History is the second studio album released by American CCM musician Matthew West. The album was released on Universal South Records on June 21, 2005.[4] While the entire album was produced by Kenny Greenberg and Jason Houser, six of the tracks were written solely by West and the other five he co-wrote with the album's producers and others. Three radio singles were released off the album: "Next Thing You Know", "Only Grace", and "History".
| History | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 21, 2005 | |||
| Recorded | Early 2005 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | Contemporary Christian music, pop/rock | |||
| Label | Universal South | |||
| Producer |
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| Matthew West chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [1] |
| Christian Music Today | [2] |
| Jesus Freak Hideout | [3] |
Background
editMatthew West began recording in studio for History in early 2005.[5] He co-produced the album along with Kenny Greenberg and Jason Houser.[6] West wrote six of the album's tracks himself, and co-wrote the other five songs with the album's producers and others.[4]
West's theme for the album and its title track "History" was inspired by seeing an R&R music news headline that stated "Matthew West Makes History", in reference to his first album, Happy.[7] He noted, "It's not every day you read a headline like that with your name in it that calls you a history maker. I remember thinking this was one of those moments in my career that I needed to soak up."[7]
Release and promotion
editThe album was released through Universal South Records in the United States on June 21, 2005.[4] On June 20, one day before the album, the first single "Next Thing You Know" was released to radios.[8]
Starting on September 14, 2005, West began his own 30-city headliner History 101 tour, which was named after the album. History 101 was the first tour that he had headlined, also featuring Christian artists Shawn McDonald and Paul Wright.[9]
The next singles released off of the album were "Only Grace" and later the title track "History".[10][11]
Chart performance
editHistory charted at No. 17 on Billboard's Top Christian Albums and reached No. 26 on the Top Heatseekers chart.[12] The album's first single "Next Thing You Know (Thirteen)" reached No. 3 on Billboard's Hot Christian Songs chart[13] and also No. 3 on the Hot Christian AC chart.[14] The second and third singles, "History" and "Only Grace", reached No. 13 and No. 6 on the Hot Christian Songs chart, respectively.[15]
Track listing
edit| # | Title | Length | Composer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "History" | 4:03 | Matthew West |
| 2. | "Next Thing You Know (Thirteen)" | 3:20 | Matthew West, Sam Mizell |
| 3. | "Only Grace" | 3:56 | Kenny Greenberg, Matthew West |
| 4. | "Get Away" | 3:38 | Matthew West |
| 5. | "The Day Before You" | 4:23 | Matthew West |
| 6. | "I Know You're There" | 4:30 | Matthew West |
| 7. | "Nothing Else" | 3:50 | Matthew West |
| 8. | "The Last Ones" | 4:10 | Jason Houser, Matthew West |
| 9. | "The Light of Eternity" | 4:33 | Jason Ingram, Matthew West |
| 10. | "Out of Time" | 4:12 | Helen Darling, Matthew West |
| 11. | "A Few More Days" | 4:04 | Matthew West |
Personnel
edit- Matthew West – lead vocals, backing vocals (1-4, 6-11), string arrangements (1, 5), acoustic guitar (3, 8)
- Tim Lauer – keyboards (1, 3-7), acoustic piano (1, 3-8, 10), string arrangements (1, 5, 7), programming (5), Hammond B3 organ (10)
- Kenny Greenberg – electric guitars, acoustic guitar (1-6, 8-11)
- B. James Lowery – acoustic guitar (1, 5, 7)
- Mike Payne – acoustic guitar (2, 11), electric guitars (2, 5, 9, 11)
- Mark Hill – bass (1-7, 10, 11)
- Costa Balamatsias – bass (9)
- Chris McHugh – drums (1, 3, 5-7), percussion (3)
- Ken Lewis – drums (2-4, 10, 11), percussion (2-4, 11)
- Matt Payne – drums (9)
- Eric Darken – percussion (1, 5-7, 9, 10)
- David Angell – strings (1, 5, 7)
- Monisa Angell – strings (1, 5, 7)
- David Davidson – strings (1, 5, 7)
- Pamela Sixfin – strings (1, 5, 7)
- Kristin Wilkinson – strings (1, 5, 7)
- Mike Casteel – music copyist (1, 7)
- John Catchings – cello (3)
- Jason Houser – backing vocals (1, 10)
- Sam Mizell – backing vocals (1, 5), programming (2)
- Joel West – backing vocals (1)
- Bob Bailey – backing vocals (4, 10)
- Kim Fleming – backing vocals (4, 10)
- Vicki Hampton – backing vocals (4, 10)
- Ashley Cleveland – backing vocals (6)
Production
edit- Kenny Greenberg – producer
- Jason Houser – producer
- Matthew West – co-producer
- Miles Logan – recording, mixing
- Aaron Chmielewski – assistant engineer
- Adam Deane – assistant engineer
- Ben Strano – assistant engineer
- Ken Love – mastering at MasterMix (Nashville, Tennessee)
- Jan Cook – art direction
- Tim Frank – art direction
- Clark Hook – design
- Thomas Petillo – photography
- Lori Turk – hair stylist, make-up
- Emily West – wardrobe stylist
- BrickHouse Entertainment – management
References
edit- ^ History at AllMusic
- ^ "History, Christian Music Reviews". Christianitytoday.com. Retrieved 2012-02-21.
- ^ "Matthew West, "History" Review". Jesusfreakhideout.com. 2005-06-21. Retrieved 2012-02-21.
- ^ a b c "Discography – Matthew West – History". Billboard.com. Archived from the original on 2021-11-21. Retrieved 2008-07-13.
- ^ "Matthew West Tops '04 Reader Poll, Joins Winter Jam '05". Top40-Charts.com. 2005-01-06. Retrieved 2008-07-17.
- ^ "Matthew West prepares History for June 21 release". cmcentral.com. 2005-06-15. Retrieved 2008-07-17.
- ^ a b "Matthew West". CAAtouring.com. Retrieved 2008-07-13.
- ^ Cindy Lee (2005-06-24). "Matthew West's History: "An Album To Remember"". BREATHEcast.com. Archived from the original on 2008-12-04. Retrieved 2008-07-13.
- ^ "Matthew West Headlines History 101". BREATHEcast.com. 2005-09-16. Archived from the original on 2009-06-04. Retrieved 2008-07-13.
- ^ Breimeier, Russ. "Matthew West – History". Christian Music Today. Retrieved 2008-07-13.
- ^ "Matthew West – Biography". Christian Music Planet. Retrieved 2008-07-13.
- ^ "History > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 2008-07-17.
- ^ "Top Music Charts – Hot Christian Songs". Billboard.com. 2005-12-10. Retrieved 2008-07-13.
- ^ "Top Music Charts – Hot Christian Adult Contemporary". Billboard.com. 2005-12-10. Archived from the original on 2021-11-21. Retrieved 2008-07-13.
- ^ Matthew West - Chart history