Love Travels

Love Travels is the tenth studio album by American country music artist, Kathy Mattea. It was released on February 4, 1997, via Mercury Records Nashville. The disc contained a total of 11 tracks that blended a mixture of different musical styles. Love Travels spawned four singles, two of which made the North American country songs charts: "455 Rocket" and the title track. The album itself reached the top 20 of the American country albums chart and was reviewed positively by critics.

Background
Steve Huey of AllMusic described Kathy Mattea as "one of the most respected female country stars of her era" as well as "a commercially successful hitmaker". During the eighties and nineties, four of Mattea's singles topped the North American country charts: "Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses", "Goin' Gone", "Burnin' Old Memories" and "Come from the Heart". Several more made the top ten and top 20 during those decades. By the mid nineties, Mattea had begun changing her artistic direction. For her next album, Mattea explained that she wanted to "delver deeper" into what she was "feeling". "It's such a gift to be paid for being who you are as an artist. I'm so lucky to have a very loyal following of people who've stayed with me through all of my eclectic restlessness. They always want to see what I am going to do next," she explained in 1997.

Recording and content
Love Travels was co-produced by Mattea, along with Ben Wisch and assistant production credits from Shane Tarleton. The album was recorded between June and December 1996 at Woodland Studios, located in Nashville, Tennessee. It incorporated commercial country music with elements of country folk. Other genres explored in some selections included Celtic, Caribbean and New Orleans musical styles. Mattea told the Sun Sentinel that she wanted the songs to guide her musical direction for the album.

Love Travels consisted of 11 tracks of material. One track featured writing credits from Mattea's husband (and songwriter), Jon Vezner. Titled "All Roads to the River" was composed with singer-songwriter, Janis Ian. The fifth features vocals from country artist, Suzy Bogguss. Titled "Further and Further Away", the song discusses how parents age as their children develop into maturity. Mattea personally connected with the song as she was watching both her parents age at the time. Other themes about romance are found on songs like "If That's What You Call Love". The sixth track, "455 Rocket", is a story song built around a man's love of an Oldsmobile 88 car. The final track, "Beautiful Fool", discusses how social leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr. tried to solve problems without using physical violence.

Critical reception
Love Travels received a mostly positive critical reception. In their review, Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B+ rating. Thom Owens of AllMusic rated the project three out of five stars. He found the album's production to evoke more polished sounds that her previous works, but nonetheless found it to be a strong collection of material. Owens further commented that it walks "the perfect middle-ground between country-folk and mainstream contemporary country."

The Chicago Tribune gave the project three out of four stars, noting the blending the album's incorporation of various musical styles. "Mattea just keeps rolling along in her 11th studio album, another engaging effort highlighted by songs from Gillian Welch, Jim Lauderdale, Cheryl Wheeler and Janis Ian. Love and the human spirit reign triumphant in songs that urge listeners to find their muses and trust those pesky inner voices," the newspaper commented. Robert Loy of Country Standard Time found the album to be more personal that previous works in his review: "For some time now, Kathy Mattea has managed to walk the line between commercialism and a more mature artistic vision. Her previous release Walking Away a Winner was radio friendly, but she's back on more personal, even spiritual ground on Love Travels.

Release, chart performance and singles
Love Travels was released on February 4, 1997, on Mercury Records Nashville. It was originally offered as both a compact disc and a cassette. It was later released to digital sites for downloading and streaming purposes. The album entered the American Billboard Top Country Albums chart on February 22, 1997, and spent 28 weeks there. On April 12, 1997, it peaked at number 15 on the chart. It also made the Billboard 200 all-genre chart, reaching number 121 on April 12, 1997, after 14 weeks on the chart. It also became her second album to make the United Kingdom's Official Charts Company all-genre chart, reaching number 65.

Four singles were spawned from Love Travels. The first was "455 Rocket", which was issued on January 18, 1997. On April 19, 1997, the song peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. It also reached the top 20 of Canada's RPM country chart, peaking at number 16 around the same time. The next single issued from the album was the track, "I'm on Your Side", which was issued to radio on May 19, 1997. The single did not chart on Billboard's country survey. It was followed by the title track, which was released in August 1997. The song later peaked at number 39 on the Billboard country chart after 16 weeks there. It also reached number 79 on the RPM country songs chart. The final single issued from Love Travels was the track, "Patiently Waiting", which not chart on Billboard. It was released in 1998.

Personnel
All credits are adapted from the liner notes of Love Travels.


