Chinese Wall (album)

Chinese Wall
Chinese Wall (Philip Bailey album - cover art).jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 1984
Recorded
GenrePop, soul, rock
Length50:17
LabelColumbia
ProducerPhil Collins
Philip Bailey chronology
The Wonders of His Love
(1984)
Chinese Wall
(1984)
Triumph
(1986)
Singles from Chinese Wall
  1. "Easy Lover"
    Released: November 1984 (US)
  2. "Photogenic Memory"
    Released: 1984
  3. "Walking on the Chinese Wall"
    Released: March 1985 (US)

Chinese Wall is the third solo album by American singer Philip Bailey, released on the Columbia Records label in October 1984. The album reached number 22 on the Billboard 200 and number 10 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts respectively. The album was Grammy nominated in the category of Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male. Chinese Wall has also been certified gold in the US by the RIAA.

Background

The album was produced by English musician Phil Collins, who also played drums, keyboards, co-wrote and sang co-lead vocals.

Collins later said, "Bailey got a lot of flak for being produced by someone who is white. There was this paranoia that the album would not be played by black stations...The reason I was on the video for "Easy Lover" is that I knew it wouldn't be shown if it was just Phil Bailey."

Singles

The album's smash pop hit was "Easy Lover", a duet with Phil Collins. The song also got a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic
Christgau's Record GuideB+
Rolling Stone

Joe Brown of The Washington Post commented, "The spirit of Earth, Wind and Fire goes one step beyond on his second solo effort, guided masterfully by Phil Collins, who can't seem to make a misstep these days. Bailey's falsetto soars ethereally (and sometimes scrapes earthily) over Collins' glistening wall of exotic percussion and electronic textures". With a 3 out of 5 stars rating, James Henke of Rolling Stone stated, "This is not as funky as Earth, Wind and Fire, but it's a hundred times more appealing."

Writing for The Voice, music journalist Nelson George praised Chinese Wall, declaring it "the most solid album by a black male since Purple Rain". He described "the Phenix Horns' stratospheric horn chart...Collins drumming (this white boy is funky) and Arif Mardin's impeccable string charts", saying Bailey "singing breathier and deeper – projects his sensitivity in a more muscular baritone."

Gary Graff of the Detroit Free Press wrote "Earth, Wind & Fire singer Bailey makes a wise bet by enlisting Collins to produce and play on his album. Besides a strong duet, "Easy Lover," the performances lift the album's quality above some inconsistent songwriting." Lou Papineau of The Boston Globe found that, "This is a likable, undemanding album of lively uptempo struts and warm ballads."

Track listing

Chinese Wall – Standard edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Photogenic Memory"Jerry Knight, Davitt Sigerson, Lillie Mae Clarke5:26
2."I Go Crazy"Philip Bailey, Glen Ballard, Marti Sharron4:48
3."Walking on the Chinese Wall"Billie Hughes, Roxanne Seeman5:08
4."For Every Heart That's Been Broken"Ballard, Clif Magness4:15
5."Go"Nathan East, Ralph Johnson4:30
6."Easy Lover" (Duet with Phil Collins)Bailey, Phil Collins, East5:05
7."Show You the Way to Love"Bailey, Ballard, Sharron4:41
8."Time Is a Woman"Barry Blue, Julian Littman, Robin Smith4:31
9."Woman"Steve Mitchell, Sharron, Gary Skardina5:04
10."Children of the Ghetto"Chris Amoo, Eddie Amoo6:49
Total length:50:16
Chinese Wall – 2011 remastered edition (bonus tracks)
No.TitleLength
11."Easy Lover" (Extended Dance Remix)6:19
Total length:56:35

Personnel

  • Philip Bailey – lead and backing vocals, percussion (10)
  • Lesette Wilson – keyboards, acoustic piano solo (10)
  • George Massenburg – synthesizer programming
  • Godfrey Wang – synthesizer programming
  • Daryl Stuermer – guitars, guitar solo (4, 6)
  • Nathan East – bass guitar, bass pedals (4), kalimba (4), keyboards (5)
  • Phil Collins – drums (1-9), vocoder (1), LinnDrum (1, 3, 5), Simmons (2, 8, 9), keyboards (3, 6), backing vocals (3, 6, 8), lead vocals (6), percussion (10)
  • Paulinho da Costa – percussion (7, 10)
  • The Phenix Horns – horns (3, 5, 7, 8, 9)
    • Don Myrick – saxophones (3, 5, 7, 8, 9), sax solo (5)
    • Louis Satterfield – trombone (3, 5, 7, 8, 9)
    • Michael Harris – trumpet (3, 5, 7, 8, 9), trumpet solo (9)
    • Rahmlee Michael Davis – trumpet (3, 5, 7, 8, 9)
    • Tom-Tom 84 – horn arrangements (3, 5, 7, 8, 9)
  • Arif Mardin – string arrangements (5, 7, 9)
  • Josie James – backing vocals (3, 4, 8)
  • Carl Carwell – backing vocals (7, 10)
  • Winston Ford – backing vocals (7, 10)
  • Nigel Martinez – backing vocals (8)

Production

  • Producer – Phil Collins
  • Engineer – George Massenburg
  • Assistant Engineers – Steve Chase, Judy Clapp, Murray Dvorkin and Tom Perry.
  • Art Direction and Design – Tony Lane and Nancy Donald
  • Cover Photography – Ellen Land-Weber and Randee St. Nicholas
  • Management – Cavallo, Ruffalo and Fargnoli Management.

Charts and certifications

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA) Gold 500,000^
Canada (Music Canada) Gold 50,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Singles

Year Single Chart
Position
1984 "Easy Lover" The Billboard Hot 100 2
1984 "Easy Lover" Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard) 3
1984 "Easy Lover" Mainstream Rock Songs (Billboard) 5
1985 "Easy Lover" Adult Contemporary (Billboard) 15
1985 "Easy Lover" Dance Club Songs (Billboard) 7
1985 "Easy Lover" Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales (Billboard) 3
1985 "Easy Lover" UK Singles (Official Charts Company) 1
1984 "Photogenic Memory" Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard) 61
1985 "Walking on the Chinese Wall" Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard) 56
1985 "Walking on the Chinese Wall" The Billboard Hot 100 46

This page was last updated at 2023-07-07 12:50 UTC. Update now. View original page.

All our content comes from Wikipedia and under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.


Top

If mathematical, chemical, physical and other formulas are not displayed correctly on this page, please useFirefox or Safari