Personnel includes: Jim Brickman (piano); Martina McBride (vocals); Dan Huff (guitar); Martin Tillman (cello); The Nashville String Machine (strings); Boney James (soprano saxophone); Dan Shea (synthesizer, programming); Mike Brignardello (bass).
Producers: David Pringle, Jim Brickman, Dan Shea.
Engineers include: Eddie King, Leslie Mona-Mathus, Dan Shea.
Principally recorded at Megatrax Studios, North Hollywood, California from July to August 1996; The Hit Factory, New York, New York from May to June 1996; WallyWorld, San Rafael, California between August and October 1996.
All tracks have been digitally mastered using HDCD technology.
Jim Brickman's accomplished composing and piano playing paint a musical picture that remains in some way a constantly blank canvas, always open to the listener's interpretations. The songs on PICTURE THIS, his third album, have the simple, memorable melodies and easy catchiness of pop music, but also a potent sense of emotion and intimacy. Country singer Martina McBride joins Brickman on "Valentine," which features the utterly unpretentious and unapologetically romantic lyrics, "Even if the sun refused to shine/Even if romance ran out of rhyme/You would still have my heart until the end of time."
Overall, PICTURE THIS is a move toward a renewed optimism and openness for Brickman, who in the past has delved into a sense of deep melancholy to create his touching compositions. There is still a hint of this moodiness here, particularly on "Edgewater," which haunts the listener with its note of bittersweet nostalgia and its delicate oboe harmony.
