Alannah Myles
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Album Summary
Alannah Myles' self-titled debut album was laid down in Toronto and released in 1989 through Atlantic Records — and honey, this one had been a long time coming. Produced by David Tyson and Christopher Ward, the latter of whom co-wrote the record's crown jewel 'Black Velvet,' this album was the payoff of years Myles spent in the trenches of the 1980s music scene, sharpening her sound and chasing down a major label deal that matched her ambition. When it finally arrived, it arrived right — a polished, blues-soaked rock record built around one of the most commanding female voices to ever step up to a microphone, smoky and powerful and absolutely unmistakable.
Reception
- 'Black Velvet' became a massive international hit, climbing all the way to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States and topping charts in multiple countries, single-handedly turning this debut into a worldwide event.
- The album was certified multi-platinum in both Canada and the United States, and in 1991 Myles took home the Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for 'Black Velvet,' giving the record the kind of critical stamp that echoes for decades.
- While some critics felt the album leaned heavily on the gravitational pull of its lead single, the broader consensus celebrated Myles' extraordinary vocal presence and the atmospheric, roots-drenched production that gave the whole record its soul.
Significance
- 'Black Velvet' — a deeply felt tribute to Elvis Presley — became one of the most enduring rock ballads of its era, and its presence on this album cements Myles' debut as a genuine landmark of late-1980s blues-rock, the kind of record that still sounds like something when it comes through the speakers.
- At a time when the landscape was not exactly rolling out the welcome mat for women in blues-rock, Myles stood up as one of the very few Canadian female rock artists to break through to mainstream international success, and this album helped carve out space in the genre for the voices that came after her.
- The record sits right at a fascinating musical crossroads — the glossy production instincts of the late 1980s meeting a rootsy, vocal-forward authenticity that pointed the way toward where rock and blues were headed in the early 1990s, making it a document of a genre in beautiful transition.
Tracklist
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A1 Still Got This Thing 124
4:35
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A2 Love Is 101
3:39
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A3 Black Velvet 92
4:49
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A4 Rock This Joint 161
4:00
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A5 Lover Of Mine 148
4:37
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B1 Kick Start My Heart 116
3:41
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B2 If You Want To 111
4:11
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B3 Just One Kiss 117
3:34
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B4 Who Loves You 110
3:36
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B5 Hurry Make Love 130
2:18
Artist Details
Alannah Myles is a powerhouse Canadian rock and blues singer who burst onto the scene out of Toronto in the late 1980s, bringing a raw, smoky voice that felt like it had been soaking in whiskey and heartbreak for decades. Her self-titled debut album dropped in 1989 and gave the world the scorching hit Black Velvet, a slow-burning blues-rock tribute to Elvis Presley that climbed straight to number one and earned her a Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. That record cemented her place as one of Canada's most distinctive voices, a woman who wore her influences on her sleeve while carving out something entirely her own in an era crowded with pop gloss and hairspray.
