Tower of Power (album)

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Tower of Power
Toptop.jpg
Studio album by
Tower of Power
ReleasedMay 1973
Recorded1973
Studio Wally Heider (San Francisco)
Genre Soul, [1] funk, [1] [2] jazz-funk [1] [2]
Length39:56
Label Warner Bros.
Producer Tower of Power
Tower of Power chronology
Bump City
(1972)		Tower of Power
(1973)		 Back to Oakland
(1974)

Tower of Power is the third studio album by American soul and funk band Tower of Power. Released in May 1973 by Warner Bros. Records, the album peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard Top LPs chart in 1973.

Contents

Background

Tower of Power marked the debut of Lenny Williams being the lead vocalist (though Williams had a solo career prior to joining T.O.P., plus he co-penned the song "You Strike My Main Nerve" from the previous album Bump City ). Tower of Power was also the first Tower of Power album to feature future Saturday Night Live band leader Lenny Pickett, who was the youngest member of the band at the time, replacing original lead sax player Skip Mesquite. Also joining the lineup were organist/keyboardist Chester Thompson and guitarist Bruce Conte, who replaced original guitarist Willie James Fulton. Some tracks for the album, such as "What is Hip" were recorded at Wally Heider Studios in San Francisco, California in 1973. [1] [2]

Release

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [3]
Christgau's Record Guide B [4]

Tower of Power was released in May 1973 by Warner Bros. Records. [5] The album peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard Top LPs chart in 1973 and received a gold record award for sales in excess of 500,000. [6] The album spawned their most successful single, "So Very Hard to Go" which peaked at No. 17 during the week of July 28, 1973 on the Billboard Hot 100. [7] Two other singles from the album also charted on the Billboard Hot 100: "This Time It's Real" and "What Is Hip?". [7]

Track listing

All songs written by Emilio Castillo and Stephen "Doc" Kupka except when noted.

  1. "What Is Hip?" (Castillo, Kupka, David Garibaldi) − 5:08
  2. "Clever Girl" (Castillo, Kupka, Willie Fulton) − 2:56
  3. "This Time It's Real" (David Bartlett, Castillo, Kupka) − 2:54
  4. "Will I Ever Find a Love?" − 3:51
  5. "Get Yo' Feet Back on the Ground" (Fulton) − 4:52
  6. "So Very Hard to Go" − 3:41
  7. "Soul Vaccination" − 5:13
  8. "Both Sorry Over Nothin'" (Castillo, Kupka, Lenny Williams) − 3:25
  9. "Clean Slate" (Castillo, Kupka, Fulton) − 3:22
  10. "Just Another Day" (Bruce Conte) − 4:34

Personnel

Tower of Power

Additional musicians

Production

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Droney, Maureen (January 11, 2004). "Classic Tracks: Tower of Power's "What Is Hip"". MixOnline.com . Retrieved August 16, 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 Payne 2006, p. 216.
  3. ↑ Ron Wynn. "Tower of Power - Tower of Power - Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
  4. ↑ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: T". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies . Ticknor & Fields. ISBN   089919026X . Retrieved March 16, 2019– via robertchristgau.com.
  5. ↑ "Tower of Power (Advertisement)". Billboard . Billboard Publications, Inc. May 26, 1973. pp. 1, 52.
  6. ↑ Whitburn 1996, p. 789.
  7. 1 2 Whitburn 2003, p. 719.

Sources

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