Blue Magic
is the
debut album
by American
soul group
produced by
Norman Harris
and released
in 1974
on the Atco label.
History
Blue Magic's
debut single
"Spell"
was released in
November 1972
and work on the album
began in early 1973.
Two more singles,
"Look Me Up"
and
"Stop to Start"
were released during 1973;
all performed respectably
on the R&B chart with
"Stop to Start"
also crossing over
into the lower reaches
of the pop chart.
The album was released on
January 9, 1974,
followed shortly thereafter
by a fourth single,
"Sideshow",
the lush,
dreamy and
loss-filled atmosphere
of which immediately
caught on and
became a major hit,
topping the R&B chart
and reaching No. 8
on the Billboard Hot 100.
Another track
on the album
was the lengthy
"Just Don't Want to Be Lonely",
which Ronnie Dyson
had taken into
the R&B top 30
in July 1973,
then became a bigger hit
for New York group
The Main Ingredient,
whose version
reached both
the R&B and pop top 10
at around the same time
Blue Magic
was released.
Blue Magic
peaked at No. 4
on the R&B album chart
and No. 45
on the pop chart.
Music for the album
was provided by
Sigma Sound Studios'
legendary house band
MFSB.
Bobby Eli,
co-composer of
"Sideshow"
and
"Just Don't Want to Be Lonely",
who worked as a
guitarist on the album,
stated in the liner notes
of the 2007 reissue
of the album
that he believed that Harris
was equally at home
with uptempo material
as with ballads and,
citing the tracks
"Look Me Up"
and
"Welcome to the Club"
as classic examples
of the proto-disco sound
of 1973-74,
expressed his opinion
that Harris' expertise
in this field gave
Blue Magic
the ability to deliver
convincing uptempo tracks
in a way which largely
eluded other
Philadelphia soul groups
with whom they are
usually bracketed,
notably
The Stylistics
and
The Delfonics.
Blue Magic
was reissued by
Rhino Records
in 2007,
including two B-sides
previously unavailable on CD
and a remix of
"Look Me Up"
TRACKLIST
(Remastered Version)
Look Me Up
(Remastered Version)
What's Come over Me
(Remastered Version)
Just Don't Want to Be Lonely
(Remastered Version)
Stop to Start
(Remastered Version)
Welcome to the Club
(Remastered Version)
Spell
(Remastered Version)
Answer to My Prayer
(Remastered Version)
Tear It Down
(Remastered Version)
Guess Who
(B-side of Spell)
Three Ring Circus
Where Have You Been
(Single Version; Remastered)
(B-side of Stop to Start)
Look Me Up
(Tom Moulton Remix)
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