The Awakening (Melissa Etheridge album) explained

The Awakening
Type:	Album
Artist:	Melissa Etheridge
Cover:	Etheridge Awakening.jpg
Released:	September 25, 2007
Genre:	Rock
Length:	59:17
Label:	Island
Producer:	Melissa Etheridge, David N. Cole
Prev Year:	2005
Next Title:	A New Thought For Christmas
Next Year:	2008

The Awakening is the ninth album by rock singer Melissa Etheridge and her ninth studio album. It was released on September 25, 2007. The rock album conveys Etheridge's current autobiographical, religious and political perspectives. Etheridge made the album to convey parts of her story and journey along with her love for God. In the album's booklet, she included a letter to all who buy it starting with "Dear Friend".

The album debuted at number 13 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling nearly 48,000 copies in its first week.^[1] As of 2010, the album has tallied 167,000 copies in the United States alone, according to Nielsen SoundScan.^[2] This album was #20 on Rolling Stones list of the Top 50 Albums of 2007.^[3]

Track listing

All songs written by Melissa Etheridge.

1. "All There Is" – 1:03
2. "California" – 3:47
3. "An Unexpected Rain" – 6:56
4. "Message to Myself" – 3:25
5. "God Is in the People" – 1:58
6. "Map of the Stars" – 5:31
7. "Threesome" – 3:33
8. "All We Can Really Do" – 1:18
9. "I've Loved You Before" – 4:16
10. "A Simple Love" – 1:17
11. "Heroes and Friends" – 4:23
12. "Kingdom of Heaven" – 4:11
13. "Open Your Mind" – 5:13
14. "The Awakening: The Universe Listened" – 3:09
15. "The Awakening: Imagine That" – 3:00
16. "The Awakening: What Happens Tomorrow" – 6:18

Production

• Produced By Melissa Etheridge & David N. Cole
• Engineers: Jorge Costa & Jared Kvitka

Personnel

• Melissa Etheridge – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, electric rhythm guitar
• Philip Sayce – lead guitar, backing vocals
• Mark Browne – bass guitar
• Mauricio „Fritz“ Lewak – drums, percussion
• Rami Jaffe – keyboards, backing vocals
• David Cole – keyboards, percussion
• Bernadette „Bernie“ Barlow – backing vocals
• Lily Wilson – backing vocals

Notes and References

1. Katie Hasty, "Rascal Flatts Races To No. 1 In Debut-Heavy Week", Billboard.com, October 3, 2007.
2. Web site: Billboard. 2010-04-03.
3. ROBERT CHRISTGAU, DAVID FRICKE, CHRISTIAN HOARD, ROB SHEFFIELD (December 17, 2007). "The Top 50 Albums of 2007" Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2007-12-20