''Bad Bad One'' is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter

Meredith Brooks Meredith Ann Brooks (born June 12, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist best known for her 1997 hit song "Bitch", for which she was nominated for a Grammy Award. Career Brooks started her music career in 1976 as a member of ...

. It was released on May 21, 2002, by Gold Circle Records. Following the commercial disappointment of her previous album, ''

Deconstruction The term deconstruction refers to approaches to understanding the relationship between text and meaning. It was introduced by the philosopher Jacques Derrida, who defined it as a turn away from Platonism's ideas of "true" forms and essence ...

'' (1999), Brooks was dropped from

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

. Brooks subsequently signed to Gold Circle Records and built a home studio to record and produce the album herself, with additional production from frequent collaborator David Darling. ''Bad Bad One'' received little commercial recognition, with Gold Circle Records folding shortly after the album's release. Despite this minimal commercial recognition, the album received praise from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

. In 2004, the album was

reissued In the music industry, a reissue (also re-release, repackage or re-edition) is the release of an album or single which has been released at least once before, sometimes with alterations or additions. Reasons for reissue New audio formats Rec ...

under the title ''Shine'' by Kissing Booth Records. The reissue had a rearranged track listing and included an additional remix of "Shine," which was featured as the theme song for ''

Dr. Phil Phillip Calvin McGraw (born September 1, 1950), better known as Dr. Phil, is an American television personality and author best known for hosting the talk show ''Dr. Phil''. He holds a doctorate in clinical psychology, though he ceased renew ...

'' from 2004 to 2008.

Recording

Brooks recorded over 50 songs for the album over the course of two years before she finalized a track listing of twelve songs. With ''Bad Bad One'', Brooks sought to take more control over her music, resulting in her building a home studio and learning

Pro Tools Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture ( sound design, audio post-prod ...

so that she could freely engineer and produce the entire album herself. Speaking on the freedom that this home studio allowed her, Brooks commented: "Musically, lyrically, vocally, and guitar-wise, I realized that for the first time I could do everything I wanted to do. If I didn't like my vocal, I could just go down at 2 a.m. and redo it. It allowed me to develop more." Brooks described ''Bad Bad One'' as a complete fulfillment of her creative vision, claiming that she was not under the usual pressure to be "politically, spiritually or romantically correct."

Release

The release of ''Bad Bad One'' was met with several delays. The album had two set release dates—April 23 and then May 5—before finally being released on May 21, 2002. Gold Circle Records folded almost immediately after the album's release, resulting in it receiving very minimal promotion. In 2004,

selected "Shine" to be the theme song for his eponymous talkshow. This renewed interest in the song resulted in a reissue of ''Bad Bad One'' on September 21, 2004, by

Savoy Records Savoy Records is an American record company and label established by Herman Lubinsky in 1942 in Newark, New Jersey. Savoy specialized in jazz, rhythm and blues, and gospel music. In September 2017, Savoy was acquired by Concord Bicycle Music ...

. The reissue was titled ''Shine'' and featured a rearranged track listing and an additional remix of "Shine" used during ''Dr. Phil''.

Critical reception

MacKenzie Wilson of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

praised the versatile and carefree nature of the album. She commented: "Meredith Brooks captured the moment and claimed victory on ''Bad Bad One''. She found an inspiration -- it's fiery and passionate while also literate and cathartic -- and ran with it." Michael Paoletta of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' referred to the effort as a "welcome return that shows the kids a thing or two." Paoletta highlighted "Shine," "You Don't Know Me," and "Where Lovers Meet" as standouts from the album.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the record sleeve, sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner n ...

of ''Bad Bad One''. ;Production *

– writer, producer, engineering, Pro Tools * David Darling – writer, producer, engineering, programming *

Taylor Rhodes Taylor Laurence Rhodes is an American songwriter, producer, and musician from Nashville, Tennessee, most notable for his work with hard rock band Aerosmith since 1993. Music career 1980s In 1987, Rhodes co-wrote the lead-off minor hit title ...

– writer * Paul Trudeau – writer * Dave Berg – writer * Paul Goldowitz – writer *

Shelly Peiken Shelly Meg Peiken is an American songwriter who is best known for co-writing the US No. 1 hits " What a Girl Wants" and "Come On Over Baby" by Christina Aguilera the US No. 2 hit "Bitch" by Meredith Brooks, " Almost Doesn't Count" by Brandy, a ...

– writer * Jeff Peters – engineering * Goldo – Pro Tools, additional programming * Seth McClain – Pro Tools * Michael Parnell – Pro Tools * Tom Baker – mastering * Robert Zuckerman – photography ;Instruments * Meredith Brooks – electric guitars, acoustic guitars, slide guitars, lead vocals, background vocals * David Darling – bass guitar, keyboards, additional background vocals, additional guitars *

Abe Laboriel Jr. Abraham Laboriel Jr. (born March 23, 1971) is an American session drummer. He is the son of Mexican bass guitarist Abraham Laboriel, nephew of Mexican rocker Johnny Laboriel, and brother of record producer, songwriter, and film composer Mateo ...

– drums * Paul Trudeau – synthesizer, piano, additional background vocals * Livingstone Brown – additional background vocals, Moog synthesizer, French horn, additional keyboards * Windy Wagner – additional background vocals *

Jennifer Love Hewitt Jennifer Love Hewitt (born February 21, 1979) is an American actress and singer. Hewitt began her career as a child actress and singer, appearing in national television commercials before joining the cast of the Disney Channel series '' Kids ...

– additional background vocals * Randy Landas – bass guitar * DJ Ginzu – turntables

Charts

Singles

References

{{Authority control Meredith Brooks albums 2002 albums Albums produced by Dave Darling