If I Have to Stand Alone explained

If I Have to Stand Alone
Type:studio
Artist:Lonnie Gordon
Cover:If i have to stand alone.jpeg
Released:November 26, 1990 (Europe)
February 25, 1991 (Japan)
April 8, 1991 (Australia)[1]
April 13, 2009 (Special Edition) [2]
Recorded:1989–1990
Label:Supreme Records
Cherry Pop (2009 reissue)
Next Title:Bad Mood
Next Year:1993

If I Have to Stand Alone is the debut album by Hi-NRG and house singer Lonnie Gordon, released in 1990 on Supreme Records. It includes Gordon's breakthrough hit "Happenin' All Over Again", which was a top 10 hit in the UK[3] and Ireland.[4] However, the two follow-up singles, "Beyond Your Wildest Dreams" and "If I Have to Stand Alone" did not fare as well. The album was released in parts of continental Europe in late 1990, and Japan and Australia in early 1991, albeit in limited quantity, and wasn't released in the UK until a Cherry Pop reissue in 2009. The album was also released in South Africa in 1990.

Background and production

Most of the album was produced by British hitmaking team Stock Aitken Waterman or their associates Phil Harding and Ian Curnow. The album also includes Gordon's debut single for the label, "It's Not Over", which was released in September 1989. The album incorporates Stock Aitken Waterman's typical Europop sound, but also adding influences of the Italo house scene that was big in the UK charts in late 1989/1990.

Gordon recorded two more tracks which were not included on the album: "How Could He Do This to Me" (produced by Stock Aitken Waterman, and originally the planned follow-up to "Happenin' All Over Again"), and "Just a Matter of Time" (produced by Harding and Curnow). The former was later issued in the late 1990s on a dance compilation. Both were later released through iTunes in 2009.

Critical reception

In July 2018, Mark Elliot of Classic Pop considered If I Have to Stand Alone as the 12th best album ever produced by Stock Aitken Waterman and lamented about the poor chart performances of the last two singles.[5] A review published in 2021 on the Pop Rescue site gave the album three stars out of five, adding that it is curious that "Happenin' All Over Again" was the only hit single from the album, since SAW and their team are highly recognisable in this work which uses "a few drums sequences, synths, samples, or vocal styles, that were incorporated into what became hits for Kylie, Sonia, and Big Fun throughout this album". The review also noted Gordon's powerful vocals which perfectly fit with dance songs, praised many tracks but considered "Best of Friends", "I Need You" and "Right Before My Eyes" as the weakest songs from the album.[6]

Track listing

  1. "If I Have to Stand Alone" 3:25
  2. "Happenin' All Over Again (Hip House Radio Mix)" 3:21
  3. "Better Off Without You" 3:41
  4. "Beyond Your Wildest Dreams" 6:48
  5. "I Need You" (Bill Clift, Phil Harding, Ian Curnow) 4:07
  6. "That's No Reason" 3:27
  7. "Best of Friends" 4:00
  8. "It's Not Over" (Bruce Gray, Bruce Hawes) 3:51
  9. "Watching You" (Lonnie Gordon) 3:36
  10. "Helpless Hearts" (Clift) 3:32
  11. "Right Before My Eyes" (NY Mix) [Bonus track on CD editions] (Alexandra Forbes, Michael Zager) 5:47

2009 Special Edition

In April 2009, UK label Cherry Pop reissued the album, including several bonus tracks, marking the first time the album was available worldwide. The reissue includes "How Could He Do This to Me", a track Gordon recorded for the album but was not originally included, as well as several remixes, some of them previously unreleased.

Track listing

  1. "If I Have to Stand Alone"
  2. "Happenin' All Over Again"
  3. "Better Off Without You"
  4. "Beyond Your Wildest Dreams"
  5. "I Need You"
  6. "That's No Reason"
  7. "Best of Friends"
  8. "It's Not Over (Let No Man Put Asunder)"
  9. "Watching You"
  10. "Helpless Hearts"
Bonus tracks
  1. "How Could He Do This to Me" (7" Mix)
  2. "Happenin' All Over Again" (Tony King 1990 Mix)
  3. "If I Have to Stand Alone" (Original 12" Mix)
  4. "Better Off Without You" (Extended Version)
  5. "Happenin' All Over Again" (Dave Ford 1990 Mix)
  6. "How Could He Do This to Me" (Extended Version)
  7. "Best of Friends" (Extended Version)

Personnel

Notes and References

  1. Web site: New Release Summary – Product Available from: 08/04/91> Albums (from The ARIA Report Issue No. 63) . . Imgur.com . August 25, 2016.
  2. Web site: Lonnie Gordon – If I Have To Stand Alone Special Edition (2009, CD) . Cherry Red . 10 March 2022 . en.
  3. Web site: Official Charts > Lonnie Gordon. Official Charts Company. August 25, 2016.
  4. Web site: The Irish Charts – All there is to know: Search results for 'Lonnie Gordon' (from irishcharts.ie). Fireball Media. Imgur.com. August 25, 2016.
  5. Web site: Top 15 Stock Aitken Waterman Albums . Mark . Elliot . https://web.archive.org/web/20190810022807/https://www.classicpopmag.com/2018/07/top-15-saw-albums/ . 10 August 2019 . 19 October 2022 . live . July 2018 . Classic Pop.
  6. Web site: REVIEW: "IF I HAVE TO STAND ALONE" BY LONNIE GORDON (CD, 1990) . Pop Rescue . 8 January 2021 . 19 October 2022 .
  7. Web site: Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received July 15, 2015. August 25, 2016. Imgur.com. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20150716153430/http://i.imgur.com/oyPN1pW.jpg. July 16, 2015. mdy.

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