Acoustic Attitude

Acoustic Attitude
Studio album (re-recording) by Barbara Mandrell
Released	April 21, 1994 (1994-04-21)
Recorded	1993 (1993)
Genre	Acoustic[1] country[2]
Length	38:06
Label	Direct
Producer	Barbara Mandrell Brent Rowan
Barbara Mandrell chronology
Key's in the Mailbox (1991) Acoustic Attitude (1994) It Works for Me (1994)

Acoustic Attitude is the twenty-fourth solo studio album by American country artist Barbara Mandrell. It was released on April 21, 1994, on Direct Records and contained 12 tracks. It was Mandrell's twenty-sixth studio recording released in her career and the first to be issued on the Direct label. Acoustic Attitude was a collection of re-recordings of Mandrell's most popular singles from her career. The album was originally sold on television and later released to digital retailers.

Background and recording

Barbara Mandrell was considered by writers to be one of country music's most successful artists during the 1970s and 1980s.^[3][4] Towards the end of 1980s, Mandrell's commercial performance started to wane. She left her major record label (Capitol Records) in 1991.^[4] In 1994, it was announced that a New York company called Direct Records would promote and distribute two new albums of Mandrell's material. The albums would be promoted through the label with the help of promotion on television. The album was marketed directly through The Nashville Network beginning in 1994.^[5] Acoustic Attitude would be the first of these albums released by the Direct label. According to the liner notes, the project was recorded in late 1993 in Nashville, Tennessee. The session was co-produced by Brent Rowan and Barbara Mandrell. It was the first studio album in Mandrell's career to credit her as a producer.^[6]

Content and release

Acoustic Attitude contained a total of 12 tracks.^[6][2] The album's 12 tracks were all newly reinterpreted acoustic versions of Mandrell's most popular songs and hits.^[1] Featured on the disc were re-recordings of Mandrell's four number one Billboard country singles: "Sleeping Single in a Double Bed" (1978), "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right" (1979), "Years" (1979) and "I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool" (1981). Seven other re-recorded tracks were originally top ten Billboard country songs including "Tonight My Baby's Coming Home" (1971), "The Best of Strangers" (1980) and "To Me" (1984).^[7] The album was originally released on April 21, 1994, on Direct Records. It was originally distributed as a compact disc.^[6] At the time of its initial release, Acoustic Attitude was only sold on television. It was not available at the time for retail purchase.^[1] It was later made available to digital and streaming sites including Spotify.^[8]

Track listing

CD and digital versions^[6]^[8]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Sleeping Single in a Double Bed"	Kye Fleming Dennis Morgan	3:02
2.	"Fast Lanes and Country Roads"	Steve Dean Roger Murrah	3:42
3.	"The Best of Strangers"	Fleming Morgan	3:21
4.	"I Wish You Were Here"	Fleming Morgan	2:40
5.	"To Me"	Mack David Mike Reid	2:50
6.	"When You Get to the Heart"	Tony Brown Wayland Holyfield Norro Wilson	3:35
7.	"Tonight My Baby's Coming Home"	Billy Sherrill Glenn Sutton	2:37
8.	"(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right"	Homer Banks Carl Hampton Raymond Jackson	3:33
9.	"I Wish I Could Fall in Love Today"	Harlan Howard	2:52
10.	"I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool"	Fleming Morgan	3:14
11.	"Years"	Fleming Morgan	3:46
12.	"In Times Like These"	Fleming Morgan	2:54
Total length:			38:06

Personnel

All credits are adapted from the liner notes of Acoustic Attitude^[6] and AllMusic.^[9]

Musical personnel Charlie Bundy – Acoustic bass guitar, background vocals Roger Eaton – Acoustic guitar, background vocals Shawn Fitcher – Drums Michael Jones – Dobro, pedabro Barbara Mandrell – Lead vocals Dino Pastin – Harmonica, saxophone, vibraphone Brent Rowan – Acoustic guitar, dobro Dave Salyer – Acoustic guitar Steve Thomas – Fiddle, mandolin Chris Walters – Piano

Technical personnel Paul Aresu – Photography Alex Bartchez – Assistant engineer Derek Bason – Assistant engineer John Guess – Mixing engineer Stephen Jacaruso – Design Barbara Mandrell – Producer Keith Odle – Engineer Brent Rowan – Producer Denny Somach – Project coordinator Liz Vap – Art direction, design Chris Walters – Musical director Marty Williams – Assistant engineer, mixing engineer

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label	Ref.
North America	April 21, 1994	Compact disc	Direct Records	[6]
	2010s	Music download streaming		[8]

References

1. Jeffrey, Don (April 23, 1994). "Mandrell Infomercial Coming to TV: Direct Records Bypasses Retail for New CD's". Billboard. p. 24. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
2. "Acoustic Attitude: Barbara Mandrell: Songs, reviews, credits". Allmusic. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
3. Wolff, Kurt (2000). Country Music: The Rough Guide. London: Penguin Books. p. 438. ISBN 1-85828-534-8.
4. Ankeny, Jason. "Barbara Mandrell Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
5. Morris, Edward (April 16, 1994). "Nashville Scene: Tritt Is the Latest to Sing Song of Himself". Billboard. p. 38. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
6. Mandrell, Barbara (April 21, 1994). "Acoustic Attitude (CD Liner Notes and Album Information)". Direct Records. DRD-002.
7. Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
8. "Acoustic Attitude". Spotify. 1994. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
9. "Acoustic Attitude: Barbara Mandrell: Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 January 2022.