Breakin' Away (album)
| Breakin' Away | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Al Jarreau | ||||
| Released | June 30, 1981 | |||
| Recorded | 1981 | |||
| Genre | Crossover Jazz, Rhythm and blues, Funk | |||
| Length | 41:07 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Producer | Jay Graydon | |||
| Al Jarreau chronology | ||||
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Breakin' Away is an album by Al Jarreau, released on June 30, 1981, through the Warner Bros. Records label. To cite Allmusic, "Breakin' Away became the standard bearer of the L.A. pop and R&B sound."[1]
The album was certified Platinum by the RIAA.[2]
Charts & Awards
Breakin' Away remains Al Jarreau's most popular album. It spent two years on the Billboard 200 and peaked at #9.[3] The album also hit #1 on both the Jazz and R&B charts.
Three single releases made the charts: "We're in This Love Together" (#15 pop, #6 AC, #6 R&B), "Breakin' Away" (#43 pop, #30 AC, #25 R&B), and "Teach Me Tonight" (#70 pop, #19 AC, #51 R&B).
At the Grammy Awards in 1982 the album was given the prize for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male, while "(Round, Round, Round) Blue Rondo à la Turk" received the award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Male. The album was also nominated for Album of the Year.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Closer to Your Love" | Tom Canning, Jay Graydon, Al Jarreau | 3:54 |
| 2. | "My Old Friend" | Steve George, John Lang, Richard Page | 4:26 |
| 3. | "We're in This Love Together" | Roger Murrah, Keith Stegall | 3:44 |
| 4. | "Easy" | Tom Canning, Jay Graydon, Jarreau | 5:23 |
| 5. | "Our Love" | Tom Canning, Jay Graydon, Jarreau | 3:53 |
| 6. | "Breakin' Away" | Tom Canning, Jay Graydon, Jarreau | 4:12 |
| 7. | "Roof Garden" | Tom Canning, Jay Graydon, Jarreau | 6:19 |
| 8. | "(Round, Round, Round) Blue Rondo à la Turk" | Dave Brubeck | 4:44 |
| 9. | "Teach Me Tonight" | Sammy Cahn, Gene De Paul | 4:13 |
Personnel
- Al Jarreau – vocals, vocal arrangements
- Jay Graydon – producer, arranger, engineer, guitar, synthesizer
- George Duke – piano, arranger
- David Foster – keyboards, string arrangements
- Michael Boddicker – synthesizer
- Billy Byers – strings, arrangements
- Steve Lukather – guitar
- Dean Parks – guitar
- Abraham Laboriel – bass
- Michael Omartian – synthesizer, Rhodes
- Milcho Leviev – piano, arranger
- Jeff Porcaro – drums
- Steve Gadd – drums
- Chuck Findley – trumpet
- Jerry Hey – trumpet, horn arrangements
- Lon Price – alto saxophone
- Bill Reichenbach Jr. – trombone
- Larry Williams – synthesizer solo on "Easy"
Notes
- ↑ "Allmusic review".
- ↑ "RIAA – Searchable Database: Al Jarreau". Retrieved November 15, 2013.
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel. The Billboard Book of Top Pop Albums 1955-1985, Record Research Inc., 1985, p. 183, 495.
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