Stranger in This Town
| Stranger In This Town | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Richie Sambora | ||||
| Released | September 3, 1991 | |||
| Genre | Blues rock | |||
| Length | 52:11 | |||
| Label | Mercury | |||
| Producer | Richie Sambora, Neil Dorfsman | |||
| Richie Sambora chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   link |
Stranger in This Town is the first solo studio album by Richie Sambora, the guitarist from the New Jersey band Bon Jovi. The album was released in 1991, while Bon Jovi was on a 17-month hiatus. Jon Bon Jovi also released a solo album, Blaze of Glory (1990), during this period.
Recording and Production
As his first solo album, Sambora experimented with a more blues-oriented sound. He sings lead vocals and plays guitar on the album, backed by his Bon Jovi bandmates Tico Torres on drums and David Bryan on keyboards, joined by Tony Levin on bass guitar. Eric Clapton guest stars with a guitar solo on the track "Mr. Bluesman".
"Ballad of Youth", "One Light Burning" and "The Answer" were co-written with colleagues from his former club band Shark Frenzy. "Rosie" was originally intended to be a Bon Jovi song for their fourth album "New Jersey; versions of this song with the full Bon Jovi line-up have surfaced as bootlegs.
"Ballad of Youth" was released as the lead single followed by the second single "One Light Burning". The album titled track, "Stranger in This Town" was released as the third single and "Mr. Bluesman" featuring Eric Clapton was released as a promo single. The first three singles were accompanied by music videos.[1]
The "Answer" and "Rosie" were also released as promo singles in Japan.
Occasionally, "Stranger in This Town" has been played by Sambora on Bon Jovi's tours, most recently on their Lost Highway Tour in 2008.
Chart performance
The album charted at #36 on the Billboard 200[2] and #20 on the UK Albums Chart[3]
The lead single, "Ballad of Youth", reached a high of #63 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and #59 in the UK. The album titled track, "Stranger In This Town" charted at #38 on the Mainstream rock charts.[4]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Rest in Peace" | Richie Sambora, David Bryan | 3:47 |
| 2. | "Church of Desire" | Sambora | 6:07 |
| 3. | "Stranger in This Town" | Sambora, Bryan | 6:15 |
| 4. | "Ballad of Youth" | Sambora, Tom Marolda | 3:52 |
| 5. | "One Light Burning" | Sambora, Marolda, Bruce Foster | 5:48 |
| 6. | "Mr. Bluesman" (Solo by Eric Clapton) | Sambora | 5:14 |
| 7. | "Rosie" | Sambora, Jon Bon Jovi, Desmond Child, Diane Warren | 4:50 |
| 8. | "River of Love" | Sambora | 5:06 |
| 9. | "Father Time" | Sambora, Child | 6:06 |
| 10. | "The Answer" | Sambora, Foster | 5:07 |
| 11. | "The Wind Cries Mary" (Japanese bonus track) | Jimi Hendrix | 6:00 |
Personnel
- Richie Sambora - lead vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, strings arrangement, producer
- David Bryan - keyboards, strings arrangement
- Tico Torres - drums, percussion
- Eric Clapton - guitar solo on "Mr. Bluesman"
- Tony Levin - bass guitar, Chapman Stick
- Randy Jackson - bass guitar on "One Light Burning"
- Dean Fasano, Franke Previte, Curtis King, Bekka Bramlett, Tawatha Agee, Brenda White-King - background vocals
- Jeff Bova, Robbie Buchanan, Larry Fast, Jimmy Bralower, Chris Palmaro, Eric Persing - keyboards, programming
- Rafael Padilla, Carol Steele - percussion
- Neil Dorfsman - producer
- JD Dworkow - production coordination
- Jeff Hendrickson, Lance Phillips, Frank Wolf - engineering
- Bob Ludwig - mastering
- Tim White, Darryl Estrine - photography
- Margery Greenspan - art direction
- Katie Agresta - vocal coach
- Umi Kenyon - design
