Stand by Your Man (Benny Mardones album)

Last updated
Stand by Your Man
Benny Mardones Stand by Your Man 1996 album cover.jpg
Studio album by
Released1996
Length48:01
Label Curb
Producer
Benny Mardones chronology
Benny Mardones
(1989)
Stand by Your Man
(1996)
Bless a Brand New Angel
(1998)

Stand by Your Man is the fifth solo studio album by American singer Benny Mardones, released by Curb in 1996.

Contents

Background

Shortly after the album's completion, Mardones worked with producer Shaun LaBelle on the song "Stand By Your Man". Mardones originally intended to give it to a band he was involved in managing, a group of "four kids who I found singing on the street corner". LaBelle encouraged Mardones to record the song himself after hearing his guide vocal. The resulting recording was enthusiastically received by Curb, who believed it had hit potential, and was later released as a promotional single. When it failed to generate sufficient airplay to meet Curb's expectations, the label pulled out of promoting it any further at the end of the third week of release. The decision caused the relationship between Mardones and the label to become strained and he subsequently asked to be released from his contract. [1]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [2]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic described Stand by Your Man as "a collection to avoid" and commented, "Although Mardones never had anything approaching a gritty sound – he was strictly a soft rock and adult contemporary singer – all of these recordings are too slick and synthesized to make any impact." [2] In a review of the "Stand by Your Man" single, Larry Flick of Billboard described the song as a "cute finger-snapper" and "fine fodder for AC formats". He noted that Mardones "works hard to assert a new sound", with the singer "ton[ing] down his typical vocal vigor in favor of a quiet R&B sound". Flick also noted that Mardones is "surrounded by sweeping harmonies" and believed the "sing-along chorus" would be "likely to trigger comparisons" to the 1992 song "End of the Road" by American R&B group Boyz II Men. [3]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Stand by Your Man"Shaun LaBelle, Steve Bensusen, Gerry Stober5:02
2."Baby Tonight"Benny Mardones, Jack Conrad5:05
3."Dream Baby"Mardones, Michael Lloyd, Conrad3:52
4."It's All in the Game" Carl Sigman, Charles Gates Dawes 4:27
5."How Could You Love Me"Mardones, Duane Evans4:45
6."I Feel Your Love Tonight"Mardones, Lloyd5:06
7."Run to You"Mardones, Evans4:10
8."Killing Me Slow"Mardones, Conrad, Lloyd4:51
9."Running Scared" Joe Melson, Roy Orbison 2:10
10."Two Worlds, Two Hearts"Jan van der Meij4:23
11."Sheila C."Mardones, Robert Tepper, Evans4:10
2015 Curb Records reissue
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."Into the Night" ('89 re-recorded)Mardones, Tepper4:22

Personnel

References

  1. James, Gary. "Benny Mardones Interview". famousinterview.ca. Retrieved May 9, 2025.
  2. 1 2 "Benny Mardones - Most Requested Songs - Album Reviews, Songs & Credits". AllMusic . Retrieved May 9, 2025.
  3. "Reviews & Previews: Singles". Billboard . Vol. 108, no. 40. Billboard Publications, Inc. October 5, 1996. p. 92. ISSN   0006-2510.