After the Rain (Nelson album)

After the Rain is the debut album of the American rock group Nelson, released by Geffen Records in 1990. The album was a commercial success, peaking at #17 on Billboard 200 and spending 64 weeks on the charts.[3] It contained the #1 hit, "(Can't Live Without Your) Love and Affection" and the follow-up single, "After the Rain", which reached #6 in February 1991. The album was eventually certified double platinum by RIAA.[4]

After the Rain
Studio album by
Nelson
ReleasedJune 26, 1990
RecordedFebruary–May 1990
GenreHard rock, glam metal
Length45:29
LabelDGC
ProducerMarc Tanner, David Thoener
Nelson chronology
After the Rain
(1990)		 Because They Can
(1995)
Singles from After the Rain
  1. "(Can't Live Without Your) Love and Affection"
    Released: May 19, 1990
  2. "After the Rain"
    Released: 3 November 1990
  3. "More Than Ever"
    Released: March 1991
  4. "Only Time Will Tell"
    Released: June 1991
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Robert Christgau(D+)[2]

Writing and composition

Matthew and Gunnar Nelson decided to approach Geffen Records for a record deal. They began talks with A&R executive John Kalodner. According to Gunnar, they met with Kalodner "every month for a year", during which he filtered the songs they brought him until they had enough for an album.[5] Most of the songs of the album were co-written with Marc Tanner, who was introduced to the band by Tom Vickers. Gunnar Nelson described the collaborating process in an interview as "magical" and praised Tanner for being "very supportive of our own instincts and our melodic sense".[6] Tanner also produced the album.[7]

After a year of meeting with Kalodner without being signed, Matthew and Gunnar met with him alone, against the wishes of their managers, and played an acoustic version of "(Can't Live Without Your) Love and Affection". Kalodner was so impressed that the band was signed the next day.[5] As they prepared to record, Matthew and Gunnar started assembling a band. They settled on drummer Bobby Rock, Joey Cathcart, Brett Garsed, and Paul Mirkovich.[5][8] Mirkovich also contributed an "Interlude" to the album.[7]

In the making of the album, there were several issues in creating the album.[9] One was that Gunnar could not play guitar.[9] Gunnar stated "But what if I took a year off and all I did for that year was play guitar for 10 hours a day, every day?[9]" Gunnar ended up studying and learning how to play. Another issue was their songwriting.[9] Then another issue was the producers for the album: they had to fight the label[9] to get Tanner behind production, and they were initially supposed to work with Duane Baron and John Purdell, which both never worked out. Eventually, they worked with Tanner and co-producer David Thoener, who helped shape Nelson's influences into a modern, radio-friendly sound.[9]

Recording

After the Rain was recorded at Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles, and Studio B in Hollywood.[7] According to Gunnar Nelson, they weren't "intimidated" by the process, despite being relatively new to the industry. He also credits co-writer and producer Marc Tanner for keeping them focused.[5]

According to the Nelsons, Geffen producer John Kalodner "basically let us do our own thing". Gunnar has said that Kalodner's process of filtering songs before signing them helped them sort out their material and made it easy for them to come up with the songs for the album.[5]

Reception

After the Rain was released on June 26, 1990, and became an instant success, peaking at #17 on the Billboard 200. It also featured some staying power, remaining in the charts for 64 weeks.[3] The album was eventually certified double platinum by RIAA after selling more than 2,000,000 copies.

The first single of the album was the song "(Can't Live Without Your) Love and Affection". It peaked at #1 on Billboard's Hot 100. The other three singles also peaked on the charts. They were "After the Rain" (#6), "More than Ever" (#14), and "Only Time will Tell" (#28).[3]

As a result of the success of the album, the band began a World Tour with over 300 concerts.

