Adventures in the Land of the Good Groove is the first solo studio album by American R&B guitarist, producer and founder of band Chic, Nile Rodgers. Following a number of commercial failures with Chic, Rodgers struck out on his own writing and producing his first solo album. The album was not a commercial success.
| Adventures in the Land of the Good Groove | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 11 March 1983[1] | |||
| Recorded | 1983 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 41:39 | |||
| Label | Mirage Music, Atlantic | |||
| Producer | Nile Rodgers | |||
| Nile Rodgers chronology | ||||
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Background
editYears later in his autobiography, Rodgers described his feelings about the album at the time "I knew it was a flop right away. I'd been so afraid of being labelled a disco musician that I was too tentative about the album's direction. And the songs weren't hooky enough. Over all, I wasn't clear philosophically or sure what I was trying to say."[3]
Cover
editThe cover shows a faux antique map of the 17th century which uses Lower Manhattan to represent ‘The Land of the Good Groove’. dog latin is used. For example, Brooklyn is labelled Terra Incognita and New Jersey is Nova Joisea. Some of Lower Manhattan's streets and avenues are shown as Twenty-Thirdium, Houstanus, Canalus and Via Broadicus. Other areas include Tribeccium, Terra Financicus and Villagius Easticus.[4]
Reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [5] |
| Robert Christgau | A−[6] |
| Smash Hits | 10/10[7] |
Smash Hits gave the album a rare 10/10 score calling it "Amazing! Incredible!...the best thing I've heard in five years. If David Bowie's LP is half as good it will be excellent".[8] Greg Tate of Record commented that the album "comes closer to breaking a syncopated sweat than any recent Chic productions, and is also looser, raunchier and more fun to listen to than Chic usually is." However, while he was very complimentary to the album in terms of pure groove, he felt that it was lacking in passion and somewhat "contrived", particularly in comparison to other recent funk albums by The Time and Steve Arrington's Hall of Fame,[9] while Rolling Stone's Barry Michael Cooper wrote "Perhaps Adventures in the Land of the Good Groove will revive the semiconscious Chic, whose career is at a low point, and transport Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards back to the top of the charts with their next album."[10]
The album ended up having the opposite effect, contributing to Chic's disbanding as Rodgers and Edwards pursued their personal projects. However, upon reviving Chic in 2015, Rodgers created the "Land of the Good Groove" record label.[11]
Track listing
editAll tracks written by Nile Rodgers.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Land of the Good Groove" | 5:05 |
| 2. | "Yum-Yum" | 5:36 |
| 3. | "Beet" | 4:13 |
| 4. | "Get Her Crazy" | 6:14 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 5. | "It's All in Your Hands" | 4:50 |
| 6. | "Rock Bottom" | 5:50 |
| 7. | "My Love Song for You" | 4:24 |
| 8. | "Most Down" | 5:37 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 9. | "The Land of the Good Groove" (Extended Version) | 6:42 |
| 10. | "Yum-Yum" (Extended Version) | 6:57 |
Personnel
edit- Nile Rodgers – lead and backing vocals, drums, guitar, keyboards
- Sarah Dash – lead vocals
- Carmine Rojas, Curtis King, David Spinner, Eddie Martinez, Fonzi Thornton, Frank Simms, George Simms, John Wright, Kenny Williams, Phillip Balou, Rachel Sweet – backing vocals
- Bernard Edwards – bass guitar, backing vocals
- Tony Thompson – drums, backing vocals
- Jeremy Steele – guitar
- Raymond Jones – piano, keyboards
- Rob Sabino – keyboards
Production
editRecorded and mixed at The Power Station
- Nile Rodgers – producer
- Jason Corsaro – sound engineer
- Bob Ludwig, at Masterdisk – mastering
References
edit- ^ "Billboard magazine 5 March 1983 page 4". 5 March 1983.
- ^ a b Molanphy, Chris (January 19, 2021). "These Are the Good Times Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
- ^ Rodgers, Nile Le Freak: An Upside Down Story of Family, Disco and Destiny'. Sphere (2012) pp. 186.
- ^ Jacobs, Frank Strange Maps 344 Adventures in the Land of the Good Groove [1]
- ^ Adventures in the Land of the Good Groove at AllMusic
- ^ "Robert Christgau: CG: Nile rodgers".
- ^ Smith, Joanne. "Albums". Smash Hits (March 31 – April 13, 1983): 24.
- ^ "Smash Hits magazine March 31 – April 13, 1983 page 24". 15 February 2013.
- ^ Tate, Greg (June 1983). "Adventures in the Land of the Good Groove review". Record. 2 (8): 26.
- ^ Nile Rodgers album "Adventures in the land of the good groove"
- ^ Grow, Kory (February 2, 2015). "Nile Rodgers Preps First Chic Album in Two Decades". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 5, 2015.