Secrets (Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson album)
| Secrets | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 1978 | |||
| Recorded | April–June 1978 | |||
| Studio | TONTO, Santa Monica, California[1] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 37:38 | |||
| Label | Arista | |||
| Producer |
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| Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Secrets | ||||
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Secrets is a 1978 studio album by American vocalist Gil Scott-Heron and keyboardist Brian Jackson.
Release
Secrets was released in September 1978 by Arista Records.[2] It was the fifth album by Scott-Heron and Jackson on the label.[3] The album debuted at number 31 on the Billboard magazine's jazz chart on September 9.[4] The album's release was preceded by the single "Angel Dust" in July, later followed by "Show Bizness" in October.[5] "Angel Dust" and "Show Bizness" reached numbers 15 and 83, respectively, on the Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart.[6] According to Arista founder Clive Davis, the album was Scott-Heron's first since 1975's The First Minute of a New Day to reach the top 100 of Billboard's top albums chart, while the single "Angel Dust" nearly became a hit.[7] "Angel Dust" was Scott-Heron's most commercially successful single while he was signed to Arinda between 1975 and 1985.[8] Scott-Heron said the song's level of commercial success was comparable to his previous hits "The Bottle" and "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised".[9]
After three decades out of print, the British label Soul Brother Records reissued the album on compact disc.[8]
Music and lyrics
Compared to the duo's earlier works, Secrets introduces a synthesizer-heavy sound influenced by disco.[10] The album also featured the first appearance of female backup vocalists in the Midnight Band, and these same vocalists also performed with the band on the ensuing tour.[9]
The lyrics on Secrets largely concern socially conscious political themes, in line with most of his works from the mid-to-late 1970s. Scott-Heron's decision to double-down on political themes was somewhat at odds with his label's hope at the time for a more commercial approach, as well as Jackson's hope for more extended musical exploration.[11] "Angel Dust" takes on the topic of addiction, returning to a theme Scott-Heron had previously explored on "The Bottle".[12] "Angola, Louisiana" tackles prison conditions in the United States.[11] Taking its title from the Louisiana State Penitentiary's nickname "Angola", the protest song decries the wrongful imprisonment of Gary Tyler.[13] At the time of his conviction, Tyler was the youngest person on death row.[14] "Three Miles Down" is about the issue of coal mining safety, while "Madison Avenue" and "Show Bizness" critique the advertising and entertainment industries, respectively.[15]
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [2] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | B+[16] |
| The Great Rock Discography(2006, 8th ed.) | 6/10[5] |
| The New Rolling Stone Record Guide (1983, 2nd ed.) | [17] |
| Virgin Encyclopedia of 70s Music | [18] |
A review in Black Stars by Julie Ellis praised the album's lyrical storytelling, socially conscious messages, and broad appeal to pop, R&B, and jazz listeners alike;[19] writing for the same magazine, Roy Betts said Secrets "exemplifies a real purpose—exploring the problems of the poor, the downtrodden, the people who seek refuge in drugs and not the betterment of their social condition."[3] Reviewing for The Village Voice in 1979, Robert Christgau lamented the lack of hooks on songs such as "Third World Revolution" but appreciated "Show Bizness"'s "tribulations-of-stardom" theme and "educational refrain". His main point of praise was for Scott-Heron's political flair, writing that he "stokes the protest-music flame more generously than any son of Woody, and in sheer agitprop terms 'Angel Dust,' one of those black-radio hits that somehow never crossed over, is his triumph—haunting music of genuine political usefulness."[20] People magazine appreciated the record's jazz sounds from Jackson and the Midnight Band, calling Secrets "another angry, robust collection of song-poems, this time exploring injustice, drug addiction and revolution".[21]
