Wild Child (Valerie Carter album)
Wild Child is the second studio album by Valerie Carter. Some notable musicians on this album are Steve Porcaro, Jeff Porcaro, David Hungate and Steve Lukather of Toto, Mike Utley of Jimmy Buffett's Coral Reefer Band, Jay Graydon of Airplay, Davey Johnstone of the Elton John Band, Verdine White of Earth Wind & Fire and Ray Parker Jr. The album was finally reissued in full as part of the 2019 compilation "Ooh Child - The Columbia Years" on Cherry Tree Records. Critical reception. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic writes that "Wild Child" "never transcends its time , except for the most hardcore soft-rock collectors." Charles Donovan of "Pop Matters" wrote of "Wild Child" in his tribute article to Valerie Carter that, "Her name appeared in the songwriting credits of roughly half the tracks. To some, it's the poor relation, with its disco-pop compromises, its studio wizards (James Newton Howard), its ultra-slick session players and commercial sheen. I've always liked it." Joe Marchese of "The Second Disc" writes of "Wild Child", "The versatile singer-songwriter had a hand in five of its nine songs compared to just three on the previous LP, making  Wild Child arguably a more personal album despite the sleek production. The lyrics to the ironically upbeat opening track, "Crazy," may have cut too close to the bone for an artist who battled her share of personal demons over the years: "I'm always gonna be this way/Reckless and crazy/That's probably true…" An authenticity, not to mention confidence, surges though the album." "Smash Hits" called it, "An accomplished American album of gentle, shuffling songs done Fleetwood Mac style. It's all a bit to effortless to be actually wild, but this album has a wistful, haunting  beauty." Track listing. Track information verified from the LP's liner notes and "Session Days". Musicians. "Crazy" "Da Doo Rendezvous" "What’s Become Of Us" "Taking The Long Way Home" "Lady In The Dark" "The Story Of Love" "The Blue Side" "Change In Luck" "Trying To Get To You" "Wild Child" Production. Personnel information retrieved from Discogs, Session Days and AllMusic.