I'll Lead You Home

The album entered the Billboard 200 at number 16, making it the highest-debuting Christian album in the history of the chart.^[1]^[2] It also topped the 'Top Contemporary Christian' chart.^[3] Released in August 1995, by December of that year it had sold over 51,500 copies in the Christian Bookstore market alone.^[4]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[1]

The album received a four and a half out of five star review from Allmusic, with Stephen Thomas Erlewine commenting on the "gospel songs with glistening, immaculate pop production".^[1] James Lloyd, reviewing the album for the Dayton Daily News considered it "his best work to date".^[5]

The album won the 1996 Grammy Award in the 'Best Pop-Contemporary Gospel Album' category, giving Smith his second Grammy win.^[6]^[7]

Tour

Smith toured in support of the album in 1996.^[8] Support came from Lori and Micah Wilshire (who he subsequently signed to his Rocketown Records label), Three Crosses, and Jars of Clay.^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11] Micah Wilshire had contributed backing vocals to the album.^[9]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Cry for Love"	Smith, Brent Bourgeois	5:10
2.	"Breakdown"	Smith, Wayne Kirkpatrick	5:27
3.	"As It Is in Heaven"	traditional	5:09
4.	"Straight to the Heart"	Smith, Bourgeois	2:48
5.	"Someday"	Smith, Kirkpatrick	3:52
6.	"I'll Be Around"	Smith, Bob Farrell	4:44
7.	"I'll Lead You Home"	Smith, Kirkpatrick	5:23
8.	"The Other Side of Me (Trilogy 1)"	Smith, Kirkpatrick	4:23
9.	"Breathe in Me (Trilogy 2)"	Smith, Kirkpatrick	3:55
10.	"Angels Unaware (Trilogy 3)"	Smith, Kirkpatrick	4:56
11.	"Calling Heaven"	Smith, Kirkpatrick	4:54
12.	"A Little Stronger Everyday"	Smith, Kirkpatrick	4:43
13.	"Crown Him with Many Crowns"	traditional	4:34
14.	"I'm Waiting for You"	Smith, David Mullen, Sam Mullins	3:16

Live The Life Single
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
4.	"Cry for Love (Rocketown Club Remix)"	Smith, Bourgeois	4:09

I'll Lead You Home (1995)
No.	Title	Length
8.	"Breakdown (RrrrB Remix)"	5:26

Personnel

Musicians

Michael W. Smith – vocals, keyboards (1–7, 11–14), programming (4, 11), acoustic piano (8, 9, 10, 13)
Patrick Leonard – keyboards (1, 2), drum programming (2), organ (5, 10, 12, 13), synthesizer programming (14)
Dennis Patton – programming (2, 4, 7)
Dann Huff – guitars (1–3, 5–7, 11–13)
Bruce Gaitsch – acoustic guitar (5)
Paul Franklin – steel guitar (5, 11, 14)
Tommy Sims – bass (1, 3, 5–7, 11–13)
Leland Sklar – bass (10, 14)
Steve Brewster – drums (1, 3, 5, 6, 12, 13)
Chris McHugh – drums (2)
Marc Moreau – drum programming (6)
Vinnie Colaiuta – drums (7)
Brian MacLeod – drums (10, 11), additional programming (11)
Luis Conte – percussion (1, 3, 5–7, 10–13)
Jeremy Lubbock – orchestra arrangements and conductor (8, 9, 10)
Brent Bourgeois – backing vocals (1, 4, 6)
Tim Erwin – backing vocals (1)
Molly Felder – backing vocals (1)
Chris Rodriguez – backing vocals (1, 12)
Susan Ashton – harmony vocals (5)
Lisa Cochran – backing vocals (5, 11, 12)
Reneé Garcia-Bliss – backing vocals (5)
Micah Wilshire – backing vocals (5)
Natalie Jackson – backing vocals (6, 10)
Louis Johnson – backing vocals (6, 7, 10)
Richard Page – backing vocals (6, 7, 10)
Whitney Smith – guest vocal (10)
Gardner Cole – backing vocals (11)
Chris Harris – backing vocals (12)
Anointed (Nee-C Walls, Steve Crawford, Da'dra Crawford and Mary Tiller) – featured vocals (13)
Bob Bailey – choir (3, 7, 12, 13)
Kim Fleming – choir (3, 7, 12, 13)
Vicki Hampton – choir (3, 7, 12, 13)
Chris Harris – choir (3, 7, 12, 13)
Donna McElroy – vocal coordinator, choir (3, 7, 12, 13)
Michael Mellett – choir (3, 7, 12, 13)
Nicole C. Mullen – choir (3, 7, 12, 13)
Angelo and Veronica Petrucci – choir (3, 7, 12, 13)
Chris Rodriguez – choir (3, 7, 12, 13)
Micah Wilshire – choir (3, 7, 12, 13)