Writing in 1993, Mark Sinker of The Wire said the use of synthesizers on the record was "every bit as funky, smart and subtle as Wonder's or Gaye's or Kashif's", yet the overall sound was "just not really happening somehow; feels soft-centered, losing the words their edge. Although suggesting that the words are as hard as ever maybe hits on another fault: they're so very much the same as ever."[22] Tristan Bath of The Quietus said the record departed from the jazz chords, faint keyboard, and Afrocentric themes of Scott-Heron and Jackson's previous recordings together in favor of "disco and futurist dance music tropes".[23]
Printed record guides scored Secrets positively, but typically within the lower range of the albums in Scott-Heron's discography. Dave Marsh rated the album three out of five stars for the The New Rolling Stone Record Guide (1983),[17] and Colin Larkin gave the same score in his Virgin Encyclopedia of 70s Music (2002).[18] AllMusic assigned it three-and-a-half stars on its website and three stars in the print All Music Guide to Soul, but omitted a review in both instances.[2][24] Martin C. Strong's eighth edition of The Great Rock Discography (2006) provided a rating of 6/10, with a scoring system based on Strong's own judgment balanced against his impression of general critical consensus and reader feedback.[5]
Legacy
"Angola, Louisiana" was sampled by hip-hop group P.M. Dawn on the song "Paper Doll" from their 1991 debut album Of the Heart, of the Soul and of the Cross: The Utopian Experience.[25] The album track "Better Days Ahead" was later reworked and released on Scott-Heron's 2014 posthumous compilation Nothing New.[26]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Gil Scott-Heron, except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Angel Dust" | 4:13 | |
| 2. | "Madison Avenue" | Scott-Heron, Brenda Morocco, Brian Jackson | 3:06 |
| 3. | "Cane" | 3:31 | |
| 4. | "Third World Revolution" | Scott-Heron, Jackson | 4:22 |
| 5. | "Better Days Ahead" | 3:28 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | "Three Miles Down" | Scott-Heron, Jackson | 4:18 |
| 7. | "Angola, Louisiana" | 5:32 | |
| 8. | "Show Bizness" | 2:48 | |
| 9. | "A Prayer for Everybody / To Be Free" | Jackson | 6:20 |
| Total length: | 37:38 | ||
Personnel
Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[1]
- Gil Scott-Heron – production, vocals, rhythm piano (tracks 2, 3, 6, 7, and 8)
- Brian Jackson – production, flute, piano, keyboard bass (synthesizer), TONTO synthesizer, drums (tracks 3 and 4)
- Malcolm Cecil – associate producer, production assistance, engineering, and mixing
- Lenny Peterzell – production assistance, engineering, and mixing
- Barnett "The Doctor" Williams – congas, Batá drums, assorted percussion
- Leon Williams – tenor saxophone (tracks 4 and 9)
- Harvey Mason – drums (tracks 2, 6, 7, and 8)
- Greg Phillinganes – electric piano, Polymoog synthesizer, TONTO synthesizer
- Alvin Taylor – drums (track 1)
- Ralph Penland – drums (tracks 5 and 9)
- Julia Waters – backing vocals
- Marti McCall – backing vocals
- Maxine Waters Waddell – backing vocals
- Technical
- Donn Davenport – art direction
- Trevor Brown – photography
Charts
| Chart (1978–79) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard 200[27] | 61 |
| U.S. Top Jazz Albums (Billboard)[28] | 11 |
| U.S. Top Soul Albums (Billboard)[29] | 45 |
References
- ^ a b Scott-Heron, Gil & Brian Jackson (1978). Secrets (vinyl LP liner notes). Arista Records. AB 4189.
- ^ a b c Anon. (n.d.). "Secrets - Brian Jackson, Gil Scott-Heron". AllMusic. Archived from the original on January 18, 2022. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
- ^ a b Betts, Roy (February 1979). "The True Essence of Gil Scott-Heron". Black Stars. Vol. 28, no. 4. Chicago: Johnson Publishing Company. p. 21 – via the Internet Archive.
- ^ Anon. (September 2, 1978). "Jazz". Billboard. p. 50. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
- ^ a b c Strong 2006, pp. 946–947, "How to Read the Book" in front matter.
- ^ Whitburn 1988, p. 366.
- ^ Davis 2013, p. 255.
