''Small Change'' is the fifth studio album by Canadian rock band

Prism PRISM is a code name for a program under which the United States National Security Agency (NSA) collects internet communications from various U.S. internet companies. The program is also known by the SIGAD . PRISM collects stored internet ...

, released in December 1981 by

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

. It was the first of two Prism studio albums with lead vocalist Henry Small, who had replaced Ron Tabak after his forced departure and the last studio album to feature guitarist and founding member

Lindsay Mitchell Lindsay Christopher Mitchell (born 28 May 1949) is an English-born Canadian musician and songwriter who achieved success as the guitarist and founder of the Canadian rock band Prism. Early life Born on May 28, 1949, in North London, England, M ...

. The album is generally regarded as the genesis of the smoother, more adult-oriented sound of the band's later work. The album peaked at No. 53 on the ''

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Sometimes, a rec ...

''. On release, the album was received favorably by the majority of music critics, although it was criticized for being too commercial. This was a departure from the band's early

arena rock Arena rock (also known as stadium rock, pomp rock or corporate rock) is a style of rock music that became mainstream in the 1970s. It typically involves radio-friendly rock music that was designed to be played for large audiences. As hard rock ...

roots and opinions became much more negative in subsequent decades. Regardless of the criticism, ''Small Change'' became Prism's most commercially successful studio album on the ''Billboard 200'' and it was their first and only album to the make the Top 100. The lead single, " Don't Let Him Know", inspired by the

Kim Carnes Kim Carnes (; born July 20, 1945) is an American singer and songwriter born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles. A veteran writer of many of her own hits, as well as those for numerous other artists, she began her career in 1966 as ...

song "

Bette Davis Eyes "Bette Davis Eyes" is a song written and composed by Donna Weiss and Jackie DeShannon in 1974. It was recorded by DeShannon that year but made popular by Kim Carnes in 1981 when it spent nine non-consecutive weeks at the top of the U.S. Billboard ...

", was written by

Jim Vallance James Douglas Vallance (born May 31, 1952) is a Canadian songwriter, arranger and producer. He is best known as the songwriting partner of Canadian musician Bryan Adams. Vallance began his professional career as the original drummer and main song ...

, using his real name instead of the pseudonym Rodney Higgs that he used on previous Prism studio albums, and

Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born November 5, 1959) is a British and Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, and photographer. He is estimated to have sold between 75 million and more than 100 million album, records and Single (music), si ...

. It became Prism's first and only Top 40 hit in the US and went on to peak at number-one on the ''Billboard''

Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart published by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States. It is an administrative category that combines the " active rock" and " heritage rock" ...

chart in 1982. It stayed in the charts for just over four months. The follow-up single, " Turn On Your Radar", was their fifth and final single to chart, peaking at No. 64 on the ''

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...

''. ''Small Change'' went on to achieve Gold status in Canada (in excess of 50,000 copies sold).

Cover artwork

The album cover depicts

Norman Rockwell Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of Culture of the United States, the country's culture. Roc ...

's 1954 painting, ''Girl at Mirror''. Additionally, the single releases of the songs "Don't Let Him Know" and "Turn On Your Radar" used the same image of the painting.

Background

As the band were thinking about recording their follow-up to the poorly received commercial disappointment '' Young and Restless'' in December 1980, Ron Tabak was fired. Various reasons have been cited, including his conflicts with other band members, several run-ins with the law and/or a lack of songwriting ability. A new lead vocalist Henry Small was brought in and the new four-piece line-up (Small/Mitchell/Harlow/Norton) recorded the album ''Small Change'' in the summer of 1981, which was released later in the year. Keyboardist John Hall departed the band early on during the sessions for the album. By the beginning of 1982, Mitchell, Harlow and Norton had left Prism. With Mitchell's departure, Prism now had no original members left.

Critical reception

Reviewing retrospectively for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, critic Mike DeGagne wrote of the album "Prism substituted its vigorous rock & roll sound for a more refined blend of soft rock amiability, which paid off to some extent." He added that "The vocals are toned down, the extravagance of the horns and synthesizers are absent and the songs reflect a more adult-oriented feel."

Track listing

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the ''Small Change'' liner notes. Prism * Henry Small – lead vocals *

– guitar * Rocket Norton – drums * Al Harlow – bass guitar Additional musicians * Jimmy Phillips – keyboards * Randy Hansen – guitar *

Norton Buffalo Phillip Jackson (September 28, 1951 – October 30, 2009), best known as Norton Buffalo, was an American singer-songwriter, country music, country and blues harmonica player, record producer, bandleader and recording artist who was a versatile ...

– harmonica * Alvin Taylor – drums, percussion * Reggie McBride – bass guitar * Don Francisco – backing vocals * Shirley Matthews – backing vocals * Paulette Brown – backing vocals * Cleopatra Kennedy – backing vocals Production and artwork * John S. Carter – producer * Warren Dewey –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

* Roy Kohara –

art direction Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to super ...

* James O'Mara – photography

Charts

Certifications

References

* https://musiccanada.com/gold-platinum/?_paged=772

External links

* {{Authority control 1981 albums Albums with cover art by Norman Rockwell Prism (band) albums Capitol Records albums