Almost Heaven

This article is about The Kelly Family album. For the John Denver song beginning with these lyrics, see Take Me Home, Country Roads. For the state mantra, see West Virginia.

Almost Heaven is the tenth regular studio album by European-American pop group The Kelly Family. Based on a concept by Dan Kelly, it was co-produced by Kathy and Paddy Kelly and released in 1996 throughout most of Europe. Following the major success of previous albums Over the Hump and Christmas for All and the number-one single "I Can't Help Myself," the album debuted number-one in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. It also entered the top 5 in the Netherlands and Norway and made it to the top 20 in Belgium. Almost Heaven eventually sold more than three million copies worldwide, making it the band's second biggest-selling release to date.^[1]

Almost Heaven
Studio album by The Kelly Family
Released	October 25, 1996
Recorded	1996
Studio	Sound Studio N (Cologne, Germany) Capri Digital Studio (Capri, Italy)
Genre	Pop pop rock folk
Length	48:35
Label	Kel-Life
Producer	Kathy Kelly Paddy Kelly
The Kelly Family chronology
Christmas for All (1995) Almost Heaven (1996) Growin' Up (1997)

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"When the Boys Come into Town" (lead vocals: John, Kathy, Maite)	The Kelly Family	Paddy Kelly Kathy Kelly	3:15
2.	"Every Baby" (lead vocals: Maite)	The Kelly Family	Paddy Kelly Kathy Kelly	2:56
3.	"I Can't Help Myself" (lead vocals: Angelo, Paddy)	The Kelly Family	Paddy Kelly Kathy Kelly	3:03
4.	"Nanana" (lead vocals: Jimmy, Maite)	The Kelly Family	Paddy Kelly Kathy Kelly	4:03
5.	"You Belong to Me" (lead vocals: Patricia, Kathy, Paddy)	The Kelly Family	Paddy Kelly Kathy Kelly	3:15
6.	"Staying Alive" (lead vocals: Joey Kelly)	The Kelly Family	Paddy Kelly Kathy Kelly	3:35
7.	"Come Back to Me" (lead vocals: Kathy)	The Kelly Family	Paddy Kelly Kathy Kelly	3:49
8.	"Fell in Love with an Alien" (lead vocals: Paddy, Kathy)	The Kelly Family	Paddy Kelly Kathy Kelly	3:11
9.	"Hey Diddle Diddle" (lead vocals: Paddy, Maite, Angelo, Barby)	The Kelly Family	Paddy Kelly Kathy Kelly	2:43
10.	"Like a Queen" (lead vocals: Barby)	The Kelly Family	Paddy Kelly Kathy Kelly	2:54
11.	"Stars Fall From Heaven" (lead vocals: Patricia, Maite)	The Kelly Family	Paddy Kelly Kathy Kelly	3:23
12.	"Thunder" (lead vocals: Jimmy)	The Kelly Family	Paddy Kelly Kathy Kelly	3:45
13.	"Calling Heaven" (lead vocals: Paddy)	The Kelly Family	Paddy Kelly Kathy Kelly	3:25
14.	"Nothing like Home" (lead vocals: Kathy, John)	The Kelly Family	Paddy Kelly Kathy Kelly	3:42

Personnel

Credits are taken from the album's liner notes.^[2]

Instruments and performances

Johan Daansen – mouth harp Angelo Kelly – drums, percussion, washboard, timbales, vocals Barby Kelly – vocals Jimmy Kelly – acoustic guitar, electric-zither, spoons, vocals Joey Kelly – acoustic guitars, electric guitars, vocals

John Kelly – acoustic guitars, electric guitar, percussions, vocals Kathy Kelly – accordion, keyboards, hammond, organ, piano, violin, vocals Maite Kelly – percussions, bass, vocals Patricia Kelly – harp, vocals Paddy Kelly – banjo, bass, guitars, keyboards, mandolin, tabla, percussions

Technical and production

Album concept: Dan Kelly Writing: The Kelly Family Recording: Jan Shurman Mastering: Georgi Nedelschev, Dieter Wegner Mixing: Günther Kasper, G. Nedelschev, Kathy Kelly, Paddy Kelly, Max Volume

Engineers: Günther "Mr. Cool" Kasper, Max Carola, Max Volume, Jürgen Lusky Engineering assistance: Alessandro Benedetti Photography: Thomas Stachelhaus Styling: Uschi Ries Litho: RGI Dortmund Germany

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1996) Peak position Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)^[3] 1 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[4] 3 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)^[5] 19 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[6] 1 Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)^[7] 3 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)^[8] 2 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)^[9] 32 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[10] 1

Year-end charts Chart (1996) Position Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)^[11] 25 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[12] 58 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[13] 24 Chart (1997) Position Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)^[14] 43 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)^[15] 67 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[16] 16 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[17] 34

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Austria (IFPI Austria)^[18]	2× Platinum	100,000^*
France (SNEP)^[19]	Gold	100,000^*
Germany (BVMI)^[20]	2× Platinum	1,000,000^^
Netherlands (NVPI)^[21]	Platinum	100,000^^
Norway (IFPI Norway)^[22]	Platinum	50,000^*
Poland (ZPAV)^[23]	2× Platinum	200,000^*
Spain (PROMUSICAE)^[24]	Platinum	100,000^^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)^[25]	2× Platinum	100,000^^
^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Die Kelly Family". Berliner Kurier (in German). 23 November 1997. Retrieved 24 September 2008.^{[permanent dead link]}
2. Almost Heaven (CD liner). The Kelly Family. KEL-Life Records. 1996.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
3. "Austriancharts.at – The Kelly Family – Almost Heaven" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
4. "Dutchcharts.nl – The Kelly Family – Almost Heaven" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
5. "Ultratop.be – The Kelly Family – Almost Heaven" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
6. "Offiziellecharts.de – The Kelly Family – Almost Heaven" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
7. "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 1996. 45. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
8. "Norwegiancharts.com – The Kelly Family – Almost Heaven". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
9. "Spanishcharts.com – The Kelly Family – Almost Heaven". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
10. "Swisscharts.com – The Kelly Family – Almost Heaven". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
11. "Jahreshitparade Alben 1996". austriancharts.at. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
12. "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1996". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
13. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts (1996)". Retrieved April 4, 2017.
14. "Jahreshitparade Alben 1997". austriancharts.at. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
15. "Jaaroverzichten 1997". Ultratop. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
16. "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1997". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
17. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts (1997)". Retrieved April 4, 2017.
18. "Austrian album certifications – The Kelly Family – Almost Heaven" (in German). IFPI Austria.
19. "French album certifications – Vangelis – PORTRAITS" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
20. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (The Kelly Family; 'Almost Heaven')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
21. "Dutch album certifications – The Kelly Family – Almost Heaven" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 16 March 2019. Enter Almost Heaven in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 1997 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
22. (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
23. "Wyróżnienia – Platynowe płyty CD - Archiwum - Przyznane w 1997 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry.
24. Salaverrie, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (PDF) (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: Fundación Autor/SGAE. p. 941. ISBN 84-8048-639-2. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
25. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Almost Heaven')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.

External links

• KellyFamily.de — official site