Chirpin'
| Chirpin' | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1977 | |||
| Recorded | 1977 | |||
| Genre | A capella, R&B | |||
| Length | 34:22 | |||
| Label | Elektra[1] | |||
| Producer | David Dashev | |||
| The Persuasions chronology | ||||
| ||||
Chirpin' is an album by the American musical group the Persuasions, released in 1977.[2][3] It was rereleased in 1990, following the success of the PBS documentary Spike Lee & Company: Do It a Cappella.[4]
Production
[edit]The album was produced by David Dashev.[5] After two albums that contained instrumental accompaniment, Chiripin' was a return to an a capella style, albeit without member Jayotis Washington.[1]
Critical reception
[edit]| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [6] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | B+[7] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [8] |
| The Rolling Stone Record Guide | [9] |
The Richmond Times-Dispatch praised the "rich, gutsy and romantic harmonies," and considered Chirpin' the group's best album.[10]
Greil Marcus, in The Village Voice, wrote of "Willie and Laura Mae Jones": "'That was another place, and another time,' runs the last line of Tony Joe White’s chorus; as the Persuasions sing it, it is full of dignity, close to bitter, and empty of regret. I don’t know that I have heard new black music this strong since the days that followed Sly Stone’s There’s a Riot Goin’ On."[11] He later listed the album as one of the ten best of the 1970s.[12]
Track listing
[edit]- Side 1
- "Papa Oom Mow Mow" (Al Frazier, Carl White, Turner Wilson, John Harris) – 2:18
- "Willie and Laura Mae Jones" (Tony Joe White) – 3:15
- "Moonlight and Music" (Leroy Fann) – 3:00
- "Johnny Porter" (Bobby Ray Appleberry, Bill Cuomo) – 4:34
- "Looking for an Echo" (Richard Reicheg) – 4:11
- Side 2
- "Women and Drinkin'" (Jerry Lawson, David Dashev) – 6:53
- "Sixty Minute Man" (Billy Ward) – 2:00
- "Win Your Love (For Me)" (Sam Cooke) – 3:32
- "It's Gonna Rain Again" (Charles Johnson) – 2:22
- "To Be Loved" (Tyran Carlo, Gwen Gordy Fuqua, Berry Gordy)– 2:32
Details
[edit]- Produced by David Dashev.
- Recorded and mixed at The Hit Factory, New York.
- Engineered by Michael Getlin.
- Released in 1977 by Elektra.
References
[edit]- ^ a b Pitilli, Lawrence (August 2, 2016). Doo-Wop Acappella: A Story of Street Corners, Echoes, and Three-Part Harmonies. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781442244306.
- ^ "The Persuasions | Biography & History". AllMusic.
- ^ Whitlock, Jennifer (8 August 1993). "The Persuasions Are in Harmony with the Present". The Morning Call.
- ^ Heim, Chris (5 Oct 1990). "Record labels turn on a shower of collections". Friday. Chicago Tribune. p. S.
- ^ "'Sweet Joe' Russell dies at 72; singer with the Persuasions". Los Angeles Times. May 13, 2012.
- ^ Chirpin' at AllMusic
- ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: P". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 6. MUZE. p. 496.
- ^ Marsh, Dave; Swenson, John (Editors). The Rolling Stone Record Guide, 1st edition, Random House/Rolling Stone Press, 1979, p. 291.
- ^ Bustard, C.A. (Apr 20, 1977). "Chirpin', the Persuasions". Richmond Times-Dispatch. p. A12.
- ^ "The Persuasions, 'Chirpin" (05/76)". The Village Voice. November 25, 2014.
- ^ "Rock in the 1970s: Journey Through the Past". The Village Voice. 11 December 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
