Necessary Angels

Necessary Angels
Studio album by Sara Hickman
Released	1994
Recorded	Congress House, Houston, Texas, Arlyn's, Austin, Texas, Bearsville Studios, Bearsville, New York
Genre	Folk/pop
Length	55:48
Label	Discovery[1]
Producer	Sara Hickman Paul Fox[2] Mark Hallman
Sara Hickman chronology
Shortstop (1990) Necessary Angels (1994) Misfits (1997)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[4]

Necessary Angels is the third album by the American singer-songwriter Sara Hickman, released in 1994 (see 1994 in music).[5][1]

After Hickman was dropped by her label, Elektra Records, her fans contributed to allow her to buy back the unreleased tapes that made up the album.[5]

Critical reception

AllMusic called the album Hickman's "boldest, most mature, and most musically sophisticated offering to date."[3] New York called it an "enormously rich album."[6] Billboard wrote that Hickman "eschews some of her earlier wordplay for lyrics that are cleaner and sharper ... Lovely."[7]

Track listing

1. "Pursuit of Happiness" (Hickman) – 4:55
2. "Shadowboxing" (Hickman) – 4:24
3. "The Best of Times" (Hickman) – 4:41
4. "Sister and Sam" (Hickman) – 5:33
5. "Time Will Tell" (Hickman) – 1:59
6. "Eye of the Storm" (Hickman) – 6:15
7. "Oh, Daddy" (Hickman, David Batteau) – 4:24
8. "Room of One's Own" (Hickman, Gerald O'Brien) – 5:26
9. "Tiger in a Teacup Town" (Hickman) – 4:32
10. "Slippery" (Hickman) – 4:10
11. "Joy" (Hickman) – 5:23
12. "The Place Where the Garage Used to Stand" (Hickman) – 4:06

Personnel

• Sara Hickman – acoustic guitar, flute, guitar, percussion, electric guitar, vocals, background vocals, choir, harmony vocals
• Amy Atchley – choir
• David Batteau – guitar, background vocals
• Adrian Belew – acoustic guitar, guitar, mandolin, calliope, electric guitar, background vocals
• Jim Cocke – organ, keyboards
• Mike Daane – bass guitar
• Carl Finch – accordion
• Glenn Fukunaga – bass guitar
• Rafael Gayol – drums
• Mark Hallman – percussion, background vocals, choir, shaker, tambo drums
• Ethridge Hill – trumpet
• Bradley Kopp – electric guitar
• Danny Levin – cello
• Tony Levin – bass guitar
• Mitch Marine – drums
• Jerry Marotta – percussion, drums
• Darcy Matthews – background vocals, choir
• Dominic Matthews – choir
• Genevieve Matthews – choir
• Ian Matthews – choir
• Kris McKay – choir
• Brad McLemore – electric guitar
• Pamela Miller – choir
• Paul Pearcy – percussion, drums
• Pierce Pettis – acoustic guitar
• Mark Rubin – upright bass
• David Sancious – piano, keyboards
• Chris Searles – percussion, sound effects, tambourine, noise
• Tommy Taylor – drums
• Richard Weiss – choir
• Morgan Wommack – choir
• Brad Young – background vocals

Production

• Producers: Sara Hickman, Paul Fox, Mark Hallman
• Engineers: Mark Hallman, Marty Lester, Kevin Smith, Ed Thacker
• Assistant engineers: Marty Lester, Allan Queen, Mike Reiter
• Arranger: Sara Hickman, Paul Fox
• String arrangements: Sara Hickman, Danny Levin
• Mixing: Sara Hickman, Mark Hallman, Marty Lester, Kevin Smith, Ed Thacker
• Remixing: Sara Hickman, Mark Hallman, Marty Lester, Kevin Smith
• Mastering: Joe Gastwirt
• Art direction: Sara Hickman
• Illustrations: Sara Hickman
• Photography: Lynn Sugarman
• Hair stylist: Tony Fielding
• Make-up: Tony Fielding
• Clothing/wardrobe: Cyndy Goodman

References

1. "Sara Smile". Austinchronicle.com.
2. Thompson, Dave (October 17, 2000). Alternative Rock. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 770. ISBN 9780879306076 – via Google Books.
3. "Necessary Angels - Sara Hickman | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.
4. Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 4. MUZE. p. 275.
5. "Sara Hickman | Biography & History". AllMusic.
6. "Hot Line". New York Magazine. New York Media, LLC. August 22, 1994. p. 21 – via Google Books.
7. "Album Reviews". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. July 23, 1994. p. 58 – via Google Books.