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The Way It Is (Valerie Carter album)

The Way It Is
Studio album by
Valerie Carter
ReleasedJuly 2, 1996 (1996-07-02)[1]
GenreRock
Length40:52
LabelPony Canyon
ProducerEddy Offord[2]
Valerie Carter chronology
Wild Child
(1978) 		The Way It Is
(1996) 		Find a River (EP)
(1998)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic [1]

The Way It Is is Valerie Carter's third solo album. This album features background vocals by James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, Lyle Lovett, Phoebe Snow, David Lasley, Arnold McCuller and Kate Markowitz.[3]

Critical reception

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Rob Caldwell of AllMusic gives the album 3 out of 5 stars and writes, "Following the pattern of her debut, it featured a fine selection of songs and a fine array of guest performers."[1]

Charles Donovan of Pop Matters had this to say of the album, "Wild Child marked the end of Carter's time with Columbia. Busy with backing vocals and some songwriting here and there in the 1980s, she wouldn't re-emerge as a solo artist until 1996, when she cut The Way It Is for the Japanese Pony Canyon label. It was a tremendous return."[4]

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Way It Is"
4:01
2."Love Needs a Heart"
3:43
3."Sea of Stars"
  • Valerie Carter
  • Kevin Hunter
  • Mark Goldenberg
3:43
4."Into the Mystic"Van Morrison4:08
5."Birds"Neil Young3:42
6."Who Is She (And What Is She to You)"
3:29
7."I Say Amen"
3:51
8."When the Blues Come to Call"Tom Snow4:32
9."I Wonder Why"Tom Snow4:38
10."Whistle Down the Wind"Tom Waits5:05
Total length:40:52
Bonus track on some releases
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."That's The Way of the World"
6:11
1996 Japanese release
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Way It Is"
  • Valerie Carter
  • Kevin Hunter
  • Mark Goldenberg
4:01
2."Love Needs a Heart"
  • Valerie Carter
  • Jackson Browne
  • Lowell George
3:43
3."That's The Way of the World"
  • Maurice White
  • Verdine White
  • Charles Stepney
6:11
4."Blessing in Disguise"Tom Snow3:36
5."Into the Mystic"Van Morrison4:08
6."Birds"Neil Young3:42
7."I Say Amen"
  • Valerie Carter
  • Kathy Kurasch
  • Tom Snow
3:51
8."Who Is She (And What Is She to You)"
  • Bill Withers
  • Stan McKenny
3:29
9."When the Blues Come to Call"Tom Snow4:32
10."I Wonder Why"Tom Snow4:38
11."Sea of Stars"
  • Valerie Carter
  • Kevin Hunter
  • Mark Goldenberg
3:43
12."Whistle Down the Wind"Tom Waits5:05
Total length:50:39

Track information verified from the album's liner notes[5] and cross referenced with 45 Worlds.[2]

Personnel

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Technical

Personnel information retrieved from Discogs.[6]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Caldwell, Rob. The Way It Is at AllMusic
  2. ^ a b "CD Album". 45worlds.com. 45 Worlds. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  3. ^ Stegman, Laura (26 March 2013). "JTO Feature: Valerie Carter". james-taylor.com. James Taylor Online. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  4. ^ Donovan, Charles (11 February 2019). "The Voice of an Angel: A Tribute to Valerie Carter". popmatters.com. Pop Matters. Archived from the original on 1 January 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  5. ^ The Way It Is (liner notes). Valerie Carter. Pony Canyon. 1996.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  6. ^ "Valerie Carter - Wild Child". discogs.com. Valerie Carter. Discogs. 1996. Archived from the original on 2020-08-13. Retrieved 2020-01-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
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