No Strings is the eleventh studio album by Scottish-born singer Sheena Easton released in 1993 by MCA Records. The album was a departure from the pop and R&B style of her earlier recordings with jazz-tinged production arrangements by Patrice Rushen.

No Strings
Studio album by
Released13 August 1993
Recorded1993
Genre
Length46:00
LabelMCA
ProducerPatrice Rushen
Sheena Easton chronology
What Comes Naturally
(1991)
No Strings
(1993)
My Cherie
(1995)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic link
Entertainment WeeklyB[2]
Orlando Sentinel[3]

The disc was recorded live in the studio, as Easton wanted to record the music in a similar fashion to Frank Sinatra's Capitol Records sessions of the 1960s. The song "The Nearness of You" was featured on the soundtrack of Indecent Proposal. Easton appears in a cameo role singing the song with Herbie Hancock playing the piano during a pivotal moment in the film, and the song was released as a promo single in some European markets.

In 2007 No Strings was released on iTunes' available for download. The disc was reissued by Universal Distribution on 26 July 2013.

Track listing

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  1. "Someone to Watch Over Me" (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) – 3:18
  2. "Medley: I'm in the Mood for Love / Moody's Mood for Love" (Jimmy McHugh, Dorothy Fields / Dorothy Fields, Jimmy McHugh, James Moody) – 4:14
  3. "The Nearness of You" (Hoagy Carmichael, Ned Washington) – 3:17
  4. "How Deep Is the Ocean" (Irving Berlin) – 3:40
  5. "If You Go Away" (Ne me quitte pas) (Jacques Brel, Rod McKuen) – 5:52
  6. "Body and Soul" (Edward Heyman, Frank Eyton, Johnny Green, Robert Sour) – 5:51
  7. "Medley: Little Girl Blue / When Sunny Gets Blue" (Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers / Marvin Fisher, Jack Segal) – 6:10
  8. "The One I Love Belongs to Somebody Else" (Gus Kahn, Isham Jones) – 3:25
  9. "The Man That Got Away" (Harold Arlen, Ira Gershwin) – 4:23
  10. "I Will Say Goodbye" (Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman, Michel Legrand) – 2:37
  11. "Never Will I Marry" (Frank Loesser) – 3:25

Personnel

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Musicians

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  • Sheena Easton – lead vocals
  • Patrice Rushen – acoustic piano
  • Phil Upchurch – guitar (2, 6, 8)
  • Paul Jackson, Jr. – guitar (5, 10)
  • Reggie Hamilton – bass (1)
  • Ken Wild – bass (2-11)
  • John Guerin – drums (1)
  • Leon "Ndugu" Chancler – drums (2-11)
  • Valerie King – flute (2, 5, 6, 8, 10)
  • Marni Johnson – French Horn (2, 5, 6, 8, 10)
  • Richard Todd – French Horn (2, 6, 8)
  • Fred Jackson, Jr. – alto and soprano saxophones (2, 5, 8, 10), tenor saxophone (6)
  • Bob Sheppard – alto and tenor saxophones (4, 7), tenor sax solo (11)
  • Larry Williams – tenor saxophone (6, 8), clarinet (6, 8)
  • Lew McCreary – trombone (2, 6, 8), bass trombone (5, 10)
  • Reggie Young – trombone (2, 6, 8)
  • Rick Baptist – trumpet (2, 6, 8), flugelhorn (2, 6, 8)
  • Raymond Lee Brown – trumpet (2, 4, 6, 7, 8), flugelhorn (2, 5, 6, 8), cornet (4, 7)

Production

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  • Producer and arranged by Patrice Rushen
  • Recorded and mixed by Rick Winquest
  • Assistant engineers – Eric Cowden and Dann Thompson
  • Recorded and mixed at Group IV Recording (Los Angeles, California)
  • Mastered by Bernie Grundman at Bernie Grundman Mastering (Hollywood, California)
  • Music copyist – Booker White
  • Art direction – Vartan
  • Design – Margo Chase and John Coulter
  • Photography – Alberto Tolot
  • Hair – Barron Matalon
  • Stylist – Fleur Theimeyer
  • Make-up – Francesca Tolot

Charts

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Chart performance for No Strings
Chart (1993) Peak
position
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[4] 80

References

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  1. ^ a b McGarrity, Andre (1 January 1998). "Sheena Easton". In Graff, Gary; du Lac, Josh; McFarlin, Jim (eds.). MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide. Detroit: Visible Ink Press. pp. 190–193.
  2. ^ Woodard, Josef (13 August 1993). "No Strings". Entertainment Weekly.
  3. ^ Gettelman, Parry (17 September 1993). "Sheena Easton". Orlando Sentinel.
  4. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.