Melissa Etheridge (album) explained

Melissa Etheridge
Type:	Album
Artist:	Melissa Etheridge
Cover:	Melissa Etheridge - Melissa Etheridge.jpg
Released:	May 2, 1988
Recorded:	October 19–25, 1987
Studio:	Cherokee (Hollywood)
Genre:	Roots rock
Length:	45:50
Label:	Island
Next Title:	Brave and Crazy
Next Year:	1989

Melissa Etheridge is the debut album by American singer-songwriter Melissa Etheridge, released in 1988.

The album was re-released on September 23, 2003, as a two-CD remastered edition containing a bonus disc of ten tracks recorded live at the Roxy in Los Angeles and a five-track session from BBC Kent in April 1988.

As of 2010, the album has tallied 1,145,000 copies in the United States alone, according to Nielsen SoundScan.^[1] This figure does not include sales of the album between 1988 and 1991.

Reception

Billboard called the album an "excellent debut" and "as varied as Etheridge is talented," noting that "Bring Me Some Water" should bring album rock radio to its knees, while "Similar Features" and several other tracks have broader - even AC appeal." "^[2]

In their review, Cashbox stated that "nobody this side of Tina Turner can belt like Melissa Etheridge. Insiders are calling her the next Janis Joplin, and she's certainly got the whiskey voice,the Texas twang and the hard-luck stories of sexual pain. But she's also got an identity of her own and a big future."^[3]

Allmusic called it "one of the most stunning debut albums of the 1980s....Etheridge's true talent, however, is reconciling uncontrollable emotions such as jealousy with a strong and fiercely independent spirit. Perhaps that's why Etheridge became a role model for a generation of young women who found her to be an uncompromising artist unafraid to expose (and celebrate) her strengths and weaknesses."^[4]

Track listing

All tracks written by Melissa Etheridge.

1. "Similar Features" – 4:42
2. "Chrome Plated Heart" – 3:59
3. "Like the Way I Do" – 5:23
4. "Precious Pain" – 4:15
5. "Don't You Need" – 4:59
6. "The Late September Dogs" – 6:33
7. "Occasionally" – 2:36
8. "Watching You" – 5:33
9. "Bring Me Some Water" – 3:52
10. "I Want You" – 4:07

Note

• The album lists the running time of "I Want You" as 4:07, but the actual running time is 3:43.

Remastered edition bonus disc

1. "Chrome Plated Heart" – 3:55
2. "Don't You Need" – 4:54
3. "Similar Features" – 4:25
4. "Precious Pain" – 5:55
5. "Occasionally" – 3:11
6. "The Late September Dogs" – 6:34
7. "Watching You" – 5:57
8. "I Want You" – 5:26
9. "Bring Me Some Water" – 5:34
10. "Like The Way I Do" – 10:31
11. "Chrome Plated Heart" – 3:28
12. "Don't You Need" – 4:22
13. "Similar Features" – 4:07
14. "Bring Me Some Water" – 3:37
15. "Precious Pain" – 3:52

Personnel

• Melissa Etheridge – 12-string Ovation acoustic guitar, vocals, production, arranger
• Johnny Lee Schell – guitar - additional overdubs
• Waddy Wachtel – guitar - additional overdubs
• Kevin McCormick – bass guitar, production
• Scott Thurston – keyboards - additional overdubs
• Wally Badarou – keyboards - additional overdubs
• Craig Krampf – drums, percussion, production, arranger

Overdubs recorded at Studio A, Sunset Sound Factory on November 16–18, 1987. Guitars on "Precious Pain" and "I Want You" recorded at Yo Dad Studio on October 25, 1987.

Technical

• Niko Bolas – production
• Chris Blackwell – executive producer
• Rob Fraboni – executive producer
• Engineers: Allan Blazek – engineer
• Jim Nipar – engineer
• David Kane – assistant engineer
• Duane Seykora – mixing assistant
• Bob Vogt – mixing assistant
• Stephen Marcussen – mastering
• George DuBose – photography
• Tony Wright – cover design

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1988–1993)! scope="col"

Peak position
Canadian Albums (RPM)^[5]	9

Year-end charts

Chart (1989)! scope="col"

Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)^[6]	16
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[7]	12
US Billboard 200^[8]	46

Chart (1993)! scope="col"

Position
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[9]	97

Notes and References

1. Web site: Ask Billboard: Records About Records. Billboard. Gary. Trust. August 5, 2010. February 17, 2020.
2. Album Reviews. Billboard Music Week. 14 May 1988 . 72 . July 18, 2024.
3. Album Reviews. Cash Box. 14 May 1988 . 9 . July 18, 2024.
4. https://www.allmusic.com/album/melissa-etheridge-mw0000317994
5. Web site: November 11, 1988. Image : RPM Weekly . April 6, 2024 . Bac-lac.gc.ca.
6. Web site: ARIA Top 100 Albums for 1989. Australian Recording Industry Association. October 2, 2021.
7. Web site: Top Selling Albums of 1989. Recorded Music NZ. February 17, 2022.
8. Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1989. Billboard. October 2, 2021.
9. Web site: Jaaroverzichten – Album 1993. dutchcharts.nl. October 2, 2021.