| Moonshot | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 1972 | |||
| Genre | Rock, art pop | |||
| Length | 32:02 | |||
| Label | Vanguard | |||
| Producer | Norbert Putnam, Buffy Sainte-Marie | |||
| Buffy Sainte-Marie chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Moonshot | ||||
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Moonshot is a studio album by American singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie, released in 1972 by Vanguard Records. [1]
After the very modest success of her previous album She Used to Wanna Be a Ballerina , Vanguard again teamed Sainte-Marie with renowned pop session musicians in its effort to improve sales and the amount of money she was making for the label. Most notable among those performing on Moonshot are the Memphis Horns, whilst production was by Buffy herself with Neon Philharmonic bass player Norbert Putnam, who had produced Joan Baez' last Vanguard release Blessed Are... and was to produce Buffy's next two albums as well.[ citation needed ]
Although the album itself fared little better commercially than its predecessor, only spending seven weeks on the Billboard Top 200, an extensive promotional campaign by Vanguard and extensive AM radio airplay saw the closing track, a cover of Mickey Newbury's "Mister Can't You See", become Sainte-Marie's sole significant commercial success in the States, spending two weeks in the lower reaches of the Top 40 in late April and early May 1972. However, Sainte-Marie was very upset with Vanguard's extensive promotion of the single and this was one reason why she only recorded one more album for the label before moving to MCA in 1973.[ citation needed ]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [2] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | B− [3] |
| Creem | B [4] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [5] |
| Uncut | [6] |
According to Robert Christgau, "those who love or even respect [Saint-Marie were] dismayed" by Moonshot. [3] Reviewing in May 1972 for The San Diego Door , Cameron Crowe derided the album as the singer's "most embarrassing to date" and a victim of overproduction in the music industry. He was particularly critical of the music's use of electric solo breaks and the Memphis Horns to emphasize the lyrics. [7] Janet Maslin was more enthusiastic about the record in Rolling Stone , applauding Sainte-Marie's stylistic range and refashioning of her vocals to suit the music's varied moods. "What's best about Moonshot", Maslin believed, "is that, considering the kind of experimental stylistic departure it represents, it nonetheless bears such a strongly personal stamp." [8] Ramparts magazine found the song selection effectively diverse, the music powerful, and Saint-Marie "capable of writing lines that jump out of a loudspeaker and grab the listener by the mind". [9]
Christgau was less impressed by her "unique attempt at a rock record" when he first reviewed it for Creem , [4] but later said she had finally done "something overtly perverse—come out of Nashville with what sounds in its most interesting moments like an art-pop record (with politics, of course)", and encouraged her to expand upon its musical experimentation. [3] In another retrospective review, AllMusic's William Ruhlmann wrote that Moonshot was "not the Buffy Sainte-Marie of her early political period, but the album demonstrates her versatility, and it works as an appealing pop effort." [2] Exclaim! journalist Andrea Warner recommended the record in her "essential guide" to the singer's music, writing that it is "filled with all sorts of era-specific flourishes, yet also feels timeless". [10] Paul Evans was more critical in The Rolling Stone Album Guide (1992), regarding it as "her slightest record". [5]
All songs composed by Buffy Sainte-Marie except where noted.
Billboard (North America)
| Year | Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Pop Albums | 134 |
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | "Mister Can't You See" | Billboard Pop Singles | 38 |
| 1972 | "He's an Indian Cowboy in the Rodeo" | Billboard Pop Singles | 98 |
Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen. It was produced by Mike Appel and Jim Cretecos from June through October 1972 at the budget-priced 914 Sound Studios. The album was released January 5, 1973, by Columbia Records to average sales but positive critical reviews.
For Everyman is the second album by American singer-songwriter Jackson Browne, released in 1973. The album peaked at number 43 on the Billboard 200 chart and the single "Redneck Friend" reached number 85 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In 2012, the album was ranked number 450 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
Dusty in Memphis is the fifth studio album by English singer Dusty Springfield. Initial sessions were recorded at American Sound Studio in Memphis, while Springfield's final vocals and the album's orchestral parts were recorded at Atlantic Records' New York City studios. The album was released in March 1969 in the United States by Atlantic Records, and Philips Records distributed the record outside the U.S. Springfield worked on the album with a team of musicians and producers that included Jerry Wexler, Arif Mardin, Tom Dowd, conductor Gene Orloff, backing vocalists the Sweet Inspirations, bassist Tommy Cogbill, and guitarist Reggie Young.