Aftermath

After finishing the touring cycle for After the Rain, the band found themselves in massive debt despite the album's success.[9] Nelson returned to the studio and recorded their second album, Imaginator, but it was rejected by their producer and the label for being too dark and heavy.[9] Shelving that album, the band recorded a new collection of songs[9] which became their second release Because They Can 5 years after their debut in 1995. By this time fans had moved on, and the record failed[9] to chart, bringing to Nelson's relationship with the label to an end.

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."(Can't Live Without Your) Love and Affection"Matthew & Gunnar Nelson, Marc Tanner3:55
2."I Can Hardly Wait"Matthew & Gunnar Nelson, Tanner4:20
3."After the Rain"Matthew & Gunnar Nelson, Tanner, Rick Wilson4:05
4."Tracy's Song"Matthew & Gunnar Nelson, Eric Hilliard Nelson1:01
5."Only Time Will Tell"Matthew & Gunnar Nelson, Tanner, Greg Sutton4:14
6."More Than Ever"Matthew & Gunnar Nelson, Tanner3:23
7."(It's Just) Desire"Matthew & Gunnar Nelson, Tanner, Craig Stull4:24
8."Fill You Up"Matthew & Gunnar Nelson, Tanner4:38
9."Interlude"Paul Mirkovich1:30
10."Everywhere I Go"Matthew & Gunnar Nelson, Tanner5:02
11."Bits and Pieces"Matthew & Gunnar Nelson, Tanner, Wilson4:02
12."Will You Love Me?"Matthew & Gunnar Nelson, Brad Bailey4:20
Japanese special edition bonus MVCG-53
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Too Many Dreams"Matthew & Gunnar Nelson, Tanner, Wilson4:15
14."Keep One Heart"Matthew & Gunnar Nelson4:54

Personnel

Nelson

Production
  • John Kalodner – producer
  • Marc Tanner – producer
  • David Thoener – producer, mixer, engineer
  • David Holman – additional mixing
  • Jack Benson – recording assistant at Cherokee Studios, Los Angeles, California
  • Leon Granados – recording assistant at Studio B, Hollywood, California
  • Nick Els – recording assistant at Studio B, Hollywood, California
  • Rick Norman – assistant mixer
  • Scotty Ralston – assistant mixer
  • Greg Fulginiti – mastering
  • David Donnelly – mastering supervisor
  • Marc Greene – pre-production
  • Robert O. Ragland – synclavier arrangement on "Only Time Will Tell" and "I Can Hardly Wait"
  • Stephen Klong – drums and programming
  • Scott Douglas MacLachlan – background vocals
  • Larry Mazer – management

Art
  • Gabrielle Raumberger – art direction and design
  • Lyn Bradley – design
  • Dennis Keeley and Michael Lavine – photography
  • Matthew Nelson, Gunnar Nelson, and Diane Estelle – clothing image concept
  • Diane Estelle – clothes design
  • Gail Ananighian and Marie Blom – assistants
  • Kohlene Hendrickson – symbology

Charts

Album
Chart (1990) Position
United States (Billboard 200)[10] 17
Australia (ARIA Charts)[11] 100

Singles
Title Release Peak chart positions
US[12] US
Main[13]
"Love and Affection" 1990 120
"After the Rain" 639
"More Than Ever" 1991 1444
"Only Time Will Tell" 28

Notes
  1. Henderson, Alex. "Allmusic review". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 2012-09-08.
  2. CG: Nelson
  3. After the Rain on Billboard
  4. "RIAA certification Searchable Database". Riaa.com. Retrieved 2012-09-08.
  5. "Gunnar Nelson: The Nelson Interview". Melodic Rock. 2001.
  6. "The Popdose Interview: Gunnar Nelson". Popdose. February 11, 2011.
  7. [After the Rain booklet]
  8. "Bobby Rock Interview". Full in Bloom. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  9. Giles, Jeff (June 26, 2015). "We played Kalodner 'Love and Affection' and a big smile came over his face when we were done". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  10. "Nelson Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  11. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (pdf ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  12. "Nelson Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  13. "Nelson Mainstream Rock". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
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