Syreeta (1972 album)
Syreeta is the debut studio album by American R&B and soul singer and songwriter Syreeta Wright, released on June 20, 1972 on MoWest, a subsidiary of Motown Records.
| Syreeta | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 20, 1972 | |||
| Recorded | October 1971 – February 1972 | |||
| Studio | Electric Lady Studios (New York City) Crystal Industries (Los Angeles) Olympic Studios (London) | |||
| Genre | R&B, funk, psychedelic soul, pop, soul | |||
| Length | 38:32 | |||
| Label | MoWest MW 113 | |||
| Producer | Stevie Wonder | |||
| Syreeta chronology | ||||
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| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
The self-titled debut album was produced by Wright's ex-husband, frequent collaborator and musician Stevie Wonder, it was released following the former couple's separation and subsequent divorce. The album featured compositions by both Wonder and Wright, and also featured Wright's takes on other artists' songs including a Wonder-produced funk-oriented version of his earlier recording, "I Love Every Little Thing About You", which was initially recorded by Wonder for his Music of My Mind project, released earlier that year. Wonder and Wright used the talk box prominently on Wright's cover of The Beatles' "She's Leaving Home" while Wright provided a smoother vocal take of Smokey Robinson's "What Love Has Joined Together". Wright wrote the ballad "Happiness" and she and Stevie co-wrote "Baby Don't You Let Me Lose This" and their featured duet "To Know You Is to Love You" together. The album failed to generate success though Wright would go on to a productive solo career throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Wright and Wonder would continue working together for several decades.
Track listing
- "I Love Every Little Thing About You" (Stevie Wonder) (4:58)
- "Black Maybe" (Wonder) (4:35)
- "Keep Him Like He Is" (Wonder, Syreeta Wright) (2:53)
- "Happiness" (Wright) (5:19)
- "She's Leaving Home" (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) (4:20)
- "What Love Has Joined Together" (Smokey Robinson, Bobby Rogers) (3:37)
- "How Many Days" (Wonder) (3:35)
- "Baby Don't You Let Me Lose This" (Wonder, Wright) (2:57)
- "To Know You Is to Love You" (Wonder, Wright) (with Stevie Wonder) (5:18)
Personnel
- Mowest Records MW 113L (trademark of Motown Record Corporation)
- Produced by Stevie Wonder for Black Bull Productions
- Associate Producers and Synthesizer Programming Engineers: Robert Margouleff and Malcolm Cecil
- Production Support: Centaur Music Productions, Inc.
- Recordists: Joan DeCola, Andy Edlen, Dick Shapiro
- Recorded at Electric Lady, N.Y.; Crystal Industries, L.A.; Olympic Studios, London
- Arrangements: Stevie Wonder, Yusuf Rahman, Trevor Lawrence
- Cover Photo: Robert Margouleff
- Art Direction: David Weissman
- Background vocals by Syreeta Wright, Jim Gilstrap, Gloria Barley, Lani Groves, Linda Tucker and Stevie Wonder
- Instrumentation by Stevie Wonder, Keith Copeland, Buzzy Feiten, Scott Gordon Edwards and Trevor Lawrence (Bell Tree)
- Strings: Julian Gaillard Orchestra