The Woman in Me (Shania Twain album)

Background

By 1993, Shania Twain was promoting her debut album by singing at local gigs in the United States with little more than a backing track CD. While the album itself did not perform well in the charts, it attracted the attention of rock producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange, whom Twain did not know anything of, and the pair began having long-distance telephone conversations with each other. They bonded over Twain's love of rock music and Lange's love of American country music. After meeting with him at the CMA Music Festival/Fan Fair in June 1993, they began exchanging song ideas with each other and started doing songwriting together. During this time, they developed a romance that culminated in their wedding on December 28, 1993.

It was at this time that Twain was pressed by her record company to return to the studio to start putting together her second album. Twain admitted in her "From This Moment On" memoir that although she was initially reluctant to do so, she told Luke Lewis that she had co-written some songs with Lange, and he agreed to let her record some demos for her album, even though he feared that Twain would deviate too much from the Nashville sound. Twain and Lange continued their songwriting after their wedding and in early 1994, constructed a demo tape produced by Lange of some of their songs which was played to record executives for the first time at Morin Heights Studio. Although some executives were worried because the "less country" sound was different from Twain's debut, Lewis decided to let Twain continue her collaboration with Lange, and hired Lange as the primary producer of the album.

Composition and single releases

"Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?", a country-flavored song about a woman confronting her lover about his frequent infidelity, was released at the first single from the album. Originally, Twain wanted "Any Man of Mine", a song containing both heavy rock and heavy country influences, to be the first single, but was persuaded to change her mind and go with the safer option. While "Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?" slowly gained some attention on the country charts, it was "Any Man of Mine" which gave Twain her first ever country No.1 and Top 40 crossover hit. Her sentimental ballad and the title track "The Woman in Me (Needs the Man in You)" became her first adult contemporary hit, accompanied by a video shot in Egypt.

"God Bless the Child", an a cappella prayer that Twain prayed to herself after her parents died, was originally the last track recorded for the album in 1994. However, in early 1995, just prior to the album release, Twain and Lange experimented with recording different versions of songs for both country audiences and pop-rock audiences. This meant that the two songs in consideration, "(If You're Not in It for Love) I'm Outta Here!", described by Twain as "a warning to pickup artists everywhere, set to a pulsating rock beat, and embroidered with slinky slide guitar" and "You Win My Love", a solely Lange-written love song involving car metaphors, actually had their country and pop-rock counterparts recorded at the same time. Just before the track-listing was finalised, separate country and pop-rock mixes were derived from the original masters, as Twain and Lange intended to release both mixes to the release formats of the album. The pop-rock mixes were shelved in favor of the country mixes during the album's release, but returned billed as "Mutt Lange Mix"es for both songs' single releases. "I'm Outta Here!" and "You Win My Love" became Twain's second and third No.1 hits at country radio, while "I'm Outta Here!" became Twain's first breakthrough hit in Australia.

After more success with another No.1 hit named "No One Needs To Know", which was selected for the soundtrack to the film "Twister", and another minor hit "Home Ain't Where His Heart Is (Anymore)", Twain decided to turn "God Bless The Child" into a full-length song. She and Lange co-wrote new verses touching on the turbulent lives in people's society, and Lange developed two new instrumentals for Twain to record her vocals on: a country version with a banjo and a pop version with a subtle electronic beat. Both versions contain the same acoustic drum set, guitars and chord arrangements, and also feature the Fisk University Jubilee singers and a local performing arts choir on backing vocals.

Track listing

All tracks written by Shania Twain and Robert John "Mutt" Lange, except where noted.

Personnel

As listed in liner notes.

"(If You're Not in It for Love) I'm Outta Here!" also features footsteps performed by Shania Twain, and a door slam performed by Paul Leim. Terry McMillan also performs boot stomping on "Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?"

All strings performed by the Nashville String Machine, arranged by Ronn Huff and contracted by Carl Gorodetzky.

U.S. Country

1. "Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?"
2. "Any Man of Mine"
3. "The Woman in Me (Needs the Man in You)"
4. "(If You're Not in It for Love) I'm Outta Here!"
5. "You Win My Love"
6. "No One Needs to Know"
7. "Home Ain't Where His Heart Is (Anymore)"
8. "God Bless the Child" (Single Mix - Country Version)

Europe

1. "Any Man of Mine"
2. "The Woman in Me (Needs the Man in You)"
3. "(If You're Not in It for Love) I'm Outta Here!"
4. "You Win My Love"
5. "No One Needs to Know"
6. "God Bless the Child" (Single Mix - Pop Version)

Australia Pop

1. "(If You're Not in It for Love) I'm Outta Here!" (Mutt Lange Mix)
2. "You Win My Love" (Mutt Lange Mix)
3. "No One Needs to Know"
4. "God Bless the Child" (Single Mix - Pop Version)

Awards