2:54
3."One Way Ticket (Because I Can)"Keith Hinton, Judy RodmanChuck Howard, W. Rimes, Bob Campbell-Smith (assistant)3:44
4."My Baby"AllenW. Rimes2:50
5."Honestly"Christi Dannemiller, Joe JohnstonHoward, W. Rimes, Campbell-Smith (assistant)3:22
6."The Light in Your Eyes"Dan TylerHoward, W. Rimes, Johnny Mulhair (co.), Greg Walker (assistant), Campbell-Smith (assistant)3:21
7."Talk to Me"Ron Grimes, LeAnn Rimes, Jon RutherfordHoward, W. Rimes, Campbell-Smith (assistant)3:12
8."I'll Get Even With You"Coweta HouseW. Rimes, Mulhair (co.), Walker (assistant)3:18
9."Cattle Call" (duet with Eddy Arnold)Tex OwensHoward, W. Rimes, Mulhair (co.), Walker (assistant), Campbell-Smith (assistant)3:09
10."Good Lookin' Man"Joyce HarrisonW. Rimes3:11
11."Fade to Blue"Jim Allison, Anne Reeves, Lang ScottW. Rimes, Mulhair (co.), Walker (assistant)3:02
Put a Little Holiday in Your Heart Bonus CD-single
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Put a Little Holiday in Your Heart"Greg Wojohn, Roger Wojohn, Scott WojohnW. Rimes, Roger Wojohn3:29
2."Unchained Melody"Alex North, Hy ZaretW. Rimes3:51

Personnel

Musicians

  • LeAnn Rimes – lead vocals
  • Kelly Glenn – keyboards
  • Paul Goad – acoustic piano, keyboards, bass
  • John Hobbs – acoustic piano
  • Jimmy Kelly – acoustic piano, keyboards
  • Mike McClain – acoustic piano
  • Steve Nathan – keyboards
  • Dann Huff – electric guitar
  • John Jorgenson – electric guitar
  • Brent Rowan – electric guitar
  • Jerry Matheny – acoustic guitar, electric guitar
  • Johnny Mulhair – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, steel guitar
  • Michael Spriggs – acoustic guitar
  • Bruce Bouton – steel guitar
  • Milo Deering – steel guitar
  • Paul Franklin – steel guitar
  • Mike Chapman – bass
  • Curtis Randall – bass
  • Bob Smith – bass
  • Glenn Worf – bass
  • Brad Billingsley – drums
  • Chad Cromwell – drums
  • Fred Gleber – drums
  • Greg Morrow – drums
  • Terry McMillan – percussion
  • Kevin Bailey – harmonica
  • Larry Franklinfiddle
  • Crista Carnes – backing vocals
  • Perry Coleman – backing vocals
  • Lisa Criss – backing vocals
  • LaDonna Johnson – backing vocals
  • Mary Ann Kennedy – backing vocals
  • Joy McKay – backing vocals
  • Kayla Powell – backing vocals
  • Pam Rose – backing vocals
  • Matthew Ward – backing vocals
  • Dennis Wilson – backing vocals
  • Eddy Arnold – lead vocals on "Cattle Call"

Production

  • Wilbur C. Rimes – producer
  • Chuck Howard – producer (3, 5, 6, 7, 9)
  • Johnny Mulhair – co-producer (6, 8, 9, 11), recording, mixing
  • Greg Hunt – recording, mixing
  • Bob Campbell-Smith – recording, production assistant (3, 5, 6, 7, 9)
  • Daniel Kresco – recording assistant
  • Gary Leach – recording assistant, mix assistant
  • Aaron Swihart – recording assistant
  • Greg Walker – recording assistant, mix assistant, production assistant (6, 8, 9, 11)
  • Jeff Watkins – recording assistant
  • John Kelton – mixing
  • Csaba Petocz – mixing
  • David Hall – mix assistant
  • Glenn Meadows – mastering
  • Neuman, Walker & Associates, Inc. – art direction, design
  • Sue Austin – design coordinator
  • Peter Nash – photography

Studios

  • Recorded at Petty Sound Studios (Clovis, New Mexico); Rosewood Studio (Tyler, Texas); Midtown Tone & Volume and OmniSound (Nashville, Tennessee).
  • Overdubbed at KD Studios (Nashville, Tennessee).
  • Mixed at Masterfonics (Nashville, Tennessee); Petty Sound Studios; Rosewood Studio.
  • Mastered at Masterfonics

Charts

Blue debuted at number four on Billboard 200 with 123,000 copies sold in the week ending of July 27, 1996, It peaked at number three in its second week with 129,500 copies sold.

See also


This page was last updated at 2023-09-27 21:57 UTC. Update now. View original page.

All our content comes from Wikipedia and under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.


Top

If mathematical, chemical, physical and other formulas are not displayed correctly on this page, please useFirefox or Safari