''Naked Songs'' is the sixth
album by American singer-songwriter
Al Kooper for
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
, released in 1973.
Two singles were released in the fall of 1972, preceding the album.
Background
A contract-fulfilling release,
coming months after Kooper had set up the Sounds of the South label through
MCA Records, it was quickly recorded at
New York City's
Record Plant
The Record Plant is a recording studio established in New York City in 1968 and currently operating in Los Angeles, California. Known for innovations in the recording artists' workspace, it has produced highly influential albums, including Blon ...
(the first time Kooper had recorded in New York since 1970's ''Easy Does It'') and at
Studio One Studio One or Studio 1 may refer to:
* Studio One (software), digital audio workstation software, developed by PreSonus
* ''Studio One'' (American TV series), a 1948–1958 American television anthology series
* ''Studio One'' (Emirati TV progra ...
in
Doraville, Georgia (where the following year Kooper would produce
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Lynyrd Skynyrd ( ) is an American rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida. The group originally formed as My Backyard in 1964 and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (lead vocalist), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Ju ...
's smash hit "
Sweet Home Alabama").
Mixing a heavier dose of gospel into the mix as well as the Arp synthesizer, Kooper effortlessly blended
soul,
rhythm and blues,
rock,
country and
pop
Pop or POP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* Pop music, a musical genre Artists
* POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade
* Pop!, a UK pop group
* Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band
Albums
* ''Pop'' (G ...
music much as he had on all of his Columbia albums. He continued with his successful formula of original material and select covers.
After this album, Kooper spent three years working with and producing Lynyrd Skynyrd, before resuming his solo career with his next recording, ''
Act Like Nothing's Wrong
''Act Like Nothing's Wrong'' is the seventh solo studio album by the American singer-songwriter Al Kooper, recorded and released in 1976.
Background
After the release of his sixth studio album '' Naked Songs'' in 1973, Kooper took time off from ...
'' in late 1976.
Track listing
All tracks composed by Al Kooper; except where indicated
# "(Be Yourself) Be Real" – 3:25
# "
As the Years Go Passing By
"As the Years Go Passing By" is a song penned by Peppermint Harris for Fenton Robinson, who first recorded it in 1959 on Duke Records, Duke #312. Flamboyant pianist James Booker also played on the session. It is credited to have been written by ' ...
" (
Don Robey
Don Deadric Robey (November 1, 1903 – June 16, 1975) was an American record label executive, songwriter, and record producer. As the founder of Peacock Records and the eventual owner of Duke Records, he was responsible for developing the caree ...
) – 6:04
# "Jolie" – 3:46
# "Blind Baby" – 3:06
# "Been and Gone" (
Annette Peacock
Annette Peacock is an American composer, musician, songwriter, producer, and arranger. She is a pioneer in electronic music who combined her voice with one of the first Moog synthesizers in the late 1960s.
Biography
Annette Peacock was writing ...
) – 2:35
# "
Sam Stone
Sam Stone is the horror and fantasy pen name for British Thriller novellist and screenwriter Samantha Lee Howe. She is best known for her ''USA Today!'' best selling novel ''The Stranger In Our Bed'' published by HarperCollins imprint One More ...
" (
John Prine) – 4:43
# "Peacock Lady" – 3:23
# "Touch the Hem of His Garment" (
Sam Cooke
Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), known professionally as Sam Cooke, was an American singer and songwriter. Considered to be a pioneer and one of the most influential soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred ...
) – 4:04
# "Where Were You When I Needed You" (Irwin Levine, Kooper) – 3:14
# "Unrequited" – 2:44
Personnel
Musicians
* Al Kooper –
piano,
organ
Organ may refer to:
Biology
* Organ (biology), a part of an organism
Musical instruments
* Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone
** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument
** Hammond ...
,
guitars,
ARP synthesizer
A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...
,
harpsichord
A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a trigger mechanism ...
,
electric bass
With
* John Paul Fetta – electric bass (tracks 1-2, 4-5, 9)
* Junior Hanley –
drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
(tracks 1-2, 4-5, 9)
* Charlie Brown – guitar (tracks 2, 4)
* Paul Goddard – bass (tracks 3, 6)
*
Barry Bailey
Atlanta Rhythm Section (or ARS) is an American Southern rock band formed in 1970 by Rodney Justo (singer), Barry Bailey (guitar), Paul Goddard (bass), Dean Daughtry (keyboards), Robert Nix (drums) and J. R. Cobb (guitar). The band's current li ...
– guitar (tracks 3, 6)
*
J. R. Cobb
James Barney Cobb Jr. (February 5, 1944 – May 4, 2019) was an American guitarist and songwriter, most notable for co-writing "Spooky (Classics IV song), Spooky", "Stormy (song), Stormy" and "Traces (song), Traces", among others, as a member of ...
– guitar (tracks 3, 6)
*
Robert Nix – drums (tracks 3, 6)
*
Richard Greene –
fiddle
A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...
(track 4)
*
Dean Daughtry – piano (track 6)
*
Stuart Scharf – guitar (track 7)
* Maruga Booker –
percussion (track 7)
*
Linda November, Maeretha Stewart,
Tasha Thomas, Eileen Gilbert,
Patti Austin
Patti Austin (born August 10, 1950) is an American R&B, pop, and jazz singer and songwriter.
Music career
Austin was born in Harlem, New York, to Gordon Austin, a jazz trombonist. She was raised in Bay Shore, New York on Long Island. Quincy ...
, Albertine Robinson, Michael Gately,
Robert John – backing vocals
*
Jimmy Wisner
James Joseph Wisner (December 8, 1931 – March 13, 2018) was an American pianist, arranger, songwriter, and producer. He is best known for his 1961 hit single "Asia Minor", released under the name Kokomo.
Biography
Born in Philadelphia, Wisne ...
– string arrangements (tracks 7, 9, 10)
Technical
* Al Kooper –
producer
Producer or producers may refer to:
Occupations
*Producer (agriculture), a farm operator
*A stakeholder of economic production
*Film producer, supervises the making of films
**Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...
* Al Kooper, Charlie Bradley, Don Puluse, Doug Pomeroy, Jerry Watson,
Rodney Mills, Wayne Tarnowski –
engineers
* Fred Lombardi –
photography
* Teresa Alferi – cover design
References
{{Authority control
1973 albums
Columbia Records albums
Al Kooper albums
Albums produced by Al Kooper