Painted Desert Serenade

Painted Desert Serenade is the debut studio releasse from pianist/singer-songwriter Joshua Kadison, released in 1993 on SBK (a subsidiary of Capitol Records who also featured Wilson Phillips and Vanilla Ice on its roster). It featured two singles, both of which reached the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100: " Jessie" peaked at number 26 in the US (while placing three spots in Sweden a year after its release), while the track "Beautiful in My Eyes" managed a chart placing of 19 in 1994.

Track listing^[1]

All Songs Written By Joshua Kadison.

1. "Jessie" 5:18
2. "Painted Desert Serenade" 2:56
3. "Beau's All Night Radio Love Line" 4:26
4. "Invisible Man" 4:57
5. "Mama's Arms" 3:00
6. "Beautiful in My Eyes" 4:07
7. "Picture Postcards from LA" 4:33
8. "When A Woman Cries" 3:31
9. "Georgia Rain" 4:03

Personnel^[2]

• Joshua Kadison: Piano, Main Vocal
• Sherwood Ball, Adele Bertei, Carmen Carter, Lance Ellington, Kathy Hazzard, David Lasley, Valerie Mayo, Arnold McCuller, Joseph Powell, Ian Shaw, Helen Terry, Ruby Turner, Carmen Twilie, Fred White: Choir & Chorus Vocals
• Rosemary Butler, Gene Miller, Tessa Niles: Vocal Backing
• Mark Cresswell, Tim Pierce, Tim Renwick: Guitars
• Dave "Clem" Clempson: Acoustic, Electric & Twelve-String Guitars, Mandolin
• Paul Jones: Harmonica
• Phil Parlapiano: Accordion
• Rod Argent: Keyboards & Hammond Organ, Vocal Backing
• Jeffrey "CJ" Vanston: Hammond Organ
• John Giblin, Chris Laurence, John Pierce: Bass
• Denny Fongheiser, Ian Thomas, Neal Wilkinson: Drums
• Martin Ditcham: Percussion
• Frank Ricotti: Congas & Percussion
• Peter Van Hooke: Piano, Drums, Percussion
• Strings Arranged By Rod Argent; conducted by Gavyn Wright
  • Violins: Mark Berrow, Ben Cruft, Roger Garland, Wilfred Gibson, Roy Gillard, Tim Good, Rita Manning, Peter Oxer, Bill Penham, Barry Wilde, David Woodcock, Gavyn Wright
  • Viola: Stephen Tees, Robert Smissen, George Robertson, Andrew Parker, Susie Hansen
  • Celli: Paul Kegg, Ben Kennard, Helen Liebmann, Roger Smith
  • Frank Morgan, Richard Morgan: Oboe

Production

• Produced By Rod Argent, David Kershenbaum & Peter Van Hooke
• Recording Engineers: John Kurlander, Simon Smart, Kevin Smith
• Mixed By Rob Eaton, David Kershenbaum & Kevin Smith
• Mastered By Bob Ludwig

Reception

Reviewing the album for Allmusic, Bryan Buss called it "chock full of odes to finding romance, longing for romance and losing romance".

References

Buss, Bryan. Joshua Kadison: Painted Desert Serenade at Allmusic. Retrieved 14 June 2011.