Love & Peace | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1978 | |||
Genre | R&B | |||
Label | Atlantic | |||
Producer | Ray Charles | |||
Ray Charles chronology | ||||
|
Love & Peace is an album by the American musician Ray Charles, released in 1978. [1] [2] It peaked at No. 35 on Billboard's Top Black Albums chart. [3] Charles supported the album with a North American tour. [4]
The album was produced by Charles. [5] He used a 24-track machine, picking and mixing his favorite rhythm and horn parts; due to the pervasiveness of disco, he somewhat reluctantly added layers of synthesizers to some of the tracks. [6] "Riding Thumb" was written by Seals and Crofts. [7] "We Had It All" was written by Troy Seals and Donnie Fritts. [7] The Raelettes backed Charles on "Take Off That Dress". [8] "Give the Poor Man a Break" is addressed to President Carter. [9]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [10] |
Robert Christgau | B− [11] |
Journal Herald | D [9] |
Omaha World-Herald | [12] |
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | C [13] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [14] |
The Virgin Encyclopedia of R&B and Soul | [15] |
The Bay State Banner wrote that "the album works because Ray knows how to fit a tune or a lyric into his own unique method, and his strong singing remains impressive." [16] Robert Christgau noted that, "with a filler from his publishing subsidiary at a redundant nadir, the same old horn charts and obligatory big productions really begin to grate." [11] The Boston Globe called the album "a hard-hitting affair where he tackles contemporary R&B trends and proves conclusively that he is no bygone relic." [17]
The Kansas City Star determined that "it occasionally sounds a little heavy-handed and overpowering, but most of the time that pounding sound fits right in with the overall effect Charles seems to want." [18] The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette panned Charles's selection of "mediocre" material. [13] The Richmond Times-Dispatch concluded that Love & Peace "is what happens when an exceptional blues and jazz interpreter attempts to sing down to the common denominator." [19]
AllMusic wrote: "His powers of expression as a vocalist and keyboardist are undiminished on the second album of his return to the Atlantic fold; he could still squeeze some soul out of anything... But his ability to choose great, good, or even merely appropriate material had deserted him." [10] The Rolling Stone Album Guide labeled "You 20th Century Fox" "a genuine hoot." [14]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "You 20th Century Fox" | |
2. | "Take Off That Dress" | |
3. | "She Knows" | |
4. | "Riding Thumb" | |
5. | "We Had It All" | |
6. | "No Achievement Showing" | |
7. | "A Peace That We Never Before Could Enjoy" | |
8. | "Is There Anyone Out There?" | |
9. | "Give the Poor Man a Break" |
Love & Peace | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1978 | |||
Genre | R&B | |||
Label | Atlantic | |||
Producer | Ray Charles | |||
Ray Charles chronology | ||||
|
Love & Peace is an album by the American musician Ray Charles, released in 1978. [1] [2] It peaked at No. 35 on Billboard's Top Black Albums chart. [3] Charles supported the album with a North American tour. [4]
The album was produced by Charles. [5] He used a 24-track machine, picking and mixing his favorite rhythm and horn parts; due to the pervasiveness of disco, he somewhat reluctantly added layers of synthesizers to some of the tracks. [6] "Riding Thumb" was written by Seals and Crofts. [7] "We Had It All" was written by Troy Seals and Donnie Fritts. [7] The Raelettes backed Charles on "Take Off That Dress". [8] "Give the Poor Man a Break" is addressed to President Carter. [9]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [10] |
Robert Christgau | B− [11] |
Journal Herald | D [9] |
Omaha World-Herald | [12] |
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | C [13] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [14] |
The Virgin Encyclopedia of R&B and Soul | [15] |
The Bay State Banner wrote that "the album works because Ray knows how to fit a tune or a lyric into his own unique method, and his strong singing remains impressive." [16] Robert Christgau noted that, "with a filler from his publishing subsidiary at a redundant nadir, the same old horn charts and obligatory big productions really begin to grate." [11] The Boston Globe called the album "a hard-hitting affair where he tackles contemporary R&B trends and proves conclusively that he is no bygone relic." [17]
The Kansas City Star determined that "it occasionally sounds a little heavy-handed and overpowering, but most of the time that pounding sound fits right in with the overall effect Charles seems to want." [18] The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette panned Charles's selection of "mediocre" material. [13] The Richmond Times-Dispatch concluded that Love & Peace "is what happens when an exceptional blues and jazz interpreter attempts to sing down to the common denominator." [19]
AllMusic wrote: "His powers of expression as a vocalist and keyboardist are undiminished on the second album of his return to the Atlantic fold; he could still squeeze some soul out of anything... But his ability to choose great, good, or even merely appropriate material had deserted him." [10] The Rolling Stone Album Guide labeled "You 20th Century Fox" "a genuine hoot." [14]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "You 20th Century Fox" | |
2. | "Take Off That Dress" | |
3. | "She Knows" | |
4. | "Riding Thumb" | |
5. | "We Had It All" | |
6. | "No Achievement Showing" | |
7. | "A Peace That We Never Before Could Enjoy" | |
8. | "Is There Anyone Out There?" | |
9. | "Give the Poor Man a Break" |