“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”
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)
NANCY WILSON
