Customer Reviews

Real People/Tongue in Chic

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Chic's album 'Real People' is a classic album that not only represents the peak of Chic's first stage of developement but the end of a musical era.Call it the last shabang not only for 70's style disco but for Chic's classic sound.Every track is excellent (among them two superb shoulda' been hits in "Chip Off The Old Block" and "I've Got Protection").And 'Tongue In Cheek" from 1982 is just PLAIN underrated!!!By that point it was 1982 and Chic were nearing the end of their run as a band.The result was a sound such as on "I Feel A Love Comin' On" and "Hangin'" that embraced tighter funk rhythms then the more polished sound the band had once been known for.Don't get me wrong-Chic were always tight but they chaged what tight was by this time and it's worth the adventure!

Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers are one of the most talented Production teams in the history of popular music. There are some Chic Albums that are a little better than others but they're all all worth listening to. "Real People" very good album. I love "I Got Protection", "You Can't Do It Alone", "I Loved You More" and many others.

"Tongue In CHIC" although good, I found this album by accident while making a trip to the record store in mid-1982. Lucky for me, it was a new release. To this day, I heard no singles or saw any advertisments promoting this particular Chic album. But I really enjoyed it nontheless. All the tracks are very good, but I really love Bernard's solo track "Sharing Love". "City Lights" is a very good track that could be a staple on Contemporary Jazz radio. The live track "Chic (Everybody say)" is a crowd pleaser that ends with an awesome Nile Guitar solo.

Both these albums should've been big sellers when they were first released but I guess some A&R people back then and today really have no idea what real talent sounds like. They Should listen to these 2 albums and see.

Chic defined disco. Producers Bernard Rogers and Nile Rogers, on bass and guitar respectively, and the original core line-up with Tony Thompson on drums, Alfa Anderson & Luci Martin on vocals and Raymond Jones & Andy Schwartz on keyboards, not to mention the Chic strings, formed the backbone to many a disco hit in their own name and hits by many other artistes including Sister Sledge, Diana Ross and Carly Simon. They were the sound of the late 70s. Their first three albums, 1977's "Chic", 1978's "C'est Chic" and 1979's "Risque" were as iconic as they were commerically successful. I still find them, almost 30 years on, as much fun to listen (and dance) to as I did back when they were originally released.

By 1980 when "Real People" was released, the disco wheels were already starting to come off. Hip-hop was muscling in, thanks in no small part to Chic themselves - after all without Chic, there would've been no "Rapper's Delight" - and black music was, in general, moving towards a more synthesiser based r&b sound. Chic ramped it up on this album though, making their sound heavier by bringing the bass and drums to the fore (they used the same formula on Diana Ross' "Diana", which they produced that same year). We hear Nile Rogers playing more lead guitar on this album where before he relied on rhythm playing for the most part. The keyboards are also brought forward, while the strings are taken back. It's a bolder sound, if you will.

To all intents and purposes, this was their last hurrah. I don't know if they scored any chart success with the album but songs like the instrumental opener "Open Up", "Real People", "I Got Protection", "26" and "You Can't Do It Alone" were a huge success with me and still are. It was never clear to me and still isn't, who exactly sang the lead vocal on "You Can't Do It Alone". I was convinced it was Luther Vandross who had done a lot of work with Chic but he's not credited anywhere. If it was either Edwards or Rogers, they did a very good job. It's one of Chic's best songs ever, in my opinion.

The follow-up, "Tongue In Chic" was less successful all round and while Rogers and Edwards try to keep things current, the old Chic magic is dying. The album isn't hideously bad or anything like that but it's not really worth listening to either except, maybe, for purely historical research reasons. They gave it their best shot but Chic and funk just don't mix.

The group released a few more forgettable albums and the two producers were beginning to go their separate ways. Edwards released at least one solo album but it disappeared without trace. Rogers solo work as well but scored big as a producer on his own, most notably with Madonna. The pair did eventually team up again though (sans Thompson) for Chic's 1992 release "Chic-ism". The songs "Your Love" and "Doin' That Thing To Me" reminded me of the heydays (and "One And Only One", "In It To Win It" and "M.M.F.T.C.F." showed promise) but again, I don't believe there was any chart success. A mediocre live album was recorded in 1996 and sadly, Bernard Edwards passed away shortly after, while touring with his group Power Station. The album was eventually released in 1999. Tony Thompson died in 2003.

However one feels about disco as a whole, I personally that Chic are a crucial part of musical history. The album "Real People" is a piece of history as it's really their last good album. This CD is therefore worth getting if only for the first half. After owning it on vinyl since the year it came out, I would've happily paid for "Real People" on CD on its own but I couldn't find it for love or money. Having "Tongue In Chic" isn't a bonus in any way but it doesn't take anything away from the CD either. I can always stop the disc after track 8 if I want to, no?

