Get Here is the fourth studio album by the American singer/songwriter Brenda Russell. Released in 1988, it is Russell's most successful album to date and includes her hit single "Piano in the Dark" as well as the minor hit title track, "Get Here," which became an international success for Oleta Adams three years later.
Album history
After the release of her third album, Two Eyes (1983), Russell moved to Stockholm, Sweden and began writing songs for her fourth album in 1984.[4] Working with several producers and recorded at ten different studios in Stockholm and Los Angeles, the album was ultimately released in 1988 and saw Russell return to the A&M Records label that had released her first two solo albums in 1979 and 1981 (her 1983 album had been released via Warner Bros.). The album peaked at number 49 on the US Billboard 200 and number 20 on the Billboard R&B chart.
The first single from the album was the ballad "Piano in the Dark", released in February 1988. The single, which features vocals by Joe "Bean" Esposito, became (and remains) Russell's biggest hit, peaking at number 6 on the US Billboard 100 and was also a Top 30 hit in the UK (No. 23), as well as earning Grammy nominations for "Song of the Year" and "Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals" (Russell would also garner a nomination for "Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female" for Get Here).[5] Other singles from the album include "Le Restaurant" (featuring David Sanborn on saxophone) and the dance track "Gravity". The title track of the album was also released as a single and was a minor R&B hit. It was later recorded by Oleta Adams and became a huge trans-Atlantic hit for her in 1991 (US No. 5, UK No. 4).
Track listing
Credits are adapted from the album’s Liner Notes[6]
Note: Paulette Parker is also known as Maxayn Lewis.
Production
Producers – Brenda Russell (All Tracks); Stanley Clarke (1 & 2); Jeff Hull (3); Andre Fischer (3-8); Peter O. Ekberg (4, 5 & 8).
Executive producer – Brenda Russell
Recording engineers – Csaba Petocz, Bill Schnee, Steve Sykes, Jan Ugand and Gary Wagner.
Assistant engineers – Jim Dineen, Reggie Dozier, Mike Edwards, Steve Ford, Toni Greene, Debbie Johnson, Michael C. Ross, Micajah Ryan, Joe Schiff and Brad Stevens.
Mixing – Csaba Petocz (1); Bill Schnee (2-8).
Mastered by Doug Sax at The Mastering Lab (Los Angeles, CA).
Art direction – Chuck Beeson
Album design and special photo treatments – Donald Kreiger
Photography – Raul Vega
Production assistant and album coordination – Marsha Burns
Charts
Album
Year
Chart
Position
1988
US Billboard 200
49
1988
US R&B Chart
20
1988
UK Albums Chart
77
Singles
Year
Single
Chart
Position
1988
"Piano In The Dark"
US Billboard Hot 100
6
1988
"Piano In The Dark"
US R&B Chart
8
1988
"Piano In The Dark"
US Adult Contemporary
3
1988
"Piano In The Dark"
UK Singles Chart
23
1988
"Gravity"
US R&B Chart
42
1988
"Gravity"
UK Singles Chart
77
1988
"Get Here"
US R&B Chart
37
1989
"Le Restaurant"
US R&B Chart
93
References
^ abTheakston, Rob (1988). "Get Here". Allmusic. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
