Friday Flashback :: Chaka Khan's "Clouds"
Chaka Khan, born Yvette Marie Stevens, had already made a name for
herself on Chicago's South Side, well before the release of Naughty, her sophomore solo effort. She'd already had experience as part of a group that toured with
Mary Wells, and she was a regular background singer for other artists. She is better known though, for her membership in the funk supergroup Rufus. With her fronting the vocals, Rufus notched half a dozen gold or platinum albums before Chaka's acrimonious split in 1978.
Written for Chaka Khan by Nick Ashford (of Ashford and Simpson fame), "Clouds" is one of the two great tracks on Chaka's 1980 release Naughty. The album wasn't nearly as good as her eponymous solo debut, which featured the undying classic "I'm Every Woman." While Naughty had potential, and a great producer Arif Mardin, it never quite lived up to the expectations that Chaka set. Then again, most second releases are weaker than their predecessors, so it shouldn't have been such a great surprise that Naughty didn't quite hit the mark.
Nonetheless, there were two great cuts, one of which is today's Flashback. "Clouds" is a dance classic with great bass play, and excellent drumming, the basis of any great dance track. Along with the fantastic rhythm section, the song features Chaka's soaring vocals that seemingly lift the song ever higher in energy. It's funny actually, because the song is about losing someone's affections. Whatever the subject, you just can't ignore Chaka's powerful pipes. Sparse in terms of lyrical content, it does seem at times that the song is one long refrain but you know, once that driving beat gets hold of you, you'll not care, as you're fully and willfully engulfed in the "rain" and "Clouds."
The (somewhat obscure) but completely hot Friday Flashback for December 14, 2007: "Clouds," by Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan :: "Clouds"
Album: Love to the World
Released: 1980
Billboard peak: #10 Black Singles
Play the Track: Clouds (to download, Mac users, Control-click, and choose 'Save Link As...' Windows users right-click the link and choose 'Save Target As...').
Written for Chaka Khan by Nick Ashford (of Ashford and Simpson fame), "Clouds" is one of the two great tracks on Chaka's 1980 release Naughty. The album wasn't nearly as good as her eponymous solo debut, which featured the undying classic "I'm Every Woman." While Naughty had potential, and a great producer Arif Mardin, it never quite lived up to the expectations that Chaka set. Then again, most second releases are weaker than their predecessors, so it shouldn't have been such a great surprise that Naughty didn't quite hit the mark.
Nonetheless, there were two great cuts, one of which is today's Flashback. "Clouds" is a dance classic with great bass play, and excellent drumming, the basis of any great dance track. Along with the fantastic rhythm section, the song features Chaka's soaring vocals that seemingly lift the song ever higher in energy. It's funny actually, because the song is about losing someone's affections. Whatever the subject, you just can't ignore Chaka's powerful pipes. Sparse in terms of lyrical content, it does seem at times that the song is one long refrain but you know, once that driving beat gets hold of you, you'll not care, as you're fully and willfully engulfed in the "rain" and "Clouds."
The (somewhat obscure) but completely hot Friday Flashback for December 14, 2007: "Clouds," by Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan :: "Clouds"Album: Love to the World
Released: 1980
Billboard peak: #10 Black Singles
Play the Track: Clouds (to download, Mac users, Control-click, and choose 'Save Link As...' Windows users right-click the link and choose 'Save Target As...').
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