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1989 studio album by Deniece Williams
Special Love gospel album by American R&B singer Deniece Williams released in 1989 on MCA /Sparrow Records .[ 1] [ 2] Special Love peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Top Christian Albums chart.[ 3]
Williams' then-husband Brad Westering produced the album. The track "Healing" from her 1986 album Hot on the Trail was re-recorded for this LP. A set of North American CD editions of Special Love contained her take on "Do You Hear What I Hear? " as a bonus track. This song first appeared on a 1988 Yuletide album entitled Christmas Christian singer-songwriter Roby Duke and released on Sparrow Records .[ 4]
In a review for the Chicago Tribune Special Love avoids "excessive fanfare or overkill" and makes good use of Williams' "rich soprano" on every track.[ 2] New York Daily News , Hugh Wyatt wrote that the album has "a refreshing absence of soap opera lyrics and other pop-music trash."[ 6]
Williams was Grammy nominated alongside Natalie Cole in the category of Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group for the track "We Sing Praises".[ 7]
Title Writer(s) 1. "Special Love" Deniece Williams , Lee Ritenour , Greg Mathieson3:56 2. "Fire Inside My Soul" Russ Hollingsworth, Mark Baldwin 3:54 3. "Healing" Jeremy Lubbock , Paul Gordon4:40 4. "Free" Sheldon Gooch 5:34 5. "Every Moment" D. Williams, David Raynor 4:13 6. "Who's Who" D. Williams, Brad Westering, Roby Duke 4:03 7. "His Eye Is on the Sparrow " Civilla D. Martin , Charles H. Gabriel ; arranged by D. Williams, G. Mathieson5:05 8. "Give It All to You" D. Williams, D. Raynor, Kenny Lamar 4:58 9. "Somebody Loves You" D. Williams, Bob Baldwin, Porter Carroll, Jr. 3:48 10. "We Sing Praises" (duet with Natalie Cole ) D. Williams, D. Raynor, Jay Gruska 4:50
Note : "Do You Hear What I Hear?" was produced by Brad Westering and Roby Duke; all other tracks produced by Westering.
Deniece Williams – lead vocals, backing vocals (1, 2, 4-10), arrangements (7)
Eric Persing – keyboards (1, 4, 6, 9, 11), programming (1, 4, 6, 9, 11), sequencing (1, 4, 6, 9), arrangements (1, 4, 6, 9)Aaron Zigman – additional keyboards (1, 2, 4-6, 9, 10), keyboards (8)Todd Yvega – Synclavier (1-3, 5, 7, 9, 10)
Jay Gruska – keyboards (2, 5), programming (2, 5), sequencing (2, 5), arrangements (2, 5, 10), string arrangements (7, 10)Greg Phillinganes – synthesizers (2, 9), backing vocals (2), finger snaps (9)Casey Young – additional programming (2, 5)
Randy Kerber – acoustic piano (3, 10)Jeremy Lubbock – keyboards (3), string arrangements (3)Tom Keane – acoustic piano (7)Paul Jackson Jr. – guitars (1, 2, 5)Michael Landau – guitars (3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10), guitar solo (5), acoustic guitar (8)James Harrah – guitars (8)
Marty Walsh – guitars (11)Neil Stubenhaus – bass (3, 7)Freddie Washington – bass (8, 10)Dennis Holt – drum overbubs (3), additional drum overbubs (4-6, 9)
John Keane – drums (7, 10)Luis Conte – percussion (3-8, 10)Alex MacDougall – additional percussion (11)Kirk Whalum – saxophone (2, 6), soprano saxophone (4)Brandon Fields – electronic wind instrument (7, 8)Steve Tavaglione – saxophone (11)Bill Reichenbach Jr. – trombone (10)Gary Grant – trumpet (10)Jerry Hey – trumpet (10), horn arrangements (10)Roby Duke – arrangements (1, 4, 6, 9), backing vocals (7, 10), additional keyboards (11)Brad Westering – arrangements (1, 6, 7, 9)
Greg Mathieson – arrangements (3)
Dave Raynor – arrangements (8)
Chris Eaton – backing vocals (1, 5, 6, 10)Lance Ellington – backing vocals (1, 5, 6, 10), step-out vocals (6)
Josie James – backing vocals (1, 4, 5, 7, 10)Phil Perry – backing vocals (1, 4, 5, 10, 11)Julia Waters – backing vocals (2)
Maxine Waters – backing vocals (2)
Oren Waters – backing vocals (2)Mark Williamson – backing vocals (6, 9)
Fran Logan – backing vocals (7, 10)
Rick Logan – backing vocals (7, 10)
Mike Motley – backing vocals (7)
Natalie Cole – lead vocals (10)Lynn Davis – backing vocals (11) Technical and Design [ edit ] Richard McKernan – recording
Mick Guzauski – mixing at Conway Studios (Hollywood, California) and Devonshire Studios (North Hollywood, California)Chris Taylor – recording (11), mixing (11)
Spencer Chrislu – additional engineer
Ian Eales – additional engineer
Michael Frenchik – additional engineer
Larry Goodwin – additional engineer, mix assistant
Carl Lange – additional engineer
Elliott Peters – additional engineer
Jonathan Goodwin – assistant engineer
Scott Gordon – assistant engineer, mix assistant
Jay Lean – assistant engineer
Derek Marcil – assistant engineer, mix assistant
Chrisa Sadd – assistant engineer
Marnie Riley – mix assistant
Doug Sax – mastering at The Mastering Lab (Hollywood, California)Barbara Hearn – art direction
Stan Everson Design – design
Randee St. Nicholas – photography
Year
Singles
Peak positions
CCM AC [ 8] CCM CHR[ 9]
US R&B [ 10]
1989
"Healing"
1
3
—
1989
"Every Moment"
2
3
55
1990
"We Sing Praises" (with Natalie Cole)
7
23
—
1990
"Somebody Loves You"
7
8
—
1990
"Fire Inside My Soul"
—
9
—
^ Medearis, John (December 14, 1989). "Sparrow Goes Beyond Gospel to Bolster Sales". Los Angeles Times ^ a b c May, Mitchell (December 7, 1989). "Recordings: Deniece Williams Special Love (MCA)" . Chicago Tribune . Retrieved November 1, 2022 – via ProQuest . ^ a b "Deniece Williams: Special Love (Top Christian Albums)" . Billboard ^ Deniece Williams - Special Love . MCA /Sparrow Records . 1989.^ Deniece Williams – Special Love : Review at AllMusic . Retrieved October 31, 2022.^ Wyatt, Hugh (November 17, 1989). "And now it's gospel according to Deniece". New York Daily News ^ "Deniece Williams" . National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences . Retrieved July 1, 2023 .^ Brothers, Jeffrey Lee, ed. (2003). CCM Hot Hits: AC Charts 1978 – 2001 . AuthorHouse . p. 230. ISBN 1-4107-3294-0 ^ Brothers, Jeffrey Lee, ed. (1999). CCM Hot Hits: Christian Hit Radio - 20 Years of Charts, Artist Bios and More . CCM Books . p. 180. ISBN 0-8230-7718-7 ^ "Deniece Williams: "Every Moment" (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)" . Billboard
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