Devil's Got Your Tongue

Devil's Got Your Tongue is the fifteenth album by Abbey Lincoln, and her third for Verve Records. It was released on October 13, 1992.[1] The album peaked at number two on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart on April 10, 1993.[2]

Devil's Got Your Tongue
Studio album by
Abbey Lincoln
ReleasedOctober 13, 1992 (1992-10-13)
RecordedFebruary 24 and 25, 1992
StudioBMG Studios, New York City
GenreJazz
Length68:56
LabelVerve
ProducerJean-Philippe Allard
Abbey Lincoln chronology
You Gotta Pay the Band
(1991)
Devil's Got Your Tongue
(1992)
Abbey Sings Billie, Volume 2
(1992)

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [3]
MusicHound Jazz     [4]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz    [5]
The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide     [6]
The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz     [7]

A reviewer for AllMusic stated: "Her interpretive skills and emotional commitment to the material are such that she can even take on a familiar standard like 'A Child Is Born' and make it her own. It's gratifying to see a major jazz label allowing Lincoln's musical vision to flourish and grow."[3]

The authors of The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings wrote: "Vocally and musically, the material is too dense, almost as if she is trying to recapture the contours of the old Candid sessions, but not recognizing that modern recording and production will tend to swamp arrangements like this."[5]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Abbey Lincoln, unless otherwise noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Rainbow" (with The Noel Singers)
4:42
2."Evalina Coffrey (The Legend Of)" 7:04
3."Story of My Father" (with The Staple Singers) 5:28
4."A Child Is Born" (with The Noel Singers)6:20
5."People in Me" (with The Noel Singers) 6:13
6."A Circle of Love" (with The Noel Singers) 5:53
7."Jungle Queen" 6:09
8."The Merry Dancer" 7:48
9."Devil's Got Your Tongue" 5:49
10."Spring Will Be a Little Late This Year"Frank Loesser7:46
11."The Music Is the Magic" (with The Staple Singers) 5:44
Total length:68:56

Musicians

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  • Abbey Lincoln – vocals
  • Rodney Kendrick – piano
  • Marcus McLaurine – bass
  • Grady Tate – drums (tracks 2–4, 10–11)
  • Yoron Israel – drums (tracks 1, 5, 6, 8–9)
  • James Louis "J.J." Johnson – trombone (tracks 2, 4, 10)
  • Stanley Turrentine – tenor saxophone (tracks 5, 8, 10–11)
  • Maxine Roach – viola (tracks 2, 6)
  • Babatunde Olatunji – Ngoma, Djembe, Ashiko & Shekere drums (track 7)
  • Kehinde O'Uhuru – Ashiko drum (track 7)
  • Sule O'Uhuru – Agogô bells, Djembe (track 7)
  • Gordy Ryan – Jun-jun drum (track 7)
  • The Staple Singers – backing vocals
    • Pops Staples, Mavis Staples, Cleotha Staples
  • The Noel Singers – backup singers
    • Ivan Archer, Giselle Brown, Queinton Caesar, Ronnie David, Shelby Ellis, Daylene Hunt, Clevie Jordan, Marie Leveque, Lucila Martinez, Jason Moses, Gregory Norman, Leigh-Ann Oadmore, Aleata Prince, Natasha Reeves, Tiffany Rivera, Linda Sanchez, Joann Santiago Sherrille Shabazz, Chante Slater, Karen Thompson, Teddy Turrene, Merlene West, Tasha Woodward

Production

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  • Producer – Jean-Philippe Allard
  • Engineer (First Engineer) – Rick Applegate
  • Engineer (Second Engineer) – Jay Newland
  • Engineer (Assistant Engineer) – Doug McKean
  • Engineer (Assistant Engineer) – Sandy Palmer

Track information and credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[8]

Charts

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Chart (1993) Peak
position
Traditional Jazz (Billboard)[2] 2

References

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  1. ^ "Release Date". Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Billboard Traditional Jazz Chart". billboard.com. Billboard. April 10, 1993. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  3. ^ a b Review at AllMusic. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  4. ^ Holtje, Steve; Lee, Nancy Ann (1998). MusicHound: The Essential Album Guide. Schirmer. p. 710.
  5. ^ a b Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2004). The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD. Penguin Books. p. 998.
  6. ^ Swenson, John, ed. (1999). The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide. Random House. p. 426.
  7. ^ Larkin, Colin, ed. (2004). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz. Virgin Books. p. 538.
  8. ^ Devil's Got Your Tongue (liner notes). Abbey Lincoln. Verve. 1992. 314 513 574-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)