Bless a Brand New Angel

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Bless a Brand New Angel
Studio album by
Released1998
StudioCapitol Studios and Hollywood Sound Recorders (Hollywood, California)
Length38:54
LabelCrave
ProducerJoel Diamond
Jim Ervin
Maurice Starr
Benny Mardones chronology
Stand By Your Man
(1996)
Bless a Brand New Angel
(1998)
A Journey Through Time
(2002)

Bless a Brand New Angel is the sixth studio album from American singer Benny Mardones, released by Crave in 1998.

Background[edit]

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[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
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[edit]

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Bless a Brand New Angel"Judithe Randall, Robin Randall4:51
2."If I Could Have My Way"Leslie Pearl5:11
3."Touch"Maurice Starr4:37
4."From Me to You"Bobby Eli, Lee Phillips3:46
5."You Are My World"Benny Mardones, Robert Tepper4:48
6."No Words for Love"Peter Myer4:13
7."Everything That Touches You"Michael Kamen3:29
8."To Make a Long Story Short"Van McCoy4:35
9."You're a Part of Me"Mardones, Jim Ervin, Jack Conrad5:03
10."I Believe in Miracles"Barry Mason, Les Reed3:45

Personnel[edit]

  • 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[edit]

  • 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[edit]

  1. ^ "Angel". Benny Mardones. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  2. ^ "New Mainstream: Adult Contemporary". Gavin Report. June 19, 1998. p. 29.
  3. ^ "Angel - Benny Mardones; Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  4. ^ "GavinAC: Adult Contemporary". Gavin Report. July 26, 1999. p. 30.
  5. ^ a b Tomas Mureika. "Bless a Brand New Angel - Benny Mardones; Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  6. ^ Flick, Larry (April 25, 1998). "Reviews & Previews: Singles". Billboard. p. 69.