A Pauper in Paradise is the fifth studio album by Italian-Canadian singer Gino Vannelli, released in 1977. It was notable for including contributions by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on the second side,[3] including a fifteen-minute title track symphony that took Gino five months to write,[4] and which led A&M to offer a warning to Gino to expand his appeal or face rapid declines in album sales that since Powerful People had been a steady 300,000 albums per release.[5]
| A Pauper in Paradise | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1977 | |||
| Studio | AIR Recording Studios, London, England EMI Abbey Road Studios, London, England | |||
| Genre | Pop rock | |||
| Length | 40:53 | |||
| Label | A&M | |||
| Producer | Gino Vannelli Joe Vannelli | |||
| Gino Vannelli chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Rolling Stone Album Guide (1992) |  [2] |
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by Gino Vannelli
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Mardi Gras" | 3:28 |
| 2. | "Valleys of Valhalla" | 4:23 |
| 3. | "The Surest Things Can Change" | 4:36 |
| 4. | "One Night with You" | 4:19 |
| 5. | "A Song and Dance" | 3:40 |
| Total length: | 20:26 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Black and Blue" | 4:23 |
| 2. | "A Pauper in Paradise: 1st Movement[a]" | 4:46 |
| 3. | "A Pauper in Paradise: 2nd Movement[a]" | 2:39 |
| 4. | "A Pauper in Paradise: 3rd Movement[a]" | 4:22 |
| 5. | "A Pauper in Paradise: 4th Movement[a]" | 4:20 |
| Total length: | 20:27 | |
Detailed personnel
edit- Art Direction – Fabio Nicoli, Roland Young (3)
- Backing Vocals – Jay Stone, Joanie Bartels
- Backing Vocals, Design, Artwork – Joanne Jayde
- Drums – Casey Scheuerell
- Engineer – John Kurlander (tracks: 7 to 10), Norm Kinney
- Engineer [Assistent] – Steve Prestage
- Engineer [Re-mix] – Jon Kelly
- Keyboards – Chris Rhyne
- Leader – Barry Griffiths (tracks: 7 to 10)
- Lyrics By, Music By – Gino Vannelli
- Mastered By – Bernie Grundman
- Orchestra – The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (tracks: 7 to 10)
- Orchestrated By, Conductor – Don Sebesky (tracks: 7 to 10)
- Percussion – Dido* (tracks: 6), John J. Mandel
- Photography By – Beth Kelly
- Producer, Arranged By, Keyboards – Joe Vannelli
- Saxophone – Dick Morrissey
- Synthesizer, Synthesizer [Bass], Piano, Backing Vocals – Bill Meyers
- Vocals [Choir] – The John McCarthy Choir (tracks: 7 to 10)
- Vocals, Producer, Arranged By – Gino Vannelli
Technical personnel
edit- Jon Kelly – Remixing
- Norm Kinney – Engineer
- John Kurlander – Engineer
- Steve Prestage – Assistant Engineer
- Fabio Nicoli – Art Direction
- Roland Young – Art Direction
Musicians
edit- Gino Vannelli – lead vocals
- Joe Vannelli – Fender Rhodes, piano, programming, synthesizer, synthesizer arrangements, synthesizer string arrangement, backing vocals
- Bill Meyers – piano, synthesizer, synthesizer bass, backing vocals
- Nyboma Mwan Dido – bongos, congas
- Jay Graydon – guitar
- Casey Scheuerell - drums
- John J. Mandel – percussion, timbales
- Chris Rhyne – keyboards, synthesizer bass
- Royal Philharmonic Orchestra – orchestra on "Black and Blue" and "A Pauper in Paradise"
Technical personnel
edit- Jon Kelly – Remixing
- Norm Kinney – Engineer
- John Kurlander – Engineer
- Steve Prestage – Assistant Engineer
- Fabio Nicoli – Art Direction
- Roland Young – Art Direction
Charts
edit| Chart (1977) | Peak
position |
|---|---|
| Canada (RPM Magazine)[6] | 29 |
| US Billboard 200[7] | 33 |
Notes
editReferences
edit- ^ Bil Carpenter. "A Pauper in Paradise – Gino Vannelli". All Music Group.
- ^ DeCurtis, Anthony; George-Warren, Holly and Henke, James; The Rolling Stone Album Guide – Completely New Reviews: Every Essential Album, Every Essential Artist, p. 733 ISBN 0679737294
- ^ Perkins, Don (1977-11-25). "Gino Vannelli – A Pauper in Paradise". The Star-Phoenix. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. p. 6.
- ^ Dunkin, Zach (1977-12-06). "Vannelli Repays Public". Indianapolis News. p. 22.
- ^ d‘Agostino, John (1991-04-13). "Vannelli: Pop and Soulful". Los Angeles Times. p. F5.
- ^ "Gino Vannelli - A Pauper in Paradise" (PDF). RPM. Retrieved 2016-07-31.
- ^ "Gino Vannelli Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 15, 2021.