Men Without Women (album)

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Men Without Women
Studio album by Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul
Released	1982
Recorded	???
Genre	Rock
Length	42:32
Label	Capitol Records
Producer	Little Steven
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Robert Christgau (B-) link
Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul chronology
Men Without Women (1982) Voice of America (1984)

Men Without Women is a 1982 album by Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul and represented Jersey Shore sound fixture Steven Van Zandt's first try as a frontman.

Contents 1 History 2 Track listing 3 Personnel 3.1 Additional personnel 4 Charts 4.1 Album 4.2 Singles

[edit] History

The album is heavily influenced by Stax/Volt soul music, and its five-piece horn section arrangmenets owe a lot to Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes (of which Van Zandt was a former member and producer, and whose horn section the Disciples used). The songs were loosely inspired by Ernest Hemingway's short story collection Men Without Women. Other inspirations included the white soul of The Young Rascals (two of whose former members were Disciples) and, per writer Dave Marsh, the intentionally ragged vocal stylings of The Rolling Stones' Exile on Main Street. Critical reception of Men Without Women was quite positive, but commercial success was modest at best.

As a single, "Forever" spent nine weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #63. The album did little better, reaching only #118 on the Billboard 200.

A music video for Forever was made and played in heavy rotation on early MTV. Van Zandt also produced a long-form film using the entire album as the soundtrack. The film "Men Without Women" was directed by Derek Burbidge with camera credits by Kate Humphries, Martin Pitts, John Simmons, and John Rosenberg. The film was distributed by EMI, and shown very briefly only in theaters in Los Angeles even though the LA Times music critic, Robert Hilburn gave it rave reviews.

[edit] Track listing

All songs written by Little Steven.

1. "Lyin' in a Bed of Fire" – 4:34
2. "Inside of Me" – 5:07
3. "Until the Good Is Gone" – 3:54
4. "Men Without Women" – 2:43
5. "Under the Gun" – 4:01
6. "Save Me" – 4:50
7. "Princess of Little Italy" – 5:09
8. "Angel Eyes" – 4:31
9. "Forever" – 4:00
10. "I've Been Waiting" – 3:54

[edit] Personnel

• Little Steven – guitar, vocals
• Dino Danelli – drums
• Jean Beauvoir – bass, backing vocals
• Felix Cavaliere – piano, organ
• Richie "La Bamba" Rosenberg – trombone, backing vocals

[edit] Additional personnel

• Ed Manion – baritone saxophone
• Stan Harrison – tenor saxophone, flute
• Mike Spengler – trumpet
• Mark Pender – trumpet
• Max Weinberg – drums
• Garry Tallent – bass
• Danny Federici – organ, accordion
• Kevin Kavanaugh – piano
• Rusty Cloud – piano
• Monti Louis Ellison – percussion
• Zoë Yanakis – oboe
• Gary U.S. Bonds – backing vocals
• J.T. Bowen – backing vocals
• Clarence Clemons – backing vocals

[edit] Charts

[edit] Album

Year	Chart	Position
1982	U.S. Billboard 200	118

[edit] Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1982	"Forever"	U.S. Billboard Hot 100	63