| Sweet Replies | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 1971 | |||
| Genre | R&B, soul, funk | |||
| Length | 36:04 | |||
| Label | Hot Wax HA-706 | |||
| Producer | Ronald Dunbar, George Perry, William Weatherspoon. | |||
| Honey Cone chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Soulful Tapestry | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | B+ [2] |
Sweet Replies is the second studio album by American R&B/Soul/Funk Girl group the Honey Cone. It was released by Hot Wax/Invictus Records in 1971 (see 1971 in music).
Although the album was no major commercial success, it contained two songs that would later become hits within a year after the release of Sweet Replies. The number one smash "Want Ads" makes its first appearance on this album (it later appears on the follow-up to Sweet Replies, Soulful Tapestry along with "The Day I Found Myself" (a top 30 hit in 1972).
When this album was released, it was a moderate success, but with the release and eventual success of "Want Ads," as with many releases during this time, a new album was released featuring an extended mix of the track along with a longer version of "The Day I Found Myself." Soulful Tapestry would outsell Sweet Replies with the clever use of such strategic marketing.
Highlights on the album include; "Are You Man Enough, Are You Strong Enough" - a song where the female protagonist asks her man if he's willing to raise the child of another man, "The Day I Found Myself" - is, in classic Honey Cone fashion, a kiss off to an unappreciative man. The song tells the story of a woman who found herself after leaving him. "Are You Man Enough, Are You Strong Enough" makes its second appearance on this album as it was previously included in the previous year's release Take Me with You .
All of the songs from Sweet Replies can be found on Honey Cone's Soulful Sugar: The Complete Hot Wax Recordings (2001, Castle Music UK).
Reviews for Sweet Replies have been positive. Village Voice critic Robert Christgau said "most of this is pure Vandellas." He also stated that the producer "uses every H-D-H [Holland-Dozier-Holland] trick and comes up with a few electronic effects of his own". [2] In a retrospective review, Andrew Hamilton of Allmusic stated that ""Want Ads" propels this twelve-song assortment". He called "The Day I Found Myself" a "beautiful piano-driven declaration".
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Want Ads" | General Johnson, Greg Perry, Barney Perkins | 2:45 |
| 2. | "You Made Me Come to You" | William Weatherspoon, Raynard Miner | 2:25 |
| 3. | "Blessed Be Our Love" | General Johnson, Greg Perry | 2:56 |
| 4. | "Are You Man Enough, Are You Strong Enough" | Ronald Dunbar, Edyth Wayne | 3:15 |
| 5. | "When Will It End" | Ronald Dunbar, Edyth Wayne | 2:52 |
| 6. | "The Feeling's Gone" | Ronald Dunbar, Edyth Wayne | 2:51 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7. | "Sunday Morning People" | Ronald Dunbar, Edyth Wayne | 2:40 |
| 8. | "Deaf, Blind, Paralyzed" | William Weatherspoon, Raynard Miner | 3:03 |
| 9. | "Take Me with You" | Ronald Dunbar, Edyth Wayne | 2:59 |
| 10. | "My Mind's on Leaving, But My Heart Won't Let Me Go" | Ronald Dunbar, Edyth Wayne, General Johnson | 2:56 |
| 11. | "We Belong Together" | General Johnson, Greg Perry, Ronald Dunbar | 3:09 |
| 12. | "The Day I Found Myself" | Ronald Dunbar, Edyth Wayne | 3:13 |
Gary Ronnie Stewart was an American musician and songwriter, known for his distinctive vibrato voice and his outlaw country sound influenced by southern rock. At the height of his popularity in the mid-1970s, Time magazine described him as the "king of honkytonk." He had a series of country chart hits from the mid- to late 1970s, the biggest of which was "She's Actin' Single ", which topped the U.S. country singles chart in 1975.
Tupelo Honey is the fifth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released in October 1971 by Warner Bros. Records. Morrison had written all of the songs on the album in Woodstock, New York, before his move to Marin County, California, except for "You're My Woman", which he wrote during the recording sessions. Recording began at the beginning of the second quarter of 1971 at Wally Heider Studios in San Francisco. Morrison moved to the Columbia Studios in May 1971 to complete the album.
Soulful is the twelfth album by Dionne Warwick. Released in 1969 on Scepter Records, it was the first of Warwick's Scepter albums that did not directly involve her longtime production and songwriting team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Instead, the album was produced by Warwick and Chips Moman and was composed of covers of soul hits and soul-influenced pop songs.
Tapestry is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Carole King, released in 1971 on Ode Records and produced by Lou Adler. The lead singles from the album—"It's Too Late" and "I Feel the Earth Move"—spent five weeks at number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Easy Listening charts.
Hot Wax Records was a Detroit, Michigan-based record label, created by producers/songwriters Holland–Dozier–Holland in 1968 when they left Motown.
Writer is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Carole King, released in May 1970. King already had a successful career as a songwriter, and been a part of The City, a short-lived group she formed after moving to Los Angeles in 1968. Tracks on the album include "Up on the Roof" which was a number 4 hit for the Drifters in 1962, and "Child of Mine", which has been recorded by Billy Joe Royal, among others. The album did not receive much attention upon its release, though it entered the chart following the success of King's next album, Tapestry, in 1971. It was produced by John Fischbach, the co-founder of Crystal Sound studio where the album was recorded.
