No Lookin' Back
| No Lookin' Back | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 30, 1985 | |||
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| Genre | ||||
| Length | 37:09 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Producer |
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| Michael McDonald chronology | ||||
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| Singles from No Lookin' Back | ||||
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No Lookin' Back is the second solo studio album by American musician Michael McDonald. It was released on July 30, 1985 by Warner Bros. Records, three years after his debut studio album, If That's What It Takes (1982); this was his last album to be released by Warner Bros.[1] For the first time, he co-produced and wrote or co-wrote all of the tracks. It features contributions from guitarists Joe Walsh (Eagles, James Gang), Robben Ford and David Pack from Ambrosia, Jeff Porcaro on drums (Toto, Steely Dan), plus the former Doobie Brothers members Willie Weeks on bass guitar, and Cornelius Bumpus providing horns, half of whom had also performed on If That's What It Takes.
On release, the album was received favorably by the majority of music critics and peaked at No. 45 on the US Billboard 200. Three singles were issued from No Lookin' Back: "No Lookin' Back", "Bad Times" and "Lost in the Parade". The album's first and leading single, "No Lookin' Back", was co-written by Kenny Loggins and was a commercial success, peaking at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and No. 34 on Billboard Hot 100.
The album was re-released one year later in 1986. The re-released version changed around the track order and featured different album cover artwork, along with the inclusion of the hit single "Sweet Freedom" from the soundtrack of the Peter Hyams action comedy film Running Scared, as well as the remixed version of "Our Love", which served as the theme for the Richard Pearce neo-noir action thriller film No Mercy.
"(I Hang) On Your Every Word" was originally released in 1983 on On Your Every Word, the second studio album by Amy Holland, McDonald's wife – who he had married that year.[2] McDonald produced, and performed on the album, co-writing four tracks, and some of the same collaborators on that album are on No Lookin' Back.
Critical reception
[edit]| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [4] |
| Music Week | [5] |
| Rolling Stone | (unfavorable)[6] |
In a negative contemporary review for Rolling Stone, critic J. D. Considine wrote that "the bulk of this album is utter piffle. McDonald's inability to move beyond his vocal limitations suggests that he might be simply the musical equivalent of a character actor, doomed forever to those parts demanding his particular mannerisms. If so, he'd better pay more attention to how he's being cast", and in a more positive review, Music Week wrote "having stabled the horses, hung up the cowboy boots and watched the Doobie Brothers ride off into the horizon, McDonald has clearly been moving in more funkier circles of late. The impressive soul vocal, previewed to such advantage on the Doobies' "What a Fool Believes", re-surfaces in a manner not that dissimilar to Hall & Oates. US in feel, but in with a chance if a single takes off."
Track listing
[edit]Original release
[edit]| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "No Lookin' Back" | 3:55 | |
| 2. | "Bad Times" | McDonald | 4:21 |
| 3. | "(I'll Be Your) Angel" |
| 3:57 |
| 4. | "By Heart" |
| 4:35 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5. | "Any Foolish Thing" |
| 4:23 |
| 6. | "Our Love" |
| 4:32 |
| 7. | "(I Hang) On Your Every Word" |
| 3:37 |
| 8. | "Lost in the Parade" |
| 3:48 |
| 9. | "Don't Let Me Down" | McDonald | 4:01 |
| Total length: | 37:09 | ||
1986 Reissue
[edit]| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "No Lookin' Back" |
| 3:55 |
| 2. | "Bad Times" | McDonald | 4:21 |
| 3. | "(I'll Be Your) Angel" |
| 3:57 |
| 4. | "By Heart" |
| 4:35 |
| 5. | "Don't Let Me Down" | McDonald | 4:01 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | "Sweet Freedom" | Rod Temperton | 4:05 |
| 7. | "Our Love" (Theme from No Mercy) |
| 4:14 |
| 8. | "(I Hang) On Your Every Word" |
| 3:37 |
| 9. | "Any Foolish Thing" |
| 4:23 |
| 10. | "Lost in the Parade" |
| 3:48 |
| Total length: | 37:09 | ||
Personnel
[edit]Musicians
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Production
- Producers – Michael McDonald and Ted Templeman
- Production coordination – Joan Parker and Kathy Walker
- Engineer and Mixing – Ross Pallone
- Second engineer – Mike Wuellner
- Additional engineers – Lee Herschberg, Jim Pace and Grady Walker.
- Mixed at Hollywood Sound Recorders (Hollywood, CA).
- Originally mastered by Howie Weinberg at Masterdisk (New York, NY).
- CD mastering by Lee Herschberg at Amigo Studios (Los Angeles, CA).
- Art direction – Jeffrey Kent Ayeroff
- Design – Jeri McManus
- Front photography – Joel Levinson
- Back photography – Brian Aris
Sales chart performance
[edit]- Album
| Chart (1985) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200[7] | 45 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[8] | 26 |
- Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | "No Lookin' Back" | Billboard Hot 100[9] | 34 |
| Billboard Adult Contemporary | 9 | ||
| Billboard Mainstream Rock | 4 | ||
| "Bad Times" | Billboard Mainstream Rock | 38 | |
| "Lost in the Parade" | Billboard Adult Contemporary | 40 |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "No Lookin' Back by Michael McDonald on iTunes". iTunes. July 30, 1985. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
- ^ "Amy Holland Official Website | Bio". www.amyhollandmusic.com. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
- ^ "No Lookin' Back - Michael McDonald | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
- ^ "Michael McDonald: No Lookin' Back. Warner Brothers. 925 291-1" (PDF). LP Reviews. Music Week. Gwent: Pensord Press Ltd. September 28, 1985. p. 19. ISSN 0265-1548. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via World Radio History.
- ^ "No Lookin' Back : Michael McDonald : Review : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. October 24, 1985. Archived from the original on August 7, 2008. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
- ^ "Michael McDonald Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Michael McDonald – No Lookin' Back". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 22, 2025.
- ^ "allmusic ((( Michael McDonald > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles )))". allmusic.com. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
External links
[edit]- No Lookin' Back at Discogs (list of releases)
