Let's Go Bang is the second studio album by American actress and singer Jennifer Love Hewitt.
It was released by Atlantic Records on September 12, 1995. It is also the first Hewitt album distributed by Atlantic. The producer, Angelo Montrone, had noticed her "talents" and brought her to the attention of then CEO of Atlantic Records, Doug Morris who then signed her. The album was received with enthusiasm by several program directors at pop radio, however, with the departure of Doug Morris from Atlantic in 1995 the plans for promotion were canceled which led to the album's commercial failure, failing to chart on the US Billboard 200.
The album features contributions from Pino Palladino, Steve Ferrone, John Robinson, and Harvey Mason.
One of the album's tracks, "Free to Be a Woman", written by Hewitt and Angelo Montrone, would go on to become the theme song for the series The Modern Girl, that aired on the Style Network.
The album has been praised since its release mostly because of the LP's rich infusion of new jack swing, house, quiet storm, disco, spoken word, jazz, acoustic and new age into Hewitt's musical input.
Track listing
Personnel
Jennifer Love Hewitt – lead vocals, backing vocals
Angelo Montrone – synthesizer, piano
Additional musicians
Hugh McCracken – electric guitar
Paul Pesco – electric guitar
Michael Thompson – electric guitar
Paul Jackson Jr. – acoustic guitar
Dean Parks – acoustic guitar
Peter Bliss – guitar
John Robinson – drums, hi-hat
Harvey Mason – drums, snare drums
Steve Ferrone – drums
Ricky Lawson – drums
Pino Palladino – bass
Freddie Washington – bass
Danny Wilensky – saxophone
Carol Steele – percussion, handclapping, cowbell
Sheila E. – percussion
Ben Wittman – percussion
Diva Gray – backing vocals
Rosa Russ – backing vocals
Vaneese Thomas – backing vocals
Bill Meyers – conductor
Steve Richards – cello
Larry Corbett – cello
Paula Hochhalter – cello
Suzie Katayama – cello
Armen Ksadjikian – cello
Daniel Smith – cello
Karen Jones – violin
Peter Kent – violin
Endre Granat – violin
Denyse Buffum – viola
Bruce Dukov – violin
Berj Garabedian – violin
Harris Goldman – violin
Sheldon Sanov – violin
Mark Sazer – violin
Haim Shtrum – violin
Robert Peterson – violin
Rachel Robinson – violin
Valerie Vigoda - violin
Legacy
For many years, audiences misinterpreted the meaning of going to “bang” and mistook it as a sexual innuendo.
In a 2005 interview with Maxim, Hewitt was asked to elaborate on the meaning of the song: “It was supposed to be this dance called the “Bang”, and the song never hit so we never came up with the dance. Everybody just thought I was a really dirty 16-year-old.”
Production
Producer: Angelo Montrone
Executive producer: Doug Morris
Engineers: Michael O'Reilly, Al Schmitt, Steve Sykes, Steve Boyer, Matt Curry, Joe Ferla, Dan Gellert, Michael Wallace Vocals engineered by: Scott Sebring Assistant engineers: Scott Austin, John Hendrickson, Alvaro Alencar, Jerome Chaulin, Peter Doell, Tony Gonzales, Jay Militscher, Rory Romano, Michael Wallace Mixing: Ray Bardani, Michael O'Reilly, Al Schmitt Mixing assistant: Matt Curry Mastering: Ted Jensen Keyboard programming: Angelo Montrone Rhythm programming: Angelo Montrone String arrangements: Bill Meyers Bass arrangement: Angelo Montrone, Michael O'Reilly Production coordination: Jill Dell'Abate Art direction: Liz Barrett Photography: Albert Sanchez