Hold an Old Friend's Hand

Hold an Old Friend's Hand is the second studio album by American pop singer Tiffany, released in November 1988. The album was commercially successful, achieving a platinum certification, peaking at #17 on the U.S. charts and yielding one top-ten single ("All This Time")[2] and another in the top 40 ("Radio Romance"); however, it did not equal the multi-platinum success of her debut album, which had two #1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100.

Hold an Old Friend's Hand
Studio album by
Tiffany
ReleasedNovember 1988
Recorded1988
Genre
Length43:28
LabelMCA
ProducerGeorge Tobin
Tiffany chronology
Tiffany
(1987)		 Hold an Old Friend's Hand
(1988)		 New Inside
(1990)
Singles from Hold an Old Friend's Hand
  1. "All This Time"
    Released: September 1988
  2. "Radio Romance"
    Released: January 1989
  3. "Hold an Old Friend's Hand"
    Released: April 1989
  4. "Oh Jackie"
    Released: May 1989
  5. "It's the Lover (Not the Love)"
    Released: June 1989

In Tiffany's summer tour, where she was to once again have the New Kids on the Block as her opening act as she did the year before, the sudden popularity of the New Kids caused their roles to be reversed, with Tiffany opening for them, although they were officially billed as co-headliners.

The title track is a cover, though the original version, released by Tracy Nelson in 1974, was not famous enough to be widely known when the album was released. It was written by Donna Weiss, who also co-wrote "Bette Davis Eyes", a hit for Kim Carnes (another artist for whom Tiffany's manager/producer George Tobin has produced records). It was an unusual song to be sung by somebody so young (Tiffany was 17 at the time), as its lyrics seem to be sung from a perspective of many years' experience.

"Hearts Never Lie" is a duet with Chris Farren, who went on to some country music success.

The final track, "Overture", is an instrumental acoustic guitar performance by Grant Geissman. It includes the tunes to several of the songs from this album, and is an unusual track to have on a teen pop album, especially since Tiffany is not involved in the track.

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Robert ChristgauB−[4]
Number One[5]
Record Mirror[6]
Rolling Stone[1]

Upon its release, Hold an Old Friend's Hand received mixed reviews from critics. Jimmy Guterman of Rolling Stone gave this album a negative review, stating that the record is "full of the same brand of synthesizer-heavy teen pop, with all hands trying to fill in the massive holes left by the Tiff's weak warble."[1]

Music critic Robert Christgau gave the album a "B−", stating that "[Her] maturity doesn't become her--exchanging schlock-rock remakes for still more Hollywood readymades, she's hellbent for biz divahood and may well get there."[4]

In a retrospective review by Bryan Buss of AllMusic, he states that it is a "stronger, more complete package than the first, showcased a more mature image and sound without much alteration of the misunderstood-teen theme that brought her first success." Although he praised "We're Both Thinking of Her," "Walk Away While You Can," and "Drop That Bomb" for being perfect pop-jingles, he criticized "It's the Lover (Not the Love)" for "[sounding] like she's shouting" and "I'll Be the Girl" for being "somewhat grating", though, he also praised them for being "undeniably catchy".[3]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."All This Time"
4:20
2."Oh Jackie"
  • T. James
  • McClintock
  • Tim Heintz
  • Kimberly Feldman
4:14
3."Hold an Old Friend's Hand"Donna Weiss4:24
4."Radio Romance"
  • John Duarte
  • Mark Paul
4:04
5."We're Both Thinking of Her"
3:40
6."Walk Away While You Can"Mike Piccirillo4:04
7."Drop That Bomb"
  • Duarte
  • Bill Bowersock
3:44
8."It's the Lover (Not the Love)"
  • Rich Donahue
  • Patrick Dollaghan
4:08
9."I'll Be the Girl"
  • Tobin
  • Piccirillo
4:27
10."Hearts Never Lie"
  • Allan Roy Scott
  • Hugh James
4:59
11."Overture"
  • T. James
  • McClintock
  • Scott
  • H. James
  • Weiss
1:24
Total length:43:28

