View from the House

View from the House is the eleventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Kim Carnes. It was released on July 25, 1988 by MCA Records. The album marked a return to her early country music roots.[1] Carnes recorded the album in Nashville, Tennessee, and co-produced the album with Jimmy Bowen.

View from the House
Studio album by
Kim Carnes
ReleasedJuly 25, 1988
Recorded1988 at Sound Stage Studio, Emerald Sound Studios and Manzanita Recording Studio, Nashville, Tennessee; Galaxy Studios, Hollywood, California.
GenreCountry, adult contemporary
Length38:37
LabelMCA
ProducerKim Carnes and Jimmy Bowen ("Crimes of the Heart" produced by Kim Carnes, Jimmy Bowen and Bill Cuomo)
Kim Carnes chronology
Light House
(1986)		 View from the House
(1988)		 Checkin' Out the Ghosts
(1991)
Singles from View from the House
  1. "Crazy in Love"
    Released: 1988
  2. "Speed of the Sound of Loneliness"
    Released: 1988
  3. "Just to Spend Tonight with You"
    Released: 1988
  4. "Fantastic Fire of Love"
    Released: 1989

View from the House received positive reviews, with music critics praising Carnes's cover songs. The album reached number 39 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, and contained two hit singles. "Crazy in Love" and "Speed of the Sound of Loneliness" both charted on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks at number 68 and number 70 respectively. "Crazy in Love" also reached number 13 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

Background

Prior to making the album, Carnes stated, "I can't do another album here (in Los Angeles). I've tried and finally stopped. The only way I get a thrill out of recording is to record live as opposed to running everything through a computer. I want to feel that interplay between musicians. And I feel real strongly that Nashville is the place to make an album with real instruments."[2]

Carnes had been interested in the Nashville music scene since 1981, after hearing Rosanne Cash's album Seven Year Ache. Carnes wanted to work with Jimmy Bowen, who produced her debut album, Rest on Me, in 1971.[3]

Carnes chose to record a cover of "If You Don't Want My Love" by John Prine. The head of A&R at MCA suggested to Carnes that she also record Prine's song "Speed of the Sound of Loneliness". "Who thinks of that?" Carnes said. "The speed of the sound of loneliness? Lyrically, that blew me away."[3]

Carnes wrote "Blood from the Bandit", with Donna Weiss, as a reflection on "pollution, greed, and other conditions afflicting the world". "The song is still pertinent today, more so, maybe," Carnes said in 2017. "What was being talked about then is on steroids now."[3]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic link

The album received a positive review from People magazine. "Carnes, sounding wonderfully relaxed and justifiably pleased with herself, sails through 10 generally splendid tunes." They stated that Carnes's cover of John Prine's song "Speed of the Sound of Loneliness"" exploited the song "affectingly," and that her cover of Even Stevens' "Crazy in Love" sounds "convincingly romantic."[4] Allmusic retrospectively described the album as "[a return] to the folk and country music of her earlier years."[1]

Promotion

Singles

Four singles were released from View from the House. The first US single was "Speed of the Sound of Loneliness", which charted at number 70 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.[5] The second single, "Crazy in Love", first recorded by Joe Cocker in 1984, reached number 68 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart,[5] and reached number 13 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.[6] The third single, "Just to Spend Tonight with You", was released in the United Kingdom, though did not chart. The fourth single, "Fantastic Fire of Love", was released in 1989.[7]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Brass & Batons"
5:19
2."Just to Spend Tonight with You"
  • Carnes
  • Weiss
  • Bowen
  • Carnes
4:48
3."Heartbreak Radio"
  • Bowen
  • Carnes
3:16
4."Crazy in Love"
  • Even Stevens
  • Randy McCormick
  • Bowen
  • Carnes
3:52
5."If You Don't Want My Love"
  • Bowen
  • Carnes
3:15
6."Willie and the Hand Jive"Johnny Otis
  • Bowen
  • Carnes
4:05
7."Speed of the Sound of Loneliness"Prine
  • Bowen
  • Carnes
3:26
8."Blood from the Bandit"
  • Carnes
  • Weiss
  • Bowen
  • Carnes
3:17
9."Fantastic Fire of Love"Carnes
  • Bowen
  • Carnes
4:12
10."Crimes of the Heart"
  • Carnes
  • Weiss
  • Bowen
  • Carnes
  • Bill Cuomo
3:07
Total length:38:37

Personnel
  • Kim Carnes – lead and backing vocals, synthesizers (1)
  • John Barlow Jarvis – acoustic piano (1-9), synthesizers (1-9)
  • Bill Cuomo – synthesizers (10), drum programming (10)
  • Bruce Hornsby – accordion (1)
  • John Cascella – accordion (2, 3, 7)
  • Craig Hull – electric guitar, slide guitar
  • Josh Leo – electric guitar
  • Billy Joe Walker, Jr. – electric guitar, acoustic guitar
  • Mark O'Connor – mandolin, mandola, fiddle
  • Leland Sklar – bass
  • Craig Krampf – drums, percussion, washboard (3)
  • Kirk "Jellyroll" Johnson – harmonica
  • Vince Gill – harmony vocals (3)
  • Steve Wariner – harmony vocals (5)
  • Dave Ellingson – harmony vocals (6, 9)
  • Lyle Lovett – harmony vocals (7)

Technical Credits

  • Bob Bullock – recording engineer, overdub recording, mixing
  • Bill Cuomo – recording engineer (10)
  • Spence Chrislu – second engineer
  • Mark J. Coddington – second engineer
  • Russ Martin – second engineer, overdub recording
  • Bob Vogt – second engineer
  • Bill Dooley – additional engineer
  • Richard Bosworth – additional overdub recording
  • Chuck Ainlay – mixing
  • Niko Bolas – mixing
  • Jimmy Bowen – mixing
  • George Marino – mastering
  • A&M Studios, Hollywood, California – mixing location
  • Masterfonics, Nashville, Tennessee –mixing location
  • Sound Stage Studios, Nashville, Tennessee –mixing location
  • Sterling Sound, New York City, New York – mastering location

Production Credits

  • Sue McGonigle – production assistant
  • Jessie Noble – project coordinator
  • Simon Levy – art direction
  • Jerry Joyner – design
  • Peter Nash – photography

Charts
Chart (1988) Peak
position
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[8] 47
US Billboard Top Country Albums[9] 36
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References
  1. Huey, Steve. "Kim Carnes biography". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  2. Interview with Kim Carnes. Gettysburg Times, October 3-4, 1987. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  3. Wikane, Christian John (April 24, 2017). "Where the Heart Is An Interview With Multi-Grammy Winner Kim Carnes, Part Two". PopMatters. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
  4. Novak, Ralph; Hiltbrand, David. "Picks and Pans Review: View from the House". People Magazine. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  5. "Kim Carnes - Chart history - Hot Country Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  6. "Kim Carnes - Chart history - Adult Contemporary". Billboard. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  7. "Goldmine Standard Catalog of American Records 1948–1991". Retrieved 31 January 2015.
  8. "Swedishcharts.com – Kim Carnes – View from the House". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  9. "Chart listing for View from the House". Billboard. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
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