Breakaway (Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge album)
April 08, 2024
Breakaway is the second duet album by Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge, released in 1974 on Monument Records. It is one of three duet albums by the couple. Unlike Kristofferson solo albums, it features several covers. "I've Got to Have You" and "I'd Rather Be Sorry" had both previously been hits for other artists; they appear here by Kristofferson for the first time.
The couple’s first album, Full Moon, had been a chart topping success, going gold and receiving a Grammy for Best Country Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group for the track "From the Bottle to the Bottom.” However, Kristofferson’s commercial stock had dropped with 1974’s Spooky Lady Sideshow, and Breakaway would not be as successful as the pair’s debut LP, making the country Top 5 but just scraping the bottom of the Billboard Top 100. A&M and Monument agreed to take turns releasing the duo’s LPs, and since it was Monument’s turn, longtime Kristofferson producer Fred Foster was back at the helm, but, as with Full Moon, the emphasis was on an easy listening MOR sound aimed mainly at Rita’s lustrous vocal prowess.[4] Although it was not the hit Full Moon had been, AllMusic’s William Rulhmann opines, “In any case, the album was a worthy successor to Full Moon. The Kristofferson/Coolidge albums were very different from each artist's solo albums, though somewhat closer to Coolidge's because they consisted largely of cover songs and the keys were set to her voice, with Kristofferson singing at the upper edge of his narrow range. This forced him to work harder and sing more, which made him a better vocalist than he usually was on his own albums.”
As on their first LP together, breakaway is mostly populated by covers, as well as a pair of Kristofferson compositions that had been hits for other artists: "I’d Rather Be Sorry,” which was a hit for Ray Price in 1971; and “I’ve Got to Have You,” which charted for Sammi Smith in 1972. The couple also recorded the classic George Jones-Melba Montgomery duet “We Must Have Been Out of Our Minds.” Two singles, “Lover Please” (which would go on to win the 1975 Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group) and the Larry Gatlin-penned “Rain” were minor country hits. Kristofferson biographer Stephen Miller speculates that the tepid reaction to the album “was probably due to there being too much material by Kris and Rita on the market; since the start of the Seventies, aside from the two duet collaborations, they had amassed 10 solo albums between them.”[4]
Martin Katahn, Byron Bach, Brenton Banks, George Binkley III, Marvin Chantry, Sheldon Kurland, Martha McCrory, Pamela Sixfin, Gary Van Osdale, Stephanie Woolf - strings
^"Rita Coolidge Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
^"Kris Kristofferson Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
April 08, 2024
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Breakaway is the second duet album by Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge released in 1974 on Monument Records It is one of three duet albums by the couple Unlike Kristofferson solo albums it features several covers I ve Got to Have You and I d Rather Be Sorry had both previously been hits for other artists they appear here by Kristofferson for the first time BreakawayStudio album by Kris Kristofferson and Rita CoolidgeReleasedDecember 1974GenreCountryLength34 41LabelMonumentProducerFred FosterKris Kristofferson chronologySpooky Lady s Sideshow 1974 Breakaway 1974 Who s to Bless and Who s to Blame 1975 Rita Coolidge chronologyFall into Spring 1974 Breakaway 1974 It s Only Love 1975 Professional ratingsReview scoresSourceRatingAllmusic 1 Christgau s Record GuideB 2 The Village VoiceB 3 Contents 1 Recording 2 Track listing 3 Personnel 4 Charts 5 ReferencesRecording editThe couple s first album Full Moon had been a chart topping success going gold and receiving a Grammy for Best Country Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group for the track From the Bottle to the Bottom However Kristofferson s commercial stock had dropped with 1974 s Spooky Lady Sideshow and