CHAKA KHAN "Chaka" LP New, Still Sealed 1979 DISCO SOUL FUNK

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Chaka Review by Andy Kellman

Chaka Khan's transition to solo artist in 1978 could not have been smoother. At the top of the year, Street Player, her sixth album with Rufus, appeared with a sleeve displaying her name ahead of the band's name -- no longer were they Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan. Its biggest single, "Stay," followed "You Got the Love" and "Sweet Thing" as the third Top 40 hit the singer co-wrote. In July, Chaka's unmistakable voice was on the number one soul single, Quincy Jones' "Stuff Like That," also featuring Ashford & Simpson. Three months later, Chaka was back on the charts with the Ashford & Simpson-written "I'm Every Woman," in one supremely graceful swoop the Platonic ideal of a midtempo floor-filler, feminist anthem, and solo debut. No other song has been so inviting of cover versions with the obvious caveat that it cannot be surpassed -- not even by Whitney Houston. Although that number one soul hit overshadows everything else on Chaka, the album is full of outstanding performances and a broad range of strong material pulled together by Arif Mardin. It's a near-total break from Rufus. The only connections are Tony Maiden's guitar solo on a gender-switched cover of Stevie Wonder's "I Was Made to Love Her" and writing input from a few Rufus collaborators. At times, especially on the free and easy "Sleep on It" and celebratory second single "Life Is a Dance," the LP resembles a Chaka-fronted Average White Band session, as guitarist/singer Hamish Stuart and dynamite drummer Steve Ferrone are on almost everything. The spirit of Chaka's Chicago hometown is also felt with Phil Upchurch's blues-jazz-soul rhythm guitar a throughline, and there's an emphatic update of Rotary Connection's gospel-fied "Love Has Fallen on Me," composed by group producer/arranger Charles Stepney with Chess staff writer Lloyd Webber. As with virtually every Chaka album with or without Rufus, there are some deep-cut knockouts. Dealing the strongest blow by far is the swirling belter "Some Love," introduced and driven by a bassline from Mark Stevens (Chaka's brother), and augmented by woodwinds and brass from David Sanborn and the Brecker Brothers. (Echoes of this song can be heard in Aurra's "Nasty Disposition" and Snap!'s "The Power.") Beneath that is the lovely upbeat George Benson duet "We Got the Love," also written by the guitarist. Certified gold within a month of release, Chaka was quickly followed by seventh Rufus and Chaka album Masterjam, and then Chaka resumed solo work with Naughty.

Chaka Khan – Chaka

Chaka Khan - Chaka album cover

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Label:

Warner Bros. Records – BSK 3245

Format:

Vinyl, LP, Album

Country:

US

Released:

1978

Genre:

Funk / Soul

Style:

Disco

A1 I'm Every Woman

Backing Vocals – Chaka Khan

Backing Vocals, Bass – Will Lee

Backing Vocals, Guitar – Hamish Stuart

Guitar – Phil Upchurch

Piano – Richard Tee

Written-By – Ashford & Simpson

4:05

A2 Love Has Fallen On Me

Alto Saxophone – George Young (2)

Arranged By, Written-By – Charles Stepney

Backing Vocals – Chaka Khan, Cissy Houston, David Lasley

Backing Vocals, Guitar – Hamish Stuart

Baritone Saxophone – Ronnie Cuber

Bass – Anthony Jackson

Guitar – Phil Upchurch

Piano – Richard Tee

Tenor Saxophone – Michael Brecker

Trombone – Barry Rogers

Trumpet – Randy Brecker

Written-By – Lloyd Webber*

4:51

A3 Roll Me Through The Rushes

Backing Vocals – Cissy Houston, Hamish Stuart

Backing Vocals, Written-By – David Lasley

Bass – Will Lee

Drums – Rick Marotta

Electric Piano – Leon Pendarvis

French Horn – Brook Tillotson*, Jim Buffington

Guitar – Cornell Dupree, Phil Upchurch

Harp – Gene Bianco

Written-By – Lana Marrano

4:41

A4 Sleep On It

Backing Vocals – Alan Gorrie, Chaka Khan, Will Lee

Backing Vocals, Guitar – Hamish Stuart

Bass – Anthony Jackson

Electric Piano – Richard Tee

French Horn – Brook Tillotson*, Jim Buffington

Guitar – Phil Upchurch

Synthesizer [S.r.m.] – Ken Bichel

Written-By – Andrew Kastner, Larry John McNally

4:19

A5 Life Is A Dance

Alto Saxophone – George Young (2)

Backing Vocals – Alan Gorrie

Backing Vocals, Arranged By – Chaka Khan

Backing Vocals, Bass – Will Lee

Backing Vocals, Guitar – Hamish Stuart

Baritone Saxophone – Ronnie Cuber

Clavinet – Richard Tee

Guitar – Phil Upchurch

Tenor Saxophone – Michael Brecker

Trombone – Barry Rogers

Trumpet – Randy Brecker

Written-By – Gavin Christopher

4:19

B1 We Got The Love

Alto Saxophone – George Young (2)

