Risqué (album)

Risqué is the third studio album by American disco band Chic, released on Atlantic Records on July 30, 1979. One of the records that defined the disco era,^[3] the album became highly influential not only within the movement, but also in other styles such as hip hop, art rock and new wave.^[4] In 2020, Rolling Stone ranked the album at number 414 on their list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.^[5]

Risqué
Studio album by Chic
Released	July 30, 1979
Recorded	1979
Studio	Power Station, New York City
Genre	Disco soul funk
Length	36:46
Label	Atlantic
Producer	Nile Rodgers Bernard Edwards
Chic chronology
C'est Chic (1978) Risqué (1979) Les Plus Grands Succès De Chic: Chic's Greatest Hits (1979)
Singles from Risqué
"Good Times" Released: June 1979 [1] "My Forbidden Lover" Released: September 1979 "My Feet Keep Dancing" Released: December 1979 [2]

Release

Risqué includes three classic Chic hits; "Good Times" (#1 US Pop, #1 US R&B June 23, 1979, #5 UK), "My Forbidden Lover" (#33 US R&B, #43 US Pop October 13, 1979, #15 UK) and "My Feet Keep Dancing" (#42 US R&B, #101 US Pop December 8, 1979, #21 UK). Risqué reached #5 on the US albums chart and #2 on the US R&B chart. It has been certified Platinum by the RIAA for sales over 1 million copies. It peaked at #29 in the UK and was certified Silver by the BPI.

Risqué was released on compact disc by Atlantic Records/Warner Music in 1991 (catalogue number 7567-80406-2). The album was digitally remastered and re-issued by Warner Music Japan in 2011.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
Christgau's Record Guide	A−[6]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[7]
Mojo	[8]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide	[9]
Pitchfork	9.4/10[10]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[11]
Smash Hits	8½/10[12]
Sounds	[13]
Spin Alternative Record Guide	9/10[14]

Risqué received widespread critical acclaim for its lyrics and tone. The Bay State Banner wrote that "one hears lyrics that are sometimes almost indictments and other times reflective... The beat is more aggressive, the sound tougher and the vocals—while still repetitive and delivered flatly—are arranged and produced so that they demand attention and focus in quickly on a song's sentiments."^[15]

In a review for BBC, Daryl Easlea called the album "one of the greatest exhibits in the case for disco's defence," and saying that it was "Chic's most sustained artistic statement, a celebration of a 70s that was collapsing under its own excess and hedonism."^[16]

Legacy

"Good Times" has been extensively sampled in other artists' works, most notably in the first top 40 rap single, "Rapper's Delight" by Sugarhill Gang, that same year. "Will You Cry" was sampled in "Just a Moment" by Nas from the 2004 album Street's Disciple.

Accolades

Publication	Country	Accolade	Year	Rank
Blender	United States	The 100 Greatest American Albums of All time[17]	2008	36
Dave Marsh and Kevin Stein		The 40 Best of Album Chartmakers by Year [citation needed]	1981	7
Robert Dimery		1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die[18]	2005	*
Rolling Stone		The Essential 200 Rock Records[citation needed]	1997	*
		The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time[19]	2020	414
Tom Moon		1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die[citation needed]	2008	*
The Guardian	United Kingdom	Alternative Top 100[20]	1999	34
		1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die[21]	2007	*
		My Favourite Album Series[22]	2011	*
		Guardian Writers' Favourite Albums Ever[23]	2013	*
Mojo		Mojo 1000, the Ultimate CD Buyers Guide[citation needed]	2001	*
		The Mojo Collection[24]	2003	*
Paul Morley		Words and Music, 5 x 100 Greatest Albums of All Time[citation needed]	2003	*
NME		Albums of the Year[25]	2016	23
		NME's The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time[26]	2013	208
Q		The 50 Best Albums of the 70s[citation needed]	1998	45
The Rough Guide		Soul: 100 Essential CDs[27]	2000	*
Gilles Verlant	France	300+ Best Albums in the History of Rock[citation needed]	2013	*
Les Inrockuptibles		50 Years of Rock'n'Roll[citation needed]	2004	*
Philippe Manœuvre		100 Necessary Albums[citation needed]	2014	*
Rock & Folk		The 300 Best Albums from 1965-1995[citation needed]	1995	*
		The Best Albums from 1963 to 1999[citation needed]	1999	*
		555 Albums from 1954-2014[citation needed]	2014	*
Télérama		The Best Albums of All Time[citation needed]	1993	*
(*) designates lists that are unordered.

