No Lookin' Back

''No Lookin' Back'' is the second solo studio album by American musician Michael McDonald. It was released on July 30, 1985 by Warner Bros. Records, three years after his debut studio album, '' If That's What It Takes'' (1982); this was his last album to be released by Warner Bros. For the first time, he co-produced and wrote or co-wrote all of the tracks. It features contributions from guitarists Joe Walsh (Eagles, James Gang), Robben Ford and David Pack from Ambrosia, Jeff Porcaro on drums ( Toto, Steely Dan), plus the former Doobie Brothers members Willie Weeks on bass guitar, and Cornelius Bumpus providing horns, half of whom had also performed on ''If That's What It Takes''.

On release, the album was received favorably by the majority of music critics and peaked at No. 45 on the US ''Billboard'' 200. Three singles were issued from ''No Lookin' Back'': "No Lookin' Back", "Bad Times" and "Lost in the Parade". The album's first and leading single, "No Lookin' Back", was co-written by Kenny Loggins and was a commercial success, peaking at No. 4 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and No. 34 on ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

The album was re-released one year later in 1986. The re-released version changed around the track order and featured different album cover artwork, along with the inclusion of the hit single " Sweet Freedom" from the soundtrack of the Peter Hyams action comedy film '' Running Scared'', as well as the remixed version of "Our Love", which served as the theme for the Richard Pearce neo-noir action thriller film '' No Mercy''.

"(I Hang) On Your Every Word" was originally released in 1983 on '' On Your Every Word'', the second studio album by Amy Holland, McDonald's wife – who he had married that year. McDonald produced, and performed on the album, co-writing four tracks, and some of the same collaborators on that album are on ''No Lookin' Back''.

Critical reception

In a negative contemporary review for ''Rolling Stone'', critic J. D. Considine wrote that "the bulk of this album is utter piffle. McDonald's inability to move beyond his vocal limitations suggests that he might be simply the musical equivalent of a character actor, doomed forever to those parts demanding his particular mannerisms. If so, he'd better pay more attention to how he's being cast", and in a more positive review, ''Music Week'' wrote "having stabled the horses, hung up the cowboy boots and watched the Doobie Brothers ride off into the horizon, McDonald has clearly been moving in more funkier circles of late. The impressive soul vocal, previewed to such advantage on the Doobies' "What a Fool Believes", re-surfaces in a manner not that dissimilar to Hall & Oates. US in feel, but in with a chance if a single takes off."

Track listing

Original release

1986 Reissue

Personnel

Musicians

* Michael McDonald – lead and backing vocals; keyboards (1); synthesizers (2-9, "Our Love (Remix)"); Hammond organ (5, 7)
* Mike Hanna – synthesizers (2)
* Chuck Sabatino – synthesizers (3, 5); backing vocals (3, 5)
* Chris Pelonis – programming (3, 4, 7)
* Scott Plunkett – synthesizer horns (4); sequencing (7)
* Brian Mann – synthesizers (6, 8, "Our Love (Remix)")
* Randy Goodrum – synthesizers (9)
* Larry Williams – synthesizers; keyboards, and horns ("Sweet Freedom")
* Wells Christie – Synclavier ("Sweet Freedom")
* Greg Phillinganes – keyboards ("Sweet Freedom")
* Rod Temperton – keyboards and arrangements ("Sweet Freedom")
* Danny Sembello – keyboards ("Sweet Freedom")
* Anthony Patler – keyboards ("Sweet Freedom")
* David Pack – guitars (1, 2, 4, 7); synthesizers (4); rhythm guitar (9)
* Joe Walsh – slide guitar (2)
* Robben Ford – guitars (3); lead guitar solo (9)
* Michael Thompson – guitar ("Sweet Freedom")
* Paul Jackson Jr. – guitar ("Sweet Freedom")

* Steve Lukather – guitar ("Our Love (Remix)")
* Willie Weeks – bass (1, 3–5, 8, 9)
* Nathan East – bass (2)
* Abraham Laboriel – bass ("Our Love (Remix)")
* Jeff Porcaro – drums (1-5, 7–9, "Our Love (Remix)"), cymbals (6); percussion ("Our Love (Remix)")
* George Perilli – drums (1); programming (4)
* Staff Fieldhouse – electronic drums (4, 8)
* Roger Nichols – drums (6)
* Paulinho da Costa – percussion (6, 9)
* Cornelius Bumpus – tenor saxophone (3, 5)
* Kim Hutchcroft – horns ("Sweet Freedom")
* Gary Grant – horns ("Sweet Freedom")
* William Reichenbach – horns ("Sweet Freedom")
* Chuck Findley – horns ("Sweet Freedom")
* Jerry Hey – horns ("Sweet Freedom")
* Dave Boruff – horns ("Sweet Freedom")
* Bobby LaKind – congas ("Our Love (Remix)")
* Siedah Garrett – backing vocals ("Sweet Freedom")

Production
* Producers – Michael McDonald and Ted Templeman
* Production coordination – Joan Parker and Kathy Walker
* Engineer and Mixing – Ross Pallone
* Second engineer – Mike Wuellner
* Additional engineers – Lee Herschberg, Jim Pace and Grady Walker.
* Mixed at Hollywood Sound Recorders (Hollywood, CA).
* Originally mastered by Howie Weinberg at Masterdisk (New York, NY).
* CD mastering by Lee Herschberg at Amigo Studios (Los Angeles, CA).
* Art direction – Jeffrey Kent Ayeroff
* Design – Jeri McManus
* Front photography – Joel Levinson
* Back photography – Brian Aris

Sales chart performance

;Album

;Singles

See also

* List of albums released in 1985
* Michael McDonald's discography

References

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:No Lookin' Back
1985 albums
Michael McDonald (musician) albums
Albums produced by Ted Templeman
Warner Records albums