A Distant Call (1996)
- Joel Caballero
- 11 minutes ago
- 3 min read
A Distant Call is the fourth studio album by Christian singer Susan Ashton, released on October 1, 1996 by Sparrow Records.
Ashton returned with her first new studio album in three years. Between her 1993 self-titled release and this album, Ashton was married, released a collaboration album Along the Road with Christine Denté and Margaret Becker in 1994 and opened and toured with country music superstar Garth Brooks on his European tour that same year.
After the release of her 1995 compilation album So Far...The Best of Susan Ashton. Ashton returned to the studio to work on new material that resulted in A Distant Call. In addition to working with long-time producer Wayne Kirkpatrick, Ashton also worked with Brown Bannister and Michael Omartian as they each produced tracks on the album. Ashton recorded two songs that were co-written by Grammy Award winning rock singer and songwriter Sheryl Crow: "All Kinds of People" and "Hundreds of Tears." Both tracks were originally recorded by Crow for her unreleased 1992 debut album. "All Kinds of People" was earlier covered and recorded by R&B legend Tina Turner for her 1996 album Wildest Dreams that was released in Europe first before the U.S. version.
The main highlight is the opening track and music video, "You Move Me." Written by Gordon Kennedy and Pierce Pettis, "You Move Me" is a powerful country ballad about emotional and spiritual transformation, detailing how love and faith can push someone out of fear and stagnation. Brooks himself loved the song so much that he decided to record his own version of the song on his 1997 album Sevens when it was released as a single in 1998. It achieve massive commercial success and peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. Additional songwriting contributions came from Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Chris Eaton, Billy Sprague and others with Ashton co-writing three songs.
A Distant Call debuted and peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Top Christian Albums and at No. 14 on the Heatseekers Albums charts. The album serves as her final regular Christian release of the 1990s as Ashton, after the release of A Distant Call, went to work on her first mainstream country album, Closer, for Capitol Nashville Records.
Track listing
1. You Move Me (Gordon Kennedy, Pierce Pettis) -5:15
2. Blind Side (Susan Ashton, Wayne Kirkpatrick) -5:37
3. Body And Soul (Susan Ashton, Chris Eaton, Wayne Kirkpatrick) -4:18
4. All Kinds of People (Sheryl Crow, Kevin Gilbert, Eric Pressley) -4:29
5. Crooked Man (Billy Sprague, Wayne Kirkpatrick) -5:13
6. Spinning Like a Wheel (Susan Ashton, Wayne Kirkpatrick) -4:50
7. Hundreds of Tears (Sheryl Crow, Bob Marlette) -5:28
8. Send a Message (Amy Grant, Gayla Borders, Jeff Borders) -3:59
9. I Will Follow (Julie Corlew, Gayla Borders, Jeff Borders) -4:16
10. Lonely River (Michael W. Smith, Wayne Kirkpatrick) -5:37
11. Love Profound (Wayne Kirkpatrick) -3:55
Production credits
Wayne Kirkpatrick -producer (tracks 5, 6, 10 and 11)
Michael Omartian -producer (tracks 3, 4, 7 and 9)
Brown Bannister -producer (tracks 1, 2 and 8)
Radio singles
1996 "Body And Soul" -#4 Christian AC
1996 -1997 "All Kinds of People" -#5 Christian CHR, -#21 Christian AC
1997 "You Move Me" -#5 Christian AC
1997 "Blind Side" -#14 Christian AC
Previous release: So Far...The Best of Susan Ashton (1995) (compilation album)
Next release: Closer (1999)
Watch the music video of "You Move Me" here:
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