Closer (Susan Ashton album)
Encyclopedia
Closer is sixth full-length album by Christian
music singer Susan Ashton
. It was released in 1999 on Capitol Records
. It was her only disc for the label. It was produced by Emory Gordy, Jr.
. The album contains songs written by Diane Warren
, Matraca Berg
and Kim Richey
. Ashton herself only co-wrote one song here, "Think of Me".
Three singles
were released, with the Warren-penned "Faith of the Heart" being first. It peaked at No. 51 on the Hot Country Songs
chart in the US, while peaking twenty spots lower in Canada
. The second single, "You're Lucky I Love You", fared a bit better reaching No. 37 in the US and No. 52 in Canada. The title track didn't chart. The album itself reached No. 34 on the country charts, while failing to find a footing on the Christian music charts.
Contemporary Christian music
Contemporary Christian music is a genre of modern popular music which is lyrically focused on matters concerned with the Christian faith...
music singer Susan Ashton
Susan Ashton
Susan Ashton is a best-selling and award-winning American Contemporary Christian Music and country music artist who topped the Christian charts throughout the 1990s...
. It was released in 1999 on Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
. It was her only disc for the label. It was produced by Emory Gordy, Jr.
Emory Gordy, Jr.
Emory Gordy, Jr., born December 25, 1944, in Atlanta, Georgia, is an American musician and music producer. Since 1989, he has been married to country music artist Patty Loveless. Gordy was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 1992...
. The album contains songs written by Diane Warren
Diane Warren
Diane Eve Warren , is a US songwriter. Her songs have received six Academy Award nominations, five Golden Globe nominations, including one win and seven Grammy Award nominations, including one win. She was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001...
, Matraca Berg
Matraca Berg
Matraca Maria Berg is an American country music singer and songwriter. She has released five albums: three for RCA Records, one for Rising Tide Records and one for Dualtone Records, and has charted in the top 40 of the U.S. Billboard country charts with "Baby, Walk On" and "The Things You Left...
and Kim Richey
Kim Richey
Kimberly Kay "Kim" Richey is an American singer/songwriter. Though her work fits into the general country music category, her sound is not easily categorized. Her songs have been hits on both the country and pop charts...
. Ashton herself only co-wrote one song here, "Think of Me".
Three singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
were released, with the Warren-penned "Faith of the Heart" being first. It peaked at No. 51 on the Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
chart in the US, while peaking twenty spots lower in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The second single, "You're Lucky I Love You", fared a bit better reaching No. 37 in the US and No. 52 in Canada. The title track didn't chart. The album itself reached No. 34 on the country charts, while failing to find a footing on the Christian music charts.
Reception
Allmusic's Heather Phares called Ashton "an emotive vocalist", and said that Closer "finds Ashton hitting her stride as a performer and singer", giving the album four stars out of five.Track listing
- "Come On in Out of the Rain" (Jamie O'HaraJamie O'Hara (singer)Jamie O'Hara is an American country music artist. Between 1986 and 1990, he and Kieran Kane comprised The O'Kanes, a duo which charted seven singles on the Billboard Hot Country Singles charts, including the Number One single "Can't Stop My Heart from Loving You"...
) 2:53 - "Closer" (Kent BlazyKent BlazyKent Blazy is an American country music songwriter. His credits include several singles for Garth Brooks , as well as singles by Gary Morris, Diamond Rio, Patty Loveless and Chris Young.-Biography:Kent Blazy was raised in Lexington, Kentucky...
, Neil ThrasherNeil ThrasherJoe Neil Thrasher, Jr. is an American country music singer and songwriter. Between 1995 and 1997, he and Kelly Shiver comprised the duo Thrasher Shiver, which recorded a studio album for Asylum Records in 1996 and charted two singles on the Billboard country charts in early 1997...
, Kim Williams) 3:23 - "Our Little World" (Matraca BergMatraca BergMatraca Maria Berg is an American country music singer and songwriter. She has released five albums: three for RCA Records, one for Rising Tide Records and one for Dualtone Records, and has charted in the top 40 of the U.S. Billboard country charts with "Baby, Walk On" and "The Things You Left...
, Jeff Hanna) 4:37 - "You're Lucky I Love You" (Thrasher, Maria Cannon-Goodman) 3:31
- "I Ain't Gonna Fall for Love Again" (Kim RicheyKim RicheyKimberly Kay "Kim" Richey is an American singer/songwriter. Though her work fits into the general country music category, her sound is not easily categorized. Her songs have been hits on both the country and pop charts...
