Risqué (album)

Risqué is the third studio album by American disco band Chic, released on Atlantic Records on July 30, 1979. One of the records that defined the disco era,[1] the album became highly influential not only within the movement, but also in other styles such as hip hop, art rock and new wave.[2] In 2020, Rolling Stone ranked the album at number 414 on their list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.[3]

Risqué
Studio album by
Chic
ReleasedJuly 30, 1979
Recorded1979
StudioThe Power Station (Manhattan, New York City)
Genre
Length36:46
LabelAtlantic
Producer
Chic chronology
C'est Chic
(1978)		 Risqué
(1979)		 Les Plus Grands Succès De Chic: Chic's Greatest Hits
(1979)
Singles from Risqué
  1. "Good Times"
    Released: 1979
  2. "My Forbidden Lover"
    Released: 1979
  3. "My Feet Keep Dancing"
    Released: 1979

Release
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Christgau's Record GuideA−[4]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[5]
Mojo[6]
Pitchfork9.4/10[7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[8]
Smash Hits8½/10[9]
Sounds[10]
Spin Alternative Record Guide9/10[11]

Risqué includes three classic Chic hits; "Good Times" (#1 US Pop, #1 US R&B June 23, 1979, #5 UK), "My Forbidden Lover" (#33 US R&B, #43 US Pop October 13, 1979, #15 UK) and "My Feet Keep Dancing" (#42 US R&B, #101 US Pop December 8, 1979, #21 UK). Risqué reached #5 on the US albums chart and #2 on the US R&B chart. It has been certified Platinum by the RIAA for sales over 1 million copies. It peaked at #29 in the UK and was certified Silver by the BPI.

Risqué was released on compact disc by Atlantic Records/Warner Music in 1991 (catalogue number 7567-80406-2). The album was digitally remastered and re-issued by Warner Music Japan in 2011.

Legacy

"Good Times" has been extensively sampled in other artists' works, most notably in the first rap song, "Rapper's Delight" by Sugarhill Gang, that same year. "Will You Cry" was sampled in "Just a Moment" by Nas from the 2004 album Street's Disciple.

Accolades

The information regarding accolades attributed to Risqué is adapted from Acclaimed Music, except where otherwise noted.[12]

Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
Blender United States The 100 Greatest American Albums of All time 2002 36
Dave Marsh and Kevin Stein The 40 Best of Album Chartmakers by Year 1981 7
Robert Dimery 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die 2013 *
Rolling Stone The Essential 200 Rock Records 1997 *
Tom Moon 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die 2008 *
The Guardian United Kingdom 100 Albums that Don't Appear in All Other Top 100 Album Lists 1999 34
1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die 2007 *
My Favourite Album Series 2011 *
Guardian Writers' Favourite Albums Ever 2013 17
Mojo Mojo 1000, the Ultimate CD Buyers Guide 2001 *
The Mojo Collection, 3rd and/or 4th Edition 2003/2007 *
Paul Morley Words and Music, 5 x 100 Greatest Albums of All Time 2003 *
NME Albums of the Year 1979 23
NME's The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time 2013 208
Q The 50 Best Albums of the 70s 1998 45
The Rough Guide Soul: 100 Essential CDs 2000 *
Gilles Verlant France 300+ Best Albums in the History of Rock 2013 *
Les Inrockuptibles 50 Years of Rock'n'Roll 2004 *
Philippe Manœuvre 100 Necessary Albums 2014 *
Rock & Folk The 300 Best Albums from 1965-1995 1995 *
The Best Albums from 1963 to 1999 1999 *
555 Albums from 1954-2014 2014 *
Télérama The Best Albums of All Time 1993 *
(*) designates lists that are unordered.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers.

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Good Times"8:08
2."A Warm Summer Night"6:10
3."My Feet Keep Dancing"6:38
Side two
No.TitleLength
4."My Forbidden Lover"4:39
5."Can't Stand to Love You"2:56
6."Will You Cry (When You Hear This Song)"4:06
7."What About Me?"4:09

Personnel

Production
  • Bernard Edwards – producer for Chic Organization Ltd.
  • Nile Rodgers – producer for Chic Organization Ltd.
  • Bob Clearmountain – sound engineer
  • Jackson Schwartz – engineer
  • Jeff Hendrickson – engineer
  • Jim Galante – engineer
  • Peter Robbins – engineer
  • Ray Willard – engineer
  • Dennis King – mastering
  • Carin Goldberg – art direction
  • Ken Ambrose – photography
  • All songs recorded and mixed at Power Station in New York. Mastered at Atlantic Studios, New York.

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[13] Silver 60,000^
United States (RIAA)[14] Platinum 1,000,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

References
  1. Hamsley, David (2015). To Disco, with Love: The Records That Defined an Era. Flatiron Books. p. 285. ISBN 978-1250068453.
  2. Henderson, Alex. "Risqué – Chic". AllMusic. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  3. "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. September 22, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  4. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Chic: Risque". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor and Fields. ISBN 0-89919-026-X. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  5. Larkin, Colin (2011). "Chic". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  6. Brown, Geoff (October 2018). "Three Cheers!". Mojo. No. 299. p. 39.
  7. Beta, Andy (December 12, 2018). "Chic / Sister Sledge: The Chic Organization 1977–1979". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  8. Sisario, Ben (2004). "Chic". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 161. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  9. Starr, Red (September 6–19, 1979). "Albums". Smash Hits. Vol. 1 no. 20. p. 25.
  10. Silverton, Peter (August 11, 1979). "Chic: Risqué (Atlantic K50634)". Sounds. Retrieved October 27, 2020 – via Rock's Backpages.
  11. Walters, Barry (1995). "Chic". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 81–82. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  12. "Chic: Risqué". Acclaimed Music. Archived from the original on November 16, 2007. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
  13. "British album certifications – Chic – Risque". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved December 17, 2019. Select albums in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Risque in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  14. "American album certifications – Chic – Risque". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 17, 2019. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
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