Steady On

by Shawn Colvin

Overview

Sonically, Steady On is a triumph, with its emotional intimacy captured with smooth precision. Vocally, Colvin's tender, sometimes whisper-like performances are astonishing and haunting, provocative and seductive all at once. Then there are the songs that flow so effortlessly into one another that to remove even one would seemingly upset the entire balance of the cosmos as we know it. The sly Colvin adeptly plays with words, beats, phrasing, and rhymes, focusing not just on the meaning, but also the feel and rhythm of the lyrics to great effect. Having once claimed that she tends to write about the "positive side of the painful experience," this album proves her point, for even if you do listen amidst gray skies and drizzles, you will be soothed to the point of contentment. The opening strains of the wistful title track set the mood and ease you into Colvin's head and heart, as you embark on this journey with her to discover countless souls and their heretofore untold truths. On a album full of great songs, "Shotgun Down the Avalanche" still stands as one of her finest compositions, with its metaphoric imagery of riding an out-of-control emotional tide as one would cascade helplessly down a mountain of snow. The requisite troubadour-on-the-road tune, "Ricochet in Time," is made ever more poignant by Colvin's sleepy vocal track, bringing home the weariness that is a very large part of being an artist on tour. Steady On is a must have for anyone who loves acoustic music created in the grand tradition of Joni Mitchell and James Taylor, two legends Colvin now counts as contemporaries. ~ Kelly McCartney

Product Details

Release Date:	10/04/1989
Label:	Columbia
UPC:	0074644520927

Tracks

1. Steady On
2. Diamond in the Rough
3. Shotgun Down the Avalanche
4. Stranded
5. Another Long One
6. Cry Like an Angel
7. Something to Believe In
8. The Story
9. Ricochet in Time
10. The Dead of the Night

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Shawn Colvin   Primary Artist,Vocals,Keyboards,Guitar (Acoustic),Multi Instruments,Vocals (Background)
Suzanne Vega   Guest Artist,Vocals (Background)
Bob Telson   Guest Artist,Organ (Hammond)
T-Bone Wolk   Guest Artist,Bass,Accordion,Guitar (Acoustic),Multi Instruments
Bruce Hornsby   Guest Artist,Piano
Soozie Tyrell   Fiddle,Vocals (Background)
Steve Gaboury   Keyboards,Sequencing
Bob Riley   Keyboards,Guitar (Electric)
Charles Curtis   Cello
John Leventhal   Bass,Guitar,Mandolin,Keyboards,Sequencing,Tambourine,6-String Bass,Guitar (Bass),Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric),Multi Instruments,Vocals (Background)
Hugh McCracken   Dobro,Hi String Guitar,Guitar (Acoustic)
Lucy Kaplansky   Vocals (Background)
Steve Addabbo   Tambourine
Dennis McDermott   Drums,Hi Hat,Tom-Tom,Percussion,Multi Instruments
Lucy Kaplanski   Vocals (Background)
Rick Marotta   Drums
Michael Blair   Drums,Percussion,Multi Instruments

Technical Credits

Kevin Killan   Engineer
Shawn Colvin   Composer,Producer,Drum Programming
Ted Spencer   Engineer
Steve Gaboury   Sound Design,Drum Programming
Bob Ludwig   Mastering
Kevin Killen   Mixing
Bob Riley   Producer,Drum Programming
David Sanborn   Arranger,Assistant Arranger,Arrangement Collaboration
John Leventhal   Composer,Producer,Drum Programming
Phil Klum   Assistant Engineer
Phil Galdston   Arranger,Assistant Arranger
T-Bone Wolk   Arranger,Assistant Arranger
Steve Addabbo   Engineer,Producer
Kevin Halpin   Engineer
Geoff Keehn   Engineer
Paul Angelli   Assistant Engineer
Mark Partis   Engineer
Ronald K. Fierstein   Executive Producer
Phil Galston   Arrangement Collaboration
Kris Brauninger   Assistant Engineer
Frank Ockenfels   Photography
UE Nastasi   Assistant Engineer
Carol Chen   Art Direction
Dary Sulich   Assistant Engineer
Malcolm Pollack   Engineer
Marcus Miller   Assistant Engineer