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Good Times"	8:08
2.	"A Warm Summer Night"	6:10
3.	"My Feet Keep Dancing"	6:38

All tracks are written by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers

Side two

No.	Title	Length
4.	"My Forbidden Lover"	4:39
5.	"Can't Stand to Love You"	2:56
6.	"Will You Cry (When You Hear This Song)"	4:06
7.	"What About Me?"	4:09

Personnel

• Alfa Anderson – lead vocals (1, 4, 6, 7)
• Luci Martin – lead vocals (1, 3, 4, 5)
• Fonzi Thornton – vocals
• Michelle Cobbs – backing vocals
• Ullanda McCullough – backing vocals
• Raymond Jones – keyboards
• Robert Sabino – keyboards
• Andrew Barrett (Schwartz) – piano
• Nile Rodgers – guitars, vocals
• Bernard Edwards – bass guitar, lead vocals (3)
• Tony Thompson – drums
• Sammy Figueroa – percussion
• Jean Fineberg – saxophones
• Alex Foster – saxophones
• Barry Rogers – trombone
• Jon Faddis – trumpet
• Ellen Seeling – trumpet
• The Chic Strings:
  • Valerie Heywood – strings
  • Cheryl Hong – strings
  • Karen Karlsrud – strings
  • Karen Milne – strings
• Gene Orloff – concertmaster

Tap Dancers on "My Feet Keep Dancing"

• Eugene Jackson
• Fayard Nicholas
• Sammy Warren

Production

• Bernard Edwards – producer for Chic Organization Ltd., arrangements and conductor
• Nile Rodgers – producer for Chic Organization Ltd., arrangements and conductor
• Bob Clearmountain – sound engineer
• Jim Galante – assistant engineer
• Jeff Hendrickson – assistant engineer
• Peter Robbins – assistant engineer
• Jackson Schwartz – assistant engineer
• Raymond Willard – assistant engineer
• Dennis King – mastering
• Carin Goldberg – art direction
• Ken Ambrose – photography
• All songs recorded and mixed at The Power Station (New York, NY)
• Additional recording at Electric Lady Studios (New York, NY) and Kendun Recorders (Burbank, CA)
• Mastered at Atlantic Studios (New York, NY)

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[28]	Silver	60,000^
United States (RIAA)[29]	Platinum	1,000,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Hung, Steffen. "Chic - Good Times". Hitparade.ch. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
2. Hung, Steffen. "Chic - My Feet Keep Dancing". Hitparade.ch. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
3. Hamsley, David (2015). To Disco, with Love: The Records That Defined an Era. Flatiron Books. p. 285. ISBN 978-1250068453.
4. Henderson, Alex. "Risqué – Chic". AllMusic. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
5. "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. September 22, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
6. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Chic: Risque". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor and Fields. ISBN 0-89919-026-X. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
7. Larkin, Colin (2011). "Chic". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
8. Brown, Geoff (October 2018). "Three Cheers!". Mojo. No. 299. p. 39.
9. MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1996. p. 137.
10. Beta, Andy (December 12, 2018). "Chic / Sister Sledge: The Chic Organization 1977–1979". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
11. Sisario, Ben (2004). "Chic". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 161. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
12. Starr, Red (September 6–19, 1979). "Albums". Smash Hits. Vol. 1, no. 20. p. 25.
13. Silverton, Peter (August 11, 1979). "Chic: Risqué (Atlantic K50634)". Sounds. Retrieved October 27, 2020 – via Rock's Backpages.
14. Walters, Barry (1995). "Chic". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 81–82. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
15. Lane, George (30 Aug 1979). "Shades of Blue". Bay State Banner. No. 47. p. 21.
16. Easlea, Daryl (2011). "Review of Chic - Risqué". BBC. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
17. "100 Greatest American Albums of All Time". Blender. 2008. Archived from the original on 19 October 2008.
18. Dimery, Robert, ed. (2005). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. London: Cassell Illustrated. p. 434. OL 27874280M.
19. "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. 22 September 2020.
20. "The alternative top 100 from 11-40 | Special reports | guardian.co.uk". The Guardian. 29 January 1999. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
21. "1000 albums to hear before you die: Artists beginning with C (part 1)". The Guardian. 17 November 2007. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
22. Lester, Paul (26 September 2011). "My favourite album: Risqué by Chic". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
23. Hann, Michael (24 October 2013). "What's the difference between best and favourite albums?". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
24. Irvin, Jim; McLear, Colin, eds. (2003). The Mojo Collection: The Ultimate Music Companion. Edinburgh: Canongate. p. 425. OL 22549451M.
25. "NME's best albums and tracks of 1979". NME. 10 October 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
26. Barker, Emily (24 October 2013). "The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time: 300-201". NME. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
27. Shapiro, Peter (2000). Soul: 100 Essential CDs. London: Rough Guides. pp. 27–28. OL 9003655M.
28. "British album certifications – Chic – Risque". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
29. "American album certifications – Chic – Risque". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 17, 2019.

External links

• Risqué (Adobe Flash) at Radio3Net (streamed copy where licensed)