Chic

Product Details

* Audio CD (September 15, 1992)
* Original Release Date: 2000
* Number of Discs: 1
* Label: Atlantic / Wea
* Catalog Number: 81552
* ASIN: B000002IIQ
* Average Customer Review: based on 15 reviews. (Write a review.)
* Amazon.com Sales Rank: #74,285 in Music (See Top Sellers in Music)
Yesterday: #68,095 in Music

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1. Chic Cheer Listen Listen
2. Le Freak Listen Listen
3. Savoir Faire Listen Listen
4. Happy Man Listen Listen
5. I Want Your Love Listen Listen
6. At Last I Am Free Listen
7. Sometimes You Win Listen
8. (Funny) Bone Listen
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
Alltime Classic Disco, July 25, 2001
Reviewer: disco75 "disco75" (State College, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)
This is one of the top 5 disco albums and a pinnacle from the best band since the big band era. It exploded with confidence and talent to spare onto an unsuspecting audience who had benignly liked the group's first lp. Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards seemed ready to discard conventions in pop music and had the skill to achieve this goal. Even the album cover was unique, listing the song titles on the front and depicting the band in the cool, detached, stylish way that became their trademark for a while.

The music didn't depend on the personality of the vocalists; rather, the group was conceived to be an organic whole. Instrumental and semi-instrumental tracks were heard alongside songs with chanted verses; song construction and arrangement had the string section not just creating a backdrop but often carrying the melody. The guitar assumed rhythm duties; at times the bass played melody. The interplay of guitar and bass was well served with a bedrock of solid drumming and piano playing (witness "I Want Your Love," "Chic Cheer"). The arrangements were unconventional but subtle. Many people complained of the simplistic lyrics or repetitious choruses, failing to perceive the unity of the compositions, the use of voice as instrumentation, the employment of minor progressions and layering to build and release tension.

Much has been said about "Le Freak," a huge hit in 1978. A hard sell to the label suits, it ended up an anthem of the times, serving multiple duty as disco hit, dance step hallmark, and banner for the socially disenfranchised who were being edged off the very club floors they created by increasing numbers of suburban dancers. More remarkable is "I Want Your Love," a perfection of a song that works in the clubs, on the radio, in the living room, and especially in the bedroom. Seductive and plaintive, it is one of the most gorgeous, well crafted recordings ever.

Overlooked gems abound on this lp. "Happy Man" contains the rare male vocal lead and a rolling bass that gathers increasing steam to the extended instrumental fade. "At Last I Am Free" is a tone poem that shows the emotive capabilities of the vocalists, proving that Chic was not a group with personality-less, interchangeable singers. "Savoir Faire" is a hybrid jazz-pop construction that puts the string section to use in rare ways. In sum, this was a stunning achievement, hardly predicted from the group's one previous effort. That there was still more innovation to come from the group was a hope that was more than gratified in coming years.… (meer)

Product Details

* Audio CD (September 15, 1992)
* Original Release Date: 2000
* Number of Discs: 1
* Label: Atlantic / Wea
* Catalog Number: 80407
* ASIN: B000002IHJ
* Average Customer Review: based on 5 reviews. (Write a review.)
* Amazon.com Sales Rank: #78,012 in Music (See Top Sellers in Music)
Yesterday: #69,881 in Music

Listen to Samples
To hear a song sample, click on "Listen" by that sample. Visit our audio help page for more information.

1. Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah) Listen Listen
2. Sao Paulo Listen Listen
3. You Can Get By Listen Listen
4. Everybody Dance Listen Listen
5. Est-Ce Que C'Est Chic Listen Listen
6. Falling In Love With You Listen
7. Strike Up The Band Listen
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Customer Reviews
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
The Real disco began in 1977..., March 28, 2005
Reviewer: Filter "Pete" (Seattle) - See all my reviews
"Dance,Dance,Dance(Yowsah,Yowsah,Yowsah)" has it all:disco's mythic history,a rhythm that shudders as it shuffles,flirtatious atmosphere,and plenty of time.
Also fine:the show-yourself moves of "Everybody Dance" and bossa nova in "You Can Get By".Smooth moves,sexy glow - that's disco!

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Sublime Disco., June 21, 2004
Reviewer: Arif (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) - See all my reviews
Sure, there's the critically acclaimed Risque. And C'est Chic is probably the best selling album in Chic's illustrious career. But there's something dark and deep about Chic's self-titled debut that separates this album from subsequent Chic productions. Take the two hits Dance, Dance, Dance and Everybody Dance. Despite their earnest call to boogie, the melodies work harder, taking you to darker corners of the club. A certain sadness prevails, as if predicting the Death of Disco. Est Ce Que C'est Chic is similarly melancholic - Norma Jean's childish vocals weave gothic stories around the cryptic lyrics. And Sao Paulo is a gem - one of the best and the most underrated Chic compositions ever - jazzy, chilled out and way ahead of its time. Sophisticated, sultry and sad, 'Chic' is Chic's best album.… (meer)