Lucille Ball ~ Wildcat
Debbie Harry - KooKoo
Bert Kaempfert ~ Wonderland By Night
Showing posts with label Johnny Mathis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Johnny Mathis. Show all posts
October 17, 2020
July 31, 2018
20,000 Vinyl LPs 142: Debbie Harry - KooKoo
vinyl LP front cover
Cover Concept, Painting – H. R. Giger
album cover photo by Brian Aris
photo of album cover by Styrous®
Koo Koo is one of those albums whose cover art snagged me immediately! The photograph by Brian Aris then rendered by H. R. Giger, who had designed the creature for the sci-fi/horror film, Alien, two years earlier, was a knock-out. How could it not! This entry is more about the album cover than the music!
vinyl LP back cover
Cover Concept – H. R. Giger
photo of album back cover by Styrous®
Giger created several variations of the cover (another of which is seen
on the album's inner sleeve) in what Harry described as a combination of
punk, acupuncture (Giger link below) and sci-fi.
sleeve concept, painting – H. R. Giger
inner sleeve photo by Brian Aris
photo of inner sleeve by Styrous®
Harry stated that the album title came to her after she saw Giger's
completed work, and although she had misgivings about the conceptual
ideas behind the artwork (as she did not identify either the album or
herself as "punk"), she was suitably impressed to use it anyway.
vinyl LP inner sleeve back
sleeve concept – H. R. Giger
photo of inner sleeve by Styrous® For the promotion of KooKoo, Chrysalis Records planned to display large posters of the album cover in various stations of the London Underground. However, officials deemed the image of Harry with metal skewers going through her face and neck to be too disturbing.
vinyl LP inner sleeve detail
sleeve concept, painting – H. R. Giger
inner sleeve photo by Brian Aris
detail photo of inner sleeve by Styrous®
I have four favorites from this album, The Jam Was Moving, Chrome, Inner City Spillover and Oasis; of the four, Oasis is my favorite.
Promo videos were made for the tracks Backfired and Now I Know You Know, both directed by Giger and filmed at his studio in Switzerland.Backfired featured a dark-haired Harry dancing superimposed over a
backdrop of Giger's distinctive artwork, with Giger himself appearing in
a semi-translucent face mask. Now I Know You Know featured Harry in a
long black wig and a form-fitting bodysuit painted with Giger's unusual
artwork, dancing around in a small set furnished with Giger's
"bio-mechanical" design work (link to videos below).
KooKoo was one of three albums to be (co)written and produced by record producer, Nile Rodgers, and Bernard Edwards, of Chic, in 1981, the other two being the Chic fifth album, Take It Off and I Love My Lady, by Johnny Mathis, which remains unreleased.
Two singles were released from the album: Backfired, which peaked at #24 in Australia, #32 in the UK and #43 in the US in August 1981, and The Jam Was Moving which reached #82 in the US but failed to chart in the UK or Australia.
A third single, Chrome,
was only released in some parts of Europe and also failed to chart.
Another track, Jump Jump, was only released as a single in Peru.
Chrome was the flip/B-side of The Jam Was Moving only being
issued in Germany as a single and in the USA as a 12" promotional single
only.
vinyl LP inner sleeve back detail
sleeve concept – H. R. Giger
detail photo of inner sleeve by Styrous®
KooKoo showcased the early fusion of funk, rock and dance music
that would become the trademark of Rodgers and Edwards, and this style
would later be evident on albums such as Let's Dance, by David Bowie, Notorious, by Duran Duran, The Power Station self-titled debut album, and the Robert Palmer album, Riptide.
vinyl LP inner sleeve back detail
sleeve concept – H. R. Giger
detail photo of inner sleeve by Styrous®
Backing vocals were provided by Mark Mothersbaugh and Gerald Casale of Devo; they are credited as Spud and Pud Devo.
"Spud and Pud Devo"
vinyl LP back cover detail
vinyl LP back cover detail
Cover Concept – H. R. Giger
detail photo of album back cover by Styrous®
KooKoo reached #6 in the UK and stayed in the charts for seven weeks, being certified "Silver" by the BPI for sales in excess of 60,000 copies. The album reached #25 in the US and was certified "Gold" by the RIAA for shipments in excess of 500,000 copies.
