Lead Me On (Amy Grant album)

Lead Me On
Studio album by Amy Grant
Released June 28, 1988
Recorded 1988
Genre Contemporary Christian music
Length 59:35
Label Myrrh, A&M
Producer Brown Bannister
Amy Grant chronology

The Animals' Christmas
(1986)
Lead Me On
(1988)
Heart in Motion
(1991)
The cover of the 20th Anniversary Edition of the album.
Singles from Lead Me On
  1. "Saved by Love"
    Released: 1988
  2. "Lead Me On"
    Released: 1988
  3. "1974 (We Were Young)"
    Released: 1988
  4. "What About the Love"
    Released: 1988
  5. "Say Once More"
    Released: 1988
  6. "Faithless Heart"
    Released: 1988
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]

Lead Me On is the 11th album by Christian music singer-songwriter Amy Grant, released in 1988 through A&M Recordings.

Lead Me On was a departure from its predecessor, the high-energy pop album Unguarded. Unlike Unguarded or 1991's Heart in Motion, Lead Me On was not mainstream compatible. Only three of its songs earned mainstream airplay, all of them insignificantly (the title song charted for two weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching #96, and "Saved by Love" and "1974 (We Were Young)" made the Adult Contemporary chart in minor positions). Christian music, however, praised the album. It would later be named the #1 Christian album of all time by CCM Magazine, in the 2001 book CCM Presents: The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music. The title song was featured in WOW #1s: 31 of the Greatest Christian Music Hits Ever.

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "1974 (We Were Young)"  Amy Grant, Gary Chapman, Jerry McPherson 4:22
2. "Lead Me On"  Grant, Wayne Kirkpatrick, Michael W. Smith 5:35
3. "Shadows"  Grant, Karen Peris, Don Peris 5:24
4. "Saved by Love"  Grant, Justin Peters, Chris Smith 4:38
5. "Faithless Heart"  Grant, Smith 5:10
6. "What About the Love"  Rhonda Fleming, Janis Ian 5:23
7. "If These Walls Could Speak"  Jimmy Webb 5:42
8. "All Right"  Grant, Dann Huff, Phil Naish 4:23
9. "Wait For The Healing*"  Grant, Chapman, Kirkpatrick, McPherson 5:36
10. "Sure Enough"  Mike Brignardello, Shane Keister, Kirkpatrick 4:00
11. "If You Have To Go Away*"  Grant, McPherson 4:01
12. "Say Once More**"  Grant, Gardner Cole 4:54


* Bonus Track on CD version
** This song is different from the one with the same name on Grant's 1980 Never Alone release.

The release was promoted in the US by the record company (Myrrh/Word Incorporated, Waco Texas) by issue of a unique promotional CD. The gold picture CD was hand numbered and autographed by Amy herself and was limited to 4150 copies (catalogue number 9016656472).

Personnel

Production

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

Year Chart Position
1988 The Billboard 200 71
Top Contemporary Christian 1

Singles - (North America)

Year Single Chart Position
1988 "Saved By Love" Christian Radio–Adult Contemporary 1
Billboard Adult Contemporary 32
"Lead Me On" Christian Radio–Adult Contemporary 5
Billboard Hot 100 96
1989 "1974" Billboard Adult Contemporary 34
Christian Radio–Adult Contemporary 1
"What About The Love" 1
"Say Once More" 8
1990 "Faithless Heart" 12

End-of-decade charts

Chart (1980-1989) Rank
US Billboard Top Contemporary Christian[2] 7

Commercial performance

Country Sales Certifications
(sales thresholds)
Canada (CRIA) 50,000 Gold
United States (RIAA) 500,000 Gold

Awards

Grammy Awards

Year Winner Category
1989 Lead Me On Best Gospel Performance, Female

GMA Dove Awards

Year Winner Category
1989 Lead Me On Pop/Contemporary Album Of The Year
1989 "Lead Me On" Short Form Music Video Of The Year

20th Anniversary Edition

EMI / Sparrow Records released a double-disc 20th Anniversary Edition of the album on June 24, 2008. The first disc contains EMI's digitally remastered version of the complete original album. The second disc contains new acoustic recordings of songs from the original album, which Grant has described as "songwriter versions" that are stripped down to emphasize the lyrics. Several of these tracks feature special guests. Additionally, the 20th Anniversary Edition includes previously unreleased live recordings from the large-scale Lead Me On Tour and a short interview with Amy Grant about the original album. The discs are packaged with a previously unseen booklet of pictures and liner notes from Grant.[3]

In support of the 20th Anniversary Edition, Grant will recreate the original Lead Me On tour in 20 cities, starting in October 2008. Most of the original tour's band will reunite for the anniversary tour. The reissue and anniversary tour were also supported by TV specials, radio specials, and promotional appearances.[3]

Track List

The track list for Disc One is identical to the original track list (see above). The track list for Disc Two, which features entirely new content, is as follows:

  1. "Lead Me On" (acoustic with Vince Gill)
  2. Introduction to "Faithless Heart" (with Michael W. Smith)
  3. "Faithless Heart" (acoustic – with Michael W. Smith)
  4. "Say Once More" (acoustic – with Will Owsley)
  5. "Wait For The Healing" (live from 1989 tour)
  6. "Shadows" (live from 1989 tour)
  7. "All Right" (live from 1989 tour)
  8. Piano Intro to "Lead Me On" by Michael W. Smith (live from 1989 tour)
  9. "Lead Me On" (live from 1989 tour)
  10. Quite a Change (Interview with Amy Grant)
  11. The Great Balancing Act (Interview with Amy Grant)
  12. Seasons (Interview with Amy Grant)
  13. Wait for the Healing (Interview with Amy Grant)
  14. Looking Back (Interview with Amy Grant)

The second disc totals a little less than 60 minutes of content.[3][4]

Chart procession

Preceded by
Make His Praise Glorious by Sandi Patti
i 2 (EYE) by Michael W. Smith
Billboard Top Contemporary Christian number-one album
August 27, 1988 – March 4, 1989
April 8, 1989 – May 27, 1989
Succeeded by
i 2 (EYE) by Michael W. Smith
Sandi Patti And The Friendship Company by Sandi Patti

References

  1. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r90628/review
  2. "Top Christian Albums - 1980's". Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 June08_cover_Prf3
  4. Amazon.com: Lead Me On (20th Anniversary Edition) (2 CDs): Amy Grant: Music