[Review] Jim Capaldi: Daughter of the Night (1978)
Capaldi dips a toe into disco’s waters, Robert Stigwood foots the bill.
Kronomyth 4.5: I could’ve been the contender.
Both Dave Mason and Jim Capaldi had taken the leisure suit route by the late 70s, releasing proletarian rock with (in Capaldi’s case) a liberal splash of discologne. My interest in their solo work extends no further than my misplaced loyalty to Traffic. I did enjoy Dave Mason’s first two albums, but that was about it. If Capaldi has ever released anything as good as “Light Up or Leave Me Alone,” I haven’t heard it. Daughter of the Night (released with a slightly different track list in the US as The Contender) features a mix of original and cover material recorded in what appear to be two different sessions. The first side of music kicks off with three covers (including Gallagher & Lyle’s Stay with You) plus two medium-heat originals, most of it produced by Peter Sullivan (Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck). The second side is all-original material, some of it written with actress Ester Anderson, produced by Capaldi with a backing band he’d dubbed The Contenders. Once again, Capaldi gets a little help from a lot of friends including Steve Winwood, Paul Kossoff, Ray Allen, Ray Parker, Dean Parks and Peter Bonas. Highlights, if you want to call them that, include Daughter of the Night, You Burned Me, Hunger and Greed and The Contender. Capaldi isn’t a bad songwriter, nor is he a particularly good singer. It’s a mystery to me why Island and RSO kept plunking down money to make Jim Capaldi records; maybe he was just a very likeable fellow. If you enjoyed his first three albums, you’ll enjoy this album too. Still, I can’t help thinking it would have been a kindness if Mason and Capaldi had pooled their talents a la Crosby & Nash (Capaldi Mason & Wood perhaps?).
Original elpee version
A1. A Good Love (Chris Bond) (2:57)
A2. Daughter of the Night (Michael Rickfors/Hasse Huss) (3:15)
A3. Stay with You (Benny Gallagher/Graham Lyle) (2:56)
A4. You Burned Me (Jim Capaldi) (4:35)
A5. I’m Gonna Do It (Jim Capaldi (4:34)
B1. Elixir of Love (Jim Capaldi/Ester Anderson) (5:13)
B2. Short Ends (Jim Capaldi/Ester Anderson) (3:46)
B3. Hunger and Greed (Jim Capaldi) (3:13)
B4. The Contender (Jim Capaldi) (5:51)
The Players
Jim Capaldi (vocals), Ray Allen (sax, congas & vocals), Peter Bonas (electric guitar, lead guitar solo), Phil Capaldi (backup vocal, percussion, drums), Chris Parren (keyboards) with John Barnes (keyboards, piano & Moog on A1/A2/A3/A5), The Chanter Sisters (background vocals on A4), Jerry Conway (drums), Ed Greene (drums on A1/A2/A3/A5), Kiki Guyan (keyboards), Paul Kossoff (lead guitar on B4), Jackie MacAulay (rhythm guitar on A4), Muscle Shoals rhythm section (B4), Ray Parker (rhythm guitar on A3/A5), Dean Parks (electric guitar and lead guitar on A1/A3/A5), Chuck Rainey (bass on A2/A3/A5), Ralf Richardson (steel pan on A4), Joe Rinsetti (string arrangements on A2), Jean Russell (Moog solo on A2), David Sheilds (bass on A1/A2), Alan Spenner (bass), Julia Tillman Waters (background vocals on A1/A3/A5), Maxine Willard Waters (background vocals on A1/A3/A5), Steve Winwood (lead guitar solo on A5). Produced by Jim Capaldi except A1/A2/A3/A5 produced by Peter Sullivan; recording engineered by Matt Hyde, string overdubs engineered by John Kelly, re-mix engineered by Frank Owen.
The Plastic
Released on elpee, cassette and 8-track in 1978 in the US and Canada (RSO, RS/CT/8T-1-3037).
- Re-packaged w. Electric Nights on 2-for-1 compact disc in Canada (RSO, RSO-1-3050/57).
