Stickin' to My Guns is the sixteenth studio album by Etta James, released in 1990. It was nominated for a Grammy for "Best Contemporary Blues Recording".
Production The album contains a duet with rapper Def Jef. Although it reunited her with several Muscle Shoals musicians, James later expressed ambivalence about the more electronic sound of the album. Stickin' to My Guns was produced by Barry Beckett.
Critical reception Rolling Stone called the album "a nonstop dance party filled with house rockers like 'Love to Burn' and turn-the-lights-down-low, slow-grind numbers like 'Your Good Thing (Is About to End)'." MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide deemed it "a largely unsuccessful attempt to incorporate rap and hip-hop into a more traditional R&B context." The New York Times called it "the best album Aretha Franklin never made, as Ms. James belts out songs about lovers and deceivers."
Track listing
Personnel Etta James - lead vocals Barry Beckett - keyboards Gary Burnette, Teenie Hodges, Danny Rhodes, Josh Sklair - acoustic guitar Thomas Cain - backing vocals Carol Chase - backing vocals Ashley Cleveland - backing vocals Def Jef - backing vocals Quitman Dennis, Jack Hale, John Dewey McKnight - trombone Brother Gene Dinwiddie - tenor saxophone Greg Donerson - percussion Dobie Gray - backing vocals Roger Hawkins - drums Mike Haynes, Fernando Pullum - trumpet Jim Horn - baritone saxophone Mike Lawler - synthesizer Carl Marsh - programming, synthesizer Arik Marshall, Leo Nocentelli, Reggie Young - electric guitar Jonell Mosser - backing vocals David Patterson - baritone saxophone, tenor saxophone Jim Pugh - keyboards, piano Michael Rhodes, Bobby Vega - bass guitar Jimmie Wood - harmonica
References