In the Naked City

by N/A

Overview

Ah, New York, New York! The big apple! City of dreams! The town so nice they named it twice! Where would songwriters be without having the Big Town to use as a metaphor and/or a setting where big hopes and bigger challenges face every person who walks those mean streets? Two dozen classic rock and R&B songs about life in the Big City are collected on In the Naked City, a compilation from Kent Soul that pays musical homage to New York and its musical identity. These tunes were recorded between 1962 and 1972, with most dating from the mid-'60s, and while not all of the songs specifically namecheck New York City, all tell stories of the hustle and bustle of metropolitan life, from the celebratory (Chuck Jackson's "Big New York" and Marva Josie's "I Love New York") to the bittersweet ("No Pity in the Naked City" by Jackie Wilson and "I Don't Want to Hear It Anymore" by Jerry Butler). Appropriately, most of these tracks lean to the polished Brill Building production style that ruled the airwaves in the mid-'60s, though Ralfi Pagan's cover of "Up o the Roof" adds some potent Latin flavor to the disc (as does Aretha Franklin's "Spanish Harlem"), and the great Arthur Alexander transplants a bit of Southern soul to his window box with "Concrete Jungle." A few key songs appear in cover versions, most notably Little Eva's recording of "Uptown" (a major hit for the Crystals), but compilers Mick Patrick and Tony Rounce have done a splendid job of tracking down great performances of tunes related to their theme, and In the Naked City is superb listening either for native New Yorkers celebrating their hometown or outsiders who've fallen in love with Manhattan's image in the media. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	05/27/2008
Label:	Kent Soul
UPC:	0029667229920
Rank:	125992

Tracks

1. Big New York  - Chuck Jackson  - Ed Townsend
2. On Broadway  -  Cookies  - Jerry Leiber  - Barry Mann  - Mike Stoller  - Cynthia Weil
3. I Love New York  - Herbie Hancock  - Marva Josie
4. In My Apartment  - Chuck Barksdale  - Dee Clark  - Larry Graves  - Michael McGill  - Barrett Strong
5. Concrete Jungle  - Arthur Alexander  - Joe South
6. Second Window, Second Floor  - Clyde McPhatter
7. No Pity (In the Naked City)  - Jackie Wilson
8. I Don't Want to Hear It Anymore  - Jerry Butler  - Randy Newman
9. A Quiet Place  - Samuel Bell  - Norman Meade  -  Mimms
10. Three Rooms  - Audrey Freeman  - Audrey Freeman  - Bob Halley  - Jimmy Radcliffe
11. In My Tenement  - Arthur Resnick  - Bobby Scott  - Jackie Shane  - Jackie Shane
12. Uptown  -  Little Eva  - Barry Mann  - Cynthia Weil
13. I Found a Daisy (In the City)  - Hash Brown  - Barry Darvell  - Barry Davell  - Arthur Resnick
14. Nights in New York City  - Jan Bradley
15. Song of the Street  - Donald Height  - Teddy Vann
16. Strange Neighborhood  -  Imaginations
17. Up in the Streets of Harlem  - Bert Berns  -  Drifters
18. Those City Lights  - Wayne Bartlett
19. That Old Neighborhood  - Eric Williams  - Eric "E Ballad" Williams
20. Street Talk  -  Tymes  - Jimmy Wisner
21. No Butterflies  - Walter Jackson  - Gary Knight  - Irwin Levine
22. City of Fools  - Colette Kelly
23. Up on the Roof (Interpolation: Some Kinda Wonderful)  - Palfi Pagan  - Ralfi Pagan
24. Spanish Harlem  - Aretha Franklin  - Jerry Leiber  - Phil Spector

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Barry Darvell   Primary Artist
The Tymes   Primary Artist
Garnet Mimms & the Enchanters   Primary Artist
Jan Bradley   Primary Artist
Little Eva   Primary Artist
Marva Josie   Primary Artist
Aretha Franklin   Primary Artist
Arthur Alexander   Primary Artist
Hash Brown   Primary Artist
Eric Williams   Primary Artist
Jackie Shane   Primary Artist,Primary Artist
Eric "E Ballad" Williams   Primary Artist
Barry Davell   Primary Artist
Audrey Freeman   Primary Artist,Primary Artist
Palfi Pagan   Primary Artist
The Cookies   Primary Artist
Imaginations   Primary Artist
Chuck Jackson   Primary Artist
Jackie Wilson   Primary Artist
The Drifters   Primary Artist
Donald Height   Primary Artist
Clyde McPhatter   Primary Artist
Dee Clark   Primary Artist
Walter Jackson   Primary Artist
Wayne Bartlett   Primary Artist
Jerry Butler   Primary Artist
Ralfi Pagan   Primary Artist
Colette Kelly   Primary Artist
Alan Lorber   Conductor
Arif Mardin   Strings
Artie Butler   Conductor
Garry Sherman   Conductor
Riley Hampton   Conductor
Jimmy Wisner   Conductor
Dick Jacobs   Director
Horace Ott   Conductor

Technical Credits

Alan Lorber   Arranger
Ted Cooper   Producer
Arif Mardin   Producer
Arthur Resnick   Composer
Gerry Goffin   Producer
Calvin Carter   Producer
Rob Shread   Audio Restoration
Phil Spector   Composer
Teddy Vann   Composer,Producer
Bert Berns   Composer,Producer
Bill Justis   Arranger
Bobby Scott   Composer
Jimmy Radcliffe   Composer,Producer
Barry Mann   Composer
Jan Bradley   Composer
John Abbott   Arranger
Tom Dowd   Producer
Artie Butler   Arranger
Herb Bernstein   Arranger
Herbie Hancock   Composer
Teacho Wiltshire   Arranger
Samuel Bell   Composer
Ed Silvers   Arranger
Gary Knight   Composer
Ray Allen & The Embers   Producer
Chuck Barksdale   Composer
Malcolm Baumgart   Material
Garry Sherman   Arranger
Norman Blagman   Producer
Rob Hughes   Material
Larry Graves   Composer
Niall McCormack   Package Design
Shelby Singleton   Producer
Bob Halley   Arranger,Composer
Kenny Vance   Arranger
Mick Patrick   Material,Liner Notes
Riley Hampton   Arranger
Irwin Levine   Composer
Barrett Strong   Composer
Claus Ogerman   Arranger
Jimmy Wisner   Arranger,Composer,Producer
Cynthia Weil   Composer
Fred Foster   Producer
Donald Height   Composer
Tony Rounce   Material,Liner Notes
Ed Townsend   Composer,Producer
Joe South   Composer
Dick Jacobs   Producer
Dean Rudland   Material
Johnny Pacheco   Recording Director
Horace Ott   Arranger
Jerry Masucci   Executive Producer
Jerry Leiber   Composer
Jerry Wexler   Producer
Randy Newman   Composer
Nick Robbins   Mastering
Norman Meade   Composer
Michael McGill   Composer
Mike Stoller   Composer