Behind Closed Doors (Remastered) Charlie Rich

• 1 Behind Closed Doors (Album Version) 02:55
• 2 If You Wouldn't Be My Lady 02:52
• 3 You Never Really Wanted Me (Album Version) 02:25
• 4 A Sunday Kind Of Woman 03:07
• 5 Peace On You (Album Version) 03:59
• 6 The Most Beautiful Girl 02:42
• 7 I Take It On Home (Album Version) 02:51
• 8 Til I Can't Take It Anymore 02:29
• 9 We Love Each Other 03:06
• 10 I'm Not Going Hungry (Album Version) 02:10
• 11 Nothing In The World (To Do With Me) 02:38
• Total Runtime 31:14

Info for Behind Closed Doors (Remastered)

A truly great voice of American music, Charlie Rich began pursuing his musical vision in the 1950s, but it wasn't until this 1973 release that he achieved a major commercial breakthrough. Along the way, he tackled a mix of blues, pop, country, and R&B with such grace that many critics put him on par with Elvis Presley, and Rich's early work easily marks him as Elvis's peer aesthetically, if not commercially. That all changed with „Behind Closed Doors“. To capture the ear of mainstream America, Rich adopted the strings-and-choir-enhanced "countrypolitan" aesthetic so popular in Nashville at the time.

While others rode that approach to crossover schlock, Rich kept it classy, and the songs here are always served (but never overpowered) by the arrangements. On "I Take it on Home" and "A Sunday Kind of Woman," Rich's R&B roots can be detected, but it's the romantic ballads, "The Most Beautiful Girl" and the title tune that made Rich a superstar after years of flirting with success. For a summary of Rich's eclectic early work, turn to the „Feel Like Going Home“ collection, but for an introduction to the Charlie Rich embraced by millions, look no further than this reissue, which comes complete with tasty bonus cuts.

„Hot off a smash single (the title song), Charlie Rich puts together some of his finest and bluesiest material, and he'll add all sorts of new devotees to those who have followed him from the '50s. Best cuts: "A Sunday Kind of Woman," "I'm Not Going Hungry Anymore," "Nothing in the World." (Billboard)

„Charlie Rich had been heading toward full-blown country-pop on his previous Epic records, but Behind Closed Doors is where Billy Sherrill pulled out all of the stops and created a heavily orchestrated, pop-oriented album. It's to Rich's credit that he never sounds like he's drowning amid the grand production and layers of instruments -- in an odd way, he thrives. While Behind Closed Doors doesn't have the casual eclecticism that distinguished all of Rich's past recordings, it is an expertly crafted album -- it's easy to see why it made the Silver Fox a superstar. All of the material, from the hit singles ("Behind Closed Doors," "The Most Beautiful Girl," "I Take It On Home") to the album tracks, are classy songs, designed to appeal to a maturing country audience. Furthermore, the arrangements expertly walk the line between pop and schmaltz -- the sound of Behind Closed Doors is the sound of early-'70s countrypolitan and numerous artists used the record as a template for their own style. Rich made better, grittier records, but the combined collaborative effort of the vocalist and Sherrill resulted in a seamless, influential work -- even if it is one that earned the scorn of hardcore country purists.“ (Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AMG)

Charlie Rich, vocals
Billy Sanford, guitar
Dale Sellers, guitar
Harold Bradley, guitar
Jerry Kennedy, guitar
Ray Edenton, guitar
Pete Drake, steel guitar
Lloyd Green, steel guitar
Bob Moore, bass
Hargus "Pig" Robbins, piano
Buddy Harman, drums
Kenny Buttrey, drums
The Jordanaires, background vocals
Nashville Edition, background vocals

Engineered by Lou Bradley, Charlie Bragg
Produced by Billy Sherrill

Digitally remastered

Charlie Rich
Rich’s parents were cotton farmers and he heard the blues from the pickers and gospel music from his parents, as his father sang in a choir and his mother played organ. Rich himself played piano and saxophone and studied music at the University of Arkansas. While in the US Air Force, he formed a small group in the vein of the Four Freshmen, the Velvetones, with his wife-to-be, Margaret Ann.

