''Michigan Rain'' is the debut album by the American musician
Gregg Alexander
Gregg Alexander (born Gregory Aiuto; May 4, 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He served as lead vocalist and guitarist for the short-lived alternative rock band New Radicals, who are best known for the 1998 single "Yo ...
, released in 1989 by
A&M Records
A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and functions as a branch of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Interscope-Geffen-A&M. Established in 1962 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, the label initially operated independent ...
.
The album was originally supposed to be titled ''Save Me from Myself'', but the title was changed at the last minute, because, as Alexander explained, " ..the cover was me standing on a bridge with a broken mirror on my wrist and it was before the suicide chic thing."
"In the Neighborhood" was released as a single, backed with "Don't Cry, Mrs. Davis".
"Michigan Rain" was re-recorded for his 1992 album '' Intoxifornication''. The album also featured an extended mix of "Save Me from Myself", and identically reprised tracks "Loving You Sets Me Free", "Cruel with Me" and "The World We Love So Much".
The album was not very successful on release, being a minor hit in Italy. Despite Alexander's later success with New Radicals, ''Michigan Rain'' was taken out of print when he was dropped from A&M, and has long been rare and out of print. It is also the only one of his albums to have been released on vinyl, though CD and cassette versions were also produced.
Critical reception
''Michigan Rain'' received mixed reviews in 1989, with critics praising the then-19-year-old Alexander's flair and potential but feeling the album was uneven overall. Jim Yardley wrote in ''
The Anniston Star
''The Anniston Star'' is the daily newspaper serving Anniston, Alabama, and the surrounding six-county region. Average Sunday circulation in September 2004 was 26,747. However, by 2020 it was approximately half of this. The newspaper is locally ...
'' that Alexander displayed a "quirky sense of humour (and a) pop-music, danceable style" but needed to "broaden his scope and look beyond such banalities (of) silly, sophomoric lyrics". In a similar vein, Neil Randall of ''
Waterloo Region Record
The ''Waterloo Region Record'' (formerly ''The Record'') is the daily newspaper covering Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada, including the cities of Kitchener, Ontario, Kitchener, Waterloo, Ontario, Water ...
'' wrote that Alexander's songwriting showed positive signs for a bright future with "real melodies" and "a good intuition for the lyric of sadness", but that the album overall was "only interesting, not captivating". '' Surrey Now-Leaders Dale Winnitowy called Alexander "uninhibited, explosive, but tempered with finesses" and compared him to
Eric Carmen
Eric Howard Carmen (August 11, 1949 – March 2024) was an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He was the lead vocalist of the Raspberries, with whom he recorded the hit " Go All the Way" and four albums. He embarked on a so ...
and
Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
, concluding that "the musical world will not be able to ignore him forever". Paul Wagner in the ''
Santa Cruz Sentinel
The ''Santa Cruz Sentinel'' is a daily newspaper published in Santa Cruz, California, covering Santa Cruz County, California, and owned by Media News Group, which is controlled by Alden Global Capital.
History
The paper was owned by the McP ...
'' wrote that Alexander was "not ready yet to stop imitating everyone famous within earshot; when he is, we'll be listening".
Track listing
All songs written by Gregg Alexander.
# "In the Neighborhood" – 4:08
# "Michigan Rain" – 2:47
# "Loving You Sets Me Free" – 4:27
# "Cruel with Me" – 4:05
# "Save Me from Myself" – 5:16
# "Ev'ry Now and Then" – 3:48
# "Don't Cry Mrs. Davis" – 5:51
# "Sinner Times Ten" – 3:41
# "Five and Dimes and Petty Crimes" – 2:48
# "The World We Love So Much" – 4:12
Personnel
*
Gregg Alexander
Gregg Alexander (born Gregory Aiuto; May 4, 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He served as lead vocalist and guitarist for the short-lived alternative rock band New Radicals, who are best known for the 1998 single "Yo ...
-
vocals
Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...
,
electric
Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...
and
acoustic guitars
An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...
*
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
The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...
*
N'Dea Davenport
N'Dea Davenport (born September 22, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer and producer. She was the lead vocalist in the UK acid jazz band The Brand New Heavies and made pioneering contributions to the genre of acid jazz.
Early life ...
- principal background vocalist
* Denny Fongheiser - drums
* Laura Harding - additional background vocals
* Charles Judge - keyboards, acoustic piano
*
Michael Landau
Michael Christopher Landau (born June 1, 1958) is an American musician, audio engineer, and record-producer. He is a session musician and guitarist who has played on many albums since the early 1980s with Boz Scaggs, Minoru Niihara, Joni Mitchel ...
-
guitar
The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
* David Munday - additional background vocals
*
Rick Nowels
Richard Wright Nowels Jr. (born March 16, 1954) is an American songwriter and record producer. He has co-written and co-produced over 90 hit singles with multiple artists,keyboards and
acoustic piano
A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an action mechanism where hammers strike strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a chromatic scale in equal tempe ...
, additional background vocals
* John Pierce -
bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Wood
* Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...
Maria Vidal
Maria Elena Vidal (born August 1, 1960) is an American singer songwriter. Her single "Body Rock" reached No. 8 on the US Dance Charts, No. 48 on the Billboard Hot 100, Hot 100, No. 5 on the Springbok Charts in South Africa, and No. 11 in the UK, ...