No Frills | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | August 1, 1983 | |||
Recorded | 1983 | |||
Studio |
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Genre | Pop, rock | |||
Length | 38:08 | |||
Label | Atlantic | |||
Producer | Chuck Plotkin | |||
Bette Midler chronology | ||||
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Singles from No Frills | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Robert Christgau | B− [2] |
Q | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
No Frills is the sixth studio album by American singer Bette Midler, released on Atlantic Records in 1983. No Frills was Midler's first studio album in four years, following the films The Rose , Divine Madness! and Jinxed! . The rock and new wave-influenced album was produced by Chuck Plotkin, best known for his work with Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen, and included three single releases; the ballad "All I Need to Know", a cover of Marshall Crenshaw's "You're My Favorite Waste of Time" and Midler's take on the Rolling Stones song "Beast of Burden".
While No Frills became Midler's second lowest-charting album in the US, peaking at #60 on Billboard (her 1979 disco album Thighs and Whispers charted at #65), it became her best-selling studio album to date in both continental Europe and Scandinavia; in West Germany it reached #15, in the Netherlands #10, in Norway #2 and in Sweden No Frills hit No. 1, outselling the Rose soundtrack.
"Beast of Burden" was a top 10 single in many parts of Europe. The promo video for the song, made during the early MTV era, featured Mick Jagger in a cameo role playing Midler's boyfriend. The soundtrack to the video including the spoken dialogue (with Midler famously telling Jagger "Just stay long enough to hear me sing your song; I sing it better than anybody"; Jagger then replies: "Well almost anybody....") was released on the B-side of the 12" single in Europe. In September 1984, the video was nominated for three MTV Video Music Awards for Best Female Video, Best Choreography, and Best Stage Performance Video.
Midler originally intended to include a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Pink Cadillac" on the album instead of "Beast of Burden", but was blocked from releasing it by Springsteen himself, who said it wasn't a "girl's song". She hastily recorded the Rolling Stones cover to fill its place. However, she performed "Pink Cadillac" on her 1983 tour to promote the album.
When Midler's greatest hits compilation Experience the Divine was released in 1993, only one song from No Frills was included, "Only in Miami", an album track never released as a single in either the US or Europe. A second edition of the compilation with a revised track list, released in 1996, added both "Beast of Burden" and "Favorite Waste of Time".
No Frills was released on CD for the first time in 1983. A remastered version of the album was released by Atlantic Records/Warner Music in 1995.
Side A
Side B
Studios
Chart (1983) | Peak position |
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Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [5] | 43 |
Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [6] | 71 |
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [7] | 41 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [8] | 46 |
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [9] | 3 |
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [10] | 1 |
US Billboard 200 [11] | 60 |
US Top 100 Albums ( Cash Box ) [12] | 33 |
She's the Boss is the debut solo album by English singer Mick Jagger, released on 19 February 1985 in the US and 4 March 1985 in the UK.
"Beast of Burden" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, featured on their 1978 album Some Girls. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked the song No. 435 on their list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
Here Comes the Night is the ninth studio album by singer-songwriter Barry Manilow, released in 1982 by Arista Records. The United Kingdom release went by the title I Wanna Do It With You. It received a Gold certification from the RIAA. The album was recorded at Sound City Recording Studios in Van Nuys, California.
Bette Midler is the second studio album by American singer Bette Midler, released in 1973 on the Atlantic Records label. Produced by Arif Mardin and Barry Manilow, Bette Midler includes Midler's interpretations of Johnny Mercer and Hoagy Carmichael's "Skylark", Berthold Brecht and Kurt Weill's "Surabaya Johnny", Bob Dylan's "I Shall Be Released" and Glenn Miller's "In the Mood" as well as a Phil Spector medley.
Songs for the New Depression is the third studio album by the American singer Bette Midler, released in early 1976 on the Atlantic Records label. The album was released on CD for the first time in 1990. A remastered version of the album was released by Atlantic Records/Warner Music in 1995. A limited edition remastered version of the album was released by Friday Music in 2014.
Thighs and Whispers is the fifth studio album by American singer Bette Midler. Released in 1979, the album reached No. 65 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart.
The Rose is the soundtrack to the feature film of the same name starring Bette Midler, released in 1979.
Divine Madness is an album by American singer Bette Midler and the Harlettes, released in 1980. It is a live recording taken from Midler's Divine Madness concert film, released the same year. The album, however, does not contain any of Midler's comedy routines and features only her musical performances from the show and it in fact only provides half of the songs that appear in the film. The original live recordings were also to a large extent edited and re-recorded in the studio for the soundtrack album.
Some People's Lives is the seventh studio album by American singer Bette Midler. It was released by Atlantic Records on September 4, 1990, in the United States. It contains one of her biggest hits, "From a Distance," which won songwriter Julie Gold a Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1991.
For the Boys: Music from the Motion Picture is the soundtrack to the feature film of the same name starring Bette Midler and James Caan, released on the Atlantic Records label in 1991.
Experience the Divine: Greatest Hits is a compilation album by American singer Bette Midler, featuring many of her best-known songs. The fourteen track compilation was released on Atlantic Records in 1993.
Bette of Roses is the eighth studio album by the American singer Bette Midler. It was released by Atlantic Records on July 18, 1995, in the United States. The title was a play on the title of one of the tracks, "Bed of Roses". It became Midler's final album for the label, twenty-three years after the release of her debut album The Divine Miss M, since she was transferred to Atlantic's sister label Warner Bros. Records for her next two albums, then left the Warner group completely in 2002 when she signed with the Sony-owned Columbia Records.
Bathhouse Betty is the ninth studio album by the American singer Bette Midler, released in 1998. Bathhouse Betty was Midler's debut album for Warner Bros. Records, after having parted ways with sister label Atlantic Records in 1995 following the moderate commercial success of her later-platinum certified album Bette of Roses. Bathhouse Betty was certified Gold by the RIAA and spawned the Billboard Dance Club chart topper "I'm Beautiful".
Contact is the eleventh studio album by the American vocal group The Pointer Sisters, released in 1985 by RCA Records.
"Pink Cadillac" is a song by Bruce Springsteen released as the non-album B-side of "Dancing in the Dark" in 1984. The song received much airplay worldwide and appeared on the Billboard Top Tracks chart for 14 weeks, peaking at No. 27. The song was also a prominent concert number during Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A. Tour.
Ross is the fourteenth studio album by American R&B singer Diana Ross, released on June 9, 1983, by RCA Records. It was Ross' third of six albums released by the label during the decade. It was released shortly before Ross gave a pair of free concerts in New York's Central Park. The album peaked at No. 32 on the US charts, No. 14 on the US R&B charts and No. 44 in the UK. The album's highest international chart position was in Sweden, where it reached No. 7.
Beaches: Original Soundtrack Recording is the soundtrack to the Academy Award-nominated 1988 film starring Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey. Midler performs most of the tracks on the album, released on the Atlantic Records label. The album also reunited her with producer Arif Mardin. It features one of Midler's best-known songs, the ballad "Wind Beneath My Wings", which was a number-one hit.
Just Hits is a compilation album by American singer Bette Midler, released on the Atlantic Records label in Australia and New Zealand in 1987. The album was the third greatest hits compilation with Midler to be released in Australia, following 1978's The Best of Bette and a second release with the same title on the K-tel label in 1981.
Good to Be Back is the twelfth studio album by American singer Natalie Cole. Released in April 1989 by EMI USA, it contains the hit singles "Miss You Like Crazy" and "I Do".
Mathematics is the twelfth studio album by singer-songwriter Melissa Manchester, issued in April 1985.