I bought this CD because Real People is my favorite Chic album and I was thrilled to find it on CD. To me Real People is the culmination of everything that came before it. All tracks are wonderful from the opening instrumental, appropriately titled Open Up to the final and eighth track You Can't Do It Alone. The three singles that were released from this album are terrific, Real People, Rebels Are We and Chip Off the Old Block. The sound is still very contemporary. While maintaining the Chic strings it has a more jazz, rock feel which keeps it fresh. It has a very warm melodic feeling which, unfortunately, Tongue in Chic doesn't have. As a huge Chic fan, at the age of 20, I bought Tongue in Chic when it was released in 1982 and didn't care for it then and 21 years later at the age of 41 I still don't care for it very much. I hated side one so much at the time that I never turned over the record. I was surprised to hear the last three songs on this disc as they sound fairly good. I think Chic was just fulfilling contractural obligations with Atlantic Records by this point because overall the CD sounds like a throwaway. Two of the best tracks are less than three minutes in length, Hey Fool and Sharing Love and they don't sound complete. Another problem with Tongue in Chic is that the guys took over the lead vocals primarily as opposed to Alfa Anderson and Luci Martin. Big mistake. Bottom line- Real People-5 stars, Tongue in Chic-2 and 1/2 stars. This is still about three quarters of a great CD. Buy it.

By the time Real People came out, Chic was trying to adjust to life after disco. This portion of the review is from the stand-alone "Real People" CD - which I was lucky enough to get from an independent seller on this site.

I bought the Real People/Tongue In Chic double CD, but being a hardcore Chic fan, I had to have the stand-alone product. The double CD sounded horrible - tinnish with no bass.

The music on this CD literally bounces with more of Bernard's bass, has more pop with Nile's guitar, sparkles with playful keyboard work, glides with swoopy string arrangements, percolates with percussion, and stabs at you with the sharp vocals from the lead and backup vocalists. Real People sounds as fresh as when it was first released!

While Chic's previous albums were more commercially disco (or whatever you choose to call them), RP - at least for me, marks the beginning of a change for the group. This album was not a commercial success in the way that Risque gave us "Good Times" and "A Warm Summer Night", or in the way that C'est Chic gave us "Le Freak" and "I want Your Love", or in the way that Chic gave us "Dance, Dance, Dance" and "Everybody Dance". Times and tastes were changing, and disco was officially DEAD.

RP was significant for the group as the music moved somewhat away from disco. At the time, I didn't know how to identify it; this wasn't disco and it definitely wasn't new wave. Still, I couldn't call it R&B, but it wasn't pop either. FUSION(?) Still, the music was (and is) excellent.

Back in the day, I didn't like "Open Up" - it took some time for me to appreciate Chic's more instrumental numbers. This song showcases The Chic Strings: Karen Milne, Cheryl Hong, Valerie Heywood. Bernard's bass and Nile's guitar provide the funky underpinning for a dramatic opening number.

"Real People" gave the spotlight to Nile and his guitar with a rock edge over a soulful groove.

"I Loved You More" is total melacholy with a soulfully sad lead vocal and another guitar solo.

I had heard somewhere that "I Got Protection" was originally intended for Diana Ross' Chic-produced LP, but it wound up on RP instead. It's a nice song, but RP needed a commercially viable hit and this apparently wasn't IT. They should've given this to Miss Ross and taken "Have Fun (Again)" for themselves - especially since Russ Terrana butchered it by stripping away most of the Chicness to make it nothing more than pseudo-new wave filler for that LP. The song would've fallen in line with some of their other major hits while "...Protection" would've fit Ross' image as "The Boss" and THE Diva. But that's another story altogether!

"Rebels Are We" is the reason I bought RP; I believe I heard it on the radio ONCE. It was stark, spare, and dark compared to their earlier music. The strings stab in and out of the song like knives in your back. The instrumental break is fast-paced with Tony Thompson's rough-and-tumble drumming. It certainly wasn't dance music in the traditional Chic sense, but it made for great listening!

"Chip Off The Old Block" is the song I fell in love with. It's mid-tempo with a bit of lovelorn dialed in. While Chic fans always look to Nile and 'Nard - along with drummer Tony Thompson for musical genius, it's the keyboards that grabbed hold of me on this song as the one element that makes the music work here. The melodramatic ending of the chorus with Nile, the strings, and the keys teasing us all the way through the coda always (and still do) keep me coming back for more. Their song "Believer" used a similar formula a few years later.