"Spud and Pud Devo"
vinyl LP back cover detail
vinyl LP back cover detail
Cover Concept – H. R. Giger
detail photo of album back cover by Styrous®
vinyl LP, side 1
photo by Styrous® 
vinyl LP, side 2
photo by Styrous® 
Tracklist:
Side 1:
A1 - Jump Jump, written by Chris Stein, Debbie Harry* - 4:02
A2 - The Jam Was Moving, written by Bernard Edwards & Nile Rodgers - 2:58
A3 - Chrome, written by Chris Stein, Debbie Harry* - 4:16
A4 - Surrender, written by Bernard Edwards & Nile Rodgers - 3:36
A5 - Inner City Spillover, written by Chris Stein, Debbie Harry* - 5:02
Side 2:
B1 - Backfired, written by Bernard Edwards & Nile Rodgers - 4:52
B2 - Now I Know You Know, written by Bernard Edwards & Nile Rodgers - 5:31
B3 - Under Arrest, written by Bernard Edwards & Nile Rodgers, Chris Stein, Debbie Harry* - 2:56
B4 - Military Rap, written by Chris Stein, Debbie Harry* - 3:48
B5 - Oasis, written by Bernard Edwards & Nile Rodgers, Chris Stein, Debbie Harry* - 4:55
Personnel:
- Debbie Harry - vocals
- Nile Rodgers - guitar, vocals on "Backfired"
- Bernard Edwards - bass guitar
- Tony Thompson - drums
- Robert Sabino - keyboards
- Raymond Jones - keyboards
- Nathaniel S. Hardy, Jr. - keyboards
- Chris Stein - guitar
- Vinnie Della Rocca - horns
- Ray Maldonado - horns
- Sammy Figueroa - percussion
- Manuel Badrena - percussion
- Roger Squitero - percussion
- Spud Devo - backing vocals
- Pud Devo - backing vocals
- Gordon Grody - backing vocals
- Fonzi Thornton - backing vocals
- Chuck Martin - dog bark
Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Chrysalis Records
Copyright (c) – Chrysalis Records
Recorded At – Power Station
Mixed At – Power Station
Published By – Rare Blue Music, Inc.
Published By – Easy Aire Music, Inc.
Published By – Chic Music, Inc.
Produced For – Chic Organization Ltd.
Mastered At – Atlantic Studios
Credits:
Art Direction – Peter Wagg
Cover [Concept], Painting – H. R. Giger*
Engineer – Bill Scheniman Engineer [Second] – Jason Corsaro
Liner Notes [Quote] – Poe* Management – Alive Enterprises, Inc., Denny Vosburgh, Shep Gordon
Mastered By – Dennis King
Photography By – Brian Aris Producer – Bernard Edwards & Nile Rodgers
Notes:
Issued with custom inner sleeve with additional image and credits. Some credits are marked with special characters ( ⃰, †, ⃰ ⃰) in the credit list on inner sleeve but no special character is associated to any track either in the tracklist (back cover, inner sleeve) or on labels.
℗ 1981 Chrysalis Records
On back of jacket:
Made in U.S.A.
℗ & © 1981 Chrysalis Records
On spine: Printed in U.S.A.
Barcode and Other Identifiers
Barcode (Text): 0 7558-51347-1
Barcode (Scanned): 075585134716
Matrix / Runout (Label A): (CHR-1347-AS)
Matrix / Runout (Label B): (CHR-1347-BS)
Matrix / Runout (Runout side A variant 1): 15 CHR 1347-̶6̶ AS ⑥ SX ATLANTIC STUDIOS D.K. B
Matrix / Runout (Runout side B variant 1): O CHR-1347-8 BS ATLANTIC STUDIOS D.K.
Matrix / Runout (Runout side A variant 2): 15 CHR 1347-2[scratched]-AS ② SXT E4 ATLANTIC STUDIOS D.K.
Matrix / Runout (Runout side B variant 2): IT CHR 1347-9 BS ATLANTIC STUDIOS D.K.
Matrix / Runout (Runout side A variant 3): 15 CHR 1347 - ̷2̷ -AS ② A 3 ATLANTIC STUDIOS D.K.
Matrix / Runout (Runout side A variant 3): 15 CHR - 1347 - ̷2̷ BS - ② ATLANTIC STUDIOS D.K. S A19
Matrix / Runout (Runout side A variant 4): 15 CHR 1347-4[scratched]-AS 4(in a circle) ATLANTIC STUDIOS D.K.
Matrix / Runout (Runout side B variant 4): 15 CHR 1347 - ̷5 -BS 5(in a circle) ATLANTIC STUDIOS D.K.
Rights Society: ASCAP
Rights Society: BMI
Debbie Harry* – KooKoo
Label: Chrysalis – CHR 1347
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 27 Jul 1981 in the U,S.
Released: 31 July 1981 in the U.K.
Genre: Electronic, Rock, Funk / Soul
Style: Synth-pop, Disco
Viewfinder link:
Net links:
Sound Thread ~ KooKoo (1981) debut album
Pop Matters ~ "Acufunkture" ~ Nile Rodgers Interview
The Data Lounge ~
Why was Debbie Harry's 1981 solo album "KooKoo" such a disaster?
The Washington Post ~ On A 'KooKoo' Track
YouTube links:
The Jam Was Moving
Chrome
Surrender
Inner City Spillover
Backfired
Now I Know You Know
Under Arrest
Military Rap
Oasis
sleeve concept, painting – H. R. Giger
inner sleeve photo by Brian Aris
photo of inner sleeve by Styrous®
Styrous® ~ July 21, 2018
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