Breakaway would not be as successful as the pair s debut LP making the country Top 5 but just scraping the bottom of the Billboard Top 100 A amp M and Monument agreed to take turns releasing the duo s LPs and since it was Monument s turn longtime Kristofferson producer Fred Foster was back at the helm but as with Full Moon the emphasis was on an easy listening MOR sound aimed mainly at Rita s lustrous vocal prowess 4 Although it was not the hit Full Moon had been AllMusic s William Rulhmann opines In any case the album was a worthy successor to Full Moon The Kristofferson Coolidge albums were very different from each artist s solo albums though somewhat closer to Coolidge s because they consisted largely of cover songs and the keys were set to her voice with Kristofferson singing at the upper edge of his narrow range This forced him to work harder and sing more which made him a better vocalist than he usually was on his own albums As on their first LP together breakaway is mostly populated by covers as well as a pair of Kristofferson compositions that had been hits for other artists I d Rather Be Sorry which was a hit for Ray Price in 1971 and I ve Got to Have You which charted for Sammi Smith in 1972 The couple also recorded the classic George Jones Melba Montgomery duet We Must Have Been Out of Our Minds Two singles Lover Please which would go on to win the 1975 Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group and the Larry Gatlin penned Rain were minor country hits Kristofferson biographer Stephen Miller speculates that the tepid reaction to the album was probably due to there being too much material by Kris and Rita on the market since the start of the Seventies aside from the two duet collaborations they had amassed 10 solo albums between them 4 Track listing edit Lover Please Billy Swan 3 03 We Must Have Been Out of Our Minds Melba Montgomery 2 33 Dakota Larry Murray 3 06 What cha Gonna Do Donnie Fritts Jon Reid 2 48 The Things I Might Have Been Robert B Sherman Richard M Sherman 3 09 Slow Down Kristofferson 3 06 Rain Larry Gatlin 3 41 Sweet Susannah Floyd Gib Guilbeau 3 19 I ve Got to Have You Kristofferson 3 31 I d Rather Be Sorry Kristofferson 3 08 Crippled Crow Donna Weiss 3 14Personnel editKris Kristofferson vocals Rita Coolidge vocals Buddy Spicher fiddle Bill Justis string arrangements Billy Swan backing vocals Bobby Wood keyboards Larry Gatlin backing vocals Harrison Calloway horn Chip Young guitar Gene Chrisman drums Johnny Christopher guitar Tommy Cogbill bass Jim Colvard guitar Sammy Creason drums Shane Keister Moog synthesizer Ronnie Eades horn Ray Edenton guitar Bobby Emmons organ Farrell Morris percussion Weldon Myrick steel guitar Charles Rose horn Don Sheffield horn Jerry Shook guitar Harvey Thompson horn Mike Utley keyboards Reggie Young guitar Charlie McCoy harmonica melodica Martin Katahn Byron Bach Brenton Banks George Binkley III Marvin Chantry Sheldon Kurland Martha McCrory Pamela Sixfin Gary Van Osdale Stephanie Woolf stringsCharts editChart performance for Breakaway Chart 1974 75 PeakpositionAustralian Albums Kent Music Report 5 99Canada Top Albums CDs RPM 6 81US Billboard 200 7 103US Top Country Albums Billboard 8 19References edit Ruhlmann William Breakaway at AllMusic Christgau Robert 1981 Consumer Guide 70s K Christgau s Record Guide Rock Albums of the Seventies Ticknor amp Fields ISBN 089919026X Retrieved February 28 2019 via robertchristgau com Christgau Robert March 17 1975 Christgau s Consumer Guide The Village Voice New York Retrieved April 14 2013 a b Miller Stephen 2009 Kristofferson The Wild American Omnibus Press p 130 ISBN 9780857121097 Kent David 1993 Australian Chart Book 1970 1992 illustrated ed St Ives N S W Australian Chart Book p 71 ISBN 0 646 11917 6 Top RPM Albums Issue 3907b RPM Library and Archives Canada Retrieved December 18 2022 Rita Coolidge Chart History Billboard 200 Billboard Retrieved January 12 2020 Kris Kristofferson Chart History Top Country Albums Billboard Retrieved December 18 2022 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Breakaway Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge album amp oldid 1171023867, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
