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Spinners (album)

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Spinners
Studio album by
ReleasedMarch 1973
Recorded1972–1973
StudioSigma Sound, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Genre
Length40:14
LabelAtlantic
ProducerThom Bell
The Spinners chronology
2nd Time Around
(1970)
Spinners
(1973)
The Best of the Spinners
(1973)
The Spinners studio albums chronology
2nd Time Around
(1970)
Spinners
(1973)
Mighty Love
(1974)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
BBC(favorable)[2]
Christgau's Record GuideA−[3]
Tom Hull – on the WebA−[4]

Spinners is the third studio album recorded by American R&B group The Spinners, produced by Thom Bell and released in March 1973 on the Atlantic label. The album was the group's first for Atlantic after leaving Motown.

History

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Spinners includes their first American top-ten and R&B number-one hit "I'll Be Around", along with the successful songs "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love", "One of a Kind (Love Affair)", "Ghetto Child", and "How Could I Let You Get Away". The album was also the second of fourteen straight studio albums to make the Billboard 200, and their first in the Top-twenty, as it reached #14 on the charts. Additionally, it was their first of three consecutive R&B albums chart-toppers – and the second to hit those charts overall.

Thom Bell created a sound for the group that was "lush" yet gritty. Bell's insistently soulful orchestral arrangements played perfectly to their harmonic strengths. "Could It Be I'm Falling In Love" (later a hit for David Grant and Jaki Graham) is the keynote; sung by Smith, it is beautiful, optimistic and upbeat. Often cited as the birth of the Philadelphia Sound, Spinners yielded five American top 100 hits, and two UK chart successes."[5]

Track listing

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Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Just Can't Get You Out of My Mind"Vinnie Barrett3:42
2."Just You and Me Baby"Yvette Davis2:56
3."Don't Let the Green Grass Fool You"Jerry Akines, Johnny Bellman, Victor Drayton, Reginald Turner4:01
4."I Could Never (Repay Your Love)"Bruce Hawes6:56
5."I'll Be Around"Thom Bell, Phil Hurtt3:12
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."One of a Kind (Love Affair)"Joseph B. Jefferson3:31
7."We Belong Together"Yvette Davis4:12
8."Ghetto Child"Linda Creed, Thom Bell3:47
9."How Could I Let You Get Away"Yvette Davis3:46
10."Could It Be I'm Falling in Love"Mystro & Lyric (Melvin and Mervin Steals)4:13

Personnel

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Production

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  • Thom Bell – producer, arranger, conductor
  • Joe Tarsia – recording engineer, re-mix engineer
  • Merrill A. Roberts, Jr. – photography
  • Loring Eutemey – album design

Charts

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Chart (1973) Peak
[6]
U.S. Billboard Top LPs 14
U.S. Billboard Top Soul LPs 1
Singles
Year Single Peak chart positions
US
[6]
US
R&B

[6]
US
A/C

[6]
UK
[7]
1972 "How Could I Let You Get Away" 77 14
"I'll Be Around" 3 1 31
"Could It Be I'm Falling in Love" 4 1 14 11
1973 "One of a Kind (Love Affair)" 11 1 19
"Ghetto Child" 29 4 20 7

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Wynn, Ron. Spinners review at AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-10-16.
  2. ^ Easlea, Daryl. "Spinners review". BBC Music. Retrieved 2011-09-24.
  3. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: S". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 13, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  4. ^ Hull, Tom (May 31, 2021). "Music Week". Tom Hull – on the Web. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  5. ^ BBC Music Review by Daryl Easlea. The album was featured on Trevor Nelson's Radio 2 show, 23 June 2010 when he called it " a brilliant, brilliant album"
  6. ^ a b c d "US Charts > The Spinners". Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  7. ^ "UK Charts > Detroit Spinners". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2011-09-24.
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