Breakin' Away (album)

Breakin' Away is an album by Al Jarreau, released on June 30, 1981, through the Warner Bros. Records label. To quote Allmusic, "Breakin' Away became the standard bearer of the L.A. pop and R&B sound."[1]

Breakin' Away
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 30, 1981
Recorded1981
GenreCrossover jazz, rhythm and blues, funk
Length41:07
LabelWarner Bros.
ProducerJay Graydon
Al Jarreau chronology
This Time
(1980)
Breakin' Away
(1981)
Jarreau
(1983)

The album was certified Platinum by the RIAA.[2]

Charts and 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.

Four single releases made the charts: "We're in This Love Together", "Breakin' Away", "Teach Me Tonight", and "Roof Garden", the latter being only released in The Netherlands, Belgium and France.

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

Album

Chart (1982) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard 200 9
R&B 1
Jazz 1
Australian (Kent Music Report)80[4]
Year End Chart (1982) Peak
position[5]
U.S. Billboard 200 21
R&B 13
Jazz 1

Charting singles

Year Song Peak chart positions[6][7][8]
US Pop US R&B US A/C CA A/C UK NZ NL BR FR
1981 "We're in This Love Together" 15 6 6 1 55 24
1982 "Roof Garden" 3 4 134
"Breakin' Away" 43 25 30
"Teach Me Tonight" 70 51 19

Track listing

All tracks written by Tom Canning, Jay Graydon and Al Jarreau, except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Closer to Your Love" 3:54
2."My Old Friend"Steve George, John Lang, Richard Page4:26
3."We're in This Love Together"Roger Murrah, Keith Stegall3:44
4."Easy" 5:23
5."Our Love" 3:53
6."Breakin' Away" 4:12
7."Roof Garden" 6:19
8."(Round, Round, Round) Blue Rondo à la Turk"Dave Brubeck4:44
9."Teach Me Tonight"Sammy Cahn, Gene De Paul4:13

Personnel

Production

  • Producer, Mixing – Jay Graydon
  • Associate Producer – Tom Canning
  • Engineer – Joe Bogan
  • Second Engineer – Debbie Thompson
  • Basic tracks recorded at Dawnbreaker Studios (San Fernando, CA).
  • Basic track recording for "Breakin' Away" by Larry Brown at Pasha Music (Hollywood, CA); Second Engineers – Mikey Davis and Csaba Petocz.
  • Strings recorded by Humberto Gatica at Sunset Sound (Hollywood, CA).
  • Overdubs and mixing at Garden Rake Studios (Studio City, CA).
  • Mastered by Bernie Grundman at A&M Studios (Hollywood, CA).
  • Art Direction and Design – Christine Sauers
  • Photography – Susan Jarreau

Notes

  1. "Allmusic review".
  2. "RIAA – Searchable Database: Al Jarreau". Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved November 15, 2013.
  3. Whitburn, Joel. The Billboard Book of Top Pop Albums 1955-1985, Record Research Inc., 1985, p. 183, 495.
  4. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 155. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  5. "Top BIllboard 200 Albums of 1982". www.billboard.com. Billboard Magazine. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  6. "Al Jarreau – Chart history – Billboard".
  7. "Al Jarreau – full Official Chart History – Official Charts Company".
  8. "Al Jarreau – dutchcharts.nl".
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