Description
Heart in Motion is the eighth studio album by the American singer and songwriter Amy Grant, released on both Myrrh Records and A&M Records in March 1991. The album was produced by Brown Bannister, Keith Thomas, and Michael Omartian. The album has sold over 5 million copies, becoming 5xPlatinum-certified by the RIAA.
You have to admire Amy Grant. She has always resisted the temptation to exactly fulfill the expectations of a Christian music market which tends to prefer the safe, the jargonistic and the predictable. Rather, she has continually pushed the boundaries of Christian artistry outward. On that regard, her 12th album, ‘Heart in Motion’, does not disappoint.
Let’s get right to the first question: Is this a Christian album? The immediate answer is no, it is not a contemporary gospel album. But if you ask if the lyrics express Christian values and whether it’s clear from listening to the album that Amy Grant believes in Jesus Christ (rather than in a capitalized pronoun), the answer is clearly yes.
There is no question, however, that this album was made with the mainstream pop market in mind. The first six cuts in particular sport memorable hooks and polished, radio-ready production. Brown Bannister, who produced all of Grant’s previous albums, is back again on four of the songs, but big-time L.A. producer Michael Omartian was brought in for five others and rising star Keith Thomas for two.
In fact, it is the two Thomas productions which lead off the album – «Good for Me» and «Baby Baby» (the latter dedicated, Grant says in the liner notes, “to Millie, whose six-week-old face was my inspiration”). These two songs, in which only Jerry McPherson’s guitars augment Thomas’ synths, sound big and bright rather than brittle and mechanized.
Next comes the rollicking «Every Heartbeat», produced by Bannister, which features the killer drum/bass duo of Chris McHugh and Tommy Sims, with McPherson again on guitar and Charlie Peacock on keyboards – all backed by fun ’50s-styled bgv’s. (Peacock, who co-wrote the song with Grant and Wayne Kirkpatrick, also contributed the the horn arrangements.) What follows is the Big Ballad, an Omartian-produced masterpiece called «That’s What Love is For» which has “hit” written all over it.
So far we’ve heard basic, feel-good love songs – nothing heavy. But now comes «Ask Me» – a poignant song about sexual abuse: “Ask me how I know there’s a God up in the heavens/ Where did He go in the middle of her shame?/ …She said His mercy is bringing her life again.” It’s one of the best cuts on the album, and since it portrays the redemptive power of God in a situation which is tragically all-too-common, probably the most important.
«Galileo» wraps up the side (of the cassette version), and though it is substantially less weighty than «Ask Me», you’ll hear the chorus in your head for days after just one listen.
If side one is the commercial, pop radio side of Amy Grant, side two is more reflective of the Amy we’ve seen in the past. «You’re Not Alone» is the most muscular production of the set, with guitars by Dann Huff and Gordon Kennedy (need I say more?). «Hats» is a quirky, madcap kind of song about modern motherhood that will be the favorite of many women: “One day I’m a mother/ One day I’m a lover/ What am I supposed to do? HATS!”
«I Will Remember» is a emotionally-charged ballad and an ideal concert-closer: “Our love is frozen in time/ I’ll be your champion and you will be mine/ I will remember you.”
Unfortunately, «How Can We See That Far» seems out-of-place. Recalling moments in life viewed from the perspective of time, the song wonders, “how can we see that far?” However, its melancholy mood would have fit better on ‘Lead Me On‘ than this album.
Another ballad («Hope Set High») closes the album. It’s a song which puts all that comes before it in perspective: “When it all comes down/ If there’s anything good that happens in life, it’s from Jesus.”
Overall, although ‘Heart in Motion’ suffers from some pacing problems (it comes in like a lion with three hot pop songs and goes out like a lamb with three ballads), from a technical standpoint it is Amy Grant’s best effort, with well-crafted songs and some outstanding vocal performances.
It is also a pivotal album for Grant. On the one hand, the album seems designed primarily to cultivate radio hits. Thus, she has set herself up for criticism that she has “sold out” for commercial success.
On the other hand, these songs seem to represent life as Grant sees it at this point in time. In that regard, they get high marks for artistic integrity. To say they are mere contrivances to fit a particular market, while perhaps true in one sense, is prejudicial from a Christian standpoint. One thing is certain: Amy Grant knows what she’s doing. As she says in «Every Heartbeat»: “I’m simple but I’m no fool.” [John W. Styll, CCM, March 1991]
> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/heart-in-motion-30th-anniversary-edition/1571591336)
CD tracklist:
01. Good For Me – 3:59
02. Baby Baby – 3:55
03. Every Heartbeat – 3:30
04. That’s What Love Is For – 4:16
05. Ask Me – 3:51
06. Galileo – 4:18
07. You’re Not Alone – 3:49
08. Hats – 4:08
09. I Will Remember You – 4:59
10. How Can We See That Far – 4:25
11. Hope Set High – 2:46
Note: Simultaneously released on cassette, 12-inch vinyl LP, and CD by A&M Records. A Remastered Edition was re-issued on CD by EMI/Sparrow Records in 2007. A double-disc Anniversary Edition was released in 2021.
