| Bless a Brand New Angel | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1998 | |||
| Studio | Capitol Studios and Hollywood Sound Recorders (Hollywood, California) | |||
| Length | 38:54 | |||
| Label | Crave | |||
| Producer | Joel Diamond Jim Ervin Maurice Starr | |||
| Benny Mardones chronology | ||||
| ||||
Bless a Brand New Angel is the sixth studio album from American singer Benny Mardones, released by Crave in 1998.
Background
Both Bless a Brand New Angel and its title track (which was released as a single) failed to generate commercial success. As "Bless a Brand New Angel" began generating airplay in the United States, Crave was shut down in July 1998.[1] On June 19, 1998, the Gavin Report listed "Bless a Brand New Angel" under adult contemporary as "chartbound", with the single having generated 46 reports and 671 spins.[2] In 1999, Bless a Brand New Angel was reissued as Angel by Fuel 2000.[3] The title track achieved further airplay, with the Gavin Report reporting 87 spins and placing the song at No. 35 on their Adult Contemporary chart.[4]
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [5] |
Tomas Mureika of AllMusic described Bless a Brand New Angel as "standard fare" from Mardones, but praised his vocals as "strong". He added: "While it lacks the punch of his 1980s material, Bless a Brand New Angel contains more soulful rockers in the tradition that Mardones has made solidly his own."[5] In a review of the title track, Larry Flick of Billboard described it as "meticulously designed for AC playlists". He praised Mardones' "raspy voice" which he felt "makes for a nice contrast against the track's oh-so-pretty piano/string arrangement".[6]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Bless a Brand New Angel" | Judithe Randall, Robin Randall | 4:51 |
| 2. | "If I Could Have My Way" | Leslie Pearl | 5:11 |
| 3. | "Touch" | Maurice Starr | 4:37 |
| 4. | "From Me to You" | Bobby Eli, Lee Phillips | 3:46 |
| 5. | "You Are My World" | Benny Mardones, Robert Tepper | 4:48 |
| 6. | "No Words for Love" | Peter Myer | 4:13 |
| 7. | "Everything That Touches You" | Michael Kamen | 3:29 |
| 8. | "To Make a Long Story Short" | Van McCoy | 4:35 |
| 9. | "You're a Part of Me" | Mardones, Jim Ervin, Jack Conrad | 5:03 |
| 10. | "I Believe in Miracles" | Barry Mason, Les Reed | 3:45 |
Personnel
- Benny Mardones – lead vocals
- Jim Ervin – keyboards, bass, drums, percussion
- Jim Cox – acoustic piano, organ
- Maurice Starr – instruments (3), orchestrations (3), backing vocals (3)
- Charles Fearing – guitars
- Bruce Watson – guitars
- Lance Morrison – bass
- Nick Vincent – drums
- Tommy Oliver – orchestrations
- Ayanna Bereal – backing vocals
- Troy Clark – backing vocals
- Martika Knight – backing vocals
Production
- Jim Ervin – executive producer, producer (1, 2, 4-10)
- Joel Diamond – producer
- Maurice Starr – producer (3)
- Bryan Davis – engineer, mixing
- Dann Thompson – engineer
- Mike Tritter – engineer
- Brian Gardner – mastering at Bernie Grundman Mastering (Hollywood, California)
- Joel Zimmerman – art direction
References
- ↑ "Angel". Benny Mardones. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
- ↑ "New Mainstream: Adult Contemporary". Gavin Report. June 19, 1998. p. 29.
- ↑ "Angel - Benny Mardones; Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
- ↑ "GavinAC: Adult Contemporary". Gavin Report. July 26, 1999. p. 30.
- 1 2 Tomas Mureika. "Bless a Brand New Angel - Benny Mardones; Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
- ↑ Flick, Larry (April 25, 1998). "Reviews & Previews: Singles". Billboard. p. 69.