The Woman in Me (Shania Twain album)

The Woman in Me
Studio album by Shania Twain
Released February 7, 1995
Recorded 1994-1995
Genre
Length 48:08
Label Polygram/Mercury
Producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange
Shania Twain chronology
Shania Twain
(1993)
The Woman in Me
(1995)
Come On Over
(1997)
Alternative cover
European re-release
Singles from The Woman in Me
  1. "Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?"
    Released: January 2, 1995
  2. "Any Man of Mine"
    Released: April 26, 1995
  3. "The Woman in Me (Needs the Man in You)"
    Released: August 9, 1995
  4. "(If You're Not in It for Love) I'm Outta Here!"
    Released: November 15, 1995
  5. "You Win My Love"
    Released: January 26, 1996
  6. "No One Needs to Know"
    Released: May 15, 1996
  7. "Home Ain't Where His Heart Is (Anymore)"
    Released: July 24, 1996
  8. "God Bless the Child"
    Released: October 26, 1996
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Entertainment WeeklyF[2]
The Village VoiceC[3]

The Woman in Me, released on February 7, 1995, is the second studio album by Canadian country singer Shania Twain and her first with the majority of the songs co-written by her. It went on to become her biggest-selling recording at the time of its release, selling 4 million copies by the end of the year, and was eventually certified 12× Platinum by the RIAA on December 1, 2000, representing 12 million shipments throughout the United States, and 20 million copies worldwide.[4] It was ranked #8 on CMT's list of 40 Greatest Albums in Country Music in 2006. [5]

Background

By 1993, Shania Twain was promoting her debut album by singing at local gigs in the United States with little more than a backing track CD. While the album itself did not perform well in the charts, it attracted the attention of rock producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange, whom Twain did not know anything of, and the pair began having long-distance telephone conversations with each other. They bonded over Twain's love of rock music and Lange's love of American country music. After meeting with him at the CMA Music Festival/Fan Fair in June 1993, they began exchanging song ideas with each other and started doing songwriting together. During this time, they developed a romance that culminated in their wedding on December 28, 1993.

It was at this time that Twain was pressed by her record company to return to the studio to start putting together her second album. Twain admitted in her "From This Moment On" memoir that although she was initially reluctant to do so, she told Luke Lewis that she had co-written some songs with Lange, and he agreed to let her record some demos for her album, even though he feared that Twain would deviate too much from the Nashville sound. Twain and Lange continued their songwriting after their wedding and in early 1994, constructed a demo tape produced by Lange of some of their songs which was played to record executives for the first time at Morin Heights Studio. Although some executives were worried because the "less country" sound was different from Twain's debut, Lewis decided to let Twain continue her collaboration with Lange, and hired Lange as the primary producer of the album.

Composition and single releases

"Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?", a country-flavored song about a woman confronting her lover about his frequent infidelity, was released at the first single from the album. Originally, Twain wanted "Any Man of Mine", a song containing both heavy rock and heavy country influences, to be the first single, but was persuaded to change her mind and go with the safer option. While "Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?" slowly gained some attention on the country charts, it was "Any Man of Mine" which gave Twain her first ever country No.1 and Top 40 crossover hit. Her sentimental ballad and the title track "The Woman in Me (Needs the Man in You)" became her first adult contemporary hit, accompanied by a video shot in Egypt.

"God Bless the Child", an a cappella prayer that Twain prayed to herself after her parents died, was originally the last track recorded for the album in 1994. However, in early 1995, just prior to the album release, Twain and Lange experimented with recording different versions of songs for both country audiences and pop-rock audiences. This meant that the two songs in consideration, "(If You're Not in It for Love) I'm Outta Here!", described by Twain as "a warning to pickup artists everywhere, set to a pulsating rock beat, and embroidered with slinky slide guitar" and "You Win My Love", a solely Lange-written love song involving car metaphors, actually had their country and pop-rock counterparts recorded at the same time. Just before the track-listing was finalised, separate country and pop-rock mixes were derived from the original masters, as Twain and Lange intended to release both mixes to the release formats of the album. The pop-rock mixes were shelved in favor of the country mixes during the album's release, but returned billed as "Mutt Lange Mix"es for both songs' single releases. "I'm Outta Here!" and "You Win My Love" became Twain's second and third No.1 hits at country radio, while "I'm Outta Here!" became Twain's first breakthrough hit in Australia.

