Unguarded
<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>
| Unguarded | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| File:Unguarded.jpg | ||||
| Studio album by Amy Grant | ||||
| Released | May 15, 1985 | |||
| Recorded | 1984-1985 Caribou Ranch, Nederland, Colorado; The Bennett House, Franklin, TN; Mama Jo's, North Hollywood, CA; Bill Schnee Studio, North Hollywood, CA; Bullet Recording, Nashville, TN | |||
| Genre | Contemporary Christian music | |||
| Length | 43:33 | |||
| Label | Myrrh, A&M | |||
| Producer | Brown Bannister | |||
| Amy Grant chronology | ||||
|
||||
| Singles from Home for Christmas | ||||
|
||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Cross Rhythms |  [2] |
Unguarded is the sixth studio album, and ninth album by Christian music singer Amy Grant, released in 1985 on A&M Records. It is Grant's first album released by A&M.
When Unguarded was released in 1985, Amy Grant was probably the most popular star in contemporary Christian music, recording songs with religious lyrics in the pop/rock style of the day. With this album, however, the religious content of the lyrics was scaled back as compared with her two previous regular studio albums, Age to Age and Straight Ahead. The album track "I Love You" was Grant's first secular love song from her own pen. Despite this, the album's lead-off single, "Find a Way", was a number one hit on the Christian radio charts. Four other singles from the album were also Top Ten Christian radio hits.
The aggressive mainstream style of the songs on Unguarded, combined with a heavy promotional campaign on the part of the album's distributor in secular outlets, A&M Records, helped three of its singles reach the mainstream charts. "Find a Way" was a Top Ten hit on the Adult Contemporary chart and peaked at No. 29 on the Billboard Hot 100, while "Everywhere I Go" was a Top Thirty AC single and "Wise Up" was a minor charting single on the Hot 100. Unguarded would be certified gold in September 1985, and platinum in June 1986.
In 2007, Unguarded was reissued and digitally remastered by Grant's new record label, EMI/Sparrow Records. The remastered edition is labeled with a "Digitally Remastered" logo in the 'gutter' on the CD front.[3]
This was the final album to be recorded at Caribou Ranch, which was owned by former Chicago producer/manager James William Guercio before the infamous March 1985 fire that destroyed the studio's control room.
Contents
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Love of Another Kind" | Amy Grant, Gary Chapman, Wayne Kirkpatrick, Rich Mullins | 3:22 |
| 2. | "Find a Way" | Grant, Michael W. Smith | 3:28 |
| 3. | "Everywhere I Go" | Mary Lee Kortes | 4:12 |
| 4. | "I Love You" | Grant, Dann Huff, Smith | 4:25 |
| 5. | "Stepping In Your Shoes" | Grant, Chris Eaton | 4:37 |
| 6. | "Fight" | Grant, Chapman, Huff | 4:42 |
| 7. | "Wise Up" | Kirkpatrick, Billy Simon | 3:51 |
| 8. | "Who to Listen to" | Chapman, Tim Marsh, Mark Wright | 4:22 |
| 9. | "Sharayah" | Grant, Eaton | 4:53 |
| 10. | "The Prodigal (I'll Be Waiting)" | Grant, Chapman, Robbie Buchanan | 5:10 |
Personnel
- Amy Grant: lead vocals, background vocals (2,3)
- Michael W. Smith: Yamaha GS2 (2,3,8), Memorymoog (3)
- Robbie Buchanan: synthesizers (1,4-7,10), acoustic piano (10), track arrangement (10), sound effects (4), drum programming (4), synthesizer bass (1,10), Yamaha DX7 (8), Roland Jupiter 8 (1), synthesizer programming (5)
- Shane Keister: synthesizers (1,7,9), acoustic piano (1), Memorymoog (6), Fairlight (8), Fender Rhodes (5), explosion (2), synthesizer programming (3), Yamaha GS1 (3,8)
- Dann Huff: electric guitars, guitar solo (4,5)
- Jon Goin: electric guitars (2,3,4,6,8,9), acoustic guitar (10)
- Michael Landau: electric guitars (2,4,7,9), guitar solo (10)
- Paul Jackson, Jr.: electric guitars (7)
- Mike Brignardello: bass guitar (2-9)
- Paul Leim: drums (1,2,3,6-10), drum programming and drum overdubs (4), LinnDrum programming (7)
- Lenny Castro: percussion (2,6,8,10)
- Larry Williams: synthesizer and saxophone (7)
- Diana Hanna: background vocals (1,3,8)
- Kathy Burdick: screams (1)
- Bill Champlin: background vocals (1,7)
- Gary Chapman: background vocals (1,3,6,8)
- Chris Eaton: background vocals (5)
- Kim Fleming: background vocals (8)
- Tommy Funderburk: background vocals (1,2,6,7)
- Steve George: background vocals (4,9)
- Chris Harris: background vocals (8), screams (1)
- Tom Kelly: background vocals (2,4,6,9)
- Donna McElroy: background vocals (8)
- Richard Page: background vocals (4,9)
- Gary Pigg: background vocals (8), screams (1)
Production
- Producer: Brown Bannister
- Executive producers: Michael Blanton, Dan Harrell, Gary Chapman
- Engineered and mixed by Jack Joseph Puig
- Assistant engineers: Kevin Burns, Steven Ford, Dan Garcia, Alan Henry, J.T., Richard Markowitz, Mike Ross, Clark Schleicher
- Mastered by Doug Sax at The Mastering Lab (Los Angeles, CA)
- Art direction and design: Kent Hunter
- Photography: Mark Tucker
- Stylist: Julie Miller
Cover
To further heighten Grant's visual appeal, A&M released Unguarded with four different covers, respectively labeled W, O, R, and D. When the album was issued on compact disc, the 'D' variation became the standard version for the cover.
-
Unguarded W.jpg
W
-
Unguarded O.jpg
O
-
Unguarded R.jpg
R
-
Unguarded D.jpg
D
Charts
Singles - CCM Magazine (North America)
|
End of year charts
End-of-decade charts
Commercial performanceLua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
|
Awards
| Year | Winner | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Unguarded | Recorded Music Packaging of the Year |
| Year | Winner | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Unguarded | Best Gospel Performance, Female |
Chart procession
| Preceded by | Billboard Top Contemporary Christian number-one album August 24, 1985 – April 26, 1986 |
Succeeded by Morning Like This by Sandi Patti |
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Sparrow Records News[dead link]
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
