Customer Reviews

C'Est Chic

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This is one of the top 5 disco albums and a pinnacle from the best band since the big band era. It exploded with confidence and talent to spare onto an unsuspecting audience who had benignly liked the group's first lp. Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards seemed ready to discard conventions in pop music and had the skill to achieve this goal. Even the album cover was unique, listing the song titles on the front and depicting the band in the cool, detached, stylish way that became their trademark for a while.

The music didn't depend on the personality of the vocalists; rather, the group was conceived to be an organic whole. Instrumental and semi-instrumental tracks were heard alongside songs with chanted verses; song construction and arrangement had the string section not just creating a backdrop but often carrying the melody. The guitar assumed rhythm duties; at times the bass played melody. The interplay of guitar and bass was well served with a bedrock of solid drumming and piano playing (witness "I Want Your Love," "Chic Cheer"). The arrangements were unconventional but subtle. Many people complained of the simplistic lyrics or repetitious choruses, failing to perceive the unity of the compositions, the use of voice as instrumentation, the employment of minor progressions and layering to build and release tension.

Much has been said about "Le Freak," a huge hit in 1978. A hard sell to the label suits, it ended up an anthem of the times, serving multiple duty as disco hit, dance step hallmark, and banner for the socially disenfranchised who were being edged off the very club floors they created by increasing numbers of suburban dancers. More remarkable is "I Want Your Love," a perfection of a song that works in the clubs, on the radio, in the living room, and especially in the bedroom. Seductive and plaintive, it is one of the most gorgeous, well crafted recordings ever.

Overlooked gems abound on this lp. "Happy Man" contains the rare male vocal lead and a rolling bass that gathers increasing steam to the extended instrumental fade. "At Last I Am Free" is a tone poem that shows the emotive capabilities of the vocalists, proving that Chic was not a group with personality-less, interchangeable singers. "Savoir Faire" is a hybrid jazz-pop construction that puts the string section to use in rare ways. In sum, this was a stunning achievement, hardly predicted from the group's one previous effort. That there was still more innovation to come from the group was a hope that was more than gratified in coming years.

I was 14 when this album came out and that was the summer
that I first started going to house parties
and block parties! Throughout the disco era,
I had my pick and choice of who and
what I listened to in this genre:
KC & The Sunshine Band, the late great Sylvester,
(and the other queens) Donna Summers,
Thelma Houston, etc., etc.!!
But you see, I was a young disciple of the
school of funk, and so Parliament / Funkadelic,
Bootsy's Rubberband, The Isley Brothers,
Earth, Wind & Fire, Rufus featuring Chaka Khan,
WAR, The Ohio Players and a young upstart at that time
from Minneapolis named Prince were getting heavy
rotation on my turntable!

Then in late 1977 and early '78, entered the sounds
of this new funky disco movement out of New York
called CHIC with their songs "Dance, Dance, Dance
(Yowsah-Yowsah!!)" and "Everybody Dance", and both
my funk quota and my disco quota would be fulfilled
for the next 2 or 3 yrs afterwards!
But this album, "C'est Chic", was the first CHIC
album that I bought, and I was hooked from there!
Mixing funky bottom bass from the late Bernard Edwards,
the scorching guitar licks and riffs of Nile Rodgers,
some tasty string arrangements, some catchy, choppy
and somewhat repetitve lyrics and vocals which still
caught your attention, the well-placed fender rhodes
and piano of Raymond Jones, and the hot drumming
of the late Tony Thompson...and you had a package
which reeked of "Good Times" (pun intended),
haute couture and GQ fashion, and late 70's
devil-may-care abandon!---Chic was simply, the bomb!

From the funky "Chic Cheer" to the disco smashes
"Le Freak" and "I Want Your Love", to gems like
"Happy Man", "At Last I Am Free" and "Funny Bone",
to the lush instrumentation of "Savior Faire",
this album is definitely CHIC's pi'ece de resistance!!
To my mind, CHIC stands out as one of my all-time
favorite groups of the disco era, and their sound
was influential beyond just disco too!
Included with both Sister Sledge's and Diana Ross'
Chic-produced classics came: 1980's acts like Change,
which begat Luther Vandross and his earlier
Chic-influenced sound, Madonna's "Like A Virgin" album,
which was produced by Nile Rodgers,
Queen's "Another One Bites The Dust",
The Power Station, which was an 80's collab group
of some of rock's elite with Tony Thompson's "thumpasonic"
drums booming in and both Bernard & Nile doing their
thing in the backdrop!..."Some Like It Hot!"
David Bowie's "Let's Dance" and "Modern Love",
and then of course...hip-hop was brought in by the
bass breakdown of another CHIC anthem called "Good Times",
by a group called The Sugarhill Gang and their song
"Rapper's Delight"!!
What more needs to be said?...just buy this album!!

