Charles Pettigrew and Eddie Chacon met on the New York subway. Chacon had grown up in Hayward and Castro Valley, California, where he had started his first band at age 12 with neighborhood friends Cliff Burton (Metallica) and Mike Bordin (Faith No More). Later Chacon moved to Los Angeles, Miami, London and Copenhagen where his career moved more into songwriting and production. He wrote several hit songs, mostly in Europe.
Pettigrew, meanwhile, was raised in Philadelphia, and went on to study jazz vocals at the Berklee College Of Music in Boston, while also singing with the Boston favorite, Down Avenue.
Around the time of Charles' death he was recording with Tom Tom Club (Chris Franz and Tina Weymouth).
Duophonic is their debut album, released in 1992. It includes the worldwide smash hit "Would I Lie to You?" along with two further singles; "N.Y.C." and "House Is Not a Home".
At a time when urban radio was obsessed with the hip-hop-minded new jack swing of Bell Biv DeVoe, Bobby Brown, and Guy (among others), Charles & Eddie turned to pre-1980 African-American music for inspiration. The male vocal duo's first album, Duophonic, owes a major debt to the classic Northern soul of the '60s and '70s.
This CD came out in 1992, but Duophonic is quite mindful of the days when Curtis Mayfield, the Spinners, Al Green, and Marvin Gaye soared to the top of the R&B charts. Duophonic, however, isn't hardcore soul, and no one will mistake this release for a Temptations album from 1970. Rather, Charles & Eddie show their appreciation of classic soul in a very pop-friendly way, and the obvious comparisons include Simply Red, Terence Trent d'Arby, and Culture Club. Charles & Eddie aren't R&B purists, which isn't to say that they aren't expressive only that soul and pop considerations are both a part of what they do.
Duophonic is a solid debut, and the duo shows a great deal of promise on smooth pop-soul offerings such as "Love Is a Beautiful Thing" and the hit single "Would I Lie to You." Most of the songs deal with romantic matters, although Duophonic detours into sociopolitical territory on "Father to Son" and "Unconditional." Both of these songs indicate that Charles & Eddie are well aware of the sociopolitical soul classics of the early '70s -- one gets the impression that both of them have spent a lot of time listening to Mayfield's Superfly soundtrack and Marvin Gaye's What's Going On album. Anyone who is a big fan of Simply Red, d'Arby, or Culture Club is advised to give Duophonic a close listen.
Track listing
01. "House Is Not a Home" (Eddie Chacon, Freed) - 4:46
02. "N.Y.C." (Chacon, Freed) - 5:45
03. "Would I Lie to You?" (Mick Leeson, Peter Vale) - 4:38
04. "Hurt No More" (Chacon, Freed) - 4:33
05. "I Understand" (Charles Pettigrew) - 1:10
06. "Unconditional" (Chacon, Andy Dean, Ben Wolff) - 4:40
07. "Love Is a Beautiful Thing" (Seth Swirsky) - 4:45
08. "Father to Son" (Chacon, Dean, Wolff) - 5:40
09. "December 2" (Chacon) - 1:53
10. "Be a Little Easy on Me" (Diane Warren) - 5:07
11. "Vowel Song" (Chacon, Dean, Wolff) - 4:15
12. "Where Do We Go from Here?" (Chacon) - 4:13
13. "Shine" (Chacon, Freed, Hernandez) - 5:15
Credits
Charles Pettigrew – vocals, backing vocals
Eddie Chacon – percussion, vocals, backing vocals
Jeff Anderson – bass
Jean-Paul Bourelly – guitar
Chris Bruce – guitar
Berry Carl – backing vocals
Michael Davis – trombone, horn
Josh Deutsch – guitar, programming, loops
Amp Fiddler – organ, piano, clavinet, Fender Rhodes, wurlitzer
Yossi Fine – bass
David Fiuczynski – guitar
Paul Gordon – organ, piano, keyboards
Paul Griffin – organ, keyboards
Lani Groves – backing vocals
Lonnie Hillyer – bass, guitar
Garry Hughes – percussion, strings, keyboards, programming, clavinet, sampling, loops, fender rhodes, keyboard programming
Gene Lake – drums
Daniel Sadownick – percussion
Greg Smith – programming
Kent Smith – trumpet, horn
Andy Snitzer – horn, saxophone
Laneese Thomas – backing vocals
Vaneese Thomas – backing vocals
Ed Tuton – programming, loops
Andrew Wyatt – backing vocals
Production
Janice Prendergast - project coordinator
Andy Dean, Ben Wolff, Josh Deutsch - producers
Art Smith - assistant producer
Engineers - Michael Christopher, Bradshaw Leigh, Ed Tuton
Assistant Engineers - Shannon Carr, Suzanne Dyer, Phil Klum, Joe Warda
Mixing - Femi Jiya, Ed Tuton
Mastering - Howie Weinberg
Notes
Release date: August 31, 1992
Recorded: 1991–1992
Genre: Neo-Soul
Length: 56:40
© 1992
Label - Capitol
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