Album of the Day — June 17
Chic — C’est Chic
Chic — C’est Chic
17.June.2020
Chic
C’est Chic
1978
The second full-length album by the New York City-based band Chic was the one that didn’t just put them on the map, it made them the Copernicus of the disco movement.
The two creative principle’s Nile Rodgers (guitar) and Bernard Edwards (bass) are James Watson and Francis Crick of disco — they cracked the DNA of the funky groove.
Even if they themselves never considered Chic a “disco” band.
Drawing inspiration from KISS and Roxy Music, former black panther Rodgers and Edwards conceived Chic as a “rock band for the disco movement” … the rock band part never really took hold … but each would have a prolific post Chic career producing legendary rock stars.
It’s also worth noting that Chic has been nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame eleven times (they’re still not in).
The first single from C’est Chic was “Le Freak” — it wasn’t just a hit, it was a cultural phenomenon.
The song was so popular and so ubiquitous that its resonance is so profound that your shoes may morph into roller skates if you play this song while walking. Consider yourself warned.
Nile Rodgers created a riff in “Le Freak” that’s so powerful, infectious, and recognizable it’s as much a calling card as Eric Clapton’s intro to “Layla” … both are deeply embedded into music’s DNA. If there were such a thing as sonic “catchphrases” these two would be perfect examples.
Despite its ineradicable groove and insatiable funk, the origin of “Le Freak” is less funky.
Rodgers and Edwards had tried to meet Grace Jones on New Year’s Eve in 1977 but couldn’t get into NYC’s famed Studio 54 (presumably, they couldn’t get past the notoriously persnickety doorman and co-owner Steve Rubell) so they went back to Edward’s apartment to jam. The jam began as a middle-finger to the doormen/gatekeepers — presumably Rubell — at Studio 54.
“Le Freak” began as “Aaa, fuck off” (for the doormen of Studio 54) then morphed into “Aaa, freak off” and ultimately “Aaa, freak out”.
Although the band must’ve decided to offer up an olive branch because they give the club a shout-out in the lyrics:
Le Freak
All that pressure got you down
Has your head spinning all around
Feel the rhythm, check the ride
Come on along and have a real good time
Like the days of stopping at the Savoy
Now they freak, oh what a joy
Just come on down, to fifty-four
Find a spot out on the floor
The single alone has sold some six million copies in the US and was the best-selling single in Warner Musics’ history until Madonna’s “Vogue” in 1990.
Because of the songs’ immediate and lasting impact, “Le Freak” was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or artistically significant”.
The song’s popularity would make one think that releasing a single after “Le Freak” would be a fool’s errand … not so in this case. The follow-up single was “I Want Your Love .” As with “Le Freak” the lead vocal was sung by Alfa Anderson (Diva Gray shared vocals on “Le Freak”).
What “Le Freak” and “I Want Your Love” share, besides Alfa Anderson’s vocals, is that both songs are showcases for Chic’s leaders and their skills.
Where “Le Freak” was all Rodgers and the riff, on “I Want Your Love” it’s Bernard Edwards turn to lay down some masterful grooves. Rodgers lays down a nice and simple guitar track but it’s Edwards who provides the meat and texture to this track.
“I Want Your Love” is a 7:00 master class on how the bass track is the foundation and driving force for a great song.
The song went to #1 on the Billboard Dance Club Chart and peaked at #5 on the Hot R&B Chart and #7 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The rest of the album is above what you may expect from a “disco” band — but again, Chic wasn’t a disco band.
The modern jazz exploration of “Savoir Faire” seems like it would be more at home on a Chick Corea album than here, but somehow it works. If for no other reason than to showcase just how diverse, and talented, Chic was.
Closing out the album is the instrumental “(Funny) Bone” which sounds more like a jam session, complete with a string session — and party noises. Again, Rodgers and Edwards put themselves right up front in the mix and while it’s not a complicated groove, it’s infectious AF!
If you work in a white-collar world, you are familiar with the phrase “stay in your lane” which means sticking to what you know. That’s precisely what Chic does here on C’est Chic, they stay in their lane. Nothing is too complicated or daring, it’s just damn fine music.
Except for “Dance, Dance, Dance” all of the songs were written by Niles Rodgers and Bernard Edwards. And lyrically, these songs aren’t digging real deep emotionally.
If I say that David Lee Roth era Van Halen songs have more emotional depth than the songs on Ce’st Chic, that should indicate how vapid they are.
This is fine, these songs aren’t meant to stimulate your frontal lobe they’re meant to move your gluteus maximus … and stimulate that general area.
The album itself was produced by the pair while a gaggle of musicians streamed in and out of the studio to contribute to Ce’st Chic — including singer Luther Vandross, keyboardist Robert Sabino, and longtime Chic drummer Tony Thomspon.
NERD ALERT
Also behind the board with Rodgers and Edwards was a young engineer by the name of Bob Clearmountain (the list is too damn long).
Ce’st Chic was the band’s most successful commercial album — peaking at #4 on Billboards album chart and topping the US R&B chart for eleven weeks. The album would also go on to sell over one million copies.
Since its release in 1978, C’est Chic has been universally lauded. Over the years, the reputation of the album has only grown:
A re-release in 2003 garnered this review from Rolling Stone: Chic is the disco band to which rockers, hip-hoppers, soul fans, and funkateers all give props, and for good reason: Guitarist Nile Rodgers, bassist Bernard Edwards, and drummer Tony Thompson comprised one of the tightest and most influential rhythm sections of the last thirty years.
Robert Christgau gave C’est Chic a B rating but worded his review rather peculiarly: The hooky cuts are more jingles than songs, the interludes more vamps than breaks, and I won’t dance, so don’t ask me. Well, maybe if you’re really nice.
Andy Beta in Pitchfork said: Rodgers and Edwards stripped the groove down to its most basic building blocks, twisting it in such a way to reveal something both primeval and elegant. Chic exhibited complex simplicity at its finest — style could be substance, the backing band could be the rock stars, and the background was the foreground.
While Chic’s commercial lifespan was just shy of 24 months, the shadow they cast has been long and wide … and continues to this day. Disco didn’t so much die as get re-branded as Dance. With that Nile Rodgers found a new home for his guitar and production prowess. Among the artists he produced in the ‘80s:
Diana Ross — diana (hits: “I’m Comin’ Out” & “Upside Down”)
David Bowie — Let’s Dance (hits: “Let’s Dance” & “Modern Love”)
Madonna — Like a Virgin (hits: “Material Girl” & “Like a Virgin”)
Like his counterpart Nile Rodgers, Bernard Edwards also had an extensive career as a producer after Chic folded. Among the artists he produced post-Chic:
Robert Palmer — Riptide (hits: “Addicted to Love” & “I Didn’t Mean to Turn You On”)
Rod Stewart — Out of Order (hits: “Forever Young” & “ Lost in You”)
Joe Cocker — Cocker (hits: “You Can Leave Your Hat On” Edwards was one of six producers)
Chic’s influence on hip-hop began at the genre’s dawn — with The Sugar Hill Gang’s “Rappers Delight”. Both Rodgers and Edwards are listed as co-writers, and their influence continues to this day.
For an album simply titled C’est Chic (translated — It’s Chic) the albums impact and legacy is anything but simple.
The influence of “Le Freak” alone is enough to warrant exploration of C’est Chic but placed in context with what both Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards accomplished post-Chic, it almost demands a closer listen to hear how those songs that you love may have their origins in (gasp) disco.