Unfortunately, I can't say the same for "26". I just didn't get it. Nice instrumentation, though.

The last song also took a while to appreciate. I originally thought it was Nile who tackled the lead vocal on "You Can't Do It Alone", but-in fact, it was back up singer Fonzi Thornton. This song is one of Chic's finest moments. The sound is dated, like something out of the 1960s - retro-soul before it became...well...chic, so to speak. This is something Sam Cooke would've been comfortable singing. And that's what made it cool to me. The guitar solo at the end is haunting. Later, this song found placement on a Chic compilation CD ahead of the instrumental "Tavern on the Green" from the Soup For One soundtrack. The two make a great pair since "...Alone" ends with a guitar solo and "Tavern..." seemingly picks up where it leaves off.

This set marks a transition in Chic's work from disco/dance music to their days as makers of great fusion. RP was followed by "Take It Off", which went deeper into the jazz/fusion realm. Just the group said in one of its later songs, this is "Sweet, not sugar-coated 'cause the music is Chic." "Real People" is "Something You Can Feel"!

Unlike a lot of other people, I particularly liked Tongue In Chic. In some respects, I liked it more than Real People (but then again, I am a BIG time Chic-head). When You Love Someone is another great Chic ballad that changes and goes mid-tempo near the end. I Feel Your Love Comin' On was okay, but it lasted longer than it should have. The beginning reminded me of Aretha Franklin's Jump To It. Others seem to think that the flip side was mostly filler, but Chic (Everybody Say) was really better than Chic Cheer which preceded it. More great guitar work here. Hey Fool is a mid-tempo number with a burbling bass line that follows the Chic formula. Sharing Love is also Chic formulaic, but slower with a male lead. This album marked the return of the strings to Chic's music; Take It Off did without them. Chic's jazz/fusion number City Lights features them prominently as the musicians pluck them merrily here. I have TIC as a stand-alone CD and Tony Thompson's drum work here is stellar and seems to stand out on what was probably a remastered disc. This two CD set seems to lack that extra punch. The only song I disliked was Hangin' Out.

Again, I'm a true Chic-head, so only someone like me can appreciate the work done on TIC. Chic was a victim of changing times and music tastes.

I really love this group. There's never a flaw when it comes to Nile Rodgers and the late Bernard Edwards when creating such cool and classic soul type music. If you love real music without all of that cheap stuff you hear in the 2000 Millinium era, Then come on home to some real music from real people....CHIC !!!!

As a fan of Chic, having this two albums on a single package and in CD is a pleasure for the ears. I had them on vinyl and I can only say they sound as great as I remembered them back on the day I first purchased the original albums.
Great production, writing and luxurious voices, songs full of ideas that have inspired musicians worldwide, a must for soul and funk lovers.
The only flaw... It'd be fantastic if they had included some extra cuts, 12" versions or demos.
I'll be waiting for more.

I bought this one for the 1980 "Real People" tracks. "Real People" and "Rebels Are We" are available on greatest hits collections, but there are other tracks that make this CD worth buying: "Chip Off the Old Block" is my favorite--it's upbeat and captures all the best in their earlier hits such as "Le Freak" and "Everybody Dance." "Real People" is more somber, and, as an above reviewer points out, "Rebels We Are" is somewhat of a defense of disco against the unfortunate backlash of that year. "26" and "I Got Protection" are consistent with Chic's successful formula. Unfortunately, there's not much redeeming about the 1982, "Tongue in Chic." It seems that Chic broke under the anti-disco backlash and couldn't adjust well to a new attempted niche.

Thanks to Wounded Bird for this release. However the two albums on this release are an odd coupling? 'Real People' are super group CHIC's best album...but 'Tongue In CHIC' are just a mediocre (by CHIC standards) album. It would have made more sense to couple RP with CHIC's Sheila & B. Devotion project 'King Of The World' released the same year and featuring similar sound. Even better to release a deluxe edition of RP with 12" mixes and unreleased material related to the project. But I'm not going to [complain] more...

Firstly I have to talk about the cover. A more ironic contrast to the content of the album can hardly be found. CHIC in Vogue poses, so stylish and fashionably successful...At the height of their powers... and that is just surface... listen to the album and you get what's going on under any successful surface... Even in cover art CHIC was brilliant. Then the title 'Real People' how tongue in cheek.

The harder edged RP album are a big departure from CHIC's soo successful 'Risqué' album from the year before. On this outing CHIC explores the downside to the disco excess of the 'Fever' years..it is a much more mature look on life and society...tackling social issues and putting relationship problems in a hard light. Nile Rodgers guitar work takes a more central role, and we are treated to great moments of disco-funk-rock.