After more success with another No.1 hit named "No One Needs To Know", which was selected for the soundtrack to the film "Twister", and another minor hit "Home Ain't Where His Heart Is (Anymore)", Twain decided to turn "God Bless The Child" into a full-length song. She and Lange co-wrote new verses touching on the turbulent lives in people's society, and Lange developed two new instrumentals for Twain to record her vocals on: a country version with a banjo and a pop version with a subtle electronic beat. Both versions contain the same acoustic drum set, guitars and chord arrangements, and also feature the Fisk University Jubilee singers and a local performing arts choir on backing vocals.

Track listing

All tracks written by Shania Twain and Robert John "Mutt" Lange, except where noted. 

No. Title Length
1. "Home Ain't Where His Heart Is (Anymore)"   4:12
2. "Any Man of Mine"   4:06
3. "Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?"   4:25
4. "(If You're Not in It for Love) I'm Outta Here!"   4:30
5. "The Woman in Me (Needs the Man in You)"   4:50
6. "Is There Life After Love?"   4:39
7. "If It Don't Take Two"   3:40
8. "You Win My Love" (Lange) 4:26
9. "Raining on Our Love"   4:38
10. "Leaving Is the Only Way Out" (Twain) 4:07
11. "No One Needs to Know"   3:04
12. "God Bless the Child"   1:30
Total length:
48:08
Australian 2CD release bonus disc ("The Woman in Me: Radio Remixes")
No. Title Length
1. "I'm Outta Here!" (Mutt Lange Mix) 4:21
2. "I'm Outta Here!" (Dance Mix) 4:39
3. "You Win My Love" (Mutt Mix) 3:54
4. "God Bless the Child" (Extended Version) 3:52
5. "The Woman in Me (Needs the Man in You)" (International Acoustic Version) 4:40
European re-release bonus tracks
No. Title Length
13. "You Win My Love" (Remix edit) 3:54
14. "Medley: Home Ain't Where His Heart Is (Anymore)/The Woman in Me/You've Got a Way" (Live & Direct TV Mix) 7:25
15. "(If You're Not In It For Love) I'm Outta Here!" (Remix) 4:21
16. "God Bless the Child" (Video) 3:48

Personnel

As listed in liner notes.[6]

"(If You're Not in It for Love) I'm Outta Here!" also features footsteps performed by Shania Twain, and a door slam performed by Paul Leim. Terry McMillan also performs boot stomping on "Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?"

All strings performed by the Nashville String Machine, arranged by Ronn Huff and contracted by Carl Gorodetzky.

Singles chronology

U.S. Country

  1. "Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?"
  2. "Any Man of Mine"
  3. "The Woman in Me (Needs the Man in You)"
  4. "(If You're Not in It for Love) I'm Outta Here!"
  5. "You Win My Love"
  6. "No One Needs to Know"
  7. "Home Ain't Where His Heart Is (Anymore)"
  8. "God Bless the Child" (Single Mix - Country Version)

Europe

  1. "Any Man of Mine"
  2. "The Woman in Me (Needs the Man in You)"
  3. "(If You're Not in It for Love) I'm Outta Here!"
  4. "You Win My Love"
  5. "No One Needs to Know"
  6. "God Bless the Child" (Single Mix - Pop Version)

Australia Pop

  1. "(If You're Not in It for Love) I'm Outta Here!" (Mutt Lange Mix)
  2. "You Win My Love" (Mutt Lange Mix)
  3. "No One Needs to Know"
  4. "God Bless the Child" (Single Mix - Pop Version)

Charts and certifications

Charts

Chart Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[7] 17
Canadian Albums Chart[8] 6
Canadian RPM Country Albums[9] 1
Dutch Albums Chart[10] 46
German Albums Chart[11] 72
Irish Albums Chart[12] 60
New Zealand Albums Chart[13] 38
Norwegian Albums Chart[14] 5
UK Albums Chart[15] 7
U.S. Billboard 200[16] 5
U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums[17] 1

End of decade charts

Chart (1990–1999) Position
U.S. Billboard 200[18] 38

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Australia (ARIA)[19] 2× Platinum 140,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[20] 2× Diamond 2,000,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[21] Platinum 300,000^
United States (RIAA)[4] 12× Platinum 12,000,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

Awards

See also

Release History

Region Date Format Label
US, Canada February 7, 1995 CD, cassette Mercury Nashville
Australia February 20, 1995 Universal Music, Mercury Nashville
1997 2xCD Collector's edition
UK, Europe May, 2000 CD Re-issue Mercury Nashville
US October 14, 2016 LP vinyl[22] Mercury Nashville

