Lead Me On (Amy Grant album)
| Lead Me On | ||||
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| Studio album by Amy Grant | ||||
| Released | June 28, 1988[1] | |||
| Recorded | 1988 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | Contemporary Christian music | |||
| Length | 59:35 | |||
| Label | Myrrh, A&M | |||
| Producer | Brown Bannister | |||
| Amy Grant chronology | ||||
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 The cover of the 20th Anniversary Edition of the album. |
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| Singles from Lead Me On | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
Lead Me On is the seventh studio album, and eleventh album by Christian music singer-songwriter Amy Grant, released in 1988 through A&M Recordings.
Lead Me On was a departure from its predecessor, the high-energy pop album Unguarded. Unlike Unguarded or 1991's Heart in Motion, Lead Me On was not mainstream compatible. Only three of its songs earned mainstream airplay, all of them insignificantly (the title song charted for two weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching No. 96, and "Saved by Love" and "1974 (We Were Young)" made the Adult Contemporary chart in minor positions). Christian music, however, praised the album. It would later be named the No. 1 Christian album of all time by CCM Magazine, in the 2001 book CCM Presents: The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music. The title song was featured in WOW #1s: 31 of the Greatest Christian Music Hits Ever.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "1974 (We Were Young)" | Amy Grant, Gary Chapman, Jerry McPherson | 4:22 |
| 2. | "Lead Me On" | Grant, Wayne Kirkpatrick, Michael W. Smith | 5:35 |
| 3. | "Shadows" | Grant, Karen Peris, Don Peris | 5:24 |
| 4. | "Saved by Love" | Grant, Justin Peters, Chris Smith | 4:38 |
| 5. | "Faithless Heart" | Grant, Michael W. Smith | 5:10 |
| 6. | "What About the Love" | Rhonda Fleming, Janis Ian | 5:23 |
| 7. | "If These Walls Could Speak" | Jimmy Webb | 5:42 |
| 8. | "All Right" | Grant, Dann Huff, Phil Naish | 4:23 |
| 9. | "Wait for the Healing*" | Grant, Chapman, Kirkpatrick, McPherson | 5:36 |
| 10. | "Sure Enough" | Mike Brignardello, Shane Keister, Kirkpatrick | 4:00 |
| 11. | "If You Have To Go Away*" | Grant, McPherson | 4:01 |
| 12. | "Say Once More**" | Grant, Gardner Cole | 4:54 |
| 20th Anniversary Edition bonus disc | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 1. | "Lead Me On" | 4:40 |
| 2. | "Introduction to Faithless Heart (Amy and Michael W. Smith)" | 0:33 |
| 3. | "Faithless Heart (Acoustic)" | 3:51 |
| 4. | "Say Once More (Acoustic)" | 3:49 |
| 5. | "Wait for the Healing (Live)" | 6:01 |
| 6. | "Shadows (Live)" | 5:26 |
| 7. | "All Right (Live)" | 5:22 |
| 8. | "Piano Intro (Michael W. Smith)" | 1:51 |
| 9. | "Lead Me On (Live)" | 6:27 |
| 10. | "Quite a Change (Interview)" | 1:41 |
| 11. | "The Great Balancing Act (Interview)" | 1:46 |
| 12. | "Seasons (Interview)" | 1:19 |
| 13. | "Wait for the Healing (Interview)" | 1:01 |
| 14. | "Looking Back (Interview)" | 0:44 |
* Bonus Track on CD version
** This song is different from the one with the same name on Grant's 1980 Never Alone release.
The release was promoted in the US by the record company (Myrrh/Word Incorporated, Waco Texas) by issue of a unique promotional CD. The gold picture CD was hand numbered and autographed by Amy herself and was limited to 4150 copies (catalogue number 9016656472).
