Welcome Back (John Sebastian album)

Welcome Back is an album by American singer/songwriter John Sebastian, released in 1976 (see 1976 in music). It reached number 79 on The Billboard 200 chart. Two singles were released from the album with the title song "Welcome Back" reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts. It also reached number 93 on the Country Singles chart. The second single, "Hideaway" peaked at number 95 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Welcome Back
Studio album by
John Sebastian
Released19 April 1976
GenrePop, rock
Length32:55
LabelReprise
ProducerSteve Barri, John Sebastian
John Sebastian chronology
Tarzana Kid
(1974)		 Welcome Back
(1976)		 Tar Beach
(1993)
Singles from Welcome Back
  1. "Welcome Back"
    Released: March 1976
  2. "Hideaway"
    Released: 1976

History

Following the commercial failure of his 1974 album Tarzana Kid, Sebastian owed one more record on his contract with Reprise Records. When his theme song for the television series Welcome Back, Kotter became a hit, Reprise wanted an LP to capitalize on the song's success. With his contract fulfilled, Reprise dropped him from the label.[1] It would be seventeen years before Sebastian's next studio album was released.

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[2]

In his retrospective Allmusic review, critic William Ruhlmann called Welcome Back "…an uneven collection filled out with a near-instrumental ("Let This Be Our Time to Get Along"), a folk-blues song he'd written in the early '60s ("Warm Baby"), and a remake of one of his old Lovin' Spoonful songs ("Didn't Wanna Have to Do It"). The new material tended to be craftsman-like pop songs, the melodies simple and catchy, the lyrics light verse."[1]

Reissues

Welcome Back was reissued on CD in 2004 by Vivid Sound, in 2007 by Collectors' Choice Music and in 2008 by Rhino Entertainment.

Track listing

All songs written by John Sebastian unless otherwise noted.

  1. "Hideaway" – 2:55
  2. "She's Funny" – 3:34
  3. "You Go Your Way and I'll Go Mine" – 2:57
  4. "Didn't Wanna Have to Do It" – 3:22
  5. "One Step Forward, Two Steps Back" (Sebastian, Tom Springfield) – 4:36
  6. "Welcome Back" – 2:51
  7. "I Needed Her Most When I Told Her to Go" – 2:56
  8. "A Song a Day in Nashville" – 4:00
  9. "Warm Baby" – 2:34
  10. "Let This Be Our Time to Get Along" – 3:10

Personnel

(except on "Welcome Back" which is sung and played by The Stone Warblers)

Additional Musicians
  • Jeff "Skunk" Baxter – pedal steel guitar on "A Song a Day in Nashville"
  • Michael Omartian – ARP synthesizer, Marimba
  • Reggie Knighton – electric guitar on "I Needed Her Most When I Told Her to Go"
  • The Blintzes (Jon Lind, Reggie Knighton) – harmony vocals on ("She's Funny", "You Go Your Way and I'll Go Mine" and "I Needed Her Most When I Told Her to Go" )

The Stone Warblers
  • John Sebastian – lead vocal, electric lead guitar, acoustic guitar, Indian drum, harmonica
  • Murray Weinstock - piano
  • Ron Koss - electric rhythm guitar
  • Ken Altman - bass guitar

The Stone Warblers (John Sebastian, Murray Weinstock, Ron Koss, Ken Altman) - harmony vocals, handclaps

Charts
Year Chart Position
1976 Billboard 200 79

References
  1. Ruhlmann, William. "Welcome Back > Review". Allmusic. Retrieved November 19, 2010.
  2. Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
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