RAIDER OF THE LOST ARK

Nancy Wilson | Now I'm A Woman
Capitol Records LP, 1970

Side One
A1 Now I'm A Woman (2:50)
A2 Joe (2:23)
A3 (They Long To Be) Close To You (3:30)
A4 The Long And Winding Road (2:28)
A5 Bridge Over Troubled Water (5:00)

Side Two
B1 Let's Fall In Love All Over (3:12)
B2 Lonely, Lonely (2:58)
B3 How Many Broken Wings (3:13)
B4 The Real Me (2:50)
B5 Make It With You (3:01)

boomp3.com

Toda una estrella de la decada de los 60, con su inconfundible estilo y elegancia, Nancy Wilson llegó a Philadelphia con una sonrisa en su rostro. Ahi le esperaban el joven y talentoso grupo de musicos de un estudio que por aquel entonces ya empezaba a despuntar: se trataba de Sigma Sound Studios.

Con cortes arreglados por Bobby Martin (5), Thom Bell (3) y Lenny Pakula (2), es innegable la belleza y sintonía que transmite este maravilloso album. Con canciones como Now I'm A Woman, Joe, Lonely Lonely, Let's Fall In Love All Over no nos alejamos mucho de lo que ya llebaba haciendo Wilson años atras, pero esta vez teniendo gente detras de un inconmensurable talento innato como Bobby Martin o Kenny Gamble y Leon Huff.

Un album que entrecruza de manera magistral el sonido 'big band', con muchos acentos jazzisticos (como "The Real Me"), tambien hay lugar para el soul y tambien el philly-soul ("Joe" es un ejemplo de ello, cancion escrita por Gamble-Felder-Harris!).

Un album demasiado olvidado y que paso sin pena ni gloria, pero que creo que es poco menos que justo dedicarle unas escuchas porque realmente merece la pena. Bravo.

Nancy Wilson's 1970 LP, Now I'm a Woman, was done with the Gamble-Huff production team, best known at the time for their work with artists like Jerry Butler, Billy Paul, and the Delfonics, among many others. Wilson falls right into the production style. The title track (her final chart hit) is a customary strong outing from Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. The beautiful "Joe" has the sound of a prime Thom Bell production, and Wilson gives an amazing performance. She also shines on "Lonely, Lonely" and "Let's Fall in Love Again"; both benefit from Bobby Martin's patently brassy and sweeping Philly production. The LP also contains covers of several pop hits: Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water", the Carpenters' "Close to You", the Beatles' "Long and Winding Road", and Bread's "Make It With You." In short, Now I'm a Woman is an important album in Wilson's catalog and the Philly sound.