''Real People'' is the fourth studio album by American R&B band

Chic Chic (; ), meaning "stylish" or "smart", is an element of fashion. It was originally a French word. Pronounced Chick. Etymology '' Chic'' is a French word, established in English since at least the 1870s. Early references in English diction ...

, released on Atlantic Records in 1980. It includes the singles " Rebels Are We" (US R&B #8, Pop #61), "

Real People ''Real People'' is an American reality television series that originally aired on NBC from 1979 to 1984, Wednesdays from 8 pm to 9pm Eastern Time. Its initial episodes aired live in the Eastern and Central time zones. ''Real People'' featured "r ...

" (#51 R&B, #79 Pop), and "26" (issued only in the UK). The album was one of four written and produced by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers in 1980, the other three being Sister Sledge's '' Love Somebody Today'', Sheila and B. Devotion's '' King of the World'', and Diana Ross' multi-platinum selling album '' Diana''. The album peaked at #30 on the US Albums chart and #8 on the US R&B chart, a modest commercial success in comparison both to the Diana Ross project and their previous albums, most likely due to the so-called " anti-disco backlash". Though in spite of the backlash, all of the album cuts peaked at #29 on the American dance charts. ''Real People'' was released on CD by Atlantic Records/

Warner Music Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and th ...

in 1991. It was digitally remastered and reissued by

Wounded Bird Records Wounded Bird Records is an American compact disc only re-issue record label that was founded in 1998 in Guilderland, New York. They re-release lesser known albums from popular and lesser known artists, including Paul Butterfield, Cactus, Herb ...

in 2003.

Critical reception

In a contemporary review for ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...

'', Robert Christgau deemed ''Real People'' a better record than Chic's '' Risqué'' (1979), even though it lacked a song as great as " Good Times". "Jumpy, scintillating rhythms fuse with elegantly abrasive textures for a funk that's not light but sharp", he wrote. "Plus post-chic words that go with the attention-grabbing heat and invention of Nile Rodgers's postrock guitar." In his year-end list for the

Pazz & Jop Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year abs ...

critics poll, Christgau named it the 15th best album of 1980.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

's Alex Henderson was less impressed in a retrospective review, calling ''Real People'' a satisfactory effort but inessential, highlighted by " Rebels Are We", "I Got Protection", and "Chip Off the Old Block", none of which he said were as good as Chic's past hits.

Track listing

All tracks written by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers.

Side A

#"Open Up" – 3:52 #"

" – 5:20 #"I Loved You More" – 3:06 #"I Got Protection" – 6:22

Side B

#" Rebels Are We" – 4:53 #"Chip Off the Old Block" – 4:56 #"26" – 3:57 #"You Can't Do It Alone" – 4:39

Personnel

* Luci Martin – lead vocals (A2, A3, B1) * Alfa Anderson – lead vocals (A4, B2) *

Fonzi Thornton Alfonso "Fonzi" Thornton is a U.S. songwriter/producer and vocal contractor. In a career spanning 40 years, Thornton has sung backing vocals for top artists across many genres of music. His vocal credits can be found on the recordings of Are ...

– lead vocals (B4) * Michelle Cobbs – vocals * Nile Rodgers –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

, vocals * Andy Schwartz –

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

* Raymond Jones – keyboards * Bernard Edwards –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

; lead vocals (B3) * Tony Thompson – drums * Sammy Figueroa –

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

* The Chic Strings: ** Valerie Heywood – strings ** Cheryl Hong – strings ** Karen Milne – strings **

Gene Orloff Gene Orloff (June 14, 1921 – March 23, 2009) was an American violinist, concertmaster, arranger, contractor and session musician. Background The son of a Russian immigrant violin maker, Orloff would try and get his father's violin down from the ...

– conductor

Production

* Bernard Edwards – producer for Chic Organization Ltd. * Nile Rodgers – producer for Chic Organization Ltd. *

Bob Clearmountain Bob Clearmountain (born January 15, 1953) is an American recording engineer, mixer and record producer. He has worked with many major acts, including Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Toto (band), Toto, Bon Jovi and Bryan Adams, with whom he ...

–

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

* Lucy Laurie – assistant engineer * Jeff Hendrickson – assistant engineer * Garry Rindfuss – assistant engineer * Dennis King – mastering * Bob Defrin – art direction * Bob Kiss – photography * All songs recorded and mixed at The Power Station, New York City. * Mastered at

Atlantic Studios Atlantic Studios was the recording studio of Atlantic Records. Although this recording studio was located at 1841 Broadway (at the corner of 60th Street), in New York City, Atlantic Recording Studios was initially located at 234 West 56th Street fr ...

, NY.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Real People (Album) Chic (band) albums 1980 albums Atlantic Records albums Albums produced by Nile Rodgers Albums produced by Bernard Edwards