Behind the Eyes (CD - 1997)

Personnel includes: Amy Grant (vocals, acoustic guitar); Wayne Kirkpatrick (acoustic guitar, hammered dulcimer, background vocals); Jerry McPherson (acoustic & electric guitars, keyboards); Keith Thomas (acoustic & electric guitars, keyboards, programming); William Owsley (acoustic & electric guitars, background vocals); Gordon Kennedy (acoustic & electric guitars); Dan Huff, Kenny Greenberg (electric guitar); Greg Leisz (pedal steel guitar); Jerry Douglas (dobro); Sam Levine (flute); Tim Lauer (accordion, Wurlitzer piano, melodica); Phil Madeira (accordion, Hammond B-3 organ); Larry Klein (bass, fretless bass); Spencer Campbell, Byron House (bass); Mark Hammond (Hammond B-3 organ, drums, programming); Chad Cromwell, Dann Needham (drums).

Recorded at The Bennet House, and Secret Sound, Franklin, Tennessee; at The October Studio, Nashville, Tennessee.

Personnel: Amy Grant (vocals, acoustic guitar, background vocals); Keith Thomas (guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, keyboards, programming); Dann Huff (guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Kenny Greenberg (guitar, electric guitar); Steve Brewster (guitar, drums); David Lindley (guitar); Jerry McPherson (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, gut-string guitar, bassoon, keyboards); William Owsley III (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, background vocals); Gordon Kennedy (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Wayne Kirkpatrick (acoustic guitar, hammer dulcimer, background vocals); Tommy Sims (acoustic guitar); Lisa Cochran (electric guitar, background vocals); Jerry Douglas (dobro); Kristin Wilkinson, Kris Wilkinson, Carl Gorodetzky, Bob Mason (strings); Sam Levine (flute); Terry McMillan (harmonica, percussion); Tim Lauer (accordion, melodica, pump organ, Wurlitzer organ); John Magnie, Phil Madeira (accordion); Carl Marsh (euphonium, keyboards); Matt Rollings (piano); Larry Klein (fretless bass); Mark Hammond (drums, shaker, tambourine, programming, drum programming); John Hammond (drums, shaker, tambourine); Chris McHugh, Spencer Campbell, Dan Needham, Chad Cromwell (drums); Sam Bacco (percussion); Chris Rodriguez, Christine Dente, Rick Polmbi, Donna McElroy, Michelle Lewis, Tabitha Fair, Billy Gaines, Kim Keyes (background vocals).

Audio Mixers: David Nottingham; Dan Marnien; Bill Whitington; Bill Whittington.

Recording information: Bennet House, Franklin, TN; Dark Horse Studio, Franklin, TN; October Studio, Nashville, TN; Secret Sound, Franklin, TN; The Battery, Nashville, TN; The Beanstalk, Brentwood, TN; The Bennet House, Franklin, TN; The Village Recorder, Los Angeles, CA; Village Recorder, Los Angeles, CA; Westlake Studio, Los Angeles, CA.

Photographer: Kurt Markus.

Arranger: Keith Thomas .

When Behind the Eyes came out in 1997, Amy Grant had been recording for 20 years. And it was obvious that she still had a lot left to say. In contrast to the high-tech slickness that characterized some of her previous A&M efforts, the earthy Eyes finds Grant playing a lot of jangly acoustic guitar and bringing a folk appeal to her pop-rock. Most of the writing is excellent, and Grant offers some of the most meaningful, insightful songs of her career. "Nobody Home" describes the economic hardship that has ravaged a small town, while the country-influenced "Curious Thing" examines the ways in which a person's life can change radically. "Turn This World Around," "Takes a Little Time" and "Somewhere Down the Road" offer a message of hope and optimism without being Pollyanna-ish -- Grant acknowledges that life is hard and difficult, but insists that there's a light at the end of the tunnel. Both musically and lyrically, Behind the Eyes is one of Grant's best albums ever. ~ Alex Henderson

Amy Grant makes a u-turn on BEHIND THE EYES. She abandons the glossy production and synthesized sound of her last two albums in favor of a rougher, more acoustic texture and more honest and personal songs. The result is an easy mixture of accessible adult pop and down-to-earth folk-rock which dwells both on broad spirituality and human relationships.

This album is likely to please Grant's more recent fans just as it delights her older ones, who remember her acoustic and Christian-rock roots. Despite the often palpable sadness on BEHIND THE EYES, Grant retains her endless buoyant optimism and faith. On "Somewhere Down the Road," she sings with typical shimmering assurance "Though we cannot see it now/Somewhere down the road/You will find mighty arms reaching for you/And they will hold the answers at the end of the road." minimize