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Unguarded is the ninth album by Christian music singer Amy Grant, released in 1985 (see 1985 in music).
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. 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, three of its singles reached the mainstream charts. "Find A Way" was a Top Ten hit on the Adult Contemporary chart and peaked at #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.[1]
[edit] Track listing
- "Love Of Another Kind" (Amy Grant, Gary Chapman, Wayne Kirkpatrick, Rich Mullins) – 3:22
- "Find A Way" (Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith) – 3:28 Listen (help·info)
- "Everywhere I Go" (Mary Lee Kortes) – 4:12 Listen (help·info)
- "I Love You" (Amy Grant, Dann Huff, Michael W. Smith) – 4:25
- "Stepping In Your Shoes" (Amy Grant, Chris Eaton) – 4:37
- "Fight" (Amy Grant, Gary Chapman, Dann Huff) – 4:42
- "Wise Up" (Wayne Kirkpatrick, Billy Simon) – 3:51
- "Who To Listen To" (Gary Chapman, Tim Marsh, Mark Wright) – 4:22
- "Sharayah" (Amy Grant, Chris Eaton) – 4:53
- "The Prodigal" (Amy Grant, Gary Chapman, Robbie Buchanan) – 5:10
[edit] Personnel
- Amy Grant: Vocals.
- Michael W. Smith: Synthesizer, Moog Synthesizer, Memory Moog.
- Robbie Buchanan: Synthesizer, Piano, Arranger, Sound Effects, Drum Programming, Synthesizer Bass, DX-7, Jupiter 8.
- Shane Keister: Synthesizer, Piano, Moog Synthesizer, Fairlight, Fender Rhodes, Explosions, Synthesizer Programming.
- Dann Huff: Guitars.
- Jon Goin: Guitars.
- Michael Landau: Guitars.
- Paul Jackson Jr.: Guitars.
- Mike Brignardello: Bass.
- Paul Leim: Drums, Drum Programming, Drum Overdubs, Linn.
- Lenny Castro: Percussion.
- Larry Williams: Synthesizer, Saxophone.
- Kathy Burdick: Screams.
- Bill Champlin: Background Vocals.
- Gary Chapman: Background Vocals.
- Chris Eaton: Background Vocals.
- Kim Fleming: Background Vocals.
- Tommy Funderburk: Background Vocals.
- Steve George: Background Vocals.
- Chris Harris: Background Vocals, screams.
- Tom Kelly: Background Vocals.
- Donna McElroy: Background Vocals.
- Richard Page: Background Vocals.
- Gary Pigg: Background Vocals, screams.
[edit] Production
- Producer: Brown Bannister.
- Executive Producer: Michael Blanton, Dan Harrell, Gary Chapman.
- Engineer: Jack Joseph Puig.
- Assistant Engineers: Kevin Burns, Steven Ford, Dan Garcia, Alan Henry, J.T., Richard Markowitz, Mike Ross, Clarke Schleicher.
- Mixed by: Jack Joseph Puig.
- Mastered by: Doug Sax.
- Arranger: Robbie Buchanan.
- Design: Kent Hunter.
- Photography: Mark Tucker
- Stylist: Julie Miller.
[edit] Miscellanea
- The album track "I Love You" is Amy Grant's first secular love song from her own pen. It was dedicated to her then-husband Gary Chapman. According to one verse of the song:
- You were pretty crazy, back when we fell in love
- Wanting to be everything, that I would be proud of
- Hours we spent dreaming, how we'd beat the odds
- Now the truth has hit is, life is very hard
- Life can be so hard
- In the video for "Wise Up", some of Tommy Funderburk's backing vocals are convincingly lip-synced by a black woman.
- To further heighten Amy Grant's visual appeal, A&M released Unguarded with four different covers. They are, in order from left to right: the W, O, R, and D covers. (Only the R and D covers are still in print, though.)
[edit] Charts
Album - Billboard (North America)
| Year |
Chart |
Position |
| 1985 |
The Billboard 200 |
35 |
| 1985 |
Top Contemporary Christian |
1 |
Singles - Billboard (North America)
| Year |
Single |
Chart |
Position |
| 1985 |
"Everywhere I Go" |
Adult Contemporary |
28 |
| 1985 |
"Find A Way" |
Adult Contemporary |
7 |
| 1985 |
"Find A Way" |
Christian Singles |
1 |
| 1985 |
"Find A Way" |
The Billboard Hot 100 |
29 |
| 1985 |
"Wise Up" |
The Billboard Hot 100 |
66 |
[edit] Awards
Grammy Awards
GMA Dove Awards
| Year |
Winner |
Category |
| 1986 |
Unguarded |
Recorded Music Packaging of the Year |
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Amy Grant |
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[edit] References
- ^ Sparrow Records News
