3614 Jackson Highway
AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Albums:
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3614 Jackson Highway
- Artist: Cher
- Rating:
- Release Date: 1969
- Total Time: 32:58
- Genre: Rock
Review
When Sonny & Cher first hit the charts in 1965, Sonny Bono was the brains of the outfit, producing their records and writing the bulk of their material. So after both the duo and Cher's solo career went into a tailspin in the late '60s, their record company proposed a little experiment -- giving Cher some new collaborators in a new surrounding. Under the guidance of producer Jerry Wexler, who had famously kick-started Aretha Franklin's career when she signed with Atlantic in 1967, Cher recorded 1969's 3614 Jackson Highway in Alabama with the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section (Jimmy Johnson on guitar, Barry Beckett on keys, David Hood on bass, and Roger Hawkins on drums), the same band that backed Aretha, Wilson Pickett, Solomon Burke, and many others on a string of classic soul hits. With ace guitarist and songwriter Eddie Hinton sitting in and Tom Dowd and Arif Mardin helping with the production (Sonny received a producer's credit, but didn't actually work on the sessions), Cher cut what was arguably the finest album of her career; it's no great surprise that the arrangements on 3614 Jackson Highway lean towards Southern soul, but the music nods politely to Cher's pop instincts as well, and the sidemen deliver the sort of straightforward but rock-solid support that was their trademark.Cher was given some weightier material than she usually handled, including no fewer than three Bob Dylan covers and some classic soul numbers, and if "I Walk on Gilded Splinters" and "For What It's Worth" don't seem like ideal choices today, she sounds mature, forceful, and authoritative on every track. And while Cher doesn't quite come off like a soul diva on these sessions, she welcomes the opportunity to dig deeper into the songs in a way she couldn't on many of her early hits, and she rises to the challenge posed by her collaborators -- she rides the slinky funk of "Lay Lady Lay" beautifully, knows just how to fill the quiet spaces of "Please Don't Tell Me," and belts out "Cry Like a Baby" with the same punch as the Memphis Horns. 3614 Jackson Highway was a commercial disappointment and it would be another two years before Sonny & Cher would return to the limelight with their television variety show, but Cher was rarely given a better showcase for her talents as a singer, and the album still sounds like a revelation four decades after it was released. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi| 360° at the Rose Bowl [Super Deluxe Box Set] (2010 Album by U2) | |
| 3614 Jackson Highway [Bonus Tracks] (1969 Album by Cher) |
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3614 Jackson Highway
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| 3614 Jackson Highway | ||||
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| Studio album by Cher | ||||
| Released | June 20, 1969 | |||
| Recorded | April 1968 Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Sheffield, Alabama |
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| Genre | Folk rock, pop rock, blue-eyed soul | |||
| Length | 33:08 | |||
| Label | Atco Rhino Entertainment |
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| Producer | Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd, Arif Mardin | |||
| Cher chronology | ||||
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| Singles from 3614 Jackson Highway | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
3614 Jackson Highway is the sixth album by American singer-actress Cher, released on June 1969 by ATCO. This album was a commercial failure, peaking at #160. 3614 Jackson Highway was the address of Muscle Shoals Sound Studios. The album is by-and-large a covers album.
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Contents
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Album information
3614 Jackson Highway was released in the summer of 1969, was the first and last solo studio album for Atco, and was produced by Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd and Arif Mardin. The cover is a photograph of Cher with the musicians who played on the album. They are: front row, left to right: guitarist Eddie Hinton, bassist David Hood, Sonny Bono, Cher, producer Jerry Wexler, background vocalist Jeannie Greene, background vocalist Donna Jean Godchaux nee,Thatcher, and producer Tom Dowd. Back row, left to right: lead guitarist Jimmy Johnson, producer Arif Mardin, drummer Roger Hawkins and keyboardist Barry Beckett. Missing were background vocalists Mary Holiday and Sue Pilkington.
This disc is certainly Cher's most ambitious project (at least for the '60s) and was designed to bring Cher success after a period of crisis because 1968-1970 wasn't a good period for Sonny & Cher and for Cher as a solo artist. The worldwide pop culture was moving on, but Sonny & Cher stayed in their original image and style. Pop music was transforming into a harder style marked by anti-war songs protesting the war in Vietnam. Cher's and Sonny & Cher's music didn't really fit in. So their records weren't really selling anymore. For months they had a nightclub act, but the audience response was less than positive.
