Chic - Take It Off (1981) (LP) - €10,00

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Take It Off is the fifth studio album by American R&B band Chic, released on Atlantic Records in November 16, 1981. 

It includes the single "Stage Fright", which reached number 35 on the US R&B chart, but was the first Chic single failing to enter the US Pop charts, and this album only proved to be moderately successful as well, stalling at number 124 on the US albums chart and number 36 on the R&B chart.

In 1981, a lot of rock & rollers were claiming that the disco era was officially over. Disco, of course, never really died -- a lot of the dance-pop, house music, Hi-NRG, and Latin freestyle that was recorded in the '80s and '90s was essentially disco -- but as far as many of the radio stations and record company A&R men of 1981 were concerned, disco was dead. And that was bad news for Chic, a group closely identified with the disco era. 

Even though a lot of Chic's work had as much to do with funk and soul as it did with the Euro-disco sound, Chic was unable to live down its reputation as a disco group. 

But Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards gave it a try with 1981's Take It Off, an admirable, if uneven, project that finds the group downplaying the Euro-disco elements. With R&B and funk as the foundation, Chic tries to branch out by incorporating elements of pop-rock on "Your Love Is Canceled," and jazz on "Flash Back" and "So Fine" (which shouldn't be confused with the "So Fine" that Kashif produced for R&B singer Howard Johnson in 1982). 

In fact, a few of Rogers' guitar solos give the impression that he'd been listening to a lot of Wes Montgomery. But as likable as the LP is, it didn't contain a major hit -- the single "Stage Fright" only made it to #34 on Billboard's R&B singles chart. 

 

Side one        

1.  Stage Fright - 3:55  

2.  Burn Hard - 5:12  

3.  So Fine - 4:10  

4.  Flash Back - 4:28  

5.  Telling Lies - 2:28  

Side two

1.  Your Love Is Cancelled - 4:12  

2.  Would You Be My Baby - 3:34  

3.  Take It Off - 5:12  

4.  Just Out Of Reach - 3:45  

5.  Baby Doll - 3:10 

Personnel

• Luci Martin – lead vocals (A1, A2, A5, B3)
• Alfa Anderson – lead vocals (B2, B4)
• Jocelyn Brown – vocals
• Michelle Cobbs – vocals
• Fonzi Thornton – vocals
• Nile Rodgers – guitar; lead vocals (B1)
• Raymond Jones – keyboards
• Rob Sabino – keyboards
• Bernard Edwards – bass guitar; lead vocals (A4, B3, B4)
• Tony Thompson – drums
• Manolo Badrena – percussion
• Sammy Figueroa – percussion
• Roger Squitero – percussion
• Michael Brecker – saxophone
• Ronnie Cuber – saxophone
• Lenny Pickett – saxophone
• Vinny Della Rocca – saxophone
• Randy Brecker – trumpet, flugelhorn
• Ray Maldonado – trumpet, flugelhorn

Production

• Bernard Edwards – producer for Chic Organization Ltd.
• Nile Rodgers – producer for Chic Organization Ltd.
• Bill Scheniman – sound engineer
• Jason Corsaro – sound engineer
• Dennis King – mastering
• Sandi Young – art direction
• Tony Wright – cover art
• Recorded and mixed at The Power Station, NYC.
• Mastered at Atlantic Studios, NYC.

Notes

Release:  1981

Format:  LP

Genre:  Soul, Funk

Label:  Atlantic Records

Catalog#  19323

Vinyl:  Excellent

Cover:  Excellent

Prijs: €10,00