Personnel
- Amy Grant: lead vocals, background vocals (1, 4, 5)
- Gary Chapman: acoustic guitar (4, 6), background vocals (8)
- Dann Huff: guitars (2-6, 8, 9, 10, 12), 12-string guitar (1, 11), guitar solo (3, 8, 10)
- Jerry McPherson: electric guitar & zither (1), guitars (2, 3, 4, 6, 8-11)
- Chris Rodriguez: guitars (10), background vocals (3, 8, 9, 10)
- Mike Brignardello: bass guitar (1-6, 8-11)
- Jimmie Lee Sloas: bass guitar (12)
- Michael W. Smith: keyboards (2)
- Robbie Buchanan: keyboards (1, 3, 6, 9, 10, 11), piano (4)
- Benmont Tench: Hammond B3 organ (2, 4, 8, 12)
- Shane Keister: keyboards (3, 8, 9, 10), Hammond B3 organ (5), piano (7)
- Carl Marsh: keyboards (6), Arco bass (7)
- Alan Pasqua: keyboards (1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 11, 12)
- Brett Perry: Synclavier (12)
- Keith Thomas: Synclavier & keyboards (12)
- Lenny Castro: percussion (1, 3, 6, 10, 12), tambourine (11)
- Mark O'Connor: mandolin (4), viola (7), violin (9)
- Keith Edwards: drums (3, 9)
- Paul Leim: drums (1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11)
- John Darnall: string arrangements (7)
- Chris Harris: background vocals (3, 8, 9, 10)
- Bill Champlin: background vocals (2, 8)
- Diana DeWitt: background vocals (3, 10, 11)
- Chris Eaton: background vocals (8, 10)
- Mary Ann Kennedy: background vocals (5, 6)
- Wayne Kirkpatrick: background vocals (3, 8, 9, 10, 12)
- Donna McElroy: background vocals (8)
- Dave Perkins: background vocals (8)
- Pam Rose: background vocals (5, 6)
- Randy Stonehill: background vocals (8)
- Russ Taff: background vocals (8)
- Carmen Twillie: background vocals (8)
- Tommy Funderburk: background vocals (2)
Production
- Producer: Brown Bannister
- Executive Producers: David Anderle, Michael Blanton, Gary Chapman
- Production Coordination: Fran Kirkpatrick and Kimberly Smith
- Engineer: Jeff Balding
- Assistant Engineers: Jeff Coppage, Ron Jacobs, Laura Livingston, Mark McKenna, Paula Montondo, Mark Nevers, Brian Scheuble, Bob Vogt, Keith Odell, Randall J. Wine, Claude Achille and Bill Whittington.
- Mixed by: Jeff Balding, Marc DeSisto, Steve McMillan, Johnny Potoker and Shelly Yakus
- Mastered by Bob Ludwig
- Art Direction: Richard Frankel
- Design: Melanie Nissen
- Photography: Eika Aoshima
Charts
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Album - Billboard (North America)
Singles - (North America)
|
End-of-decade charts
Commercial performance
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Awards
| Year | Winner | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Lead Me On | Best Gospel Performance, Female |
| Year | Winner | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Lead Me On | Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year |
| 1989 | "Lead Me On" | Short Form Music Video of the Year |
20th Anniversary Edition
EMI / Sparrow Records released a double-disc 20th Anniversary Edition of the album on June 24, 2008. The first disc contains EMI's digitally remastered version of the complete original album. The second disc contains new acoustic recordings of songs from the original album, which Grant has described as "songwriter versions" that are stripped down to emphasize the lyrics. Several of these tracks feature special guests. Additionally, the 20th Anniversary Edition includes previously unreleased live recordings from the large-scale Lead Me On Tour and a short interview with Amy Grant about the original album. The discs are packaged with a previously unseen booklet of pictures and liner notes from Grant.[3]
In support of the 20th Anniversary Edition, Grant will recreate the original Lead Me On tour in 20 cities, starting in October 2008. Most of the original tour's band will reunite for the anniversary tour. The reissue and anniversary tour were also supported by TV specials, radio specials, and promotional appearances.[3]
Track List
The track list for Disc One is identical to the original track list (see above). The track list for Disc Two, which features entirely new content, is as follows:
- "Lead Me On" (acoustic with Vince Gill)
- Introduction to "Faithless Heart" (with Michael W. Smith)
- "Faithless Heart" (acoustic – with Michael W. Smith)
- "Say Once More" (acoustic – with Will Owsley)
- "Wait for the Healing" (live from 1989 tour)
- "Shadows" (live from 1989 tour)
- "All Right" (live from 1989 tour)
- Piano Intro to "Lead Me On" by Michael W. Smith (live from 1989 tour)
- "Lead Me On" (live from 1989 tour)
- Quite a Change (Interview with Amy Grant)
- The Great Balancing Act (Interview with Amy Grant)
- Seasons (Interview with Amy Grant)
- Wait for the Healing (Interview with Amy Grant)
- Looking Back (Interview with Amy Grant)
The second disc totals a little less than 60 minutes of content.[3][4]
Chart procession
| Preceded by Make His Praise Glorious by Sandi Patti i 2 (EYE) by Michael W. Smith |
Billboard Top Contemporary Christian number-one album August 27, 1988 – March 4, 1989 April 8, 1989 – May 27, 1989 |
Succeeded by i 2 (EYE) by Michael W. Smith Sandi Patti and the Friendship Company by Sandi Patti |
References
- 1 2 Lead Me On (Amy Grant album) at AllMusic
- ↑ "Top Christian Albums - 1980's". Retrieved February 27, 2014.
- 1 2 3 June08_cover_Prf3
- ↑ Amazon.com: Lead Me On (20th Anniversary Edition) (2 CDs): Amy Grant: Music
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