I was just a callow youth when I bought this record on vinyl when it first came out all those years ago. The worldwide buzz was all about the massive club hits "Le Freak" and "I Want Your Love", and while I totally understood why and love those songs to this day, my personal favourite was always the album opener, "Chic Cheer".

Few people I met ever shared my view but I finally felt personally vindicated twenty years later when Ron 'Amen-Ra' Lawrence and Sean 'Puffy' Combs sampled the song for Faith Evans' 1998 megahit "Love Like This". I was a amateur DJ back then and was one of the first on the circuit to get the 12 inch single. I remember playing it at a friends birthday party in Chiswick and remember the crowd going wild. And then, a few years later, in 2003, Fatman Scoop & The Crooklyn Clan used the Faith Evans tune as the basis of their similarly massive club hit "Be Faithful". People still go crazy for that one.

Anyway, almost thirty years after its release, this is still one album (I own it on CD now) I play on a regular basis and I enjoy it just as much as I did on day one. It never fails to make me smile, sing along and sometimes even dance, no matter what mood I'm in. Every tune is a winner and I especially love that they included the instrumental - dare I say jazz-fusion? - number, "Savoir Faire". All the songs were written, produced, arranged and conducted by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards and those two will go down in history not just as the kings of disco, which they were, but as the architects of some of the best music my generation was to ever enjoy.

Say Amen for the days when you got just eight songs on a CD and still feel like you got your money's worth. That happens very rarely these days, if at all.

I submit Chic at their arguably finest 45 minutes.They influenced so many people it was a shame.The main focus on this album is the music.Nile Edwards & (the late) Bernard Edwards along with drummer Tony Thompson came up with a totally new & fresh rhythmic sound that alot of people imitated.The clubs got into "Le Freak","Chic Cheer" & "I Want Your Love" but "Saviour Faire" showed off Nile's guitar skills,Bernard sang sead on "Happy Man".Overall the album was and is a winner.There are Chic compliations on the market,but this and it's sister albums:"We Are Family" by Sister Sledge and "Risque" show the group at their creative peak.

I recall perusing a used record bin in 1988 and seeing this album. Recalling "Le Freak", I went ahead and bought it. After listening to it just once, I was hooked. This is THE record that sparked my love for Chic, the Commodores, Kool & the Gang, and the rest. I've been a funketeer ever since! I still have this piece of vynil that I bought 13 years ago!

"C'est Chic" represents Nile Rodgers & Bernard Edward's 2nd effort in the disco-funk vein. Although their original work "Chic" was good, it is obvious that their brand of rock-solid rhythms and airy melodies gelled on this album.

One of the biggest additions to this album, which would become a hallmark of the Chic Sound, was the introduction of the Chic Strings, an all-female outfit that really rounded out the Chic sound and added to the overall open, easy feel of the tracks. I have always preferred the rich texture of strings over the more-common horn sections, and, while Chic used both effectively, it is still the strings that ice the cake. This may also be the reason why I've always like Philly Soul, but I digress.

This album also introduces us to Alfa Anderson, who replaced vocalist Norma Jean Wright, who went on to record "solo" work (her albums were still Nile & 'Nard productions).

Still another debut is marked by none other than Luther Vandross, who at this time (1978) was still a virtually-unknown singer on the Atlantic-subsidiary Cotillion label.

The most famous track on this ablum is, of course, "Le Freak", which set the disco world on its ear, and introduces the masses to Nile's percolating rhythm guitar (a sound that is still instantly recognizable), and Bernard's deceptively simple bass lines. However, there is far more to this album than this.

In addition to "Le Freak", "I Want Your Love" provided Chic with a minor hit. Featured on the "Soup for One" soundtrack album (regrettably out of print), it is a piece of changing textures. During the break, which consists of nothing more than Bernard, Nile and Tony, Nile does a neat stereo guitar trick. In the right channel, he plays his rhythm part open. In the left channel, he plays the same part choked.

"Savoir Faire" is this ablum's jazz-oriented track which demonstrates that Nile's guitar talents aren't limited to just playing rhythm. The stop-and-go bass and drum parts keep the listener's attention.

"Happy Man" and "Sometimes You Win" are a pair of tracks that feature Bernard behind the mic, and are pretty lighthearted tunes, although the bass break at the end of "Happy Man" is killer.

"At Last I Am Free" feature a meloncholy melody with seemingly enless repetitions of nonsensical lyrics. It is one of a very few songs that doesn't rise to the normal Chic level of excellence.

