Greatest Hits (Juice Newton album)

Greatest Hits is the ninth album and first greatest hits collection by country pop singer Juice Newton. It was originally released by Capitol Records in 1984 with ten tracks taken from her albums Juice, Quiet Lies, and Dirty Looks. It was reissued in 1986 in an expanded 15-track edition titled Juice Newton's Greatest Hits (and more). The album became a best seller and has been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Greatest Hits
An attractive woman in a white dress and with long brown hair is seated in a knees-up position with her hands across her knees.
Greatest hits album by
Released1985
Recorded1975–1983
GenreCountry pop
Length35:43 (original)
53:39 (reissue)
LabelCapitol
ProducerElliot Mazer
Juice Newton chronology
Dirty Looks
(1983)
Greatest Hits
(1985)
Can't Wait All Night
(1984)
Alternative cover
An attractive woman in a white dress and with long brown hair is seated in a knees-up position with her hands across her knees.
Cover of the expanded reissue
Singles from Greatest Hits
  1. "Ride 'Em, Cowboy"
    Released: 1984
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]

Overview

edit

Juice

edit

Juice Newton began her recording career in 1975 and made five albums over the next four years without achieving any major success. Her breakthrough came in 1981 with Juice, an album that reached number 22 on the Billboard 200 chart and number 16 on the Canadian Top 50 album chart.[2][3] Juice was certified by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) as gold on August 13, 1981 and platinum on January 5, 1982.[4] The album also gave Newton three hit singles, beginning with "Angel of the Morning". The song, written by Chip Taylor, had been a number one hit for Merrilee Rush in 1968.[5] Newton's version peaked at number four on the pop charts and number 22 on the country charts.[6][7]

Her second single from the album, "Queen of Hearts", reached number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 14 on the country charts.[7] It used the same arrangement that Dave Edmunds used on his version of the song on his 1979 album Repeat When Necessary.[6][8] "Angel of the Morning" and "Queen of Hearts" were certified Gold by the RIAA, respectively, on July 1 and September 2, 1981.[4] The final single from Juice was "The Sweetest Thing (I've Ever Known)", a song written by Newton's long-time collaborator, Otha Young. It was her biggest hit to date, peaking at number one on the country chart and number seven the pop chart.[7] Newton had recorded the song earlier on her debut album Juice Newton & Silver Spur (1975).[9]

Quiet Lies and Dirty Looks

edit

Newton followed up Juice with Quiet Lies (1982), another hit album that reached number 20 on the Billboard 200.[2] It was certified Gold by the RIAA on July 16, 1982.[4] This album also had three singles released from its track line up. The first hit, "Love's Been a Little Bit Hard on Me", reached number 7 on the Billboard pop chart, number 30 on the Country chart, and number 2 on the Adult Contemporary chart.[10] It brought Newton a Grammy nomination for Pop Female Vocalist.[11] The second, "Break It to Me Gently", had been a hit for Brenda Lee in 1962 when it reached number 4 on the Billboard 100.[12] Newton's version reached number 11 on the pop chart and number 2 on the country chart.[10] It also won her the Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance, Female.[13] The final single from Quiet Lies was "In the Heart of the Night". It reached number 4 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary Chart and number 25 on the Hot 100.[11]

Newton's next album, Dirty Looks (1983), was not as successful as Juice and Quiet Lies. However, it sold well enough in Canada to be certified Gold on October 1, 1983, by the Canadian Music Industry.[14] The three singles released from this album were "Tell Her No", "Dirty Looks", and "Stranger at My Door". The first two peaked on the pop chart at, respectively, numbers 27 and 90. The third peaked on the country chart at 45.[15] "Tell Her No" was a reworking of The Zombies 1965 hit, which had reached number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100.[16]

Compiling Greatest Hits

edit

Juice Newton's Greatest Hits album was originally released by Capitol Records in 1984. Five of the ten tracks that appeared on the album were from Juice. These were the three singles, "Angel of the Morning", "Queen of Hearts", and "The Sweetest Thing", plus two album tracks, "Ride 'Em, Cowboy" and "Shot Full of Love". Four tracks from Quiet Lies were included, consisting of its three singles, "Love's Been a Little Bit Hard on Me", "Break it to Me Gently" and "Heart of the Night", plus an album track, "I'm Gonna Be Strong".[17] Only "Tell Her No" was taken from Dirty Looks. "I'm Gonna Be Strong" was written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil and had been a top ten hit for Gene Pitney in 1965.[18] "Ride 'Em, Cowboy" was released as a single from Greatest Hits and reached number 32 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.[19]

On November 14, 1986, Capitol reissue Newton's Greatest Hits in an expanded 15-track edition titled Juice Newton's Greatest Hits (and more).[4] This version retained nine of the album's original tracks. "Ride 'Em, Cowboy" was dropped and six new tracks were brought in. The title track from Dirty Looks was among these along with five songs from her pre-Juice recordings. "Low Down and Lonesome" derived from Newton's 1977 Come to Me album while "So Many Ways" and "Hey! Baby" came from her 1978 release Well Kept Secret. The last of these was a cover version of Bruce Channel's 1962 number one hit.[20] "Lay Back in the Arms of Someone", taken from Newton's Take Heart 1979 album, was originally recorded by the British band Smokie.[21] "It's a Heartache" was included in only foreign issues of Newton's Come to Me album but not in the American and British editions. Released as a one-off single in 1978, Newton's rendition of this song was a major hit in Mexico. In the United States it peaked at only number 86 and was eclipsed by Bonnie Tyler's version of the song which shot up to number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.[6][22]

