Amy Grant Revisits Lead Me On
Landmark Album Celebrated With 20th Anniversary CD and Fall Tour
Amy Grant hit an artistic watershed with Lead Me On in 1988. It’s organic, yet polished pop sound and transparent, earthy lyrics were not standard fare for Christian music and not at all expected as the follow-up to her 1985 mainstream breakthrough Unguarded.
Yet, Lead Me On has aged well and remains cherished by many, including Amy Grant herself who relishes reconnecting with this music on the 20-city tour. “I am so excited to recapture and re-engage audiences with these songs,” she has said. “I can honestly say that I am truly looking forward to getting out and performing these songs, and hope to bring back the passion and inspiration these songs brought out in me.”
Lead Me On Then
Prior to Lead Me On, Unguarded, which featured Amy Grant wearing a leopard print blazer and contained her first Top 40 single “Find A Way,” made her the face of Christian music to the masses and lead to her 1986 chart topping duet with Peter Cetera “Next Time I Fall.” After that Amy Grant took a pregnancy sabbatical and the time away altered her artistic perspective for Lead Me On.
Lead Me On did not follow the template of Unguarded but instead delivered vulnerable songs that, while full of hope, were also filled with introspection, confession, and struggle, realities that little, if any, Christian music focused on at the time.
Those realities were also not the stuff of Pop follow-ups giving Lead Me On limited crossover potential. However, critics and Christian music fans did respond positively and the record earned Amy Grant another Grammy Award and another Platinum record. (She would produce that huge crossover album a few years later with Heart In Motion).
Lead Me On Now
Today, Lead Me On, remains a revered album. When CCM Magazine compiled the book “The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music” in 2001 Lead Me On topped the list. And, the fact that it is getting a 20th Anniversary Edition when CD sales are in a slump speaks volumes about its lasting impact.
The Lead Me On 20th Anniversary Edition CD includes a remastered version of the original album and a bonus disc with new, acoustic recordings of three tracks as well as four previously unreleased live performances from the original 1989 tour and an new interview with Amy Grant.
All this is housed in a deluxe package with new artwork and new liner notes. And, it all serves as preparation for the “Lead Me On 20th Anniversary Celebration Tour” which is set to kick off in October.
