Behind Closed Doors

Charlie Rich | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00000250N
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #548,699 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Landmark countrypolitan LP that became a 70s template, February 13, 2001

By 

hyperbolium (Earth, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Behind Closed Doors (Exp) (Audio CD)

Rich's 1973 countrypolitan masterpiece is a long way from his late 50s sides as a session pianist at Sun and his brief 1960 flirtation with chart success on "Lonely Weekend." By this point in his career, having released records on Phillips, Groove, Smash (where he had a minor hit with "Mohair Sam") and Hi, he'd released everything from rockabilly to straight country to jazz-inflected versions of standards. What he hadn't done was establish a truly identifiable sound or crack the upper reaches of the charts. Six years at Epic hadn't yet yielded a career-making breakthrough, either.

All that changed with this Billy Sherrill production, and his emergence as The Silver Fox. Though they'd been working together for six years, they didn't find true commercial success until the release of the soulful, "I Take it on Home" and this follow-up LP. The title track hit #1 on the country chart early in '73, and crossed over to the pop Top 20. The follow-up single from the LP, "The Most Beautiful Girl," also hit #1 country and crossed over, as well. Rich cleaned up at the subsequent CMA's, sweeping top single, top LP and top male vocalist, and nabbed the Grammy for best country vocalist, as well as 4 ACM awards.

Though Rich and Sherrill had been working on their sound for several years, the resulting albums were a hit-and-miss give-and-take between Rich's multi-genre leanings and Sherrill's pop sound. On "Behind Closed Doors," Rich more fully surrendered to the role of country-pop crooner, finding a level of comfort that allowed him to star amidst Sherrill's layered, complex productions. It was a balance that became the template for 70s country pop recordings. In addition to the seamlessness of their combined sounds, producer and artist found superb material, offering smooth country and politely bluesy tunes that showed off Rich's soulful side. No doubt the maturing audience for country was more receptive than ever to the softened countrypolitan sounds.

Country music purists sometimes dismiss Rich's breakthrough as a sellout. But his ability and desire to sing a country song with tinges of jazz or pop had been with him from early on. And if one considers music to be a language, then like a language, the vocabulary - the songs, the sounds, the productions - evolves with the times. Rich made the most of the country pop vocabulary of the 70s, and added the sort of soulfulness employed by Ray Charles in his own country efforts and Elvis in his latter-day ballads.

This reissue offers four bonus tracks dating from '71 and '72, fitting in both arrangement and sentiment with the LP at large. Only one, "I've Got Mine" was previously unreleased. Newly penned liner notes from Mavericks' vocalist Raul Malo and Billboard writer Chet Flippo round out the package.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Silver Fox: My intro to Country Music, May 9, 2004

By 

DJ EZ Beats (San Jose, Ca) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Behind Closed Doors (Exp) (Audio CD)

I foundly remember hearing "Behind Closed Doors" and "The Most Beautiful Women in the World" and wondering out loud sometimes "Why is my mom playing this?" Well soon I realized why...the Silver Fox was a damn good singer and his songs had a profound meaning. Living in South Central Los Angeles it was rare to hear this type of music playing or played, but my mom played it and she played it often enough that I would go to school singing "The Most Beautiful Women in the World". Now 20 odd years later I play this for my kids and they appreciate the music and his voice just like I did.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The reluctant, masterful '70s superstar at his peak., April 26, 2004

By 

Ronald Brackney (Santa Clara, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Behind Closed Doors (Exp) (Audio CD)

This album was Charlie Rich's breakthrough to
massive popularity after fifteen years of gigs
in venues of "lesser" status. Charlie Rich was really
a jazz pianist and blues, soul singer who gained
his worldwide fame through the more "sophisticated"
country sound developed by producer Billy Sherrill. "Behind Closed Doors" is the standout album of this genre.
"You Never Really Wanted Me" is the song that made
me a Charlie Rich fan. It is really a blues song in
my opinion and playing it late at night in the dark will
affect you too. The rest of the album contains material
that showcases not only Charlie's magnificent voice but
the genuine emotion that Charlie conveys to the listener.
The release of "I've Got Mine" on this "expanded" album
is welcome because "never before" released material by Charlie is rare and to have the sterling "Ruby, You're Warm" on CD is a treat. Buy this one and then explore the rest of this man's catalog - you will discover blues, soul, gospel, jazz, standards and rock and roll. I challenge you to find
any other singer who is his equal.