If Only My Heart Had a Voice
If Only My Heart Had A Voice is the twenty-fifth studio album by country music superstar Kenny Rogers. It was Rogers' first album released on the Giant Records label. However, Rogers had been signed with its parent company, WEA, since 1989. The album was Rogers' first since 1976 not to chart. The album includes the singles "Missing You", "Ol' Red" and "Wanderin' Man".
| If Only My Heart Had A Voice | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1993 | |||
| Recorded | 1992-1993 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Label | Giant | |||
| Producer | Larry Butler, James Stroud | |||
| Kenny Rogers chronology | ||||
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Content
"Ol' Red" was also recorded by George Jones on his 1990 album You Oughta Be Here with Me, and would later be a Top 20 hit in 2002 for Blake Shelton from his self-titled debut. "If I Were You", recorded here as a duet with Travis Tritt, was originally cut by The Oak Ridge Boys on their 1991 album Unstoppable, and would later be recorded by Chad Brock as a duet with Mark Wills on Brock's 2000 album Yes!
Critical reception
Rob Theakston of Allmusic rated the album 2.5 out of 5 stars, saying that "there are some moments on here that die-hard fans will enjoy". He thought that the production had "aged well" and that the songs were "surprisingly consistent."[1]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Fightin' for the Same Thing" | Chuck Jones, Tom Shapiro | 3:13 |
| 2. | "Missing You" | Rick Giles, Susan Longacre | 3:14 |
| 3. | "She Waits" | Tom French, Tom Paden | 3:10 |
| 4. | "Ol' Red" | James "Bo" Bohan, Don Goodman, Mark Sherrill | 3:07 |
| 5. | "If I Were You" (duet with Travis Tritt) | Billy Dean, Verlon Thompson | 3:08 |
| 6. | "Wanderin' Man" | Kim Carnes, Colin Ellingson | 3:53 |
| 7. | "Reason to Go" | Debbie Hupp, Tim Mensy | 3:55 |
| 8. | "If You Were the Friend" | Hupp, Mensy | 3:40 |
| 9. | "If Only My Heart Had a Voice" | Rick Bowles, Skip Ewing, Kenny Rogers | 3:35 |
| 10. | "Somebody's Wrong Somebody's Right" | Larry Butler | 3:13 |
Personnel
- Kenny Rogers – lead vocals, backing vocals
- Larry Butler – keyboards, synthesizers
- Gene Golden – keyboards, synthesizers
- Mike Lawler – keyboards, synthesizers
- Warren Hartman – Hammond B3 organ
- Steve Glassmeyer – acoustic piano
- Randy McCormick – acoustic piano
- Bobby Ogdin – acoustic piano
- Gary Prim – acoustic piano
- Larry Byrom – acoustic guitar, electric guitar
- Chuck Jones – acoustic guitar
- Chris Leuzinger – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, electric sitar
- Tim Mensy – acoustic guitar
- Biff Watson – acoustic guitar, mandolin
- Randy Dorman – electric guitar
- Steve Gibson – electric guitar
- Ricky Harper – electric guitar
- Porter Howell – electric guitar
- Dann Huff – electric guitar
- Brent Rowan – electric guitar
- Sonny Garrish – steel guitar, dobro
- Weldon Myrick – steel guitar, dobro
- Jimmy Carter – bass guitar
- Joe Chemay – bass guitar
- Chuck Jacobs – bass guitar
- Dave Pomeroy – bass guitar
- Glenn Worf – bass guitar
- Bob Wray – bass guitar
- Lynn Hammann – drums
- Paul Leim – drums
- Nigel Olsson – drums, percussion
- James Stroud – drums, percussion
- Lonnie Wilson – drums
- Joe Spivey – fiddle
- Carl Gorodetzky – string arrangements and conductor
- The Nashville String Machine – strings
- Jana King – backing vocals
- Curtis Wright – backing vocals
- Curtis Young – backing vocals
- Travis Tritt – lead vocals on "If I Were You"
Production
- Producers – Larry Butler and James Stroud
- Recorded by Julian King, Lynn Peterzell and Billy Sherrill.
- Assistant Engineers – Derek Bason, Mark Capps, David Hall, John Hurley, Julian King, Graham Lewis and Darren Smith.
- Recorded at Sound Stage Studios, Soundshop Recording Studios and 16th Avenue Sound (Nashville, TN); The Castle (Franklin, TN); Mesa Recording (Sebastapol, CA).
- Mixed by Lynn Peterzell at 16th Avenue Sound, Sound Stage Studios and Masterfonics (Nashville, TN).
- Mastered by Glenn Meadows at Masterfonics
- Art Direction – Laura Lipuma Nash
- Design – Beth Middleworth
- Photography – Peter Nash
- Management – Ken Kragen at Kragen & Co.
- Booking – C.K. Spurlock
References
- Theakston, Rob. "If Only My Heart Had a Voice". Allmusic. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