The album opens with masterpiece 'Open Up' it leads directly into the social criticism of the title track. Then we are treated to perhaps CHIC's greatest ever ballad the beautifully tragic 'I Loved You More' after this heartbreaking sadness comes CHIC's 'I Will Survive' 'I Got Protection' listen to the great guitar work at the end....heavenly grooves!

Side two (LP) opens with a statement of defiance 'Rebels Are We'. Perhaps this was CHIC's notice to the disco community, which was under siege since the events of Comiskey Park the year before. "The time is now, and if we have to fight. Come on, let's unite." After this we are treated to high class rhythms...in the infectious 'Chip Off The Old Block' this one's impossible not to dance to. It is unbelievable that this wasn't a top ten hit that year...excellent musicianship...and the CHIC strings are doing stellar work on this song. '26' is more laid back but the strings get another great moment in the instrumental break. The last song off the album ' You Can't Do It Alone' features jazzy and airy arrangements and the song ends in a jazzy guitar solo which is soo beautiful... it makes a fitting close to a great album. I can be completely honest when I say there are no weak songs on this album it is a perfect 10.

The CHIC sound is perfected on 'Real People'...all the elements that made Madonna a major star with 'Like A Virgin' and David Bowie an 80s dance icon with 'Let's Dance' are here...Rolling Stone Magazine also stamped its sign of approval on this album when, last year, it listed it as the 20th coolest album of all time. (Should have been No. 1, but what can you do?)

So...'Tongue In CHIC' is not a bad album...'Hangin' is a great funk tune which would've gotten rave reviews if anyone else would have come up with it, but with CHIC one is used to masterpieces, and given their track record it is a bit mediocre. 'When You Love Someone' is the best track on the album, which unfortunately is one of the few songs on this album where CHIC singers Alfa Anderson and Luci Martin take the lead.

The album suffers from lack of tongue in cheek, which had up to this point been one of CHIC's most attractive qualities. Even the cover art reveals that there's something seriously wrong in the house of CHIC....where's the style, the flash, the brilliance? We get glimpses of it but not much more...the band was on its way to a break up...only one album more the lackluster 'Believer' before the classic CHIC set would be gone forever.

Buy this album for 'Real People', 'Tongue In CHIC' is just a bonus.

This is an eccentric choice of albums for a two-fer. Real People showcases Chic at the peak of their string-arranged elegant disco, while Tongue In Chic displayed their increasing experimentation with electronic sounds such as keyboards and drum sounds. Sonically, the albums have little in common, even to the soundmixing, as the 1980 lp had bass and drums farther in the back than the 82 lp, per the standards of the times.

Tongue In Chic arrived after the group had given up strings (they revived them here for the toss-away track "Everybody Say Chic"), had moved from a disco to a dance-funk direction, and had produced the rock-rap hybrid album for Debbie Harry, the Soup For One soundtrack, the "Together" track from Odyssey, the never-released Fonzi Thornton lp produced with the same band as the Take It Off sessions. In 1982 the group suffered the same mistakes they had in 1981-- label missteps with the lead single release. "Hangin" was a miss with dance clubs and didn't crack the R&B Top 40. There was a reason for this-- although tightly played, the track is album filler and a sharp departure for the group, which could still have dance hits with black radio and clubs, as "Soup For One" attested.

To be fair, there is no obvious choice for single on this lp. "I Feel Your Love Comin' On" is a structural and sexual masterpiece, building to a truly climactic pitch and in some ways a chuggier sequel to the prior year's "Flashback." It may or may not have been played in clubs and radio following the success of "Soup For One." "When You Love Someone" was a complex and emotional composition, extremely well sung by Alfa Anderson, moving from ballad to uptempo passage, perhaps too idiosyncratic for 80s radio. "Hey Fool" is a pop gem with exceedingly strong bass work by Edwards and clearly a distaff take on Howard Johnson's "So Fine" of several months earlier, so it may have found an audience. Some seductive tracks like "Sharing Love" and the Wes Montgomery meets George Benson instrumental "City Lights" were more than album filler but not commercial.

So while Real People had a host of tracks for dance floor and R&B airplay, Tongue In Chic lacked singles and therefore promotion was difficult. The directions they headed after 1982 were even more idiosyncratic: Bernard Edwards' solo lp, with some tracks that would have fit with Tongue In Chic (eg "Hard Loving Man," "You Don't Know Me"), Nile Rodgers' quirky solo lp with edgy 80s New York vibe honed with Material, and Chic's own electronic foray in 83.