Music is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Carole King. The album was released in December 1971.
Honey Cone was an American R&B and soul girl group formed by lead singer Edna Wright with Carolyn Willis and Shelly Clark in 1968. They are best remembered for their number-one Billboard Hot 100 single, "Want Ads". Honey Cone were the premier female group for Hot Wax Records, operated by Holland–Dozier–Holland after they had departed from Motown Records.
Soulful Tapestry is the third studio album by girl group Honey Cone. It was released by Hot Wax/Invictus Records in 1971.
"Want Ads" is a song that was a million-selling #1 pop and R&B hit recorded by female group, Honey Cone for their second album Sweet Replies and also appears on their third album Soulful Tapestry. The song on the Detroit-based Hot Wax label was written by Greg Perry, General Norman Johnson and Barney Perkins. It was produced by staff producer, Greg Perry, and features a young Ray Parker Jr. ("Ghostbusters") on rhythm guitar.
Roy Charles Hammond, better known as Roy C or Roy "C", was an American southern soul singer, songwriter and record executive, best known for his 1965 hit, "Shotgun Wedding". Another song, "Impeach the President", which he recorded and produced with a high school group, the Honey Drippers, has had one of the most sampled drum tracks in hip hop music.
"Lay Away" is a 1972 funk-rock single released by The Isley Brothers on their T-Neck imprint. Released as the first record off their Brother, Brother, Brother album, the song depicted the narrator's description of how his lover's love was so special that he wanted to have for keeps just in case. The song took the riff of Honey Cone's "Want Ads" especially in the bridges. The song was significant for showcasing brother Ernie on lead guitar for the first time on an Isley Brothers record. Written and produced by elder brothers O'Kelly, Rudolph and Ronald, the song charted at number fifty-four pop and number six R&B in the spring of 1972.
Take Me with You is the debut studio album by American R&B girl group the Honey Cone. It was released by Hot Wax/Invictus Records in 1970.
Love, Peace & Soul is the fourth and final studio album by American R&B/Soul/Funk Girl group the Honey Cone. It was released by Hot Wax/Invictus Records in 1972.
"One Monkey Don't Stop No Show" is the title of several different songs, mostly in the R&B genre, deriving from a common African-American phrase with the general meaning of "one setback should not impede progress". The first known recording with this title was by Stick McGhee and His Buddies in 1950. Commercially successful songs with this title were recorded by Joe Tex (1965), Honey Cone (1971) and Little David Wilkins (1975).
"Where You Lead" is a song written in 1970 by Carole King with lyricist Toni Stern, introduced on King's iconic 1971 album Tapestry. A Top 40 hit for Barbra Streisand in both a studio and a live version — the latter in a medley entitled "Sweet Inspiration/ Where You Lead'" — the song has also served as the main theme song for The WB dramedy series Gilmore Girls in a lyrically revised version recorded by King and Louise Goffin.
Sylvester Rivers is an American composer, arranger, pianist and producer, based in Los Angeles, California. A prolific session musician, he has recorded with numerous major artists including Aretha Franklin, Nancy Wilson, Johnny Mathis, Lionel Richie, Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson, The Temptations, Kenny Rogers, Village People, Deniece Williams, Ray Parker Jr., Marc Bolan, Shalamar, New Edition, Billy Preston, The Sylvers, Earl Klugh, Maxine Nightingale, Gloria Gaynor, The 5th Dimension and many others. He arranged many chart hits including the Number 1 Billboard Hot Soul Single, Candi Staton's, "Young Hearts Run Free."
Underclass Hero is the fourth studio album by Canadian rock band Sum 41. It is the first of two albums by the band recorded without guitarist Dave Baksh since he left a year earlier to focus on Brown Brigade. The album was recorded between 2002 and 2003, but the journey to Congo stopped the recordings and they start recording Chuck. In 2006, they returned to finish the recordings of this album. This was recorded as a three piece. The album was first released July 18, 2007 in Japan. It was released under the Island Records label and distributed worldwide by Universal Records, by Aquarius Records. There are no photos of the band inside the liner notes, though the front cover features a monochrome image of vocalist Deryck Whibley spitting in a hallway. In comparison to the heavy metal-inspired punk style of Sum 41's previous album, Chuck, Underclass Hero is where the band return to their famous pop punk style. The album’s lyrical content, while not written as a rock opera, is loosely tied conceptually, with the album’s lyrics focusing on subjects such as politics, religion, family life and the romance between Deryck and Mary-Kate Olsen in 2002.
Edna Wright was an American singer, best known as the lead singer of Honey Cone, the girl group that went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with the song "Want Ads" in 1971. She was the younger sister of singer Darlene Love. Wright sang backup for various artists, including the Righteous Brothers, Ray Charles, and Cher.
Shelly Clark is an American singer, dancer and actress, best known as a founding member of the 1970s R&B girls group, Honey Cone who had the No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hit single, "Want Ads" released in March 1971.
