| If My Heart Had Wings | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1995 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | Pop | |||
| Label | Atlantic [1] | |||
| Producer |
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| Melissa Manchester chronology | ||||
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If My Heart Had Wings is an album by the American musician Melissa Manchester, released in 1995. [2] [3] It was a commercial disappointment. [4] [5]
Manchester promoted the album by performing its first single, "In a Perfect World", on the soap opera General Hospital . [6] [7]
The album was executive produced by Arif Mardin and Michael Lippman. [8] Due to Manchester's work on the musical I Sent a Letter to My Love, the album was produced over a period of two years. [9] "If My Heart Had Wings" was written with Amy Sky. [10]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [11] |
| The Atlanta Journal-Constitution | [12] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [13] |
| Entertainment Weekly | C+ [14] |
| MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide | [15] |
| Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | [16] |
Entertainment Weekly wrote that, "too often, the tunes on If My Heart Had Wings sound like bland anthems in search of a maudlin movie score." [14] The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette thought that "Manchester turns in a hopelessly-out-of-it performance that serves as a harsh reminder that having great pipes is no guarantee of success." [16] The Atlanta Journal-Constitution opined that it was "too bad Manchester couldn't take a cue from Bonnie Raitt, whose music has grown along with her shock of gray hair and her insight." [12]
AllMusic wrote that the album was "filled with big, dramatic ballads and widescreen production values." [11] MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide considered the album to be "not a great work [but] representative of her talent." [15]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The House That Love Built" | Melissa Manchester, Dana Merino, Matt Sherrod | 4:25 |
| 2. | "In a Perfect World" | Jud Friedman, Alan Rich, Wendy Waldman | 4:14 |
| 3. | "If My Heart Had Wings" | Melissa Manchester, Eric Kaz, Amy Sky | 4:13 |
| 4. | "Heart of Love" | Billie Hughes, Roxanne Seeman | 4:23 |
| 5. | "To Be in Love with Me" | Jody Davidson | 3:55 |
| 6. | "Here to Love You" | Michael McDonald | 4:25 |
| 7. | "Higher Ground" | Kent Agee, Steve Dorff, George Green | 4:18 |
| 8. | "Crazy People" | Edgar Leslie, James V. Monaco | 2:33 |
| 9. | "Moments Like This" | Alan Rich, Pam Reswick, Steve Werfel | 4:42 |
| 10. | "Don't Let Me Walk This Road Alone" | David Foster, Keith Thomas, Linda Thompson | 4:10 |
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