''Romance Dance'' is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter

Kim Carnes Kim Carnes (; born July 20, 1945) is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, she began her career as a songwriter in the 1960s, writing for other artists while performing in local clubs and working as a sess ...

. It was released on June 2, 1980 by

EMI America EMI America Records was started in 1978 by EMI as a second US label next to Capitol Records. It absorbed Liberty Records in 1984. In the late 1980s, EMI America was consolidated with Manhattan Records to form EMI Manhattan Records, which lat ...

. It became Carnes' first charting album, peaking at no. 57 on the ''Billboard'' 200. Nine tracks were produced by George Tobin in association with Mike Piccirillo, and one track was produced by Daniel Moore who worked with Carnes on her previous album '' St. Vincent's Court''. The album features hit singles " More Love" and "

Cry Like a Baby "Cry Like a Baby" is a 1968 song written by Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham, and performed by The Box Tops. The song reached #2 in April 1968 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, a position it held for two weeks. It was kept out of the top spot by B ...

", which reached no. 10 and no. 44 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Background

The album was produced by George Tobin in association with Mike Piccirillo. Carnes had originally intended to record " Bette Davis Eyes" for ''Romance Dance''. Ahead of the album's release, Carnes stated that ''Romance Dance'' would be more upbeat than her previous albums, with less of a

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

influence.

Release and promotion

''Romance Dance'' was released on June 2, 1980 by EMI America. Promotion began with Carnes embarking on a tour of American radio stations before joining

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, havi ...

as the support act for a North American concert tour in August 1980. In a review of their concert at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium, '' Billboard'' noted Carnes' "mesmirizing sandpaper vocals" and described her as an "unforgettable performer". Carnes made a cameo appearance on episode 24 of the fourth season of ''

Sha Na Na Sha Na Na was an American rock and roll doo-wop group. Formed in 1969, but performing a song-and-dance repertoire based on 1950s hit songs, it simultaneously revived and parodied the music and the New York street culture of the 1950s. After ga ...

'' to perform "More Love".

Critical reception

Writing for ''

The StarPhoenix ''The StarPhoenix'' is a daily newspaper that serves Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, and is a part of Postmedia Network. The ''StarPhoenix'' puts out six editions each week and publishes one weekly, ''Bridges''. It is also part of the canada.com ...

'', Don Perkins commended the album and compared Carnes' vocals to

Maggie Bell Margaret Bell (born 12 January 1945 in Maryhill, Glasgow, Scotland) is a Scottish rock vocalist. She came to fame as co-lead vocalist of the blues-rock group Stone the Crows, and was described as the UK's closest counterpart to American sing ...

and

Melissa Manchester Melissa Manchester (born February 15, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Since the 1970s, her songs have been carried by adult contemporary radio stations. She has also appeared on television, in films, and on stage. Early l ...

. In the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'', Robert Hilburn described ''Romance Dance'' as "one of the best mainstream pop albums" since

Carole Bayer Sager Carole Bayer Sager (born Carol Bayer on March 8, 1947) is an American lyricist, singer, and songwriter. Early life and career Bayer Sager was born in Manhattan, New York City, to Anita Nathan Bayer and Eli Bayer. Her family was Jewish. She grad ...

's 1977 self-titled debut album.

Track listing

# "Swept Me Off My Feet (The Part of the Fool)" (Kim Carnes) – 3:21 # "

" (

Dan Penn Dan Penn (born Wallace Daniel Pennington, November 16, 1941) is an American songwriter, singer, musician, and record producer, who co-wrote many soul hits of the 1960s, including " The Dark End of the Street" and "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" w ...

Spooner Oldham Dewey Lindon "Spooner" Oldham (born June 14, 1943) is an American songwriter and session musician. An organist, he recorded in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, at FAME Studios as part of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section on such hit R&B songs as Percy S ...

) – 3:05 # "Will You Remember Me" (Carnes) – 4:42 # "Tear Me Apart" (

Nicky Chinn Nicholas Barry Chinn (born 16 May 1945) is an English-American songwriter and record producer. Together with Mike Chapman he had a long string of hit singles in the UK and US in the 1970s and early 1980s, including several international number- ...

