Open Road is the debut solo album by British singer-songwriter Gary Barlow. It was released by BMG and RCA Records on 26 May 1997.
Album information Following the break-up of Take That, Barlow went straight into the recording studio and began recording a solo album. On 5 July 1996, the album's lead single, "Forever Love", was released, peaking at number one on the UK Singles Chart. A second single, "Love Won't Wait", was released in April 1997, also peaking at number one. On 26 May 1997, the album was subsequently released, peaking at number one on the UK Albums Chart on the week of release."UK Chart Archive". everyHit.com. Retrieved 16 November 2007. The album was certified platinum.Open Road British Sales Certificate. British Phonographic Industry. 12 December 1997. Retrieved 16 November 2007. Following the album's release, a further two singles, "So Help Me Girl" and "Open Road" were released, which charted at 11 and 7 respectively with the third single becoming Barlow's first solo material to chart in America.
International success Following the success of the album in the United Kingdom and the album charting in over 21 countries internationally, Barlow set about releasing the album in the United States, and signed a record deal with Arista. He soon decided to re-work the album for the American market, and began promotion by releasing a remixed version of "So Help Me Girl" as the lead single, complete with a brand new video, on 30 September 1997. The album was subsequently released on 13 January 1998, and on 17 February, one of the new tracks for the American issue, "Superhero", was released as the second single. Although it became widely known for its use as the Yankees main theme, it failed to achieve any commercial success.
The album sold 2 million copies worldwide.
Critical reception
The San Diego Vista gave the album a positive review, stating that as a "singer and songwriter [Barlow] demonstrates his potential as a successful solo artist on Open Road. The album shows a diversity of musical styles, many acoustic-based tracks, a few haunting ballads and some scintillating up-tempo dance numbers." Rodel goes on to state that "on the title track, "Open Road," Gary's brilliant songwriting abilities are showcased in all its glory. A song that he wrote at the young age of 16, "Open Road" reveals Gary's journey through life [making it] perhaps the best song on Gary's debut album."http://www.lexisnexis.com/uk/nexis/results/docview/docview.do?docLinkInd=true&risb=21_T12772348936&format=GNBFI&sort=BOOLEAN&startDocNo=1&resultsUrlKey=29_T12772348940&cisb=22_T12772348939&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&csi=172244&docNo=2 Nexis Lexis, Search Gary Barlow Open Road, 2nd source on list. Rodel Divina, The Vista San Diego
Track listing European edition
US edition
Notes signifies an additional producer signifies a remixer signifies a co-producer
Personnel Credits for Open Road adapted from AllMusic.https://www.allmusic.com/album/open-road-mw0000024917/credits Open Road album credits.
Gary Barlow – composer, piano, producer, vocals Absolute – mixing, multi instruments, producer Walter Afanasieff – bass, drums, keyboards, organ, producer, programming, synthesizer Alex Black – assistant engineer Greg Calbi – mastering Andreas Carlsson – backing vocals Jake Chessum – photography Clive Davis – executive producer Joey Diggs – backing vocals Felipe Elgueta – engineer David Foster – arranger, vocals, keyboards, producer Nick Foster – keyboards, producer, programming, remixing Simon Franglen – programming Paul Gendler – guitar David Gleeson – engineer, mixing Nathaniel Goldberg – photography Jeff Griffin – assistant engineer Sandy Griffith – backing vocals Mick Guzauski – mixing Phillip Ingram – backing vocals Judy Kirschner – assistant engineer Bob Kraushaar – mixing Kristian Lawing – Producer Stephen Lipson – producer Richard Lowe – mixing Milton Mcdonald – guitar Madonna – composer Manny Marroquin – engineer, mixing Max Martin – producer, backing vocals Grant Mitchell – arranger, producer, programming P. Dennis Mitchell – mixing Heff Moraes – engineer Joey Moskowitz – programming Esbjörn Öhrwall – guitar Dean Parks – guitar Shep Pettibone – composer Chris Porter – producer Claytoven Richardson – backing vocals Marnie Riley – mixing assistant Mike Rose – keyboards, producer, programming, remixing Marc Russo – guest artist, tenor saxophone Mike Scott – assistant engineer Dan Shea – keyboards, programming Andy Spooner – composer Christopher Stern – art direction Ren Swan – engineer Michael Thompson – guitar Jeanie Tracy – backing vocals Junior Vasquez – producer Norman Watson – photography Dave Way – mixing Wil Wheaton – backing vocals Simon Willis – producer Tim Willis – engineer
Charts
Weekly charts Chart (1997)PeakPositionAustralian Albums (ARIA)Danish Charts AustralianCharts.com. Retrieved 17 November 2007.30Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria Top 75)"Discographie Gary Barlow". AustrianCharts.com. Retrieved 17 November 2007.13Belgian (Ultratop 50 Vlaanderen) Albums"Gary Barlow – Open Road". UltraTop.be. Retrieved 1 June 2008.7Belgian (Ultratop 50 Wallonia) Albums"Gary Barlow – Open Road". UltraTop.be. Retrieved 1 June 2008.20Danish Albums (Tracklisten)6Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)"Discography Gary Barlow". DutchCharts.nl. Retrieved 17 November 2007.13Estonian Albums (Eesti Top 10)7European Albums Chart4Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)"Discography Gary Barlow". FinnishCharts.com. Retrieved 17 November 2007.29German Albums (Media Control AG)"Gary Barlow". Charts-Surfer.de. Retrieved 1 June 2008.10Greek Albums (IFPI Greece)3Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)mahasz.hu Hungarian album Archive.33Irish Albums (IRMA)1Italian Albums (FIMI)8Japanese Albums (Oricon)http://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/artist/68069/ranking/cd_album/ Oricon Archive – Gary Barlow Open Road.40Malaysian Albums (IFPI)3New Zealand Albums (RIANZ)"Discography Gary Barlow". Charts.org.nz. Retrieved 17 November 2007.43Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)"Discography Gary Barlow". NorwegianCharts.com. Retrieved 17 November 2007.34Singapore Albums (SPVA)3Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)5Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)"Discography Gary Barlow". SwedishCharts.com. Retrieved 17 November 2007.25Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)"Discography Gary Barlow". SwissCharts.com. Retrieved 17 November 2007.6Taiwanese Albums (IFPI)1
Year-end charts Chart (1997)PositionGerman Albums (Offizielle Top 100)100UK Albums (OCC)43
Certifications and sales
References