For openers, there is the somewhat-self-serving "Chic Cheer", which is a tad repetitive, but in the breaks, Nile's guitar sizzles. You can almost visualize all those dancing notes winding in and out of Tony Thompson's hi-hat and kick-drum accents.

Lastly, there is "(Funny) Bone, which is similarly structured to the "Cheer", but a lot more funky and listenable. It's hard to sit still when it's playing. It is also memorable as the song that my beloved Pittsburgh Steelers played back then during their locker room Super Bowl victory celebrations.

Overall, "C'est Chic" stands alongside "Risque" as the best example of the classic Chic sound. It is a must-own album for any funkophile.

This is indeed one of the funkiest albums I ever heard. Around fall 1978,R&B fans were grooving and shaking their butts to LE FREAK. I love I WANT YOUR LOVE with beautiful Luci Martin taking the lead vocal. Just compare the rhythm of IWYL to that of The Human League's 1982 hit DON'T YOU WANT ME?. They're soundalikes although DYWM features the English version of that rhythm known as Technopop. Nile Rodgers and the late Bernard Edwards co-founded Chic in 1977 and wrote many of the band's songs together. The band's drummer,the late Tony Thompson,along with Rodgers and Edwards would later work with the late Robert Palmer. Thompson,with Palmer and Duran Duran's John and Andy Taylor would record two albums together as the Power Station(released in 1985 and '96 respectively). Rodgers and Edwards,who succumbed to cancer in 1996,worked on Palmer's 1985 album RIPTIDE. Edwards served as the producer and of course co-wrote a few tracks with Rodgers. Thompson succumbed to cancer in 2003. Chic's follow-up album,RISQUE is pretty awesome also.

Chic is at their best with this joint. I want your love, le freak, chic cheer, and at last I'm free are the choice sounds of this track!

This album is a master piece the production work by Nile Rogers and Bernard Edwards is superb not to mention their arrangements and scores. This music is just simply dance music at its best. The testament to that is Bernard and Nile became one of the hottest production teams around doin it for Diana Ross Sister Sledge Dave Bowie and numerous others.

chic cheer is a groovy little number happy made is a quite underestimated track with Bernard's Edwards running bass line out of this world. le freak, I want your love and at last I'm free are all great tunes but like most albums there are always underrated songs sometimes you win is just one such song once you hear it you'll know what I mean

Savoir Faire an instrumental of sublime proportion the lead that Nile Rogers plays is just awesome

Enjoy the album if you have never heard ALL of songs you are in for a musical treat.

Chic defined an era. They were easily the best dance band form the '70's and this is their masterpiece. You'll recognise the hits 'freak out' and 'I want your love'. The best thing about this album are the instrumental breaks on 'freak out', 'happy man' and 'I want yor love'. The bass lines are to die for and are complemented brilliantly by the rythmic guitar, this is the kind of music you should play before you head out for the night, you'll leave your pad tingling. 'I am free' is a perfect soul anthem for chilling after a hard nights dancing. This is a landmark album, everyone should have one.

First of all - for those of you that have started their musical journey by delving into Hip-Hop, Jack, R + B - well right here is where all of todays musicians have taken guitar riffs and bass-lines and brought them into the 90's and beyond. The first track, Chic Cheer, starts with them performing at a concert with the sound effects of an audience applauding. Then the great Nile and the late Bernard start with those hot guitar licks with Tony Thompson keeping the percussion goin' on! Second track 'Le Freak' - those of us that remember hearing it for the first time in the 70's will know that they have never heard a record like it - the way they mixed strings, vocals (featuring a little known Luther Vandross on backing vocals), drums, piano and not forgetting guitar and bass has never been bettered. Third track 'Savoir Faire' is a pleasant piece of instrumental with soaring strings with Bernard coaxing the best out of his bass. Fourth track 'Happy Man' is a straightforward track with an infectious chorus. Track Five 'I want your love' was the definitive soul track to own in the summer of 1979. Criminally shortened to just over three minutes when released as a single, this 6 minute plus track has two verses, the infectious refrain 'I want your love, I want, your love' and the excellent instrumental break where there is just bass and drums, then the track gradually builds it self back again with guitar added, strings, and so on ending with the plaintive cry 'I want your love'. Perfect soul! My one complaint? The next track 'At last I am free' - too long and dare I say vapid but Edwards and Rogers do their thang - albeit slowly! Track seven 'Sometimes you win' is of similar ilk to 'Happy Man' The final track 'Funny Bone' is another instrumental of with soaring strings, strong beats and hand-claps.

Well, my review is done, I now feel suitably enboldened to perhaps do a review of one of the Chic produced CD's from Sister Sledge.

'THE WHOLE WORLD IS A CIRCUS - DONT YOU BE THE CLOWN - CIAO!