Almighty Fire
| Almighty Fire | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 13, 1978 | |||
| Recorded | January–March 1978 | |||
| Studio | Curtom Studios (Chicago, IL); ABC Recording Studios (Los Angeles, CA); Whitney Recording Studios (Glendale, CA). | |||
| Genre | Soul, R&B | |||
| Length | 34:42 | |||
| Label | Atlantic (#19161) | |||
| Producer | Curtis Mayfield | |||
| Aretha Franklin chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Almighty Fire | ||||
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Almighty Fire is the twenty-fourth studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin, released on April 13, 1978, by Atlantic Records. By the time of the album's release, Franklin was going through a commercial slump.
Franklin was reunited with Curtis Mayfield – who produced the album and composed all the tracks –after their earlier success together with the Sparkle soundtrack.
The title single reached at No. 12 on the Billboard R&B Singles Chart and the follow-up single, "More Than Just a Joy", peaked at No. 51. The album earned a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female at the 1979 Grammy Awards.
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | C+[2] |
| MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide |  [3] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [4] |
| The Virgin Encyclopedia of R&B and Soul | [5] |
The New York Times panned the "tuneless, fussily arranged songs".[6]
Track listing
All tracks composed by Curtis Mayfield, except where noted.
Side one
- "Almighty Fire (Woman of the Future)" – 4:36
- "Lady, Lady" – 2:45
- "More Than Just a Joy" – 3:03
- "Keep On Loving You" – 3:12
- "I Needed You Baby" – 4:38
Side two
- "Close to You" – 4:22
- "No Matter Who You Love" – 4:01
- "This You Can Believe" – 4:46
- "I'm Your Speed" (Aretha Franklin, Glynn Turman) – 3:40
Personnel
- Aretha Franklin – vocals
- Curtis Mayfield – guitar
- Gary Thompson – guitar
- Joseph "Lucky" Scott – bass guitar
- Donnell Hagan – drums
- Henry Gibson – congas
- Rich Tufo – keyboards, arrangements
- Lenard Druss – horns contractor
- Sol Bobrov – strings contractor
- Alfonzo Surrett – background vocals
- Mattie Butler – background vocals
- Ricki Linton – background vocals
- Denese Heard and the Jones Girls – background vocals
Production
- Producer – Curtis Mayfield
- Engineers – Roger Anfinsen and Fred Breitberg
- Remix – Roger Anfinsen
- Mastered by Dennis King at Atlantic Studios (New York City).
- Album cover concept – Aretha Franklin
References
- ^ Almighty Fire at AllMusic
- ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: F". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 24, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
- ^ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1996. p. 272.
- ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 262.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (1998). The Virgin Encyclopedia of R&B and Soul. Virgin. p. 128.
- ^ Rockwell, John (April 21, 1978). "The Pop Life". The New York Times. p. C22.
External links
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