Wide Open
Studio album by
Michael McDonald
ReleasedSeptember 15, 2017 (2017-09-15)
StudioMetal Building Studio (Nolensville, Tennessee)
GenreBlue-eyed soul[1]
Length70:55
Label
Producer
Michael McDonald chronology
Soul Speak
(2008) 		Wide Open
(2017)

Wide Open is the tenth studio album by American musician Michael McDonald, released on September 15, 2017 by Chonin Records and BMG. Shannon Forrest and McDonald produced the album. Wide Open is McDonald's first album of original material in 16 years since In the Spirit: A Christmas Album (2001).

Background

In an interview with Billboard, McDonald said many of the songs on Wide Open have to do with sobriety: "I realized that a lot of the songs, I put them in different context, storyline wise, but if they’re about anything, they’re about my coming to terms with my living out in the open and learning to live without substances to fill the hole, without self-medicating."[2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]

AllMusic senior editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine found that while McDonald "happily trades on the slow-burning R&B grooves and soft rock melodicism that made him a star in the '70s and '80s, there's not much of a feeling of pandering nostalgia here. Instead, McDonald seems to be integrating all his personas – the soul true believer, the godfather of smooth – in a record that not only feels true but, song for song, is sturdier than nearly all of the albums he recorded at his popular peak."[3]

Track listing

All tracks produced by Michael McDonald and Shannon Forrest.[4]

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Hail Mary"Michael McDonald6:52
2."Just Strong Enough"
7:58
3."Find It in Your Heart"
  • McDonald
  • John Goodwin
5:47
4."Half Truth"
  • McDonald
  • Dylan McDonald
  • Grady Walker
5:41
5."Ain't No Good"
  • McDonald
  • Goodwin
4:25
6."Honest Emotion"
  • McDonald
  • Charles Fichtel
  • Goodwin
5:32
7."Blessing in Disguise"
5:56
8."Dark Side"M. McDonald5:53
9."If You Wanted to Hurt Me"
  • McDonald
  • Peter Leinheiser
5:14
10."Beautiful Child"
  • McDonald
  • Chiaravalle
  • Chuck Sabatino
6:09
11."Too Short"
  • McDonald
  • Russ Bono
5:22
12."Free a Man"Richard Stekol6:07
Total length:70:55

Personnel

Production

Charts

Chart (2017) Peak
position
US Current Album Sales (Billboard)[5] 40
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[6] 12

References

  1. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Wide Open - Michael McDonald". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  2. ^ "Michael McDonald Talks New Album 'Wide Open,' His Favorite Backing Vocal Gigs & Working with Steely Dan, van Halen and Thundercat". Billboard. 12 September 2017.
  3. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Wide Open". AllMusic. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  4. ^ Wide Open (booklet). Chonin, BMG. 2017.
  5. ^ "Michael McDonald > Current Album Sales". Billboard. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  6. ^ "Michael McDonald Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 15, 2020.

External links

Michael McDonald
Authority control databases
Categories