| ClassiKhan | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 5, 2004 | |||
| Length | 46:50 | |||
| Label | Sanctuary | |||
| Producer |
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| Chaka Khan chronology | ||||
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ClassiKhan is the tenth studio album byAmerican singerChaka Khan, featuring theLondon Symphony Orchestra. It was released by independent labelSanctuary Records on October 5, 2004 in United Kingdom, with international releases overseen by different record companies. Produced and arranged by Eve Nelson,ClassiKhan was mainly recorded at London's legendaryAbbey Road Studios and features guest appearances by pianistJoe Sample and percussionistSheila E., among others.
WhileClassiKhan does focus on jazz and swing standards, among them "Stormy Weather", "Hazel's Hips", "'Round Midnight" and "Teach Me Tonight", it also features an eclectic selection of classics from other genres, including pop culture favourites such as Broadway show tune "Hey Big Spender" from the musicalSweet Charity,Peggy Lee's "Is That All There Is?" penned byLeiber & Stoller and even a '60s country-and-western classic in the form ofPatsy Cline's "Crazy", written byWillie Nelson.ClassiKhan also features the themes of film favourites from Khan's youth, "To Sir With Love" and theJames Bond themes "Goldfinger" and "Diamonds Are Forever". The collection concludes with one new composition, the ballad "I Believe", co-written by Khan and the album's producer Ira Shickman.
The album was mainly recorded at London's legendaryAbbey Road Studios and it features guest appearances by, among others, pianistJoe Sample and percussionistSheila E., best known for her work withPrince. The titleClassiKhan is also a reference to Khan's accompaniment on the set. Whereas on theEchoes of an Era album Khan used a five-piece all-star jazz ensemble, onClassiKhan she is accompanied by The New York All Star Musicians – but with the addition of the fullLondon Symphony Orchestra, conducted and arranged by Eve Nelson and with orchestrations by producer Ira Schickman and Gary Anderson.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [1] |
| Slant | [2] |
AllMusic editor Andy Kellman felt that "while it's true that many of these songs [...] have been worn out by so many other renditions of varying quality, Khan injects plenty of her tirelessly singular personality. Most thrilling of all is a pair of nods toShirley Bassey,John Barry, andJames Bond [...] The only obvious problem with the disc is its title. Longtime Khan fans are likely to glance at the cover of the disc and see it as another career retrospective – or, at most, re-recordings of the singer's old material — that they don't need to hear. That's clearly not the case here."[1] Eric Henderson fromSlant Magazine rated the album two and a half stars out of five. He found that "not one single standard is given a novel twist, and each arrangement seems to have the exact same crescendos and ritardandos." He further noted: "Even worse, the production of Classikhan is so sparkling clean and the homogenization of the London Orchestra’s various sections so democratically Teflonesque that even listeners whose entire CD collection is made up ofOriginal Broadway Cast Recordings would find themselves struggling to stay interested."[2]
ClassiKhan reached number 42 onBillboard's USTop R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.[3] By 2005, it had sold 46,000 copies in the United States, according toNielsen SoundScan.[4]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hey Big Spender" |
| 3:18 | |
| 2. | "Hazel's Hips" | Oscar Brown |
| 2:59 |
| 3. | "Best Is Yet to Come" |
|
| 4:42 |
| 4. | "Crazy" | Willie Nelson |
| 3:09 |
| 5. | "I'm in the Mood for Love" |
| 3:47 | |
| 6. | "Is That All There Is?" | Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller |
| 3:58 |
| 7. | "Stormy Weather" |
| 4:37 | |
| 8. | "'Round Midnight" |
| 4:30 | |
| 9. | "Teach Me Tonight" |
| 4:11 | |
| 10. | "To Sir with Love" | 4:23 | ||
| 11. | "Diamonds Are Forever" |
|
| 3:02 |
| 12. | "Goldfinger" |
| 3:08 | |
| 13. | "I Believe" |
| Schickman | 3:34 |
| Total length: | 46:50 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14. | "To Sir with Love" (Barry Harris Club Mix) |
|
| 8:56 |
Notes
Performers and musicians
Technical
| Chart (2004) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| USTop R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[3] | 42 |
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | October 5, 2004 | JVC Victor | |
| United Kingdom | Sanctuary Records | ||
| United States |
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