Spun Gold Explained

Spun Gold
Type:studio
Artist:Barbara Mandrell
Cover:Barbara Mandrell-Spun Gold.jpg
Released:July 29, 1983
Recorded:February 1983 (Nashville, TN)
Genre:Country pop
Length:31:35
Label:MCA
Producer:Tom Collins
Prev Title:He Set My Life to Music
Prev Year:1982
Next Title:Clean Cut
Next Year:1984

Spun Gold is the thirteenth solo studio album by American country music artist Barbara Mandrell. The album was released in July 1983 on MCA Records and was produced by Tom Collins. Spun Gold produced two major hit singles on the Billboard Country Singles chart in 1983.

Background and content

Spun Gold was recorded in February 1983 in Nashville, Tennessee[1] and contained ten tracks of new recordings. The album mainly consisted of country pop-influenced material mixed with song themes that discuss the hardships of working-class people. It included a duet with country artist Steve Wariner entitled "Overnight Sensation". Allmusic reviewer Greg Adams compared background guitar on the track "In Times Like These" to the guitar "riff" on Ike & Tina Turner's single, "Proud Mary". He also considered the single, "One of a Kind Pair of Fools" to have a "strong hook and pure pop production". Overall, Adams only gave the release two out five stars, calling the material "disco-era glitz". Adams also found the album's cover to be displeasing saying, "Meanwhile, Mandrell is decked out on the album cover like a high-fashion model in gold lame'. Dolly Parton has always been able to negotiate these kinds of apparent contradictions, but Mandrell does not have the same gift."[2]

Spun Gold was issued on an LP album in its original release, with five songs on each side of the record.[3]

Release

Spun Gold spawned two singles in 1983. The lead single from the album was the opening track "In Times Like These". The song was released to radio in March 1983 and reached a peak of number 4 on the Billboard Magazine Hot Country Songs chart and number 6 on the RPM Canadian Country chart. The second single "One of a Kind (A Pair of Fools)" was released in July 1983 and became Mandrell's final number 1 single on the Billboard Country Singles Chart[4] and also reached the same position on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks chart. Spun Gold was also released in 1983 and peaked at number 5 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and number 140 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.[5]

Track listing

Side one

  1. "In Times Like These" (Kye Fleming, Dennis Morgan) – 2:58
  2. "As Well As Can Be Expected" (Fleming, Morgan) – 3:23
  3. "One of a Kind Pair of Fools" (R. C. Bannon, John Bettis) – 2:48
  4. "Only Now and Then" (Don Pfrimmer, Mike Reid) – 3:22
  5. "You Are No Angel" (Roberto Danova, Grant Blair) – 2:57

Side two

  1. "A Man's Not a Man ('Til He's Loved by a Woman)" (Steve Dean, Frank J. Myers) – 3:15
  2. "Overnight Sensation" (Jerry Fuller) – 3:16
  3. "Loveless" (Fleming, Morgan) – 3:07
  4. "Bad Boys" (Diane Warren) – 2:54
  5. "Cryin' All the Way to the Bank" (Fleming, Morgan) – 3:35

Personnel

From Spun Gold album jacket.[6]

Musicians

Background vocals

Technical

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1983)Peak
position
U.S. Top Country Albums5
U.S. Billboard 200140

Singles

YearSongChart positions
US CountryCAN Country
1983"In Times Like These"46
"One of a Kind Pair of Fools"11

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Country Music Discographies - Barbara Mandrell. Country Music.Blogspot. 10 January 2010.
  2. Web site: [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r123041/review|pure_url=yes}} ''Spun Gold'' > Review]. Adams . Greg. Allmusic. 11 January 2010.
  3. Web site: Spun Gold by Barbara Mandrell. Rate Your Music. 11 January 2010.
  4. Web site: [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p1708/charts-awards/billboard-singles|pure_url=yes}} Billboard chart positions > singles]. Allmusic. 11 January 2010.
  5. Web site: [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r123041/charts-awards|pure_url=yes}} ''Spun Gold'' > Charts]. Allmusic. 11 January 2010.
  6. Spun Gold . Barbara Mandrell . 1983 . LP jacket . MCA Records . MCA 5377.