Music of My Mind is the fourteenth studio album by American soul musician Stevie Wonder. It was released on March 3, 1972, by Tamla Records, and was Wonder's first to be recorded under a new contract with Motown that allowed him full artistic control over his music. For the album, Wonder recruited electronic music pioneers Malcolm Cecil and Robert Margouleff as associate producers, employing their custom TONTO synthesizer on several tracks. The album hit No. # 21 in the Billboard LP charts, and critics found it representative of Wonder's artistic growth, and it is generally considered by modern critics to be the first album of Wonder's classic period.
The Adventures of Panama Red is the fourth country rock album by the New Riders of the Purple Sage, released in 1973. It is widely regarded as one of the group's best efforts, and reached number 55 on the Billboard charts.
Come from the Shadows is the thirteenth studio album by Joan Baez, released in 1972. After recording for the independent label Vanguard for more than a decade, Baez signed with A&M, and attempted to point her career in a slightly more "commercial" direction. In addition to her own compositions such as "Prison Trilogy","Love Song to a Stranger", "Myths", and "To Bobby", Baez included John Lennon's "Imagine", Anna Marly's "Song of the Partisan", and Mimi Fariña's "In the Quiet Morning ".
The World Is a Ghetto is the fifth album by American band War, released in late 1972 on United Artists Records. The album attained the number one spot on Billboard, and was Billboard magazine's Album of the Year as the best-selling album of 1973. In addition to being Billboard's #1 album of 1973, the album was ranked number 444 on Rolling Stone magazine's original list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. The title track became a gold record.
No Secrets is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon, released by Elektra Records on November 28, 1972.
Hotcakes is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon, released by Elektra Records, on January 11, 1974. Featuring the major hits "Haven't Got Time for the Pain" and "Mockingbird", the latter a duet with her then-husband James Taylor, Hotcakes became one of Simon's biggest selling albums. Her first concept album, the autobiographical songs portray Simon happily married and beginning a family.
Boys in the Trees is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon, released by Elektra Records, in April 1978.
In Concert is a live album by Janis Joplin. It was released in 1972, after Joplin's death, as a double-LP record. The first record contains performances with Big Brother and the Holding Company and the second with the Full Tilt Boogie Band, recorded at various locations in 1968 and 1970. The album lacks any live recordings with her first solo effort with the Kozmic Blues band though songs that had been produced with that band were performed in the recordings of the Full Tilt Boogie Band. The photographs used for the gatefold album were taken by photographer David Gahr in New York City in 1969 and 1970.
Little Wheel Spin and Spin is the third album by Buffy Sainte-Marie, released in 1966. It was her only album to reach the Top 100 of the Billboard 200. Its most famous song is "My Country 'Tis of Thy People You're Dying," which displayed a native perspective on the colonisation of North America.
She Used to Wanna Be a Ballerina is the seventh album by Buffy Sainte-Marie, released in 1971.
Quiet Places is Buffy Sainte-Marie's ninth album and her last for Vanguard Records, with whom she had had a very strained relationship ever since the financial disaster of the experimental Illuminations. In fact, her next album, Buffy, had already been recorded before Quiet Places was actually released and was not to find a label for many months after she had completely broken with Vanguard.
Buffy is the tenth album by Buffy Sainte-Marie and her first after leaving Vanguard Records, with whom her relationship had been strained for several albums.
"Mister Can't You See" is a song written by Mickey Newbury and Townes Van Zandt that first appeared on Newbury's 1968 debut album Harlequin Melodies. Newbury's original version was slow and dominated by strings and a very simple drumbeat, with his voice telling a tale of nature's power and beauty. The actual title of the song comes from the line "can't you see the river flowing".
"Cod'ine" is a contemporary folk song by singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie. Considered one of the earliest anti-drug songs, Sainte-Marie wrote the piece after becoming addicted to codeine which she had been given for a bronchial infection. She recorded it for her debut album, It's My Way! (1964).
Introducing the Eleventh House with Larry Coryell is the debut album by The Eleventh House, released in 1974 by Vanguard Records.
Icarus is the fourth album by American musical group Paul Winter Consort. It was recorded in 1971 for the Epic Records label and released in 1972. It was re-released by Epic in 1978 and by Living Music in 1984. The album was produced by George Martin.
Jackie is an album by American pop singer and songwriter Jackie DeShannon, released in 1972 by Atlantic Records. It was recorded in Memphis with producers Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd and Arif Mardin.
