Madam Butterfly (album)

Madam Butterfly is the seventh album by the American soul/R&B group Tavares, released in 1979 on Capitol Records.[2][4]

Madam Butterfly
Studio album by
ReleasedJanuary 1979
GenreR&B, soul
Length37:39
LabelCapitol
ProducerBobby Martin
Tavares chronology
Future Bound
(1978)
Madam Butterfly
(1979)
Supercharged
(1980)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[2]
The New Rolling Stone Record Guide[3]

Commercial performance

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By this stage in the group's career, they had become known as a disco act due to successful singles such as "Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel", "Whodunit" and "More Than a Woman." However, Madam Butterfly is noted for its lack of anything approaching disco material, and, as such, is considered to be more akin in style to the group's 1973-'75 albums than to their '76-'78 Freddie Perren-produced output.

"Never Had a Love Like This Before", one of several slow jams on the album, became a top 5 R&B hit and has subsequently become a quiet storm radio classic, while tracks such as "I'm Back for More" are more funk-based than listeners had come to expect from Tavares. The title track Madam Butterfly received considerable airplay on R&B radio stations, and became a hit, but was not released as a single by Capitol. The album performed respectably on the R&B chart, peaking at #13, but failed to achieve substantial sales in the crossover market. Its reputation has grown over the years and it is now considered among the group's best.

Track listing

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  1. "Straight From Your Heart" (Len Ron Hanks, Zane Grey) - 4:23
  2. "Games, Games" (Sam Dees) - 4:30
  3. "Madam Butterfly" (Johnny Simon, Kenny Stover) - 4:29
  4. "Let Me Heal the Bruises" (Sam Dees) - 4:24
  5. "Never Had a Love Like This Before" (Len Ron Hanks, Zane Grey) - 4:32
  6. "One Telephone Call Away" (Benorce Blackmon) - 4:22
  7. "My Love Calls" (Sam Dees) - 5:05
  8. "Positive Forces" (Joe Reaves, Lonnie Reaves) - 2:56
  9. "I'm Back for More" (Kenny Stover) - 2:58

Singles

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  • "Never Had a Love Like This Before" (US R&B #5)
  • "Straight From Your Heart" (US R&B #77)

Personnel

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Tavares

with:

  • Benorce Blackmon, Steve Erquiaga - guitar
  • David Shields - bass
  • Ron "Have Mercy" Kersey - keyboards
  • Len Ron Hanks - keyboards on "Straight From Your Heart" and "Never Had a Love Like This Before"
  • Gaylord Birch - drums
  • Melvin Webb - percussion
  • Don Moors - vibraphone
  • John Roberts, Oscar Brashear - trumpet, flugelhorn
  • Grover Mitchell, Linda Small, Maurice Spears, Tom McIntosh - trombone
  • Bobby Martin, Len Ron Hanks, Ron "Have Mercy" Kersey - arrangements
  • Paul Shure - concertmaster

References

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  1. ^ Henderson, Alex. Madam Butterfly review at AllMusic. Retrieved 2017-02-09.
  2. ^ a b Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 8. MUZE. p. 53.
  3. ^ The New Rolling Stone Record Guide. Random House. 1983. p. 503.
  4. ^ Smith, Will (13 Feb 1979). "New Sounds". Omaha World-Herald. p. 14.
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