| Wide Open | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 15, 2017 | |||
| Studio | Metal Building Studio (Nolensville, Tennessee) | |||
| Genre | Blue-eyed soul [1] | |||
| Length | 71:00 | |||
| Label |
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| Producer |
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| Michael McDonald chronology | ||||
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Wide Open is the tenth studio album by American musician Michael McDonald, released on September 15, 2017 by Chonin Records and BMG. Shannon Forrest and McDonald produced the album. Wide Open is McDonald's first album of original material in 16 years since In the Spirit: A Christmas Album (2001).
In an interview with Billboard, McDonald said many of the songs on Wide Open have to do with sobriety: "I realized that a lot of the songs, I put them in different context, storyline wise, but if they’re about anything, they’re about my coming to terms with my living out in the open and learning to live without substances to fill the hole, without self-medicating." [2]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
AllMusic senior editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine found that while McDonald "happily trades on the slow-burning R&B grooves and soft rock melodicism that made him a star in the '70s and '80s, there's not much of a feeling of pandering nostalgia here. Instead, McDonald seems to be integrating all his personas – the soul true believer, the godfather of smooth – in a record that not only feels true but, song for song, is sturdier than nearly all of the albums he recorded at his popular peak." [3]
All tracks produced by Michael McDonald and Shannon Forrest. [4]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hail Mary" | Michael McDonald | 6:52 |
| 2. | "Just Strong Enough" |
| 7:58 |
| 3. | "Find It in Your Heart" |
| 5:47 |
| 4. | "Half Truth" |
| 5:41 |
| 5. | "Ain't No Good" |
| 4:25 |
| 6. | "Honest Emotion" |
| 5:31 |
| 7. | "Blessing in Disguise" |
| 5:56 |
| 8. | "Dark Side" | M. McDonald | 5:53 |
| 9. | "If You Wanted to Hurt Me" |
| 5:14 |
| 10. | "Beautiful Child" |
| 6:09 |
| 11. | "Too Short" |
| 5:22 |
| 12. | "Free a Man" | Richard Stekol | 6:07 |
| Total length: | 71:00 | ||
| Chart (2017) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Current Album Sales ( Billboard ) [5] | 40 |
| US Independent Albums (Billboard) [6] | 12 |
Lionel Richie is the debut solo studio album by American singer Lionel Richie, released on October 6, 1982, on Motown Records. Originally intended as a side project at the suggestion of Motown, it was recorded and released while Richie was still a member of the Commodores; he left the group shortly after the album's release. The first single from the album, "Truly", topped the Billboard Hot 100. Follow-up single "You Are" reached number four, and "My Love" reached number five. The album reached number one on the Cashbox albums chart on December 11, 1982.
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Rhythm of Love is the fifth album by American R&B/soul singer Anita Baker, released in 1994. The album peaked at #3 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and #1 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip Hop chart and was certified double platinum, giving Baker her fourth platinum selling album.
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