Listen is the fourth studio album by Christian singer - songwriter Cindy Morgan, released on October 29, 1996 by Word Records.
Listen was a departure from her dance/pop sound of Morgan's previous albums and moving towards a full adult contemporary sound in the singer - songwriter vein. Morgan also worked with new producers Brent Bourgeois and Craig Hansen to let her stretch vocally and lyrically to give it a band feel. In addition to Morgan playing the piano on the album, she also worked with studio musicians including producer Bourgeois. The title song was released as the lead single and topped the Christian AC chart. It's the first time Morgan topped that chart by herself whereas previously she had number one songs on the Christian CHR chart. Four years earlier, Morgan hit number one on the Christian AC chart with the duet track "Somewhere Within the Heart" with Carman.
The lyrics to "Listen" were written by Morgan's father Cova Morgan in the 1970s. A music video was made for the second single "The Master's Hand." The video is, in some ways, a sequel to her previous video "I Will Be Free" (from 1993's A Reason to Live). Morgan wrote all the songs on the album. Listen was ranked at number 81 by CCM Magazine in their 2001 book The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music.
In 1997, Morgan released a concert video on VHS titled Listen...The Concert: An Evening with Cindy Morgan. It was recorded live at the Caffe Milano in Nashville, Tennessee with her band, members of the Nashville String Machine and backing vocalists. It was nominated for a Dove Award for Long Form Music Video of the Year in 1998. The album debuted and peaked at number 32 on the Billboard Top Christian Albums chart.
Track listing
All songs were written by Cindy Morgan, except where noted.
1. The Master's Hand -3:40
2. God is Love -3:24
3. They Say It's Love ("Stars") -3:36
4. Need -3:30
5. Jamie -3:07
6. Listen (Cindy Morgan, Cova Morgan, Andrew Ramsay) -3:45
7. The Promise -4:11
8. Lord We Come (interlude) -0:56
9. Moon Days (Cindy Morgan, Brent Bourgeois, Andrew Ramsay, Brent
Lenthall) -3:54
10. To Fly -3:54
11. Gravity -3:41
12. Will You Be There? -1:41
Radio singles
1996 -1997 "Listen" -#2 Christian CHR, #1 Christian AC for 5 weeks
1997 "The Master's Hand" -#9 Christian CHR, #10 Christian AC
1997 "Moon Days" -#4 Christian CHR
1997 "God is Love" -#19 Christian AC
Previous release: Under the Waterfall (1995)
Next release: The Loving Kind (1998)
Watch the live concert video Listen...The Concert: An Evening with Cindy Morgan
here:
Watch the music video of "The Master's Hand" here:
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