Take Me as I Am (Faith Hill album)

Take Me as I Am is the debut studio album by country singer Faith Hill, released in 1993 by Warner Bros. Records. It has been certified 3× platinum in the United States for shipments of three million copies.

Take Me as I Am
Studio album by Faith Hill
Released	October 12, 1993
Recorded	Woodland Recording Studios, Midtown Tone and Volume, and The Soundshop, Nashville, Tennessee, US
Genre	Country
Length	34:07
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer	Scott Hendricks, Michael Clute, Gary Burr
Faith Hill chronology
Take Me as I Am (1993) It Matters to Me (1995)
Singles from Take Me as I Am
"Wild One" Released: September 23, 1993 "Piece of My Heart" Released: January 13, 1994 "But I Will" Released: May 12, 1994 "Take Me as I Am" Released: September 12, 1994

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[2]
Rolling Stone	(favorable)[3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[4]

Four singles were released from the album. The first two — "Wild One" and "Piece of My Heart" — reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in 1994. "Wild One," the tale of a rebellious teen-aged girl in conflict with her parents' more conservative ways, was the lead-off single, spending four weeks at No. 1 that January.

"Piece of My Heart", a cover of the 1967 song by Erma Franklin, was issued as the follow-up. The third single, "But I Will", failed to break the Top 30, but Hill's fourth release in late 1994 (the title track) reached No. 2.

Track listing

All tracks produced by Scott Hendricks; except "Just Around the Eyes" produced by Michael Clute and Gary Burr.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Take Me as I Am"	Bob DiPiero, Karen Staley	3:17
2.	"Wild One"	Jaime Kyle, Pat Bunch, Will Rambeaux	2:45
3.	"Just About Now"	Gary Burr, Jon Vezner	2:57
4.	"Piece of My Heart"	Bert Berns, Jerry Ragovoy	4:01
5.	"I've Got This Friend" (with Larry Stewart)	Faith Hill, Bruce Burch, Vern Dant	3:46
6.	"Life's Too Short to Love Like That"	Sandy Ramos	2:37
7.	"But I Will"	Troy Seals, Eddie Setser, Larry Stewart	3:47
8.	"Just Around the Eyes"	Burr	3:07
9.	"Go the Distance"	Trey Bruce, Thom McHugh, Hill	3:02
10.	"I Would Be Stronger Than That"	Burr	4:48
Total length:			34:07

Personnel

As listed in liner notes.

All tracks except "Just Around the Eyes"

• Gary Burr – background vocals
• John Catchings – cello
• Bill Cuomo – synthesizer
• Stuart Duncan – mandolin, fiddle
• Paul Franklin – steel guitar, dobro
• Dann Huff – electric guitar
• John Barlow Jarvis – piano
• Mary Ann Kennedy – background vocals
• Mark Luna – background vocals
• Brent Mason – electric guitar
• Terry McMillan – congas, cymbals, tambourine
• Don Potter – acoustic guitar
• Michael Rhodes – bass guitar
• Pam Rose – background vocals
• Victoria Shaw – background vocals
• Karen Staley – background vocals
• Larry Stewart – background vocals
• Cindy Richardson Walker – background vocals
• Ron Wallace – background vocals
• Lari White – background vocals
• Lonnie Wilson – drums

On "Just Around the Eyes"

• Gary Burr – background vocals
• Jerry Douglas – dobro
• Rob Hajacos – fiddle
• Terry McMillan – percussion
• Edgar Meyer – acoustic bass guitar
• Harry Stinson – drums
• Biff Watson – acoustic guitar
• Glenn Worf – electric bass guitar

Production

• Producers: Scott Hendricks (all tracks except "Just Around the Eyes"); Mike Clute and Gary Burr ("Just Around the Eyes" only)
• Assistant producer: John Kunz
• Engineers: Mike Clute, John Kelton
• Assistant engineers: Jon "JD" Dickson, Amy Hughes, John Kunz, Shawn McLean, Wayne Morgan, Herb Tassin
• Mixing: Scott Hendricks
• Mastering: Denny Purcell
• Overdubs: Scott Hendricks, John Kunz
• Art direction: Laura LiPuma
• Design: Garrett Rittenberry
• Photography: Aaron Rapoport
• Make-up: Eric Bernard, Beth Katz

Chart performance

Chart (1993)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums	7
U.S. Billboard 200	59
U.S. Billboard Top Heatseekers	7
Canadian RPM Country Albums	2
Canadian RPM Top Albums	51

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[5]	3× Platinum	300,000^^
United States (RIAA)[6]	3× Platinum	3,000,000^^
^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Take Me as I Am at AllMusic
2. Alanna Nash (1993-12-10). "Take Me as I Am Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
3. "Faith Hill – Take Me as I Am CD Album". CD Universe. Retrieved 2012-12-22.
4. Brackett, Nathan; Christian Hoard (2004). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York City, New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 378. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. rolling stone faith hill album guide.
5. "Canadian album certifications – Faith Hill – Take me As I am". Music Canada. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
6. "American album certifications – Faith Hill – Take me As I am". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 31 August 2019. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.