Jennifer Love Hewitt - Jennifer Love Hewitt

She was doing it before Britney Spears, and she was doing it better. Teen princess Jennifer Love Hewitt attained a level of popularity based predominantly on her immensely likeable girl-next-door appeal. But before she became a household name with TV's Party of Five and as the heroine of the I Know What You did Last Summer movies, she was recording albums. This eponymous CD was her second American release, and though she poses no threat to the Celine Dions and the Lorrie Morgans of the world, her feathery light voice is more soulful than you'd imagine. The tracks on this album are all R&B-flavored pop and adult contemporary, and, though they're slickly produced, they complement Hewitt instead of overpowering her. Yes, most of the lyrics are the usual teen odes to love, loss, and longing, but there's a maturity to them as well that transcends most cookie-cutter pop. On "I Always Was Your Girl," she sings "You put your friends through hell/that's why we get along so well," obviously not capitalizing on the "nice" girl image she was on the cusp of practically owning; on "Cool With You," she pines to right a relationship so that all can be cool again; and on "It's Good to Know I'm Alive" from the House Arrest soundtrack (in which she starred) she sings with such joy and abandon, you'll want to sing along, too. Depending on your threshold for harmless, white-bread teen pop, this album could be a welcome addition to your collection because, frankly, it makes you like her even more than her image did in the first place. ~ Bryan Buss, All Music Guide

Name Credits Alex Al Guitar (Bass) Billy Mann Water Effects, ?, Vocal Arrangement Brad Catlett Assistant Engineer Brad Davis Project Coordinator, Mixing, Engineer Charles Fearing Guitar (Rhythm) Chris Papastephanou Engineer Chris Roberts Engineer, Mixing Conner Reeves Vocal Arrangement Danny Powers Guitar Dave Cintron Keyboard Programming David Clinton Keyboard Programming David Flemming Mixing, Drums, Rhythm Arrangements, Producer, Keyboards, Drum Programming, Engineer Dick Rudolph Producer Diego Uchitel Photography Doug Grigsby Drums Elizabeth Barrett Art Direction, Design Eric Bazilian Guitar Fran Lucci Vocals (Background) Greg Mull Engineer Howard McCrary Vocal Arrangement, Keyboards, Producer Ira Siegel Guitar, ?, Guitar (Steel), Guitar (Electric) Jennifer Love Hewitt Vocals (Background) Jimmy Greco Producer, Drum Programming, Drums Joe Alexander Engineer, Mixing Joel Kipnis Guitar (Electric), Vocal Arrangement, Guitar (Acoustic), Producer John Avarese Synthesizer Larry Loftin Vocal Arrangement Melvin Davis Guitar (Bass) Michael Sembello Vocals (Background), Producer, Guitar, Programming Paul Adamy Guitar (Bass) Peter Zizzo Vocal Arrangement, Vocal Programming Rich Christina Executive Producer Rich Davis Project Coordinator Rick Essig Mastering Robert Mitchell Engineer Robert Palmer Drums, Drum Programming, Wah Wah Guitar, Vocal Arrangement, Producer Skip Drinkwater Producer, Mixing Stephanie Gylden Mixing Assistant Stephanie Sylden Assistant Engineer Tony Meador Assistant Engineer Valerie Davis Vocals (Background), Vocal Arrangement Wayne Cohen Guitar (Electric), Guitar (Bass), Producer, Guitar (Acoustic), Keyboards, Programming, Loops, Vocals (Background), Vocal Programming