Chameleon is the sixth album by the American singing trio Labelle. Though Patti LaBelle's autobiography Don't Block The Blessings revealed that LaBelle planned a follow-up to Chameleon entitled Shaman, the album never materialized. The trio would not release another new recording until 2008's Back to Now. The final album was moderately successful peaking at #94 at the Pop charts and #21 on the R&B charts. Only two singles made the charts which were "Get You Somebody New" which peaked at #50 on the Pop charts and their memorable song "Isn't It A Shame" which peaked at #18 on the R&B charts. "Isn't It A Shame" was later sampled by Nelly on his 2004 hit, "My Place", which featured Jaheim.
| Chameleon | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 17, 1976 | |||
| Recorded | Wally Heider Studios, San Francisco, California | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 50:12 | |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Producer | David Rubinson & Friends Inc., in association with Vicki Wickham | |||
| Labelle chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Chameleon | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [4] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | B−[1] |
| Rolling Stone | (favorable)[3] |
Track listing
editAll tracks composed by Nona Hendryx; except where indicated
- "Get You Somebody New" (Joe Crane) (6:10)
- "Come into My Life" (6:44)
- "Isn't It a Shame" (Randy Edelman) (7:58)
- "Who's Watching the Watcher?" (4:15)
- "Chameleon" (5:15)
- "Gypsy Moths" (5:00)
- "A Man in a Trenchcoat (Voodoo)" (7:49)
- "Going Down Makes Me Shiver" (7:07)
Personnel
edit- Patti LaBelle, Nona Hendryx, Sarah Dash - vocals
- James Ellison - piano, keyboards, synthesizer
- David Rubinson, Tom Coster - synthesizer
- Eddie Martinez, Ray Parker Jr., Wah Wah Watson - guitar
- Carmine Rojas - bass guitar
- James Gadson - drums, percussion
- Scott Mathews - drums
- José Chepitó Áreas, Leon Chancler - percussion
- Emilio Castillo, Lenny Pickett - tenor saxophone
- Stephen Kupka - baritone saxophone
- Kurt McGettrick - bass saxophone
- Fred Catero, David Rubinson - engineers
Basic song arrangements for Nona Hendryx material were: LaBelle, James "Budd" Ellison, Eddie Martinez and Rev. Batts
References
edit- ^ a b Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: L". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 1, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
- ^ a b c d John Wikane, Christian (February 25, 2010). "Labelle: Nightbirds / Phoenix / Chameleon". popmatters.com. Popmatters.
- ^ a b Rose, Frank (October 7, 1976). "Chameleon". rollingstone.com. Rolling Stone.
- ^ Lytle, Craig. "Labelle: Chameleon". allmusic.com. Allmusic.