, Vince MelamedVince MelamedVince Melamed is an American keyboardist and songwriter who currently resides in Nashville, Tennessee. He was born in New York, and moved to Los Angeles at an early age. Vince has appeared with many bands as keyboardist...
) 3:21 - "Breathless" (Blazy, Thrasher, Kelly Shiver) 3:25
- "Shot for the Moon" (Berg, Sharon VaughnSharon VaughnSharon Vaughn is a musician, songwriter and producer. She has had over two hundred cuts including several number one hits. She has also been nominated for The Nashville Songwriters Federation "Hall Of Fame". Vaughn was formerly married to songwriter Bill Rice, and later to Howard Bellamy of The...
) 3:56 - "Getaway CarGetaway Car (song)"Getaway Car" is the title of a song written by songwriters Gary Haase and Billy Mann. The song was first recorded in 1999 by Susan Ashton, an American country and Christian singer, on her album Closer, although it was not released as a single....
" (Gary Haase, Billy Mann) 4:59 - "Supernatural" (Marcus HummonMarcus HummonMarcus Spencer Hummon is an American country music artist. After several years of playing in various bands, he eventually found his way to Nashville, Tennessee, where he was signed to a songwriting contract, and subsequently a record deal with Columbia Records, which released his debut album All...
, Mark Prentice) 3:55 - "Think of Me" (Ashton, Gayla Borders, Jeff Borders, J.D. Cunningham) 4:06
- "Faith of the Heart" (Diane WarrenDiane WarrenDiane Eve Warren , is a US songwriter. Her songs have received six Academy Award nominations, five Golden Globe nominations, including one win and seven Grammy Award nominations, including one win. She was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001...
) 4:17 - "Can't Cry Hard Enough" (Marvin Etzioni, David Williams) 4:20
Personnel
- Susan Ashton: Lead & Harmony Vocal
- J.D. Cunningham, Vince Gill, Vicki Hampton, Billy Mann, Chris Rodriguez, Harry Stinson, Neil Thrasher: Vocal Backing
- Dann HuffDann HuffDann Huff is an American musician, session musician, singer-songwriter and producer. For his work as a producer in the Country music genre he has won several awards including the Musician of the Year award in 2001 and 2004 at the Country Music Association Awards and the Producer of the Year award...
: Electric & Acoustic Guitars - Steve Gibson: Electric & Gut-String Guitars, BouzoukiBouzoukiThe bouzouki , is a musical instrument with Greek origin in the lute family. A mainstay of modern Greek music, the front of the body is flat and is usually heavily inlaid with mother-of-pearl. The instrument is played with a plectrum and has a sharp metallic sound, reminiscent of a mandolin but...
, MandolinMandolinA mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single... - Biff Watson: Acoustic Guitars
- Dan Dugmore, Paul Franklin, Sonny Garrish: SteelSteel guitarSteel guitar is a type of guitar or the method of playing the instrument. Developed in Hawaii in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a steel guitar is usually positioned horizontally; strings are plucked with one hand, while the other hand changes the pitch of one or more strings with the use...
- Stuart Duncan: FiddleFiddleThe term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
& Octave Fiddle, Mandolin - Mike Lawler: Keyboards
- John Barlow Jarvis, Matt RollingsMatt RollingsMatt Rollings is an American composer, musician and record producer. He plays piano, organ, and keyboards.Known mainly for playing in Lyle Lovett's Large Band, he has worked with many artists, not all country...
: Piano - Phil Madeira, Steve Nathan: Hammond OrganOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
- Emory Gordy Jr.: BassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Steve Brewster, Owen Hale, Lonnie Wilson: Drums, Percussion
- Monisa Angell, Jim Grosjean, Gary Vanosdale: ViolaViolaThe viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
- Connie Heard, Pamela Sixfin, Chris Teal: ViolinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
- Anthony LaMarchina, Bob Mason: CelloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
- Kris Wilkinson: Concertmaster
Production
- Produced By Emory Gordy Jr.
- Engineered By Russ Martin; assisted by Rob MacMillan
- Mixed By John Guess; assisted by Patrick Murphy
- Mastered By Glenn Meadows
Chart performance
| Chart (1999) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums | 34 |