''Breakdown'' is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter

Melissa Etheridge Melissa Lou Etheridge (born May 29, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and guitarist. Her Melissa Etheridge (album), eponymous debut album was released in 1988 and became an underground success. It peaked at No. 22 on the Billbo ...

, released by

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

on October 5, 1999. A critical and commercial success, the album peaked at No. 12 on the ''Billboard'' 200, went

Gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

, and earned four

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

nominations. A Limited-Edition version of the album was simultaneously released featuring three bonus tracks. "Scarecrow" is dedicated to the memory of

Matthew Shepard Matthew Wayne Shepard (December 1, 1976 – October 12, 1998) was an American student at the University of Wyoming who was beaten, tortured, and left to die near Laramie on October 6, 1998. He was transported by rescuers to Poudre Valle ...

, and his family and friends. "Into the Dark" appeared in episodes of '' Haven'' and ''

Night Visions ''Night Visions'' is the debut studio album by American pop rock band Imagine Dragons. It was released on September 4, 2012, through Kidinakorner and Interscope Records. The album was primarily produced by the band themselves, as well as Engli ...

''.

Accolades

Track listing

All songs by Melissa Etheridge, except where noted #"Breakdown" – 3:54 #" Angels Would Fall" (Etheridge, Shanks) – 4:39 #"Stronger Than Me" – 4:08 #"Into the Dark" – 4:59 #"Enough of Me" – 4:39 #"Truth of the Heart" (Etheridge, Shanks) – 4:31 #"Mama I'm Strange" – 4:29 #" Scarecrow" – 5:21 #"How Would I Know" – 4:15 #"My Lover" – 5:45 #"Sleep" – 7:10 tandard pressing/ 4:39 imited Edition pressing#"Touch and Go"* – 4:36 #"Cherry Avenue"* – 4:29 #"Beloved"* – 7:54 * Limited Edition bonus tracks

Personnel

*Melissa Etheridge – acoustic guitar, vocals *

Kenny Aronoff Kenneth D. Aronoff (born March 7, 1953) is an American drummer, best known for his work as a session and touring musician. He has toured and recorded with a wide range of artists throughout his career, including the Rolling Stones, the Smashing ...

– drums,

marimba The marimba ( ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars that are struck by mallets. Below each bar is a resonator pipe that amplifies particular harmonics of its sound. Compared to the xylophone, the mari ...

, shaker *

Jon Brion Jon Brion (born December 11, 1963) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and composer. He performed with the Excerpts, the Bats, 'Til Tuesday and The Grays (band), the Grays before becoming an established pro ...

– guitar *Mark Browne – bass guitar *

Matt Chamberlain Matthew Chamberlain (born April 17, 1967) is an American session drummer, record producer and songwriter. He has played with various artists, including Pearl Jam, Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, David Bowie, Tori Amos, Morrissey, The Wallflow ...

– drums *

Steve Ferrone Stephen A. Ferrone (born 25 April 1950) is an English drummer. He is known as a member of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers from 1994 to 2017, replacing original drummer Stan Lynch, and as part of the "classic lineup" of the Aver ...

– percussion, drums *Rami Jaffee – keyboards *

Jim Keltner James Lee Keltner (born April 27, 1942) is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session work. He was characterized by Bob Dylan biographer Howard Sounes as "the leading session drummer in America". Howard Sounes. ''Do ...

– drums *

Greg Leisz Gregory Brian Leisz ( ; born September 18, 1949) is an American musician. He is a songwriter, recording artist, and producer. He plays guitar, dobro, mandolin, banjo, lap steel and pedal steel guitar. Biography Leisz grew up in the garage ba ...

– guitar,

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

lap steel guitar The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar or lap slide guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap. Unlike the usual manner of pla ...

, pedal steel guitar * Brian MacLeod – percussion, drum loop *

Pino Palladino Giuseppe Henry "Pino" Palladino (born 17 October 1957) is a Welsh musician, songwriter, and record producer. A session bassist, he has played bass for a number of acts such as the Who, the John Mayer Trio, Gary Numan, Paul Young, Don Henle ...

– bass guitar *

John Shanks John Matthew Shanks (born December 18, 1964) is an American songwriter, record producer and guitarist. He has been a longtime session and touring member of the rock band Bon Jovi. Early life and education Shanks was born in New York City and m ...

–

dulcimer The term dulcimer refers to two families of musical string instruments. Hammered dulcimers The word ''dulcimer'' originally referred to a trapezoidal zither similar to a psaltery whose many strings are struck by handheld "hammers". Variants of ...

, guitar, harp,

, background vocals * Patrick Warren – keyboards *Gota Yashiki – programming

Production

*Producers: Melissa Etheridge,

*Engineers: Marc DeSisto, Greg Goldman *Assistant engineers: John Aguto, Tom Nellen, Geoff Walcha *Mixing:

Bob Clearmountain Bob Clearmountain (born Chiaramonte, January 15, 1953) is an American mixing engineer and record producer, best known for his work with major acts, including Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Roxy Music, Pretenders, and Bryan A ...

Tom Lord-Alge Tom Lord-Alge (born January 17, 1962) is an American music engineer and mixer. He began his career at Unique Recording in New York. Subsequently, he was the resident mixer at what used to be known as "South Beach Studios", located on the ground ...

Chris Lord-Alge Chris Lord-Alge is an American mix engineer. He is the brother of both Tom Lord-Alge and Jeff Lord-Alge, both of whom are also audio engineers. Chris and Tom are known for their abundant use of dynamic range compression for molding mixes that ...

*Mastering:

Bob Ludwig Robert Carl Ludwig (born December 11, 1944), is a retired American mastering engineer. He mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists, including Led Zeppeli ...

*studio technician: Brett Allen *Art direction: Scott Denton Cardew *Artwork: Scott Denton Cardew *Photography: Barbara Green, Rocky Schenck *Hair stylist: Bernhard Tammé

Charts

Certifications

Notes

{{Authority control Melissa Etheridge albums 1999 albums Albums produced by John Shanks Island Records albums