Mike Chapman Michael Donald Chapman (born 13 April 1947) is an Australian-American record producer and songwriter who was a major force in the British pop music industry in the 1970s. He created a string of hit singles for artists including The Sweet, Suz ...

) – 3:31 (Originally performed by

Suzi Quatro Susan Kay Quatro (born June 3, 1950) is an American singer, bass guitarist, songwriter, and actress. In the 1970s, she scored a string of hit singles that found greater success in Europe and Australia than in her homeland, reaching No. 1 in th ...

in 1976.) # "Changin'" (Carnes, Dave Ellingson) – 3:54 # " More Love" ( William Robinson) – 3:38 # "In the Chill of the Night" (Carnes, Ellingson) – 4:22 # "Where Is Your Heart" (Carnes, Ellingson) – 3:45 # "And Still Be Loving You" (Carnes, Ellingson) – 3:42

Personnel

* Kim Carnes – lead vocals, backing vocals (1, 2, 3, 7, 8), acoustic piano (5) * Bill Cuomo – keyboards (1, 2, 3, 6-9), organ (1, 7), ARP String Ensemble (6, 9), string arrangements (9) * Mike Thompson – keyboards (4) * Mike Piccirillo – guitars (1, 2, 4, 6), mandolin (1), arrangements (2, 4, 6), backing vocals (2, 4, 8), electric guitar (3, 7), percussion (4), acoustic guitar (7) * Steve Geyer – acoustic guitar (3), electric guitar (7) * John Beland – mandolin (5), dobro (5) * Eric Nelson – bass (1, 3, 4, 7) * Scott Edwards – bass (2, 6, 8, 9) * David Hungate – bass (5) *

Craig Krampf Craig Krampf (born October 22, 1954) is an American drummer, percussionist, arranger, record producer and songwriter. The majority of his notable credits are as a studio drummer. Since the 1970s, he has played on albums by other artists ranging f ...

– drums (1, 2, 3, 6-9) * Joel Peskin – saxophone * Raphael Ravenscroft – saxophone (6) * Jim Ed Norman – string arrangements (5) * Julia Waters Tillman – backing vocals (1, 3, 7) * Maxine Waters Willard – backing vocals (1, 3, 7) * Patrick Bolen – backing vocals (2, 4) * Dave Ellingson – backing vocals (2, 8) * Herb Peterson – backing vocals (5) * Kin Vassy – backing vocals (5) *

Darlene Love Darlene Wright (born July 26, 1941), known professionally as Darlene Love, is an American singer and actress. She was the lead singer of the girl group the Blossoms and she also recorded as a solo artist. She began singing as a child with her ...

– backing vocals (6) * Edna Wright – backing vocals (6)

Production

* Mike Piccirillo – producer (1-4, 6-9), engineer (1-4, 6-9) * George Tobin – producer (1-4, 6-9) * Daniel Moore – producer (5) * Ryan Ulyate – engineer (1-4, 6-9) * Howard Wolen – engineer (1-4, 6-9) * Mark Wolfson – engineer (1-4, 6-9) * Larry Hirsch – engineer (5) * Ron Evans – second engineer (1-4, 6-9) * Val Garay – mixing *

Niko Bolas Niko Bolas is an American music producer, sound engineer, and consultant and business developer in the fields of virtual reality and Internet radio. In 1989, Bolas founded Fakespace Music with Mark Bolas, Ian McDowall and Christian Greuel, which, ...

– mix assistant * Mike Reese – mastering * Doug Sax – mastering * The Mastering Lab (Hollywood, California) – mastering location * Gary Goetzman – production manager for George Tobin Productions * Lisa Marie – session coordinator * Bill Burks – art direction, design * Norman Seeff – photography * Stan Evenson – lettering * Michael Brokaw – manager (Kragen and Company) * Ken Kragen – manager (Kragen and Company) Studios * Recorded at Studio Sound Recorders (North Hollywood, California). * Mixed at

Record One Record One is a recording studio complex in the Sherman Oaks neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Originally founded in 1979, the studio has been the site of numerous commercially successful and award-winning recordings. Since 2015, Record On ...

(Los Angeles, California). * Mastered at The Mastering Lab (Hollywood, California).

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1980 albums EMI Records albums Kim Carnes albums