Personnel: Melissa Etheridge (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars); Greg Leisz (electric, lap steel & pedal steel guitars, mandolin); John Shanks (guitar, autoharp, dulcimer, marimba, bass, Theremin, loops, background vocals); Jon Brion (electric & baritone guitars); Patrick Warren (keyboards, vibraphone); Rami Jaffee (keyboards); Kenny Aronoff (marimba, drums, shaker, loops); Pino Palladino, Mark Browne (bass); Steve Ferrone (drums, percussion); Matt Chamberlain (drums, loops); Jim Keltner, Abe Laboriel Jr. (drums); Loopalicious, Gota Yashiki, Brian Macleod (loops).

Engineers: Marc Desisto, Neal Avron, Greg Goldman.

BREAKDOWN was nominated for the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Rock Album. "Angels Would Fall" was nominated for the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance and Best Rock Song.

"Enough Of Me" was nominated for the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Performance.

This is an Enhanced CD which contains regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.

Personnel: Melissa Etheridge (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars); Greg Leisz (electric, lap steel & pedal steel guitars, mandolin); John Shanks (guitar, autoharp, dulcimer, marimba, bass, Theremin, loops, background vocals); Jon Brion (electric & baritone guitars); Patrick Warren (keyboards, vibraphone); Rami Jaffee (keyboards); Kenny Aronoff (marimba, drums, shaker, loops); Pino Palladino, Mark Browne (bass); Steve Ferrone (drums, percussion); Matt Chamberlain (drums, loops); Jim Keltner, Abe Laboriel Jr. (drums); Loopalicious, Gota Yashiki, Brian Macleod (loops).

Engineers: Marc Desisto, Neal Avron, Greg Goldman.

BREAKDOWN was nominated for the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Rock Album. "Angels Would Fall" was nominated for the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance and Best Rock Song.

"Enough Of Me" was nominated for the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Performance.

This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.

Personnel: Melissa Etheridge (vocals, acoustic guitar); Greg Leisz (guitar, lap steel guitar, mandolin); John Shanks (guitar, dulcimer, harp, marimba, background vocals); Jon Brion (guitar); Patrick Warren, Rami Jaffee (keyboards); Kenny Aronoff (marimba, drums, shaker); Steve Ferrone (drums, percussion); Jim Keltner, Matt Chamberlain (drums); Brian MacLeod (percussion).

Audio Mixers: Chris Lord-Alge; Tom Lord-Alge; Bob Clearmountain.

Recording information: A&M Recording; Sunset sound.

Photographers: Rocky Schenck; Barbara Green.

Shortly after becoming a household name, Melissa Etheridge released Your Little Secret in 1995, an album that performed well but didn't quite receive the acclaim or sales of her 1993 breakthrough, Yes I Am. Following its release, she took some time off and became a parent. During her self-imposed hiatus, pop music underwent a quiet revolution, as female artists accounted for the majority of record sales and radio play. There were rootsy singer/songwriters in the same vein as Etheridge, but by and large they were overshadowed by the bouncy pop of the Spice Girls and their ilk, Alanis Morissette and her offspring, and Sarah McLachlan and the Lilith Fair crowd. If this affected Etheridge at all, it's not apparent from her comeback, Breakdown. There are a couple of concessions to the late '90s, primarily in the presence of subdued, vaguely hip-hop-influenced rhythms that underpin some mid-tempo cuts, but Breakdown is the work of an artist who is assured and comfortable, meaning that she's not afraid to play straight-ahead music or to delve deep into her soul. Consequently, it's the most intimate album she's ever made. A by-product of this development is that the record isn't as visceral or immediate as her earlier work, and some of the songs need a few plays before they sink in completely. That may mean that some listeners will not have the patience to truly hear Breakdown for what it is -- a low-key but revealing record that is intimate even when it rocks the hardest. But those who do will discover that its best moments -- whether it's "Scarecrow," her moving tribute to hate-crime victim Matthew Shepard, or the nakedly autobiographical "Mama I'm Strange" -- find Etheridge exploring new, refreshingly honest territory that suits this subdued musical style quite well. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

During the four years between BREAKDOWN and 1995's YOUR LITTLE SECRET, Melissa Etheridge concentrated on starting a family and continued staying on the sidelines as her record label got caught up in corporate restructuring. This extended down-time had a settling effect on the leather-lunged vocalist that resulted in her sixth release being the most sedate and introspective record to its point.

Gone is the bar-band banshee whose fervor on songs like "Bring Me Some Water" could peel paint off the wall. Instead, the native Kansan kicks back, digs deep and writes about the intricacies of relationships, yearning and loss in a way that would make her hero Bruce Springsteen proud. Infidelity is sunken into a dream state throughout "Into the Dark," thanks to lots of shimmering guitar and disconnected background vocals that hint at Kate Bush. Unrequited love also gets a thorough reading as Etheridge masterfully piles on the religious imagery throughout "Angels Would Fall." Although BREAKDOWN's darkest moment comes out within the jagged "Scarecrow," a tribute to murdered gay teen Matthew Shepard, Etheridge offers up a ray of hope with "Truth of the Heart," a jangly message of optimism that reflects her newfound parenthood.

During the four years between BREAKDOWN and 1995's YOUR LITTLE SECRET, Melissa Etheridge concentrated on starting a family and continued staying on the sidelines as her record label got caught up in corporate restructuring. This extended down-time had a settling effect on the leather-lunged vocalist that resulted in her sixth release being the most sedate and introspective record to its point.

Gone is the bar-band banshee whose fervor on songs like "Bring Me Some Water" could peel paint off the wall. Instead, the native Kansan kicks back, digs deep and writes about the intricacies of relationships, yearning and loss in a way that would make her hero Bruce Springsteen proud. Infidelity is sunken into a dream state throughout "Into the Dark," thanks to lots of shimmering guitar and disconnected background vocals that hint at Kate Bush. Unrequited love also gets a thorough reading as Etheridge masterfully piles on the religious imagery throughout "Angels Would Fall." Although BREAKDOWN's darkest moment comes out within the jagged "Scarecrow," a tribute to murdered gay teen Matthew Shepard, Etheridge offers up a ray of hope with "Truth of the Heart," a jangly message of optimism that reflects her newfound parenthood.