''Why Can't We Live Together'' is the debut album by

Timmy Thomas Timothy Earle Thomas (November 13, 1944 – March 11, 2022) was an American R&B singer, keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer, best known for the hit song, " Why Can't We Live Together". Life and career Thomas was born in Evansville, ...

released in 1972. It was historically the first record to fully replace drummers with a

drum machine A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument that creates percussion sounds, drum beats, and patterns. Drum machines may imitate drum kits or other percussion instruments, or produce unique sounds, such as synthesized electronic tones. A d ...

. The album reached number ten in 1973 on the US R&B albums chart on the strength of the million-seller single, "

Why Can't We Live Together "Why Can't We Live Together" is a song written and recorded by Timmy Thomas in 1972. A chart hit in the following year, it was included on the album '' Why Can't We Live Together''. It was one of the first major hits to feature the use of a rhy ...

Background

"Why Can't We Live Together" and "Funky Me" were recorded

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

in August 1972, with the rest of the album recorded in November. Using the Glades Records studio, Thomas is the sole performer on the recordings; on the title track for instance, which took fifteen minutes to record, he played the organ parts with one hand and percussion on the organ with the other (using pre-programmed rhythms), using his feet to play bass on the organ pedals.

Composition

''Why Can't We Live Together'' is a sparse album of "soulful

minimalism In visual arts, music, and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in the post-war era in western art. The movement is often interpreted as a reaction to abstract expressionism and modernism; it anticipated contemporary post-mi ...

". The rhythm is dominant throughout the record. The album features topical themes, similar to its single. Although Thomas wrote most of the album, it also features two cover versions. Regarding his version of "The Coldest Days of My Life" by

the Chi-Lites The Chi-Lites (, ) are an American R&B/soul vocal quartet from Chicago. Forming at Chicago's Hyde Park High School in 1959, the group's original lineup consisted of singers Robert Lester, Eugene Record, Creadel Jones, Clarence Johnson, Burt ...

, Thomas said the original track gave him "a deep feeling of having experienced what they were singing about — the cold, cold feeling of being alone simply got through to me and I wanted to sing that song so badly." His decision to record "

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" is a 1957 folk song written by British political singer-songwriter Ewan MacColl for Peggy Seeger, who later became his third wife. At that time, MacColl was still married to his second wife, Jean Newlove. ...

" was for similar reasons, though he said "I experienced the feeling when it was included in the movie, ''

Play Misty For Me ''Play Misty for Me'' is a 1971 American psychological thriller film directed by and starring Clint Eastwood, his directorial debut. Jessica Walter and Donna Mills co-star. The screenplay, written by regular Eastwood collaborators Jo Heims and ...

''." The title track and "Rainbow Power" both discuss what Thomas described as

race relations Race relations is a sociological concept that emerged in Chicago in connection with the work of sociologist Robert E. Park and the Chicago race riot of 1919. Race relations designates a paradigm or field in sociology and a legal concept in th ...

"getting out of hand," wishing to come up with songs "which would make people think again."

Release and promotion

In an interview with the ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' in March 1973, Thomas mentioned that "Rain Power" would "probably" be the second single.

Critical reception

In a contemporary review of ''Why Can't We Live Together'', a writer for the ''Acton Gazette'' described Thomas as "the new soul super-star" and hailed the "unforgettable", hypnotic hit single, but felt that the album becomes monotonous and samey due to Thomas' "obsessive use of his magic organ, with its built-in rhythm section," feeling it exposed the musician's "limited talents." They nonetheless wrote that "if the idea of hearing a string of different versions of 'Why Can't We Live Together' appeals to you, then you'll probably love it." Keith Hunt of the ''Thanet Times'' agreed that the "

metronome A metronome () is a device that produces an audible click or other sound at a uniform interval that can be set by the user, typically in beats per minute (BPM). Metronomes may also include synchronized visual motion, such as a swinging pendulum ...

-like backing, taping away track after track, gets monotonous," finding the organ playing to resemble "the sound you would expect to hear at a holiday camp." However, praise was given to Thomas' talents and the album's "flashes of brilliance." Russell Gersten of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' was more harsh, describing the album as "a piece of junk" and commenting: "Thirty minutes of listening to a hack organist and a metronome playing basically the same song in eight variations is one of the most abrasive experiences I've undergone in months." In an article for ''

Blues & Soul ''Blues & Soul'' is a British music magazine, established in 1967 by John Abbey. ''The Independent'' has noted ''Blues & Soul'' as being the equal of magazines such as ''NME'' and '' Q''. ''Billboard'' magazine has called ''Blues & Soul'' "a r ...

'', John Abbey felt that although the album needed further instrumentation at times, "one cannot deny the tremendous achievement of the man for creating a whole album which, from a lesser talent, would undoubtedly have bored all and sundry to the point where the album would never have survived the full thirty-five minutes." A retrospective article by Joseph Neff of ''The Vinyl District'' describes ''Why Can't We Live Together'' as "a pretty strong and rather underrated LP," writing that "the spare aura and the sound of that drum machine actually manage to conjure the sound of

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

," highlighting the intro of "Funky Me" in particular for resembling Manchester post-punk, while feeling "the way the rhythms and the organ intertwine throughout the LP can give off hints of

Yo La Tengo Yo La Tengo (Spanish language, Spanish for "I've got it"; also abbreviated as YLT) is an American indie rock band formed in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1984. Since 1992, the lineup has consisted of Ira Kaplan (guitars, piano, vocals), Georgia Hubley ...

circa '' And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out''." Reinforcing past criticisms, Andrew Hamilton of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

describes the majority of album as "almost as sparse" as "Why Can't We Live Together," which he describes as "the cheapest Top Ten hit ever made," but criticises the album for being "forgettable" outside its title track, noting: "If you like a lot of production, you won't find it here."

Track listing

All songs written and arranged by Timmy Thomas except where indicated #"

" #"Rainbow Power" #"Take Care of Home" #"

" (

Ewan McColl James Henry Miller (25 January 1915 – 22 October 1989), better known by his stage name Ewan MacColl, was a British folk singer-songwriter, folk song collector, labour activist and actor. Born in England to Scottish parents, he is known as ...

) #"The Coldest Days of My Life" (

Carl Davis Carl Davis (October 28, 1936 – August 3, 2023) was an American-born British conductor and composer. He wrote music for more than 100 television programmes, notably the landmark ITV series '' The World at War'' (1973) and BBC's '' Pride and P ...

Eugene Record Eugene Booker Record (December 23, 1940 – July 22, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, arranger, and record producer. He was best known as the lead vocalist of the Chicago-based vocal group The Chi-Lites. He had international hits w ...

) #"In The Beginning" #"Cold Cold People" #"Opportunity" #"Dizzy Dizzy World" #"Funky Me"

Charts

Singles

References

External links

Timmy Thomas-Why Can't We Live Together at Discogs
{{Authority control 1972 debut albums Timmy Thomas albums TK Records albums