''Forgive'' is the second studio album by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

artist

Rebecca Lynn Howard Rebecca Lynn Howard (born April 24, 1979) is an American country music artist. She has charted seven singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts, and has released three studio albums. Her highest-charting single, " Forgive", peaked at N ...

, released on September 10, 2002, by

MCA Nashville Records Music Corporation of America, formerly known as Universal Music Group Nashville, is Universal Music Group's country music subsidiary. It was officially opened in 1945 as MCA Nashville and Mercury Nashville which opened on New Year's Day 1950 a ...

Content

The title track was the only single released from the album. It reached number 12 on the US

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

chart, becoming her only top-forty hit to date. The track "Jesus and Bartenders" was originally recorded by

Larry Cordle Larry Cordle (born November 16, 1948) is an American country and bluegrass singer-songwriter . Cordle is most famous for his song " Murder on Music Row", which was recorded by George Strait and Alan Jackson and received the Country Music Asso ...

on his 2000 studio album ''Murder on Music Row'' and would later be recorded by

Daryle Singletary Daryle Bruce Singletary (March 10, 1971 – February 12, 2018) was an American country music singer. Between 1995 and 1998, he recorded for Giant Records, for which he released three studio albums, '' Daryle Singletary'' (1995), '' All Because ...

for his 2007 studio album '' Straight from the Heart'', where it was released as a single.

Critical reception

Maria Konicki Dinoia of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

gave ''Forgive'' a positive review, saying "Loaded with diversity, freshness, and inspiration, ''Forgive'' will no doubt earn its place on one of the top spots of the charts." In contrast, Jeffrey B. Remz of ''

Country Standard Time ''Country Standard Time'' is a website dedicated to country music and related genres including Americana, bluegrass and rockabilly. It provides news and musical reviews pertaining to the genre. It was established in 1993 by Jeffrey B. Remz as ...

'' gave the album an unfavorable review, criticizing Howard for not being sure "whether she wants to be a country singer or

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

Commercial performance

''Forgive'' opened up with first week sales of 25,297 copies on September 28, 2002, debuting at number 5 on the US ''

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 ...

Top Country Albums Top Country Albums is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The 50-position chart lists the most popular country music albums in the country, calculated weekly by Broadcast Data Systems based on physical sales ...

chart.

Track listing

All tracks produced by

Trey Bruce Trey Edwin Bruce is an American songwriter. Bruce has Fourteen ASCAP Awards for the most played songs at radio and has written ten Number One singles on the ''Billboard''. "Look Heart, No Hands", "Spirit of a Boy, Wisdom of a Man" and "Whisper M ...

except where noted.

Personnel

Compiled from liner notes. ;Musicians on all tracks except "Jesus and Bartenders" *

– programming * Pat Buchanan – electric guitar * Lisa Cochran – background vocals * J. T. Corenflos – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, gut string guitar *

Melodie Crittenden Melodie Crittenden (born September 13, 1968) is an American country and Christian music singer-songwriter. Career Her first album, ''Melodie Sings'', was recorded at the age of nine in Norman, Oklahoma. She traveled around Oklahoma with her ...

– background vocals * Tony Harrell – piano, Hammond B-3 organ, Mellotron, accordion, Wurlitzer electric piano * Wes Hightower – background vocals * Steve Hinson – steel guitar, Dobro *

– lead vocals *

Greg Morrow Greg Morrow is an American drummer, percussionist, session musician, mixing engineer, and vocalist. Biography Morrow was born in Ripley, Tennessee and raised in Memphis. At age 11, Morrow and his band performed on a local TV show, and he par ...

– drums * Alison Prestwood – bass guitar * Chris Rodriguez – background vocals *

Brian Siewert Brian D. Siewert, alternatively credited with or without his middle initial, is an American public speaker, multiple Emmy Award-winning concert and television composer, producer, songwriter, musician, arranger and visual artist. He has worked on ' ...

– synthesizer * Marty Slayton – background vocals * Michael Spriggs – acoustic guitar, bouzouki *

Neil Thrasher Joe Neil Thrasher Jr. (born July 13, 1965) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Between 1995 and 1997, he and Kelly Shiver comprised the duo Thrasher Shiver, which recorded a studio album for Asylum Records in 1996 and charted ...

– background vocals *

Jonathan Yudkin Jonathan Yudkin is an American multi-instrumentalist who is a proficient player of banjo, violin, mandolin, and other stringed instruments. He is a session musician in Nashville as well as a record producer, arranger, and band leader. Biograph ...

– mandolin, fiddle, Jew's harp, banjo, cello, viola, harp, orchestra bells Strings on "Forgive": Carolyn Bailey, Christopher Farrell, Lynn Peithman, Alison Gooding, Erin Hall, Beverly Duker, Shu-Zheng Yang, Julia Tanner, David Reneau, Denise Baker, Melinda Bootz, and Jeremy Williams ;Musicians on "Jesus and Bartenders" *

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 *

Dan Dugmore Dan Dugmore is an American session musician known primarily for playing the pedal steel guitar Born in 1949, Dugmore was raised in Pasadena, California. Influenced by the Flying Burrito Brothers, he learned to play steel guitar after Flying Bur ...

– acoustic guitar * Steve Fishell – steel guitar *

Johnny Hiland Johnny Hiland is a legally blind American musician/guitarist. Early life Hiland grew up in Maine, with an eye disease called nystagmus. He started playing guitar at age 2, played his first talent show at age 5, performed on Dick Stacey's Jamb ...

– lead guitar *

John Barlow Jarvis John Barlow Jarvis (born January 2, 1954, in Pasadena, California)Paul Kingsbury, editor"The Encyclopedia of Country Music: The Ultimate Guide to the Music" 2004 is an American songwriter, composer, session pianist and recording artist. Before mo ...

– piano * Michael Joyce – bass guitar * Troy Lancaster – electric guitar *

Rick Vito Richard Francis Vito (born October 13, 1949) is an American guitarist and singer. He was part of Fleetwood Mac between 1987 and 1991. Vito took over as lead guitarist after Lindsey Buckingham left the group. He is best known for his blues and ...

– electric guitar * Jonathan Yudkin – fiddle ;Technical *

Chuck Ainlay Chuck Ainlay is an American record producer and audio engineer. He has worked with Mark Knopfler on much of Knopfler's solo work, in addition to some Dire Straits material. He has 4 Grammy Awards and 5 nominations. Along with Knopfler and Bob Lu ...

– recording ("Jesus and Bartenders" only) * Trey Bruce – production (except "Jesus and Bartenders") * David Buchanan – recording (except "Jesus and Bartenders") * Steve Fishell – production ("Jesus and Bartenders" only) * Kelly Geidt – production coordination * Todd Gunnerson – recording assistant (except "Forgive" and "Jesus and Bartenders") * Erik Jaskowiak – recording assistant ("Jesus and Bartenders" only) * Heather Kennel – production coordination * Brian Siewert – string arrangement on "Forgive" * Joey Turner – recording assistant ("Forgive" only) * Jon Van Nest – mixing * Ronnie Thomas – editing * Hank Williams – mastering * Mark Wright – production ("Forgive" only)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Authority control 2002 albums Rebecca Lynn Howard albums MCA Records albums Albums produced by Mark Wright (record producer)