Lying to the Moon
Encyclopedia
Lying to the Moon is the debut album of American country music
singer Matraca Berg
. It was released in 1990 via RCA Records
Nashville. The album accounted for the singles "Baby, Walk On," "The Things You Left Undone," "I Got It Bad" and "I Must Have Been Crazy." Berg co-wrote all ten of the tracks.
Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs
) charts. Following these were "I Got It Bad" and "I Must Have Been Crazy" at #43 and #55 respectively. The album itself reached #43 on Top Country Albums.
of Entertainment Weekly
rated it A-plus, saying that "Berg proves herself to be a songwriter of uncommon maturity" and calling her "unquestionably the first true country femme fatale
of the '90s."
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singer Matraca Berg
Matraca Berg
Matraca Maria Berg is an American country music singer and songwriter. She has released five albums: three for RCA Records, one for Rising Tide Records and one for Dualtone Records, and has charted in the top 40 of the U.S. Billboard country charts with "Baby, Walk On" and "The Things You Left...
. It was released in 1990 via RCA Records
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
Nashville. The album accounted for the singles "Baby, Walk On," "The Things You Left Undone," "I Got It Bad" and "I Must Have Been Crazy." Berg co-wrote all ten of the tracks.
Content
The album's first two singles, "Baby, Walk On" and "The Things You Left Undone," both peaked at #36 on the BillboardBillboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
) charts. Following these were "I Got It Bad" and "I Must Have Been Crazy" at #43 and #55 respectively. The album itself reached #43 on Top Country Albums.
Critical reception
Mark A. Humphrey of Allmusic gave the album four-and-a-half stars out of five, saying that she "sometimes delivers with brio." Alanna NashAlanna Nash
Alanna Nash is an American journalist and biographer.Nash holds a master's degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and is the author of several acclaimed books...
of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
rated it A-plus, saying that "Berg proves herself to be a songwriter of uncommon maturity" and calling her "unquestionably the first true country femme fatale
Femme fatale
A femme fatale is a mysterious and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers in bonds of irresistible desire, often leading them into compromising, dangerous, and deadly situations. She is an archetype of literature and art...
of the '90s."
Track listing
All songs written by Matraca Berg and Ronnie Samoset except where noted.- "The Things You Left Undone" – 2:56
- "I Got It Bad" (Berg, Jim PhotogloJim PhotogloJim Photoglo, born James G. Photoglo, who also performed simply as Photoglo, is an American pop singer from Inglewood, California. He released two charting albums in the early 1980s and had two hit singles, "We Were Meant to Be Lovers" and "Fool in Love with You" .After his career as a pop star...
) – 3:36 - "Lying to the Moon" – 3:49
- "I Must Have Been Crazy" – 3:05
- "You Are the Storm" – 4:14
- "Calico Plains" (Berg, Mike Noble) – 3:40
- "Appalachian Rain" – 3:39
- "Baby, Walk On" – 3:08
- "Alice in the Looking Glass" – 3:36
- "Dancin' on the Wire" (Berg, Josh LeoJosh LeoJosh Leo is an American guitarist, songwriter, and record producer active in Nashville, Tennessee.Leo was born in Des Moines, Iowa, but was raised in Kansas City, Missouri. In 1973, he moved to Chicago, Illinois and subsequently became a guitarist of the short-lived Eddie Boy Band...
, Wendy Waldman) – 3:30
Personnel
As listed in liner notes.- Sam BushSam BushSam Bush is an American bluegrass mandolin player considered an originator of the Newgrass style.- History :...
– mandolinMandolinA mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
, fiddleFiddleThe term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music... - Bruce Bouton – steel guitarSteel guitarSteel guitar is a type of guitar or the method of playing the instrument. Developed in Hawaii in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a steel guitar is usually positioned horizontally; strings are plucked with one hand, while the other hand changes the pitch of one or more strings with the use...
, DobroDobroDobro is a registered trademark, now owned by Gibson Guitar Corporation and used for a particular design of resonator guitar.The name has a long and involved history, interwoven with that of the resonator guitar...
, WeissenbornWeissenbornWeissenborn or H. Weissenborn is a brand of lap slide guitar manufactured by Hermann Weissenborn in Los Angeles in the 1920s and 1930s.... - Clara Callaway – background vocals
- Coleida Callaway – background vocals
- Sudie Callaway – background vocals
- John Catchings – celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
- Ashley ClevelandAshley ClevelandAshley Cleveland is an American singer/songwriter perhaps best known as a background vocalist and Grammy-winning gospel singer. Ashley Cleveland was born in Knoxville, Tennessee...
– background vocals - Dan Dugmore – steel guitar, Dobro
- Rob Hajacos – fiddle
- Emmylou HarrisEmmylou HarrisEmmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
– background vocals - Bernie LeadonBernie LeadonBernard Mathew "Bernie" Leadon, III is an American musician and songwriter, best known as a founding member of the Eagles. Prior to the Eagles, he was a member of two pioneering and highly influential country rock bands, Dillard & Clark and the Flying Burrito Brothers...
– acoustic guitarAcoustic guitarAn acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
, banjoBanjoIn the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
, mandolin, mandolaMandolaThe mandola or tenor mandola is a fretted, stringed musical instrument. It is to the mandolin what the viola is to the violin: the four double courses of strings tuned in fifths to the same pitches as the viola , a fifth lower than a mandolin...
, mandocelloMandocelloThe mandocello is a plucked string instrument of the mandolin family. It has eight strings in four paired courses, tuned in 5ths like a mandolin, but is larger, and tuned CC-GG-dd-aa . It is to the mandolin what the cello is to the violin.-Construction:Mandocello construction is similar to the... - Josh LeoJosh LeoJosh Leo is an American guitarist, songwriter, and record producer active in Nashville, Tennessee.Leo was born in Des Moines, Iowa, but was raised in Kansas City, Missouri. In 1973, he moved to Chicago, Illinois and subsequently became a guitarist of the short-lived Eddie Boy Band...
– acoustic guitar - Tracy Nelson – background vocals
- Gary Prim – keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
- Lisa Silver – fiddle
- Harry Stinson – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussion, background vocals - Bobby Taylor – oboeOboeThe oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
- Wendy Waldman – background vocals
- Biff Watson – acoustic guitar
- Willie WeeksWillie WeeksWillie Weeks is an American bass guitarist. He has gained fame performing with famous musicians in a wide variety of genres. He has been one of the most in-demand session musicians throughout his career. Weeks has also gained notoriety touring with many of rock's heavyweights throughout his career...
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, "cheap fretless bass" - John D. Willis – electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, acoustic guitar
Chart performance
| Chart (1990) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums | 43 |