Nancy Wilson - Now I'm A Woman (1970)

“Now I’m A Woman” by Nancy Wilson (1970)

Release Date: September 1970
Produced by Gamble-Huff Productions
Genre: Vocal, R&B, Pop, Jazz, Adult Contemporary
Label: Capitol Records

Chart Positions: #54 (US), #5 (US R&B)
Certifications: N/A
Awards: N/A

Singles and Chart Positions: “Now I’m A Woman” #93 (US), #41 (US R&B)
Singles Certifications: N/A
Other Charting Tracks: N/A
Best Tracks: “Now I’m A Woman,” “Joe,” “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” “The Real Me”

“Now I’m A Woman” by Nancy Wilson (Click Here)

After an extended period of albums with producer David Cavanaugh, Wilson did this 1970 album with Gamble-Huff productions, featuring producers/arrangers including Thom Bell, Bobby Martin, and arranger-conductor Lenny Pakula. Cavanaugh did show up as executive producer.

Around this time the Philly production team was best known for their work with artists like Jerry Butler, Billy Paul, and the Delfonics, among many others. Wilson falls right into the production style.

The title track is a customary strong outing from Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. The beautiful "Joe" has the sound of a prime Thom Bell production, and Wilson gives an amazing performance and a particularly emotional note that might go through a listener. Wilson shines on "Lonely, Lonely" and "Let's Fall in Love Again"; both benefit from Bobby Martin's patently brassy and sweeping Philly production. “Now I'm a Woman” is an important album in Wilson's oeuvre and the Philly sound.

The release of Nancy Wilson's Now I'm a Woman album coincided with her distingué performance in an episode of Hawaii Five-O's third season ("Trouble in Mind") as the heroin-addicted jazz vocalist Eadie Jordan. In one scene, the no-nonsense Steve McGarrett confesses to being an Eadie Jordan record collector and fanboy.

The album’s only single, the title track, “Now I’m A Woman,” is a soul-stirring song that Wilson sinks her teeth into. The song about a woman reflecting on her past hurts, once as a baby, then as a lady, and now as a woman. Once again displaying their remarkable ability at song-tailoring, Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff craft a beauty for Wilson, utilizing an understated rhythm section and stately, well-spaced strings. Wilson was as comfortable and compelling in contemporary settings as she was with jazz and more elaborately arranged sessions.

Now I'm A Woman (1970)

Album highlight, “Joe,” a Kenny Gamble/Norman Harris/Allan Felder song that the Philly innovators also recorded with Dusty Springfield; Nancy Wilson's quite comfortable in this contemporary setting and demonstrates her inherent ability to sing in perfect diction, making the availability of lyrics unnecessary. Trademark Philly horns provide a familiar opening, and Wilson's exquisite, longing enhances the lush track. She misses Joe badly; check out her sorrowful, womanly cry before the chorus, it catches you by surprise.

Other album highlights “Bridge Over Troubled Water” is a soul-stirring rendition that brings an aura to the song that is as moving as any other cover of the Simon and Garfunkel classic. “The Real Me” is one of the three best songs on the album showcasing Wilson’s finesse with jazz and blues.

The following is a review of Nancy's album in the November 21, 1970 issue of Billboard Magazine:
A talent of consistent fine quality - that's Nancy Wilson. In this album, she demonstrates her versatility and professionalism with a selection of today's top hits "Bridge Over Troubled Water," "Long and Winding Road," "Close To You" and "Now I'm A Woman."

The following review showed up in the Spotlight Singles section of the October 10, 1970 issue of Billboard Magazine:
Miss Wilson is at her ballad best with this beautiful Gamble-Huff material that should prove an Easy Listening and Soul smash and carry her over to the Top 100 as well. First-rate production work.

Nancy Wilson (1970)

Link to “Now I’m A Woman” (Click Here)

NANCY WILSON

Dean Friedman- Dean Friedman (1977)

“Dean Friedman” by Dean Friedman (1977)

Release Date: April 1977
Produced by Rob Stevens
Genre: Pop, Rock, Ballads, Adult Contemporary
Label: Lifesong

Chart Positions: N/A
Certifications: N/A
Awards: N/A

Singles and Chart Positions: 
“Ariel” #26 (US), #19 (Canada, New Zealand), #47 (Scotland)
“Woman Of Mine” #52 (UK), #47 (Scotland)
Singles Certifications: N/A
Other Charting Tracks: N/A

Best Tracks: “Company,” “Ariel,” “Woman Of Mine,” “Humor Me”

“Dean Friedman” by Dean Friedman (Click Here) 

Trivia: Dean Friedman is one of those artists that pretty much has gone unnoticed by the masses but has maintained a healthy enough audience to continue releasing albums into this current decade and perform a steady stream of concerts to this very day.

Dean’s popularity began with the hit single “Ariel,” it was the first of two hits from Friedman's eponymous debut LP, Dean Friedman. "Ariel," however, was his only hit in North America. It reached number 26 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, number 17 on the Cash Box Top 100 and number 19 in Canada. The song spent 22 weeks on the Billboard chart and 24 weeks on Cash Box.

"Ariel" has been described as a "quirkily irresistible and non-categorical pop song about a free spirited, music loving, vegetarian Jewish girl", from Paramus, New Jersey, where Friedman grew up. The lyrics describe the young girl from "deep in the bosom of suburbia," who sang "mighty fine," with "'Tears on My Pillow' and 'Ave Maria'" perhaps implying that he was Roman Catholic. It describes the girl Ariel, "standing by the [since dismantled] waterfall at Paramus Park", one of the many shopping malls in Paramus. The quarters she was collecting for "the friends of BAI" refers to the New York radio station WBAI, and their listener association, while the song also makes reference to "channel 2," which refers to local CBS affiliate WCBS-TV.
Chicago radio superstation WLS, which gave the song much airplay, ranked "Ariel" as the 60th most popular hit of 1977. It reached as high as number four on their survey of August 20, 1977.

Lifesong, the record label which produced "Ariel" insisted Friedman change the song's second verse, which refers to the eponymous Ariel as "a Jewish girl", believing that radio stations might use it as an excuse not to play the record. The third verse was also removed to make the single shorter for radio. The management company received threats from the Jewish Defense League protesting against the edit and, at Friedman's insistence; the original version was put on the album.

"Ariel" (1977)

“Woman Of Mine” a more serious adult contemporary tune was Friedman’s first chart appearance in the UK reaching #52 and also scored on the charts in Scotland at #47. The song combines acoustic guitar with a super-smooth classic rock styled electric guitar solo in the middle of the song. Many that have heard this song have felt the song should have been a top ten hit.

“Humor Me,” an album standout is described by Dean Friedman as a love song for hopeless romantics. The song blends an irresistible combination of acoustic guitar and electric keyboards with an understated backing vocal chorus. The song is somewhat similar to a Michael Franks tune.

Here's a little lesser known trivia... Tony Levin, who is best known for playing electric bass with famous musicians such as King Crimson and Peter Gabriel as well as contributing to more than 500 albums for artists such as Paul Simon, Cher, Alice Cooper, Bryan Ferry, Seal, James Taylor and Carly Simon, also performed electric bass on Dean's first two albums.

Dean Friedman 1977

Link to “Dean Friedman” (Click Here) 

DEAN FRIEDMAN