Lady Bump is the debut album of Austrian-born singer Penny McLean. It was released in 1975, while Penny was part of the group Silver Convention. The album was released months after her successful single "Lady Bump", and three more songs were released as singles and charted worldwide. The album managed to chart in 3 countries. This is the only McLean's album to be released in CD format, it was released in 1992 in Germany. McLean's two other albums were released without the label or the singer permission.
| Lady Bump | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1975 | |||
| Genre | Disco | |||
| Length | 35:19 | |||
| Label | Jupiter | |||
| Producer | Michael Kunze | |||
| Penny McLean chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background and production
editIn 1975 McLean made part of the German group Silver Convention, a group that also included Linda G. Thompson and Ramona Wulf[1][2] and had hits such as "Save Me" and "Fly, Robin, Fly".[3] McLean planned to do an album as a solo artist and release as the first single the song "Lady Bump". The album was produced by Michael Kunze and arranged by Sylvester Levay.
Singles
editThe first single of the album was the song "Lady Bump" which backed with "The Lady Bumps On" and was released on the Jupiter record label cat - 16 069 AT in June 1975.[4] By November 1975, the track bw "The Lady Bumps On" was rated # 14 in the New York discos.[5] In January 1976, it was #8 on the Cash box pop singles charts.[6] In July 1976, "Lady Bump" #7 in Australia's 2S Music Survey.[7] The single itself sold 3 million copies.[8] The second single of the album was the song 1-2-3-4... Fire! which was Top 20 in 5 charts around the world. In October 1976, her single "Devil Eyes" was released on the Ariola label[9] and managed to appear in Sweden and West Germany charts.
Critical reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [10] |
The album received mixed reviews.
Justin Kantor from AllMusic says that unfortunately the album "primarily consists of material that is derivative of its hit single, but never quite stands on its own." He also said that the Michael Kunze's smooth production is "indeed pleasant and there are particularly enjoyable moments to be found in "Big Bad Boy" and "Devil Eyes,"" but according to him "overall, the hooks are not as strong and McLean doesn't sound quite as enthused."
Robert Christgau in his review for Silver Convention's album Get Up and Boogie argued that "they should have borrowed "Lady Bump" and "Big Bad Boy" from Penny McLean, whose bland vocalizing is best buried in the mix, as it is here, rather than showcased on a "solo" album."[11]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Lady Bump" | Sylvester Levay; Michael Kunze | 3:42 |
| 2. | "Devil Eyes" | S. Levay; M. Kunze | 3:45 |
| 3. | "The Wizard Bump" | S. Levay; M. Kunze | 3:32 |
| 4. | "The A-B-C Of Love" | S. Levay; M. Kunze | 3:20 |
| 5. | "1-2-3-4... Fire!" | S. Levay; M. Kunze | 3:04 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | "Big Bad Boy" | S. Levay; M. Kunze | 4:40 |
| 7. | "Baby Doll" | S. Levay; M. Kunze | 4:05 |
| 8. | "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" | Otto Harbach, Jerome Kern | 6:03 |
| 9. | "I'm Knocking (At Your Door)" | S. Levay; M. Kunze | 3:00 |
Charts
edit| Chart (1975/76) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[12] | 12 |
| Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[13] | 47 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[14] | 3 |
| US Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums[15] | 59 |
References
edit- ^ Music, The Top 10 music acts of the 70s from Germany Number 4: Silver Convention Deutsche Welle. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
- ^ GG The Show to Prise You from TV Set - The age (October 12, 1976) Retrieved June 16, 2016.
- ^ Knevels, Edmond (07/02/2016) "Men wil die schreeuw iedere keer opnieuw horen" De Redactie.be Retrieved June 16, 2016.
- ^ 45Cat Record Details, Artist: Penny McLean
- ^ Disco Action. Vol. 87 (46 ed.). Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 15 November 1975. pp. 38–. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
- ^ Pat Downey; George Albert; Frank W. Hoffmann (November 1994). Cash box pop singles charts, 1950-1993. Libraries Unlimited. p. 227. ISBN 978-1-56308-316-7.
- ^ Truest, Dick (July 25, 1976). "Music Survey". The Sun-Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved February 28, 2016.
- ^ Spahr, Wolfgang (27 June 1992). Germany/Switzerland/Austria, German Independents Do It Their Way With House, Instro's And "Nuevo Flamenco". Vol. 104 (26 ed.). Nielsen Business Media, Inc. pp. 48–. ISSN 0006-2510.
- ^ Anthonissen, Jull (9 October 1976). From the music capital of the world. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. pp. 58–. ISSN 0006-2510.
- ^ Justin Kantor. "Penny McLean - Lady Bump (Allmusic Review)". www.allmusic.com. Retrieved June 14, 2016.
- ^ Robert Christgau. "Consumer Guide Reviews: Silver Convention Silver Convention [Midland International, 1976]". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved June 14, 2016.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 187. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 24, No. 26 March 27, 1976". Archived from the original on June 5, 2016. Retrieved 2016-06-15.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link). RPM (magazine). - ^ "Sverigetopplistan > Penny McLean". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
- ^ "ALLMusic Awards>> Penny McLean". Archived from the original on June 5, 2016. Retrieved 2016-06-15.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link). AllMusic.