Rating:
Genre:
Vocal Music
Release Date: 08/23/2005
Helen Reddy's
No Way to Treat a Lady/Music, Music is the fourth installment of
Raven's admirably packaged two-fer releases, and contains those 1975 and 1976 albums, in their entirety, plus one rare bonus track (
"One Way Ticket" from 1968).
No Way to Treat a Lady contains the titular Top Ten hit and a host of other, primarily piano-driven,
ballads (like the
Neil Sedaka-penned
"Don't Let It Mess Your Mind" and the
Paul Williams/
Kenny Ascher gem
"You Know Me"), as well as some forays into
country-pop,
bossa nova, and
blues.
Music, Music is a decidedly more eclectic and upbeat affair, pulling in stylistic cues from all over the place. There are breezy,
Bacharach-ian excursions (
"Gladiola," "You Make It So Easy"), bluesy numbers (
"Get Off Me Baby," "Ladychain"), light
country (
"Mama"), jazzy
ballads (
Paul Williams' torchy contribution,
"Nice to Be Around"), and even a little
Philly soul (
"I Can't Hear You No More").
Reddy tackles them all with admirable gusto and shows a grittier side than she had on her previous albums. Looking at the songwriting credits, it is obvious that there are some heavy hitters contributing here, but there are quite a few exceptional studio musicians in tow as well -- most notably, future
Toto founders
Jeff Porcaro,
David Hungate, and
David Paich. After a long string of streamlined, ultra-successful albums,
No Way to Treat a Lady and (especially)
Music, Music provide
Reddy with a chance to move a bit outside of her strictly
ballad-oriented repertoire and show her to be a commendably versatile vocalist.
~J. Scott McClintock, All Music Guide
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