Personnel includes: Martina McBride (vocals, tambourine); Clint Black (vocals, electric guitar); Biff Watson, Billy Joe Walker, Jr. (acoustic & electric guitars); Paul Worley (acoustic & 12-string guitars); Dann Huff (gut string guitar, 6 & 12-string electric guitars, 6-string bass); Daryl Schiff, Dean Parks (acoustic guitar); Paul Franklin, Dan Dugmore (steel guitar); Stuart Duncan (fiddle, mandolin); Larry Franklin (fiddle); Timothy J. Lauer (accordian, harmonium); John Hobbs (piano, Hammond B-3 organ); Jim Brickman (piano); Matt Rollings (Hammond B-3 organ); Dan Shea (synthesizer, programming); Mike Brignardello (bass); Lonnie Wilson (drums); Kim Richey, Gene Miller, Sara Evans, Danny Wilde, Susan Ashton (background vocals).
Producers: Martina McBride, Paul Worley, Clint Black, James Stroud, Dan Shea.
Engineers include: Kevin Beamish, Clarke Schleicher, Ed Seay.
All tracks have been digitally mastered using HDCD technology.
Flavoring her country style with a strong dose of Top 40 pop, McBride simultaneously conveys a fragile femininity and a deep inner strength. She's equally convincing crying over a broken heart ("Wrong Again") and belting out a powerful anthem of self reliance ("Happy Girl", "Keeping My Distance"). And between dueting with Clint Black ("Still Holding On") and collaborating with New Age pianist Jim Brickman ("Valentine"), the petite singer is in good company.
On EVOLUTION, McBride's voice is captured at its crystal-clear best. Her vocal style contains echoes of such legends as Linda Ronstadt, Crystal Gayle, and Roseanne Cash blended with the clarity of contemporaries like Faith Hill and Lari White. EVOLUTION clearly shows McBride in top form.
