I remember when I was a child back in the ’70s how popular
\nCharlie Rich was. If Elvis Presley ever had stuck with pure country
\nmusic, he may have sounded like Rich. Songs like “Behind Closed
\nDoors” and “The Most Beautiful Girl” became radio staples, and Rich
\nenjoyed, albeit briefly, the sweet taste of success. But his last
\ntop ten hit came in 1979, and he never again enjoyed the same kind
\nof fame until his death in 1995.<\/p>\n
\nBehind Closed Doors<\/i>, the 1973 album which made Rich a
\nhousehold name, has recently been re-issued with four bonus tracks.
\nWhile Rich’s voice is something which takes a little getting used
\nto, one can hear the seeds being planted for such artists as Garth
\nBrooks in Rich’s country-fried pop. And while this album does show
\na layer or two of dust on it, the disc does rightfully show that
\nRich earned the fame he enjoyed back then.<\/p>\n
I will admit this much: after hearing “Behind Closed Doors” for
\nthe first time in well over a decade, I didn’t really understand
\nwhy people flocked to this song. Maybe it was because of the
\nsuggestive nature of the track, something that didn’t really
\ndominate the airwaves in 1973. Maybe it was the way the song
\ncrossed over the strict borders of country and looked at the pop
\nworld – something that Rich would further do with “The Most
\nBeautiful Girl”. (Considering that, isn’t it ironic that Rich
\nreacted so harshly at the CMA Awards in 1975 when, instead of
\nannouncing John Denver as a winner, he set the certificate on
\nfire?)<\/p>\n
As much as the song is a retro nugget of times long gone, “The
\nMost Beautiful Girl” is still a very pretty song, and it does show
\noff Rich’s vocal skills quite well. There’s a reason why this track
\ntopped the charts, and it’s still a valid reason today: it’s a
\nwell-written, well-performed song.<\/p>\n
While many other tracks on
\nBehind Closed Doors<\/i> don’t get the same kind of attention,
\nthere are songs included within that are worth taking a close
\nlisten to. Songs such as “‘Til I Can’t Take It Anymore,” “Nothing
\nIn The World (To Do With Me)” and “We Love Each Other” are just as
\nenjoyable, while it takes a little time to warm up to others like
\n“If You Wouldn’t Be My Lady” and “A Sunday Kind Of Woman”.<\/p>\n
The expanded edition of this album makes it worth all of the
\ntrouble. Tracks like “Mama, Take Me Home” and “Papa Was A Good Man”
\n(two of three taken from the 1972 release
\nWe Love Each Other<\/i>) are wonderful additions, capturing a
\nvein of country heartbreak that many people might be more used to.
\nThe remaining two tracks, “Ruby, You’re Warm” and “I’ve Got Mine,”
\nare decent, but not quite as endearing.<\/p>\n
Of all the albums Rich recorded in his lifetime,
\nBehind Closed Doors<\/i> might be the best-remembered. While
\nparts of this album have not held up as well due to the passage of
\ntime, there’s still plenty to get excited about today, and should
\nremind people (especially those who were there the first time that
\nRich hit it big) what made him a legend in the world of country
\nmusic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":28071,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[7615],"rating":[5615],"class_list":["post-39465","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-charlie-rich","rating-rating-b"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/39465","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39465"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/39465\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=39465"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=39465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}