Black Magic (Martha Reeves and the Vandellas album)
| Black Magic | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 3, 1972 | |||
| Recorded | 1971 | |||
| Genre | Soul | |||
| Length | 36:24 | |||
| Label | Gordy | |||
| Producer | Johnny Bristol, The Corporation; Hank Cosby, Jimmy Roach, Ashford & Simpson; Lawrence Brown & George Gordy | |||
| Martha Reeves & the Vandellas chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Black Magic | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Rolling Stone | (mixed) [1] |
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [2] |
Black Magic is a soul album released by Martha Reeves and the Vandellas on the Gordy (Motown) label in 1972. It is the last studio album issued by the group after ten years with the label. The album is significant for featuring the group's biggest hit of the decade with the Jackson 5-esque "Bless You". The track returned the Vandellas to chart success briefly in the US reaching number fifty-three pop, number twenty-nine R&B and reaching number thirty-three on the UK pop singles chart. It was also a top twenty hit in Canada reaching number sixteen on the chart, and a top ten single in Puerto Rico, where it reached the number two position. Two other subsequent singles, "In and Out of My Life" and "Tear It on Down", were the trio's last Billboard charted hits reaching the top 40 on the R&B charts. "No One There" was released in the UK as a solo single for Reeves . The album has become a cult classic amongst the group's hard core fans.
After this album, the trio later disbanded that December ending the group's ten-year tenure together. Martha Reeves recalls many of the tracks on the album were originally assigned to Diana Ross before being reassigned to the group.
Track listing
- "No One There" (Johnny Bristol, Jack Goga, Annette Minor, Peter Green)
- "Your Love Makes It All Worthwhile" (Berry Gordy, Jr., Alphonzo Mizell, Freddie Perren, Deke Richards)
- "Something" (George Harrison) (previously released on album Natural Resources)
- "Benjamin" (Dino Fekaris, Nick Zesses)
- "Tear It on Down" (Nickolas Ashford, Valerie Simpson)
- "I've Given You the Best Years of My Life" (Dino Fekaris, Nick Zesses, Jack Goga)
- "Bless You" (Berry Gordy, Jr., Alphonzo Mizell, Freddie Perren, Deke Richards)
- "I Want You Back" (Berry Gordy, Jr., Alphonzo Mizell, Freddie Perren, Deke Richards)
- "In and Out of My Life" (Lawrence Brown)
- "Anyone Who Had a Heart" (Burt Bacharach, Hal David)
- "Hope I Don't Get My Heart Broke" (Lawrence Brown, George Gordy, Allen Story)
Personnel
- Martha Reeves - lead vocals
- The Andantes - background vocals
- Lois Reeves - background vocals
- Sandra Tilley - background vocals
- Valerie Simpson - background vocals
- Nick Ashford - background vocals
- The Blackberries - background vocals
- The Funk Brothers - instrumentation
- Various LA musicians - instrumentation
- Album coordination by Harry Balk
- Produced by Johnny Bristol (tracks 1 & 6), The Corporation (tracks 2, 7, 8 & 10), Henry Cosby (track 3), Jimmy Roach (track 4), Ashford & Simpson (track 5), and George Gordy & Lawrence Brown (tracks 9 & 11).
- Art direction by Curtis McNair
- Graphic supervision by Tom Schlesinger
- Photography by Raffaelli
References
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