References

  1. The Woman in Me at AllMusic
  2. Nash, Alanna (10 February 1995). "The Woman in Me Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  3. Christgau, Robert (1995). "Turkey Shoot". The Village Voice (November 28). New York. Retrieved September 11, 2014.
  4. 1 2 "American album certifications – Shania Twain – The Woman in Me". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
  5. "CMT's 40 Greatest Albums in Country Music".
  6. The Woman in Me (CD liner notes). Shania Twain. Mercury Records. 1995. 522886.
  7. "ARIA Australian Top 50 Singles Chart- Australia's Official Top 50 Songs - ARIA Charts - ARIA Charts". ariacharts.com.au. Archived from the original on January 9, 2014. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
  8. "CANOE -- JAM! Music - SoundScan Charts". canoe.ca. Archived from the original on March 31, 2011. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
  9. "RPM Country Albums for April 17, 1995". RPM. Retrieved 2011-02-09.
  10. Dutch Albums Chart Archived February 8, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
  11. German Albums Chart
  12. ">> IRMA << Welcome to our site >>". irma.ie. Archived from the original on September 21, 2012. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
  13. New Zealand Albums Chart Archived December 5, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
  14. Norwegian Albums Chart Archived July 22, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
  15. UK Albums Chart Archived November 2, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  16. Billboard 200
  17. "The Woman in Me - Shania Twain". Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-02-09.
  18. Geoff Mayfield (December 25, 1999). 1999 The Year in Music Totally '90s: Diary of a Decade - The listing of Top Pop Albums of the '90s & Hot 100 Singles of the '90s. Billboard. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
  19. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1997 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association.
  20. "Canadian album certifications – Shania Twain – The Woman in Me". Music Canada.
  21. "British album certifications – Shania Twain – The Woman in Me". British Phonographic Industry. Enter The Woman in Me in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
  22. {{http://www.cmt.com/news/1772133/shania-twain-releasing-album-catalog-on-vinyl/}}
Preceded by
The Hits by Garth Brooks
Fresh Horses by Garth Brooks
Borderline by Brooks & Dunn
Top Country Albums number-one album
July 22 - October 6, 1995
January 27 - May 3, 1996
June 29 - July 26, 1996
Succeeded by
All I Want by Tim McGraw
Borderline by Brooks & Dunn
Blue by LeAnn Rimes
Preceded by
The Hits by Garth Brooks
New Country 2 by Various Artists
John Michael Montgomery by John Michael Montgomery
All I Want by Tim McGraw
Fresh Horses by Garth Brooks
Revelations by Wynonna
Fresh Horses by Garth Brooks
Borderline by Brooks & Dunn
Borderline by Brooks & Dunn
The Greatest Hits Collection by Alan Jackson
Blue by LeAnn Rimes
Calm Before the Storm by Paul Brandt
Calm Before the Storm by Paul Brandt
Blue by LeAnn Rimes
Collection by The Rankin Family
Everything I Love by Alan Jackson
RPM Country Albums number-one album
April 17–23, 1995
May 22 - July 30, 1995
September 11 - October 1, 1995
October 16–29, 1995
January 8 - March 3, 1996
March 18–31, 1996
April 15 - May 12, 1996
May 20 - June 9, 1996
June 17–30, 1996
July 22 - August 4, 1996
August 12–18, 1996
September 2–8, 1996
September 16–29, 1996
November 11–17, 1996
November 25 - December 22, 1996
January 20–26, 1997
Succeeded by
The Hits by Garth Brooks
The Hits by Garth Brooks
All I Want by Tim McGraw
Now That I've Found You: A Collection by Alison Krauss & Union Station
Revelations by Wynonna
Fresh Horses by Garth Brooks
Borderline by Brooks & Dunn
Borderline by Brooks & Dunn
Calm Before the Storm by Paul Brandt
Blue by LeAnn Rimes
Calm Before the Storm by Paul Brandt
Calm Before the Storm by Paul Brandt
Calm Before the Storm by Paul Brandt
Collection by The Rankin Family
Everything I Love by Alan Jackson
Calm Before the Storm by Paul Brandt
Preceded by
The Hits by Garth Brooks
Top Country Albums number-one album of the year
1996
Succeeded by
Blue by LeAnn Rimes
RPM Country Albums number-one album of the year
1996
Succeeded by
Did I Shave My Legs for This? by Deana Carter
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