A Woman and a Man

Infobox Album
Name = A Woman and a Man
Type = Studio
Longtype =
Artist = Belinda Carlisle


Released = Start date|1996|9|11
Recorded = The Journey Room, Malibu, California
Genre = Pop
Length = 43:14 (standard version) 39:32 (U.S. version)
Label = Ark 21, Chrysalis
Producer = David Tickle
Reviews = *Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Allmusic Rating|4|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:79p1z82aoyv4~T1 link]
Last album = "Real" (1993)
This album = "A Woman and a Man" (1996)
Next album = "" (1999)
Misc = Singles
Name = A Woman and a Man
Type = studio
single 1 = In Too Deep
single 1 date = July 1, 1996
single 2 = Always Breaking My Heart
single 2 date = September 9, 1996
single 3 = Love in the Key of C
single 3 date = November 18, 1996
single 4 = California
single 4 date = February 17, 1997

"A Woman and a Man" is the sixth studio album by American singer Belinda Carlisle, released in the United Kingdom on September 23, 1996 (see 1996 in music) by Chrysalis Records. It was the first album Carlisle had released since departing Virgin Records. The album is full of songs that show how Carlisle's style had matured compared to her earlier releases, written by Rick Nowels, Maria Vidal, Ellen Shipley, Charlotte Caffey, Neil Finn and Roxette cofounder Per Gessle who also produced one of the tracks.

It was released in the United States in 1997 (see 1997 in music) on the Ark 21 Records label. The track listing was different compared to the original; it was only ten tracks long and did not include "Listen to Love", "Love Doesn't Live Here" and "Always Breaking My Heart" but instead had covers of the songs "Jealous Guy" by John Lennon and "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan" by Shel Silverstein.

Reception and chart performance

Allmusic reviewed the album as mature collection of adult pop, with cool keyboards and subtle arrangements that often make the record sound like background music and that Carlisle has rarely been in better voice [cite web|title="Allmusic - A Woman and a Man review"|url=http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:79p1z82aoyv4~T1|accessdate=April 18|accessyear=2007] . It made its debut on the UK Albums Chart on September 30, 1996 at number twelve. It became a successful album but not as successful as Carlisle's others falling to number twenty the next week in the chart. It spent a short time in the top seventy-five falling out of it after just five weeks and was in the top two hundred for thirteen weeks accrediting gold by BPI. It was released in the U.S. but failed to chart on the "Billboard" 200 album charts with total sales of 17,000 copies. [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/search/google/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003549823 Keith Caulfield "Ask Billboard"] . "Billboard". Retrieved September 23 2007.]

The album charted on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart on 11 November 1996 at number thirty-one with only one single released to radio at the time. It only spent ten weeks in the top one hundred making the album her last charting album on the charts. It was Carlisle's last album to chart in Austria as well peaking at number thirty-six and stayed in the charts for two weeks. Of all Carlisle's albums this was her lowest charting in Sweden peaking at number forty-four and only spending one week in the charts.In Italy, "A woman and a man" peaked #35 for one week.

The singles had a fair share of success in most music markets. "In Too Deep" was the first song released from the album and became a top ten hit in the UK and a top twenty in Australia. "Always Breaking My Heart" was the second song released from the album, written and produced by Per Gessle of Roxette. It too was a top ten hit in the UK and Carlisle's biggest of the 1990s. "Love in the Key of C" the third song released, became Carlisle's tenth top twenty hit. "California" was the final and fourth song released and was not as successful as the others but managed to chart in the top forty in the UK.

Track listing

# "In Too Deep" (Rick Nowels) - 4:05
# "California" (Nowels, Billy Steinberg, Maria Vidal) - 2:59
# "A Woman and a Man" (Robbie Seidman, Vidal) - 5:12
# "Remember September" (Nowels, Ellen Shipley) - 4:32
# "Listen to Love" (Christopher Garcia, John Inglesby, Ralph McCarthy) - 4:09
# "Always Breaking My Heart" (Per Gessle) - 3:12
# "Love Doesn't Live Here" (Gessle) - 4:09
# "He Goes On" (Neil Finn) - 3:13
# "Kneel at Your Feet" (Charlotte Caffey, Tom Caffey, Carlisle) - 4:18
# "Love in the Key of C" (Nowels) - 3:50
# "My Heart Goes Out to You" (Anders Baggee, Nowels, Allen Rich) - 3:35

*U.S. edition
# "In Too Deep" - 4:08
# "California" - 2:56
# "A Woman and a Man" - 5:10
# "Jealous Guy" (John Lennon) - 4:07
# "Remember September" - 4:21
# "He Goes On" - 3:12
# "Kneel at Your Feet" - 4:25
# "Love in the Key of C" - 3:59
# "My Heart Goes Out to You" - 3:24
# "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan" (Shel Silverstein) - 3:50

Charts

Personnel

*Lorenzo Agius - photography
*Nick Beggs - bass (tracks 1-5 and 7), stick
*Andy Brown - conductor
*Belinda Carlisle - vocals (tracks 1-11)
*Paulinho Da Costa - percussion (track 1)
*Caroline Dale - string arrangements
*Steve Farris - acoustic guitar, electric guitar
*Per Gessle - electric guitar, background vocals, producer
*Phil Grande - guitar (tracks 1 and 2)
*Andres Herlin - bass guitar
*Jonas Isacsson - acoustic guitar, electric guitar
*Davey Johnstone - mandolin (track 1)

*Rory Kaplan - piano, keyboards (tracks 1 and 2), drum programming
*Brian Lapin - assistant engineer, mixing
*Louis Metoyer - acoustic guitar, electric guitar, guitar
*Clarence Ofwerman - keyboards, programming, producer
*Ellen Shipley - background vocals (track 1)
*David Tickle - producer, engineer, mixing
*Maria Vidal - background vocals (track 1)
*Ellen Von Unwerth - photography
*Brian Wilson - background vocals (track 2)
*Randy Wine - engineer, mixing
*Steve Wren - drums (tracks 1 and 2)
*Red Young - organ

References