Together

by Gwen McCrae, George McCrae

Overview

George McCrae and his wife, Gwen McCrae, were just past the peak of their popularity when they recorded the 1976 LP Together as a duo. George was still riding his 1974 chart-topper "Rock Your Baby," while Gwen had scored a Top Ten hit of her own shortly afterward with "Rockin' Chair." Although they'd been pursuing solo careers, in fact they'd recorded as a duo in the early '70s, so Together was not so much a new pairing as a reunion, though ironically they'd separate romantically not long after it was done. "Rock Your Baby" in particular is regarded as a pivotal early disco record, but the Together album isn't a straight disco outing, though some disco's involved. Instead, it's a rather typical if high-class mid-'70s Miami soul album, disco rhythms informing some of the more uptempo tracks (especially "Let's Dance Dance Dance"), but others veering toward straighter romantic soul. None of the songs are particularly outstanding (and "I'll Do the Rockin'" seems like an obvious attempt to milk the "Rock Your Baby" formula), but it's pleasantly professional period soul-disco, the songs largely written by Clarence Reid. The 2009 CD reissue on Shout adds historical liner notes and a half-dozen George McCrae solo bonus tracks, the most interesting of which are three mid-'70s cuts (including the small hit "I Ain't Lyin'"); the others date from much later in his career. ~ Richie Unterberger

Product Details

Release Date:	06/09/2023
Label:	Wagram
UPC:	3596974368262
Rank:	77209

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Gwen McCrae   Primary Artist
George McCrae   Primary Artist
Snoopy Dean   Guitar
Joey Murcia   Guitar
George "Chocolate" Perry   Bass
Kenneth Faulk   Horn
Benny Latimore   Piano
Jerome Smith   Guitar
Arnold Paseiro   Bass
Oliver Brown   Congas
Albhy Galuten   Piano
Whit Sidener   Horn
Timmy Thomas   Piano
Joe Galdo   Drums
Philip Wright   Guitar
Richie Puente   Congas
Warren Thompson   Guitar
Mike Lewis   Horn,Piano,Strings
Robert Johnson   Drums
Tubby Zeigler   Drums
Robert Ferguson   Drums
Vinnie Tanno   Horn
Ray Martinez   Piano
Ismael Lesedma   Guitar

Technical Credits

Gwen McCrae   Composer
George McCrae   Composer
Jay Be   Composer
Clive Richardson   Liner Notes,Compilation Producer