If the public response to this album was low, the criticism was ecstatic. Critics judged this as one of Cher's best albums. A surprising element of the disc was the maturing voice of Cher, which showed more strength and versatility than in previous works. Another surprise was the sophisticated instrumentation and arrangements, which gave the disc a rock edge, along with Cher's success in interpreting other artists' songs.
The title of the album represents the address of Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Sheffield, Alabama, where the disc was recorded.
In 1968 and 1969 Cher recorded songs which would have become an album in 1970. For unknown reasons the release was cancelled however five songs were released as singles. The other five tracks remained unreleased until 2001 when Rhino Records released a limited edition (only 4500 copies) of the album 3614 Jackson Highway with all the songs from the canceled album included as bonus tracks. The song "Superstar" is also included which was originally cut from the cancelled album.
Track listing
| Side A | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | ||||||
| 1. | "For What It's Worth" | Stephen Stills | 2:22 | ||||||
| 2. | "(Just Enough to Keep Me) Hangin' On" | Buddy Mize | 3:18 | ||||||
| 3. | "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" | Steve Cropper, Otis Redding | 2:41 | ||||||
| 4. | "Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You" | Bob Dylan | 3:08 | ||||||
| 5. | "I Threw It All Away" | Bob Dylan | 2:49 | ||||||
| 6. | "I Walk on Guilded Splinters" | Dr. John Creaux | 2:32 | ||||||
| Side B | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | ||||||
| 1. | "Lay Lady Lay" | Bob Dylan | 3:36 | ||||||
| 2. | "Please Don't Tell Me" | Carroll W. Quillen, Grady Smith | 3:36 | ||||||
| 3. | "Cry Like a Baby" | Spooner Oldham, Dan Penn | 2:46 | ||||||
| 4. | "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" | Chips Moman, Dan Penn | 2:46 | ||||||
| 5. | "Save the Children" | Eddie Hinton | 2:54 | ||||||
| 2001 CD bonus tracks | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | ||||||
| 12. | "Easy to Be Hard" | Galt MacDermot, James Rado, Gerome Ragni | 3:44 | ||||||
| 13. | "I Believe" | Ervin Drake, Irwin Graham, Jimmy Shirl, Al Stillman | 3:55 | ||||||
| 14. | "Danny Boy" | Frederick Weatherly | 5:20 | ||||||
| 15. | "Momma Look Sharp" | Sherman Edwards | 3:33 | ||||||
| 16. | "It Gets Me Where I Want to Go" | Gabriel Lapano, Lance Wakely | 3:10 | ||||||
| 17. | "You've Made Me So Very Happy" | Brenda Holloway, Patrice Holloway, Frank Wilson, Berry Gordy | 2:43 | ||||||
| 18. | "Yours Until Tomorrow" | Gerry Goffin, Carole King | 2:51 | ||||||
| 19. | "The Thought of Loving You" | David White | 2:24 | ||||||
| 20. | "The First Time" | Sonny Bono | 3:24 | ||||||
| 21. | "Chastity's Song (Band of Thieves)" | Elyse J. Weinberg | 3:08 | ||||||
| 22. | "Chastity's Song (Band of Thieves)" (Stereo album version) | Elyse J. Weinberg | 3:05 | ||||||
| 23. | "Superstar" | Bonnie Bramlett, Delaney Bramlett, Leon Russell | 3:07 | ||||||
Credits
Personnel
- Cher – lead vocals
Production
- Jerry Wexler – record producer
- Tom Dowd – record producer
- Arif Mardin – record producer
- Stan Vincent – record producer
- Greg Poree – arrangement assistance
Design
- Stephen Paley – photography
- Bryan Lasley – art direction
- Patrick Pending – art direction
Chart positions
| Chart (1969) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| United States Billboard 200[2] | 160 |
References
- ^ "3614 Jackson Highway Review". Allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r3782. Retrieved 2009-02-04.
- ^ "Atco Album Discography, Part 2". Bsnpubs.com. 2005-10-06. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. http://www.bsnpubs.com/atlantic/atco266389.html. Retrieved 2011-08-03.
External links
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Mentioned in
3614 Jackson Highway [Bonus Tracks]
(2001 Album by Cher)
Donna Jean Godchaux
(Rock Artist)
Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section
(Rock Band, '60s-'80s)
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