Frankie Valli - Closeup (1975)

posted by all-musicrecords

Closeup is an album by Frankie Valli, released in February 1975 on the Private Stock label.

It had been seven years since his prior album, and afforded Valli his first of two number-one solo hits in the US (in addition to five as lead singer of The Four Seasons).
The LP reached number 51 on the U.S. Billboard albums chart.
The album contains two hit singles: “My Eyes Adored You” (US No. 1) and “Swearin’ to God” (US No. 6).It also contains Valli’s original version of “I Can’t Live a Dream,” which became a hit for the Osmond Brothers in late 1976.

Closeup is singer Frankie Valli again finding the magic without his Four Seasons, this time in the ’70s with two big hits in two different genres.

The album is very, very good, and in a roundabout way is a great example of why Clive Davis worked wonders with Bell Records when he turned it into Arista. Former Bell president Larry Uttal had it all in this project, and it should have been much, much bigger — it should have been the album to firmly establish Private Stock Records as a major player.
But for all the incredible cast members and all the artistry here — Jim Keltner on drums, Bobbye Hall on conga, Clydie King and Patti Austin on backing vocals (seven years before Austin’s own number one hit), and the brilliant idea of having Four Season Bob Gaudio producing half the album in Los Angeles with Val Garay engineering while Bob Crewe produced the hits in New York City with Michael Delugg on the boards (and Charles Calelo arranging on both coasts) — it is all packaged with a cover that looks like it was thought up at the budget label Pickwick International, and with only eight songs it just feels on the surface like less than what it actually is.
The ten-minute version of “Swearin’ to God” is certainly fun, but the 18 minutes for three songs on side two go by too quickly.
They are also the best songs on the album, all produced by Crewe. A couple of additional titles, perhaps a special remake or two, could have made this album so much more for the artist, for the label, for the fans. “My Eyes Adored You” was the first number one solo hit for Valli, and hard to believe it came eight years after “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.”
That 1967 hit just missed the number one spot, and a new rendition for this album would actually have been a very wise move.
All of Valli’s first six Top 40 solo hits were produced by Crewe, and hearing the different sounds he and Gaudio came up with for the veteran singer is half the fun of the album. “In My Eyes” is just an excellent album track, unmatched by anything on the first side.
Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell, producers of the Toys, show up here as songwriters, as does Kenny Nolan, on an album where easy listening ballads meet disco. The song “Why” is producer Gaudio’s best moment, followed by “He Sure Blessed You,” another decent middle-of-the-road album track. Gaudio should have come up with a couple more. [Closeup Review by Joe Viglione]

Tracklist

A1. I Got Love For You, Ruby - 3:22

         Producer – Bob Gaudio

         Written-By – Sandy Linzer

A2. Why - 2:44

         Producer – Bob Gaudio

         Written-By – Bob Gaudio, Judy Parker

A3. He Sure Blessed You - 3:27

         Producer – Bob Crewe

         Written-By – Bob Crewe, Judy Parker

A4. Waking Up To Love - 4:30

         Producer – Bob Crewe

         Written-By – Bob Crewe, Kenny Nolan

A5. I Can't Live A Dream - 3:15

         Producer – Bob Gaudio

         Written-By – Arnold Capitanelli

B1. My Eyes Adored You - 3:33

         Producer – Bob Crewe

         Written-By – Bob Crewe

B2. In My Eyes - 4:21

         Producer – Bob Crewe

         Written-By – Bob Crewe, Kenny Nolan

B3. Swearin' To God - 10:09

         Producer – Bob Crewe

         Written-By – Bob Crewe, Denny Randell

Companies, etc.

• Manufactured By – EMI-Bovema Holland
• Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Private Stock Records, Ltd.

Credits

• Arranged By – Charles Callelo
• Backing Vocals – Carl Cauldwell, Carolyn Willis, Clydie King, Jackie Ward, Joshie Armstead, Marti Mccall, Patti Austin, Tasha Thomas
• Baritone Saxophone – Lou DelGatto
• Bass – Charles Rainey, Gordon Edwards
• Bass Trombone – Dave Tylor
• Cello – George Ricci, Kermit Moore
• Congas – Miss Bobbye Hall
• Drums – Jim Keltner, Rick Marota, Ron Zito
• Engineer – Bernie Grundman
• Engineer [Recording, Mixing] – Val Garay
• Engineer [Recording] – Michael Delugg
• Guitar – Bob Mann, Cliff Morris, Elliott Randell, Eric Weissberg, Jeff Mironov, Jerry Friedman, Larry Carlton, Mike Deasy, Neil Lebang
• Harp – Margaret Ross
• Percussion – Jimmy Maeulen, Victor Feldman
• Photography By – Joel Brodsky
• Piano – Ken Ascher, Michael Rubini
• Saxophone – Dave Tofani, George Young, Joe Farell, Bob Keller
• Trombone – Dom Monardo, Wayne Andre
• Trumpet – Alan Rubin, Jon Faddis, Lou Soloff
• Violin – Charles Veal, Manny Green, Harry Kohon, Harry Cykman, Henry Roth, Jack Shulman, Jesse Ehrlich, Marshall Susson, Max Ellen, Max Pollikoff, Pete Dimitriades, Shirley Cornell, William Hymanson

Technical

• Michael DeLugg, Val Garay – engineer
• Joel Brodsky – photography

Notes
Released:   February 1975
Recorded:  1974 Studio Mediasound (New York)Sound Factory (Hollywood)
Genre:  Funk, soulpop
Length:  36:07
Producer(s):   Bob Crewe, Bob Gaudio

Label - Private Stock