The Living Room Sessions (2013) is B.J. Thomas' first "unplugged" album, celebrating fifty years in the recording industry and forty-seven years since his first gold record (a cover of the Hank Williamssong, "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry"). The Living Room Sessions offers many of Thomas' most recognizable hits, the album was produced to instill the atmosphere of an intimate setting and includes duet performances from some of Thomas' favorite artists.[2]
Two time Academy of Country Music Award nominee Kyle Lehning[6]: 79 produced The Living Room Sessions at Sound Stage Studio, Nashville, Tennessee, in 2012. Lehning and Thomas kept the pre-production details simple, realizing that the songs would naturally lend themselves to the acoustic format and trusted the musicians (Lehning and the Nashville "cats") to deliver the acoustic interpretations with minimal melodic adjustments to the songs.[3]
Vince Gill first hit the Billboard Magazine charts as the front man for Pure Prairie League; the album Can't Hold Back (1979) hit No. 124 on the Billboard 200. Since that time, Gill has had a successful solo career with twenty Grammy and eleven Country Music Association awards, five of those for Male Vocalist of the Year and two for Entertainer of the Year (1993-1994).[14] Gill is the only artist to win the Male Vocalist award for five consecutive years (1991-1995).[15]
Well, that's just incredible, isn't it? What's her name? Sara? Boy, she can really sing. [...] She is so cute, how old is she? Four ... and who taught her the words? ... she knows the words to all my songs? I don't know what to say.[24]
B.J. Thomas, March 29, 1997
Sara Niemietz first met B.J. Thomas in 1997, when he helped the four-year-old Sara onto the stage during his performance of "Hooked on a Feeling" as she kept singing along in the front row. The following short duet was uploaded to Sara's YouTube channel.[24]
In the following fifteen year, Sara Niemietz made her name as a singer on Broadway, where she played a young Carol Burnett in Hollywood Arms. She landed the role of Patrice in the Los Angeles premiere of the Jason Robert Brown and Dan Elish musical, 13 and the supporting role of Polly in Akeelah and the Bee.[25][26]
Steve Tyrell managed Thomas and was the original producer on "Rock and Roll Lullaby" (Scepter Records). As a single, the song was an Adult Contemporary No. 1 hit and reached No. 15 on Billboard Hot 100 in 1975.[3]
Critical reception
Bob Paxman, "The Living Room Sessions by B.J. Thomas", Country Weekly, April 2, 2013
The overall recording is solid, not your standard "Greatest Hits Revisited" package. And surprisingly, you don't miss the orchestrations that marked the earlier versions—the acoustic instruments more than capably fill in.[31]
Stephen Thomas Erlewine, "B.J. Thomas The Living Room Sessions review", AllMusic
Despite the preponderance of guests -- Steve Tyrell, Etta Britt, and Sara Niemietz also appear, leaving just a third of the album to B.J. himself -- this amiable acoustic album is a showcase for Thomas, who hasn't seemed to lose much vocally, and remains an engaging, friendly presence on record.[32]
Edward Morris, "B.J. Thomas Bows Duet Album of Hits, The Living Room Sessions", CMT News, April 3, 2013
The Living Room Sessions is free of gospel. But the album does offer a fair sampling of Thomas' pop and country mastery via hits he had between 1966 and 1983. He enlists Isaac Slade, of the rock band the Fray, to assist him on "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry." Gill chimes in on "I Just Can't Help Believing." Keb' Mo' shares the mic on "Most of All."
Marx blends voices with Thomas on "(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song." Jazz and pop singer Steve Tyrell joins in on "Rock and Roll Lullaby." Thomas tapped touring and studio singer Etta Britt for the sultry "New Looks From an Old Lover" and newcomer Sara Niemietz for "Hooked on a Feeling." Lovett is the vocally canny accomplice on "Raindrops."
Thomas solos on the remaining four songs: "Don't Worry Baby," "Eyes of a New York Woman," "Whatever Happened to Old Fashioned Love" and "Everybody's Out of Town."[33]
Pam Stadel, "Digital Rodeo Music Reviews B.J. Thomas, Mark Cooke, The Mavericks", Digital Rodeo
The Living Room Sessions is recorded in a simple way and very close to the original songs. The instrumentation is phenomenal and the production is outstanding. Vocals? All I can say is B.J. Thomas has aged like a bottle of fine wine—the older he gets, the better he gets—period. For those that remember him from the beginning to the new crowds today, get this album; It's available this week. You won't be sorry.[34]
^Ward, Jamie (10 January 2012). "B.J. Thomas To Release "The Living Room Sessions" With Special Guests". The Living Room Sessions. Music News Nashville. Retrieved 16 February 2013. The singer, a five-time Grammy and two-time Dove Award winner who has sold more than 70 million records and is ranked in Billboard's Top 50 most played artists over the past 50 years, invites longtime fans and newcomers alike into his "living room" for never-heard-before arrangements of his legendary classics
^"2014 Grammy Hall of Fame". Raindrops Keep Fallin' on my Head. THE RECORDING ACADEMY. 3 December 2013. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
^"Etta Britt". Music City Roots. Retrieved 21 February 2013. With what she calls a "cool groove record" – her first album for the Wrinkled Records label – Etta stakes her claim as one of the most versatile singers working today.
^"Garrard County"(PDF). Garrard County Society, Residents, and Births. Garrard County, KY. Retrieved 26 February 2013. Melissa Prewitt (aka Etta Britt), of Garrard County, was part of the 1970s popstyled country band, Dave & Sugar. The band recorded multiple number one hits and made it to the Billboard country music charts sixteen times.
^"VINCE GILL". Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Retrieved 19 February 2013. Gill is the only songwriter to win Song of the Year four times. His wins came for "When I Call Your Name" (1991), "Look at Us" (1992), "I Still Believe in You" (1993), and "Go Rest High on That Mountain" (1996).
^"List of Grammy award winners". Dance with My Father. USA Today. 8 February 2004. Retrieved 18 February 2013. Among winners at the 46th annual Grammy awards: Song of the year: Dance With My Father, Richard Marx and Luther Vandross
^"FRONT ROW CENTER". 109 "Richard Marx: A Night Out with Friends”. American Public Television. Retrieved 30 May 2012. In this concert, Marx takes us through his legendary career and brings along a few friends including Hugh Jackman, Matt Scannell, and Sara Niemietz.