A full-page advertisement for Amy Grant’s Heart In Motion was featured in the July 1991 issue of CCM Magazine.
Baby Baby, 25th Anniversary Edition feat. Tori Kelly
There’s something strangely inhibiting about reviewing an Amy Grant record. In the Chnstian music market it would be the equivalent of imagining Beethoven’s 5th as a part of American Bandstand’s rate-a-record segment (“it rocks, but it’s kinda hard to dance to, I’d have to give it an 87, Dick”), or envisioning Frank Sinatra trying to impress the judges on Star Search (crooners went out when the Beatles made Sullivan). Such situations would be below them. In the same sense, Amy Grant is almost above the record reviewing process. In fact, to many Amy Grant is contemporary Christian music.
Still, and I say this in the most hushed writing tones, Grant is mortal, and reviews are a necessary step in every record’s life cycle. So, here goes.
It’s been a few years since Grant – or Mom as her growing family probably calls her – has released an album. It’s been even longer since she’s shown her face on the secular charts, and many have been wondering which direction she would take next. Grant had become a fine pop singer by the time she released ‘unguarded‘ in 1985, before the more subdued ‘Lead Me On‘ in ’88. Now, three years absent, ‘Heart In Motion’ is a pretty good pop album.
Grant worked this time with big time producer Michael Omartian, whose credits include Christopher Cross, Donna Summer and Rod Stewart – just to name a few; she was also produced by Keith Thomas, and old standby Brown Bannister. This trio has managed to create a cohesive whole. In a word, this album sounds happy and fulfilled.
Although Grant has never been one who tried to pass herself off as Schopenhaur in a jukebox, she has also never shied away from presenting a fairly complete spectrum of the human emotional experience either. One gets the impression that this former child star has grown into a thoughtful, mature woman.
Love songs – the boy meets girl type; not the creation to the creator kind – dominate the record. Most are danceable in the old Beatles and Motown mode, not in the new Paula Abdul/Janet Jackson 90s dance style. It’s fun just like oldies, and not anything like what passes for current dance music. It’s about as urban as Nashville gets these days, and Nashville’s nowhere close to being the hip hop capitol.
The best song on this outing is one with the unconventional title of «Galileo». It is, believe it or not, a love song, and takes on the role of a historical name dropper, with verses about Columbus, Benjamin Franklin, and Galileo. It works too, as this sample of its lyrics attests: “Ask me just how much I love you/ You are starlight, I’m Galileo.” Grant has one up on Billy Joel, whose «We Didn’t Start This Fire» only recites recent world history.
Christians who need to hear artists directly state their faith will not be disappointed, Grant has included both subtle and straight out statements of faith here. «Hope Set High» includes the line: “If there’s anything good that happens in life/ It’s from Jesus.” «You’re Not Alone» reminds losers in love that God will never leave them, even if romantic partners do.
«Ask Me» tells the story of how God has brought a woman through the pain of being an abused child. «That’s What Love Is For» has a chorus which states: “Believing in the one thing/ That has gotten us this far.” This is no spiritual sellout.
The best cuts for dancing, if you feel led to, are «Good For Me», which includes the great line: “You like to drive like Mario Andretti/ I like it taking my time,” and «Hats», a song Grant wrote with Chris Eaton, about all the different roles modern women, and we as humans, are forced to play in life. Charlie Peacock played keyboards on this one and helped out on its horn arrangements. It really grooves. Peacock’s signature is all over «Every Heartbeat», a song he co-wrote with Grant. Its loping beat and trademark C.P. phrasing are a delight, and it’s nice to see his influence coming across in this most mainstream project.
The musicianship throughout is top notch. Listen to the Motown-like drumming and (I kid you not) the B-52’s influenced guitar riff on «Hats». The few well placed guitar solos are not credited, but I noticed Dann Huffs name in the credits, and this laid most of my suspicions to rest. The little guitar work there is, is for seasoning only but it’s still studio perfect where it can be found.
This is truly a singer’s album, and Amy Grant’s singing absorbs most of the spotlight. Grant is, as usual, more expressive than powerful. While never one to show off with vocal gymnastics, Grant again proves here that she’s done her share of aural calisthenics.
While it continues to be frustrating that so many talented Christian musicians still have to struggle to get the secular exposure they deserve, that shouldn’t take anything away from Grant, who should get a major push from A&M this time around («Baby, Baby», ‘Heart In Motions’ first single is reportedly doing well in the initial test markets). If Amy Grant is still the only Christian artist some people see, we have nothing to be ashamed of. ‘Heart In Motion’ is a mature and fun, high quality album which never fails to keep the snap and crackle in the pop music. [Dan MacIntosh, Harvest Rock Syndicate, Issue 2, 1991 (Volume 6)]
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