After the forces, they bought a farm, but following bad weather, he opted for playing in Memphis clubs for $10 a night. Soon Rich was working on sessions at Sun including some for Jerry Lee Lewis (‘I’ll Sail My Ship Alone’), Bill Justis and Carl Mann. He wrote ‘The Ways Of A Woman In Love’, ‘Thanks A Lot’ (both recorded by Johnny Cash), ‘Break Up’ (Ray Smith and Lewis), ‘I’m Comin’ Home’ (Mann and then covered by Elvis Presley) and the continuation of ‘Don’t Take Your Guns To Town’, ‘The Ballad Of Billy Joe’ (Lewis and Rich himself).

Rich recorded 80 songs at Sun although only 10 singles and one album were released at the time. Rich’s heavy drinking prompted his wife to leave with the children, but he convinced her that he would change. In 1962 Rich, like Presley before him, went from Sun to RCA Records, albeit to their subsidiary, Groove. From then on, Rich recorded in Nashville. He had no hits at the time but his reflective ballad ‘There Won’t Be Anymore’ was a US Top 20 hit 10 years later; similarly, ‘I Don’t See Me In Your Eyes Anymore’ and ‘Tomorrow Night’ were to become US country number 1s. Many regard Rich’s period with producer Jerry Kennedy as his most creative, particularly as Margaret Ann was writing such excellent material as ‘A Field Of Yellow Daisies’.

In 1967, Billy Sherrill, who had worked as a recording engineer with Rich at Sun, signed him to Epic. He knew Rich’s versatility but he was determined to make him a successful country singer. Choosing strong ballads, often about working-class marriage among the over-30s, and classy middle-of-the-road arrangements, he built up Rich’s success in the US country charts, although it was a slow process. His first substantial US country hit was with ‘I Take It On Home’ in 1972. In view of the material, Rich’s lined face and grey hair became assets and he was dubbed ‘The Silver Fox’. Although Rich’s piano was often relegated to a supporting role, it complemented his voice on Kenny O’Dell’s ballad ‘Behind Closed Doors’. The 1973 song gave Rich a number 1 country and Top 20 pop hit and became the Country Song of the Year.

Rich’s follow-up single, ‘The Most Beautiful Girl’, partly written by Sherrill, was a US number 1, and the b-side, ‘Feel Like Goin’ Home’, was almost as strong. In the UK, ‘The Most Beautiful Girl’ made number 2 and was quickly followed by a Top 20 placing for ‘Behind Closed Doors’. Behind Closed Doors, which contained both hits and songs written by himself, his wife and son Allan, was a smash and he topped the US country charts with ‘There Won’t Be Anymore’ (number 18, pop), ‘A Very Special Love Song’ (number 11), ‘I Don’t See Me In Your Eyes Anymore’, ‘I Love My Friend’ (number 24) and ‘She Called Me Baby’. ‘Everytime You Touch Me (I Get High)’ also reached number 3 in the country and number 19 in the pop charts.

In 1974 Rich was voted the Entertainer Of The Year by the Country Music Association of America. The next year, instead of announcing the winner (John Denver) on a live television show, he burnt the envelope. He says, ‘I was ill and I should never have been there’, but country fans were not so sympathetic and Rich lost much support. His records, too, were starting to sound stale as Sherrill had difficulty in finding good material and began to put too much emphasis on the strings. Nevertheless, there were gems, including ‘Rollin’ With The Flow’, which returned Rich to the top of the US country charts, and a duet with Janie Fricke, ‘On My Knees’, also a country number 1.

In 1978, Rich moved to United Artists Records where Larry Butler continued in the same vein. Occasionally the material was right - ‘Puttin’ In Overtime At Home’, ‘I Still Believe In Love’ and the bluesy ‘Nobody But You’ - but, by and large, the records found Rich on automatic pilot. In 1980 he relocated to Elektra Records where he recorded a fine cover version of Eric Clapton’s ‘Wonderful Tonight’ and had a country hit with ‘I’ll Wake You Up When I Get Home’. There followed a long decade or more of silence from Rich, amid rumours that his occasionally self-destructive lifestyle had taken its toll. However, he returned triumphantly in 1992 with Pictures And Paintings, an album overseen by his long-time champion, journalist Peter Guralnick. Mixing jazzy originals with reinterpretations of songs from his past, the album proved to be Rich’s most satisfying work since The Fabulous Charlie Rich. He died in 1995 following a blood clot in his lung.

This album contains no booklet.