B-sides
  • "Can't Stop a Heartbeat" (Paul Mark, John Edward Duarte) - 4:45 / long version - 4:52
  • "Gotta Be Love" (Paul Mark, John Edward Duarte) - 4:18
  • "Ruthless" (Donna Weiss, John Duarte) - 4:44 / video version - 3:38

Personnel
  • Tiffany – vocals (1-10), backing vocals (2, 3, 5-10)
  • John Duarte – keyboards (1-5, 7, 8), drum programming (1-5, 7, 8), arrangements (1-5, 7, 8, 10), keyboard solo (7), additional keyboards (9, 10)
  • Mike Piccirillo – keyboards (6, 9), guitars (6), guitar solo (6), drum programming (6, 9), arrangements (6, 9), backing vocals (9)
  • Hugh James – acoustic piano (10), Yamaha DX7 (10)
  • Michael Thompson – guitars (1, 2, 3, 5, 9), guitar solo (1, 2, 5, 9)
  • Grant Geissman – guitars (8, 10), guitar solo (10), acoustic guitar (11)
  • Henry Newmark – Simmons toms (7)
  • Richard Elliot – saxophone solo (3, 4), saxophone (8)
  • Stuart Levin – strings (7)
  • Steve McClintock – backing vocals (2)
  • Julia Waters – backing vocals (4)
  • Maxine Waters – backing vocals (4)
  • Terry Wood – backing vocals (5, 9)
  • Chris Farren – lead vocals (10)
  • Tommy Funderburk – backing vocals (10)

Production
  • George Tobin – producer, management
  • Bill Smith – engineer, mixing (1-4, 6-11)
  • John Kliner – mixing (5), additional engineer (6, 8, 9, 10)
  • Michael Mikulka – additional engineer (5)
  • John Kerns – additional engineer (10)
  • Howard Lee Wolen – additional engineer (10)
  • Bill Womack – chief technical advisor
  • Brenda Farrell – production coordinator
  • Carole Kliner – production coordinator
  • Lisa LeFever – production coordinator
  • Jeanne Bradshaw – art direction, design
  • Herb Ritts – photography
  • Sharon Simonaire – stylist
  • Sally Herschberger – hair stylist
  • Kathy Jeung – make-up

Charts

Certifications and sales
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[14] 2× Platinum 200,000^
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong)[15] Gold 10,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[16] Silver 60,000^
United States (RIAA)[17] Platinum 1,000,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. Rolling Stone review
  2. Boehm, Mike, "Heartaches of two songwriters are behind Tiffany's latest hit", Los Angeles Times, Fri., Feb. 10, 1989, Orange County Edition, Calendar Section(6), p. 23
  3. AllMusic review
  4. Christgau, Robert (March 14, 1989). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
  5. "Review: Tiffany — Hold an Old Friend's Hand (MCA)". Number One. No. 287. London: IPC Magazines Ltd. 14 December 1988. p. 36.
  6. Wilkes, Jane (3 December 1988). "33". Record Mirror. p. 31. ISSN 0144-5804.
  7. "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 2017-01-20". imgur.com. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  8. "RPM 100 Albums" (PDF). RPM. Vol. 49, no. 11. January 14, 1989. p. 11. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 27, 2023. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  9. "フレンズ" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on August 27, 2023. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  10. "Charts.nz – Tiffany – Hold an Old Friend's Hand". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  11. "Tiffany | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
  12. "Tiffany Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  13. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1989". Billboard. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  14. "Canadian album certifications – Tiffany – Hold an Old Friend's Hand". Music Canada.
  15. "IFPIHK Gold Disc Award − 1989". IFPI Hong Kong.
  16. "British album certifications – Tiffany – Hold an Old Friend's Hand". British Phonographic Industry.
  17. "American album certifications – Tiffany – Hold an Old Friend's Hand". Recording Industry Association of America.



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