Charts

edit
Chart (1984) Position
United States (Billboard 200) 178
Australia (Kent Music Report)[23] 69

Certifications and critical reception

edit

Greatest Hits (and More) was certified Gold by the RIAA on June 21, 1991.[4] In his review of the album, music critic Greg Adams noted that "the hits are the highlights here...Greatest Hits (and More) makes for enjoyable listening, and provides an excellent and concise overview of Newton's early-'80s output."[1]

Track listing

edit

Original release: Greatest Hits

edit
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Original albumLength
1."Angel of the Morning"Chip TaylorJuice4:14
2."Love's Been a Little Bit Hard on Me"Gary BurrQuiet Lies4:08
3."Heart of the Night"John Bettis, Michael ClarkQuiet Lies3:15
4."Ride 'Em Cowboy"Paul DavisJuice4:03
5."The Sweetest Thing (I've Ever Known)"Otha YoungJuice2:52
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Original albumLength
1."Queen of Hearts"Hank DeVitoJuice4:08
2."Break It to Me Gently"Joe Seneca, Diane LambertQuiet Lies2:56
3."I'm Gonna Be Strong"Barry Mann, Cynthia WeilQuiet Lies3:26
4."Shot Full of Love"Bob McDillJuice3:32
5."Tell Her No"Rod ArgentDirty Looks3:09

Reissue: Juice Newton's Greatest Hits (and more)

edit
No.TitleWriter(s)Original albumLength
1."Angel of the Morning"Chip TaylorJuice4:14
2."Heart of the Night"John Bettis / Michael ClarkQuiet Lies4:08
3."Love's Been a Little Bit Hard on Me"Gary BurrQuiet Lies3:15
4."Break It to Me Gently"Diane Lambert / Joe SenecaQuiet Lies4:03
5."Low Down and Lonesome"Robbie Gillman / Juice Newton / Otha YoungCome to Me2:52
6."The Sweetest Thing (I've Ever Known)"Otha YoungJuice4:08
7."So Many Ways"Curtis StoneWell Kept Secret2:56
8."Queen of Hearts"Hank DeVitoJuice3:26
9."Lay Back in the Arms of Someone"Mike Chapman / Nicky ChinnTake Heart3:32
10."Hey! Baby"Bruce Channel / Margaret CobbWell Kept Secret3:09
11."Shot Full of Love"Bob McDillJuice3:23
12."I'm Gonna Be Strong"Barry Mann / Cynthia WeilQuiet Lies3:39
13."It's a Heartache"Ronnie Scott / Steve Wolfenon-album single3:30
14."Dirty Looks"David Robbins / Van StephensonDirty Looks3:48
15."Tell Her No"Rod ArgentDirty Looks3:36

References

edit
  1. ^ a b Adams, Greg. Review of Greatest Hits (and More) at AllMusic. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Billboard 200: Juice Newton". Billboard. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  3. ^ "RPM 50 albums". Library and Archives of Canada. May 2, 1981. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Gold & Plantimum: Juice Newton". RIAA. Retrieved October 18, 2016. Note: click on "more details" for each album
  5. ^ "Merrilee Rush: Biography". Billboard. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  6. ^ a b c "The Hot 100: Juice Newton". Billboard. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  7. ^ a b c Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Biography of Juice Newton at AllMusic. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  8. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Review of Repeat When Necessary at AllMusic. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  9. ^ Worbois, Jim. Review of Juice Newton & Silver Spur at AllMusic. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  10. ^ a b McFarlane, Ian (2007). Juice / Quiet Lies (booklet). Juice Newton. Ivanhoe East, Victoria, Australia: Raven Records. p. 6. RVCD-256.
  11. ^ a b O'Regan, John (2012). Come to Me / Well Kept Secret / Take Heart (booklet). Juice Newton. London, England: BGO Records. p. 11. RVCD-256.
  12. ^ "The Hot 100: Brenda Lee". Billboard. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  13. ^ "Grammy Awards: Juice Newton". The Recording Academy. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  14. ^ "Juice Newton". Music Canada. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  15. ^ McFarlane, Ian (2007). Old Flame / Dirty Looks (booklet). Juice Newton. Ivanhoe East, Victoria, Australia: Raven Records. p. 6. RVCD-256.
  16. ^ "The Hot 100: The Zombies". Billboard. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  17. ^ "Juice Newton's Greatest Hits". Discogs. 1984. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  18. ^ Unterberger, Richie. Biography of Gene Pitney at AllMusic. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  19. ^ "Hot Country Songs: Juice Newton". Billboard. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  20. ^ Unterberger, Richie. Biography of Bruce Channel at AllMusic. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  21. ^ Lay Back in the Arms of Someone at AllMusic. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  22. ^ "Billboard Hot 100: Bonnie Tyler". Billboard. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  23. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 216. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.