 * "Love Travels"
 * Chris Carmichael - fiddle, cello, handclaps
 * Bill Cooley - acoustic guitar
 * Bob Halligan Jr. - piano, acoustic guitar, background vocals, handclaps
 * James "Hutch" Hutchinson - bass guitar
 * Mary Ann Kennedy - background vocals
 * Abe Laboriel Jr. - drums, percussion
 * Tim Lauer - accordion, harmonium, handclaps
 * Hunter Lee - pennywhistle, bagpipes, handclaps
 * Duke Levine - electric guitar, handclaps
 * Kathy Mattea - handclaps
 * Michael McDonald - background vocals
 * Donna McElroy - background vocals
 * Steve Sturm - pedal steel guitar
 * Suzy Wills - background vocals


 * "Sending Me Angels"
 * Bob Bailey - background vocals
 * Kim Fleming - background vocals
 * Paul Franklin - pedal steel guitar
 * Vicki Hampton - background vocals
 * James "Hutch" Hutchinson - bass guitar, handclaps
 * Abe Laboriel Jr. - drums, handclaps
 * Duke Levine - electric guitar, handclaps
 * Kathy Mattea - handclaps
 * Louis Nunley - background vocals
 * Don Potter - acoustic guitar
 * Matt Rollings - piano, Hammond B-3 organ
 * Kirby Shelstad - percussion


 * "Patiently Waiting"
 * Jonatha Brooke - background vocals
 * Farrell Morris - congas, shaker, tambourine
 * James "Hutch" Hutchinson - bass guitar
 * Jim Keltner - drums
 * Duke Levine - electric guitar
 * Don Potter - acoustic guitar
 * Matt Rollings - piano, Hammond B-3 organ
 * Suzy Wills - background vocals


 * "If That's What You Call Love"
 * Lionel Cartwright - piano, background vocals
 * Kathy Chiavola - background vocals
 * Paul Franklin - pedal steel guitar
 * James "Hutch" Hutchinson - bass guitar
 * Abe Laboriel Jr. - drums
 * Tim Lauer - synthesizer
 * Duke Levine - acoustic guitar, electric guitar
 * Don Potter - acoustic guitar
 * Kirby Shelstad - percussion


 * "Further and Further Away"
 * Suzy Bogguss - background vocals
 * Abe Laboriel Jr. - drums, percussion
 * John Leventhal - bass guitar, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, mando-guitar, bouzouki
 * Ben Wisch - synthesizer


 * "455 Rocket"
 * Pat Buchanan - electric guitar
 * Jerry Douglas - Dobro
 * Stuart Duncan - mandolin
 * Bob Halligan Jr. - background vocals
 * James "Hutch" Hutchinson - bass guitar, foot taps, knee slaps
 * Kirk "Jelly Roll" Johnson - harmonica
 * Jim Keltner - drums, maracas, foot taps, knee slaps
 * Kathy Mattea - foot taps, knee slaps
 * Don Potter - acoustic guitar
 * Kim Richey - background vocals


 * "I'm on Your Side"
 * Pat Bucahanan - electric guitar
 * James "Hutch" Hutchinson - bass guitar
 * Jim Keltner - drums, tambourine
 * Jim Lauderdale - acoustic guitar
 * George Marinelli - electric guitar
 * Kathy Mattea - background vocals
 * Kirby Shelstad - percussion


 * "The Bridge"
 * James "Hutch" Hutchinson - bass guitar
 * Mary Ann Kennedy - background vocals
 * Abe Laboriel Jr. - drums
 * Duke Levine - slide guitar
 * Michael McDonald - background vocals
 * Don Potter - acoustic guitar
 * Matt Rollings - Wurlitzer electric piano, Hammond B-3 organ


 * "All Roads to the River"
 * Jonatha Brooke - background vocals
 * James "Hutch" Hutchinson - bass guitar
 * John Jennings - baritone guitar
 * Abe Laboriel Jr. - drums
 * Hunter Lee - digeridoo
 * Duke Levine - mandola, slide guitar
 * Don Potter - acoustic guitar
 * Kirby Shelstad - percussion
 * Suzy Wills - background vocals


 * "The End of the Line"
 * James "Hutch" Hutchinson - bass guitar
 * Mary Ann Kennedy - background vocals
 * Abe Laboriel Jr. - drums, percussion
 * Duke Levine - electric guitar
 * Michael McDonald - background vocals
 * Don Potter - acoustic guitar, resonator guitar
 * Matt Rollings - Wurlitzer electric piano
 * Ben Wisch - synthesizer
 * Jonathan Yudkin - mandolin


 * "Beautiful Fool"
 * Phil Keaggy - acoustic guitar
 * Edgar Meyer - double bass
 * Ben Wisch - synthesizer


 * Technical personnel
 * Ted Jensen – mastering
 * Matt Knobel – engineering
 * Kathy Mattea – producer
 * John McGriff – assistant technician
 * Shane Tarleton – assistant producer
 * Ben Wisch – producer, engineering, mixing