Baritone Saxophone – Ronnie Cuber

Bass – Phil Upchurch

Congas – Raphael Cruz

Electric Piano – Arthur Jenkins

Flute – Eddie Daniels, Phil Bodner

Flute [Alto] – George Marge

Guitar – Hamish Stuart

Synthesizer [S.r.m.] – Ken Bichel

Tenor Saxophone – Michael Brecker

Trombone – Barry Rogers

Trumpet – Randy Brecker

Vocals – Chaka Khan

Vocals, Written-By – George Benson

3:26

B2 Some Love

Alto Saxophone – Dave Sanborn*

Bass, Written-By – Mark Stevens

French Horn – Brook Tillotson*, John Clark (2)

Guitar – Onnie McIntyre, Phil Upchurch

Percussion – Airto Moreira

Piano – Richard Tee

Tenor Saxophone, Soloist – Michael Brecker

Trumpet, Flugelhorn – Randy Brecker

Vocals, Written-By – Chaka Khan

Written-By – Keith Boyd, Jr., Traude Sapik

5:50

B3 A Woman In A Man's World

Alto Saxophone – Dave Sanborn*

Bass – Phil Upchurch

Bass Trombone – Paul Faulise

Congas – Sammy Figuroea*

French Horn – Brook Tillotson*, John Clark (2)

Guitar – Hamish Stuart

Guitar, Written-By – Andrew Kastner

Piano – Richard Tee

Synthesizer [S.r.m.] – Ken Bichel

Trumpet – Randy Brecker

Written-By – Larry John McNally

3:56

B4 The Message In The Middle Of The Bottom

Bass – Hamish Stuart

Bass Trombone – Paul Faulise

Cello – Jesse Levy, Kermit Moore, Richard Bock (2)

Clavinet – Arthur Jenkins

Congas – Raphael Cruz

French Horn – Brook Tillotson*, John Clark (2)

Guitar – Onnie McIntyre, Phil Upchurch

Tenor Saxophone – Michael Brecker

Trumpet – Randy Brecker

Vocals – Chaka Khan

Written-By – Lalomi Washburn*

4:15

B5 I Was Made To Love Him

Backing Vocals – Chaka Khan, Mark Stevens, Terri Gonzales*, Will Lee

Bass – Anthony Jackson

Guitar – Hamish Stuart, Phil Upchurch

Guitar [Solo] – Tony Maiden

Piano, Clavinet – Richard Tee

Written-By – Henry Cosby, Lula Hardaway, Stevie Wonder, Sylvia Moy

3:23

Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Warner Bros. Records Inc.

Copyright © – Warner Bros. Records Inc.

Recorded At – Atlantic Studios

Recorded At – Cherokee Studios

Mastered At – Atlantic Studios

Record Company – Warner Bros. Records Inc.

Concertmaster – Gene Orloff

Drums – Steve Ferrone

Engineer [Additional Recording] – Gene Paul

Engineer [Additional Recording], Mixed By [Remixed By] – Lew Hahn

Engineer [Assistant] – Bill Dooley, Michael O'Reilly, Randy Mason, Sheridan Eldridge, Anthony D'Amico*

Engineer [Recording] – James Douglass*

Mastered By – GP*

Producer, Arranged By [Brass, Strings, Woodwind] – Arif Mardin

Strings – F. Buldrini*, E. Bianco*, G. Marge*, G. Lumia*, H. Kohon*, J. Levy*, J. Malin*, J. Abramowitz*, J. Barber*, K. Moore*, M. Morgenstern*, M. Takayama*, P. Winter*, R. Iandiorio*, R. Bock*, R. Sortomme*, S. Allen*, T. Israel*

GOLDMINE GRADING

MINT ---- It should appear to be perfect. No scuffs or scratches, blotches or stains, labels or writing, tears or splits. Mint means perfect.

NEAR MINT ---- Otherwise mint but has one or two tiny inconsequential flaws that do not affect play. Covers should be close to perfect with minor signs of wear or age just becoming evident: slight ring-wear, minor denting to a corner, or writing on the cover should all be noted properly.

VERY GOOD PLUS ---- The record has been handled and played infrequently or very carefully. Not too far from perfect. On a disc, there may be light paper scuffs from sliding in and out of a sleeve or the vinyl or some of the original luster may be lost. A slight scratch that did not affect play would be acceptably VG+ for most collectors.

VERY GOOD ---- Record displays visible signs of handling and playing, such as loss of vinyl luster, light surface scratches, groove wear and spindle trails. Some audible surface noise, but should not overwhelm the musical experience. Usually a cover is VG when one or two of these problems are evident: ring wear, seam splits, bent corners, loss of gloss, stains, etc.

GOOD ---- Well played with little luster and significant surface noise. Despite defects, record should still play all the way through without skipping. Several cover flaws will be apparent, but should not obliterate the artwork.

POOR ---- Any record or cover that does not qualify for the above "Good" grading should be seen as Poor. Several cover flaws.