Helen Reddy (album)

Helen Reddy
Studio album by Helen Reddy
Released	November 20, 1971
Recorded	1971 at Capitol Studios, Los Angeles
Genre	Vocal Pop/Rock[1]
Length	33:08
Label	Capitol
Producer	Larry Marks
Helen Reddy chronology
I Don't Know How to Love Him (1971) Helen Reddy (1971) I Am Woman (1972)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	A-[2]

Helen Reddy is the second album by Australian-American pop singer Helen Reddy and was released in the fall of 1971 by Capitol Records. Reddy's selections include tracks by singer-songwriters Carole King, John Lennon, Randy Newman, and Donovan. It debuted on Billboard magazine's Top LP's chart in the issue dated December 4, 1971, and had a seven-week chart run in which it got as high as number 167.^[3] On March 29, 2005, the album was released for the first time on compact disc as one of two albums on one CD, the other album being I Don't Know How to Love Him, Reddy's debut LP that originally came out in the spring of 1971.^[4]

Single

Billboard's December 4, 1971, issue also marked the first appearance of the single from the album, "No Sad Song", on the magazine's Hot 100, where it spent eight weeks and peaked at number 62,^[5] and the December 25 issue, three weeks later, began the song's four weeks on the Easy Listening chart, where it reached number 32.^[6] It also reached number 51 on the pop chart in Canada's RPM magazine.^[7]

Reception

In his review Robert Christgau chose to highlight "a scathing death-of-a-cocksman song that Carole King somehow left off Music ['No Sad Song'], a John Lennon autotherapy that sounds inquisitive instead of foolish ['How?'], and a frolicsome sisterhood ditty that [Reddy] wrote herself ['More Than You Could Take']."^[2]Joe Viglione of AllMusic describes the album as "a pleasant listening experience, though it was the only one of her early albums not to find representation on her Greatest Hits. Because there was no big hit on the record, it is not as well-known as her other recordings, but it definitely has charm and is an essential part of her collection of music."^[1]

Track listing

Side 1

1. "Time" (Paul Parrish) – 3:38
   • Leland Sklar – bass
   • Ron Tutt – drums
   • Paul Parrish – piano
2. "How?" (John Lennon) – 3:33
   • Nick DeCaro – string arrangement
   • Jerry Scheff – bass
   • Ron Tutt – drums
   • Craig Doerge – piano
   • Tom Hensley – piano
3. "Come on John" (David Blue) – 4:21
   • Jerry Scheff – bass
   • Ron Tutt – drums
   • Craig Doerge – piano
   • Tom Hensley – piano
   • David Cohen – guitar
4. "Summer of '71" (Jack Conrad, Helen Reddy) – 2:36
   • Jack Conrad – bass
   • John Guerin – drums
   • Dennis Budimir – guitar
   • David Cohen – guitar
5. "I Don't Remember My Childhood" (Leon Russell) – 3:32
   • Nick DeCaro – string arrangement
   • Larry Knechtel – piano

Side 2

1. "No Sad Song" (Carole King, Toni Stern) – 3:11
   • Nick DeCaro – accordion
   • Ron Tutt – drums
   • David Cohen – guitar
   • Larry Carlton – mandolin
2. "I Think It's Going to Rain Today" (Randy Newman) – 2:27
   • Bob Thompson – arranger
3. "Tulsa Turnaround" (Larry Collins, Alex Harvey) – 3:24
   • Joe Osborn – bass
   • Ron Tutt – drums
   • Larry Carlton – electric guitar
   • Tom Hensley – piano
   • Sneaky Pete Kleinow – steel guitar
4. "More Than You Could Take" (Helen Reddy) – 2:41
   • Jerry Scheff – bass
   • Ron Tutt – drums
   • Dean Parks – guitar
   • John Brennan – guitar
5. "New Year's Resovolution" (Donovan) – 3:40
   • Leland Sklar – bass
   • Russ Kunkel – drums
   • John Brennan – guitar
   • Larry Carlton –guitar
   • David Cohen – guitar
   • Milt Holland – percussion

French version of "No Sad Song"

In 2009 EMI Music Special Markets released Rarities from the Capitol Vaults, a 12-track CD of mostly what were previously unreleased Reddy recordings, which included "Plus De Chansons Tristes", the French version of "No Sad Song" that was only released in France.^[8]

Personnel

• Helen Reddy – vocals
• Larry Marks – producer
• Hugh Davies – engineer
• John Hoernle – art direction
• Don Peterson – photography
• DeBlasio & Wald, Inc. – management

Notes

References