Production

Patrick Leonard – producer
Michael W. Smith – executive producer
Michael Blanton – executive producer
Don Donahue – A&R
Keith Compton – engineer
Craig Hansen – engineer, mixing (1, 4)
Jerry Jordan – engineer, mixing (11, 14)
Bryan Lenox – engineer
Marc Moreau – engineer
David Thoener – mixing (2, 3, 5–10)
Bill Deaton – mixing (12, 13)
Rob Burrell – second engineer
Dave Dillbeck – second engineer
David Faulkner – second engineer
Mike Janas – second engineer
Patrick Kelly – second engineer
Scott Lenox – second engineer
Al Lay – second engineer
Paula Montondo – second engineer
Greg Parker – second engineer
Dennis Patton – second engineer
Krish Sharma – second engineer
Darren Smith – second engineer
J.T. Thomas – second engineer
Jason Wilder – second engineer
Jeff Wright – second engineer
Caribou Ranch (Nederland, Colorado) – recording studio
Johnny Yuma (Burbank, California) – recording studio
A&M Studios (Los Angeles, California) – recording studio
The Sound Kitchen (Franklin, Tennessee) – recording studio
Deer Valley (Franklin, Tennessee) – recording studio
The Castle (Franklin, Tennessee) – recording studio
Studio at Mole End (Franklin, Tennessee) – recording studio
Masterfonics (Nashville, Tennessee) – recording studio
Sixteenth Avenue Sound (Nashville, Tennessee) – recording studio
Gambit Studio (Gallatin, Tennessee) – recording studio
Doug Sax – mastering at The Mastering Lab (North Hollywood, California)
Pat Dorn – production coordinator
Derek Jones – production coordinator
Sandra Tomes – production coordinator
Rob Birkhead – art direction
Buddy Jackson – design, for Jackson Design
Karrine Caulkins – design, for Jackson Design
Diana Lussenden – creative assistant
Timothy White – cover photography
Ben Pearson – tray card photo, inside photos
Russ Harrington – inside photos

Chart performance

Chart (1995)	Peak position
US Billboard 200^[12]	16
US Christian Albums (Billboard)^[13]	1

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Erlewine, Stephen Thomas "I'll Lead You Home Review", AllMusic. Retrieved November 2, 2013
^ Hardy, Lawrence (1995) "Box Office", USA Today, September 5, 1995, p. 1D
^ "Billboard Albums", AllMusic. Retrieved November 2, 2013
^ Evans Price, Deborah (1995) "Higher Ground: From SoundScan to Christian Label Acquisitions, it was a Notable Year", Billboard, December 23, 1995, p. 55. Retrieved November 2, 2013
^ Lloyd, James (1995) "Recordings on Review: Michael W. Smith I'll Lead You Home", Dayton Daily News, September 1, 1995, p. 17
^ "God Gets Credit for Guiding Top Artist", Worcester Telegram and Gazette, April 18, 1996
^ "Michael W. Smith among Grammy winners in gospel categories", Dallas Morning News, March 2, 1996
^ ^a ^b "Opening Acts, Smith Perfectly Paired", The Pantagraph, February 24, 1996
^ ^a ^b Evans Price, Deborah (1998) "Christian Duo Wilshire Finds a Label Home in Smith's Rocketown", Billboard, January 31, 1998, p. 16
^ Powell, Mark Allen (2002) Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music, Hendrickson Publishers, ISBN 978-1565636798, p. 1044
^ Jensen, Katherine (1996) "Michael W. Smith gives a great concert in Ames", Cedar Rapids Gazette, March 7, 1996, p. 6
^ "Michael W. Smith Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
^ "Michael W. Smith Chart History (Christian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 12, 2019.

v t e Michael W. Smith
Studio albums	Michael W. Smith Project Michael W. Smith 2 The Big Picture i 2 (EYE) Go West Young Man Change Your World I'll Lead You Home Live the Life This Is Your Time Healing Rain Stand Wonder Hymns Sovereign Hymns II - Shine On Us A Million Lights
Instrumental albums	Freedom Glory
Christmas albums	Christmas Christmastime It's a Wonderful Christmas The Spirit of Christmas
Live albums	The Live Set Worship Worship Again A New Hallelujah Surrounded
Compilation albums	The Wonder Years The First Decade (1983–1993) The Second Decade (1993–2003) Decades of Worship
Songs	"Friends" "Great Is the Lord" "Wired for Sound" "Old Enough to Know" "Secret Ambition" "Place in This World" "I Will Be Here for You" "Christmas Day" "You Won't Let Go" "A Million Lights"
Related articles	Discography Rocketown Rocketown Records

This page was last edited on 3 May 2023, at 15:23

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Sales and charts