- ^ a b Ollison, Rashod (June 1, 2010). "Crate-Dig Dusty: Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson, Bridges/Secrets". The Virginian-Pilot. Norfolk. Archived from the original on January 17, 2022.
- ^ a b Scott-Heron 2012, pp. 225–226.
- ^ Patrin, Nate (May 30, 2011). "Gil Scott-Heron". Pitchfork.
- ^ a b Richards 2021, p. 76.
- ^ Valdez 2009, p. 1297.
- ^ Russell, Brenda A. (January 5, 1979). "A Verbal Coltrane". The Harvard Crimson.
- ^ Sullivan, James (June 11, 2020). "In popular music, a long history of anguish and outrage over police brutality". The Boston Globe.
- ^ Henschen 1979, p. 32.
- ^ Christgau 1981.
- ^ a b Marsh 1983, p. 449.
- ^ a b Larkin 2002, p. 389.
- ^ Ellis, Julie (December 1978). "Let's Talk—Music: Secrets – Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson (Arista)". Black Stars. Vol. 28, no. 4. Chicago: Johnson Publishing Company. p. 21 – via the Internet Archive.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (January 29, 1979). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
- ^ "Picks and Pans Review: Secrets". People. Vol. 10, no. 16. October 16, 1978. Archived from the original on April 7, 2019. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
- ^ Sinker, Mark (February 1993). "Secrets (Arista 1978)". The Wire. No. 108. London. p. 40 – via the Internet Archive.
- ^ Bath, Tristan (November 26, 2014). "Cold Comfort: Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson's Winter in America". The Quietus. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
- ^ Bogdanov et al. 2003, p. 604.
- ^ Preezy (April 17, 2015). "Five Best Songs from P.M. Dawn's Debut LP 'Of the Heart, of the Soul and of the Cross: The Utopian Experience'". The Boombox. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
- ^ Carroll, Jim (April 17, 2015). "Gil Scott-Heron: Nothing New". The Irish Times. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
- ^ "Gil Scott-Heron - Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
- ^ Anon. (September 23, 1978). "Jazz". Billboard. p. 62. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
- ^ Anon. (February 17, 1979). "Billboard Soul LPs". Billboard. p. 59. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
Bibliography
- Bogdanov, Vladimir; Bush, John; Woodstra, Chris; Erlewine, Stephen Thomas, eds. (2003). "Gil Scott-Heron". All Music Guide to Soul: The Definitive Guide to R&B and Soul. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 604. ISBN 0-87930-744-7.
- Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: S". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 0-89919-026-X. Retrieved March 12, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
- Davis, Clive (2013). "Gil Scott-Heron and Ghostbusters". The Soundtrack of My Life. Simon & Schuster. pp. 251–262. ISBN 978-1-4767-1480-6 – via Google Books.
- Larkin, Colin (2002). "Gil Scott-Heron". The Virgin Encyclopedia of 70s Music (3rd ed.). Virgin Books. p. 389. ISBN 1-85227-947-8.
- Marsh, Dave (1983). "Gill Scott-Heron". In Marsh, Dave; Swenson, John (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Record Guide. Random House/Rolling Stone Press. p. 449. ISBN 0-394-72107-1.
- Richards, Sam (December 2021). "The Messenger". Uncut. pp. 72–77 – via the Internet Archive.
- Scott-Heron, Gil (2012). The Last Holiday: A Memoir. New York: Grove Press. ISBN 978-0-8021-2901-7 – via the Internet Archive (registration required).
- Strong, Martin C. (2006). The Essential Rock Discography (8th ed.). Edinburgh: Canongate Books. ISBN 1-84195-860-3 – via the Internet Archive (registration required).
- Valdez, Stephen (2009). "Gil Scott-Heron". In Cramer, Alfred W. (ed.). Musicians and Composers of the 20th Century (1st ed.). Pasadena, California: Salem Press. pp. 1296–1298. ISBN 978-1-58765-512-8.
- Whitburn, Joel (1988). "Gil Scott-Heron". Joel Whitburn's Top R&B Singles 1942–1988. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 366. ISBN 0-89820-068-7 – via the Internet Archive.
