Real People
Studio album by
Chic
ReleasedJune 30, 1980
Recorded1980
StudioPower Station, New York City
Genre
Length37:03
LabelAtlantic
Producer
Chic chronology
Les Plus Grands Succès De Chic: Chic's Greatest Hits
(1979)		 Real People
(1980)		 Take It Off
(1981)
Singles from Real People
  1. "Rebels Are We"
    Released: July 1980 [1]
  2. "Real People"
    Released: 1980
  3. "26"
    Released: 1980

Real People is the fourth studio album by American R&B band Chic, released on Atlantic Records in 1980. It includes the singles "Rebels Are We" (US R&B #8, Pop #61), "Real People" (#51 R&B, #79 Pop), and "26" (issued only in the UK).

The album was one of four written and produced by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers in 1980, the other three being Sister Sledge's Love Somebody Today, Sheila and B. Devotion's King of the World, and Diana Ross' multi-platinum selling album Diana.

The album peaked at #30 on the US Albums chart and #8 on the US R&B chart, a modest commercial success in comparison both to the Diana Ross project and their previous albums, most likely due to the so-called "anti-disco backlash". Though in spite of the backlash, all of the album cuts peaked at #29 on the American dance charts.[2]

Real People was released on CD by Atlantic Records/Warner Music in 1991. It was digitally remastered and reissued by Wounded Bird Records in 2003.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Christgau's Record GuideA[4]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[5]
MusicHound R&B[6]
Record Mirror[7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[8]
Smash Hits8/10[9]
Spin Alternative Record Guide9/10[10]
The Village VoiceA−[11]

In a contemporary review for The Village Voice, Robert Christgau deemed Real People a better record than Chic's Risqué (1979), even though it lacked a song as great as "Good Times". "Jumpy, scintillating rhythms fuse with elegantly abrasive textures for a funk that's not light but sharp", he wrote. "Plus post-chic words that go with the attention-grabbing heat and invention of Nile Rodgers's postrock guitar."[11] In his year-end list for the Pazz & Jop critics poll, Christgau named it the 15th best album of 1980.[12]

AllMusic's Alex Henderson was less impressed in a retrospective review, calling Real People a satisfactory effort but inessential, highlighted by "Rebels Are We", "I Got Protection", and "Chip Off the Old Block", none of which he said were as good as Chic's past hits.[3]

Track listing

All tracks written by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers.

Side A

  1. "Open Up" – 3:52
  2. "Real People" – 5:20 Listenⓘ
  3. "I Loved You More" – 3:06
  4. "I Got Protection" – 6:22

Side B

  1. "Rebels Are We" – 4:53 Listenⓘ
  2. "Chip Off the Old Block" – 4:56
  3. "26" – 3:57 Listenⓘ
  4. "You Can't Do It Alone" – 4:39

Personnel

Production

References

  1. ↑ "Chic singles".
  2. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 57.
  3. 1 2 Henderson, Alex. "Real People – Chic". AllMusic. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
  4. ↑ Christgau, Robert (1990). "Chic: Real People". Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s. Pantheon Books. p. 88. ISBN 0-67973-015-X. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
  5. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Chic". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  6. ↑ Graff, Gary; du Lac, Josh Freedom; McFarlin, Jim, eds. (1998). "Chic". MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. ISBN 1578590264.
  7. ↑ Gardner, Mike (August 2, 1980). "Chic: Real People / Sheila and B Devotion: Sheila and B Devotion". Record Mirror. p. 15.
  8. ↑ Coleman, Mark (1992). "Chic". In DeCurtis, Anthony; Henke, James; George-Warren, Holly (eds.). The Rolling Stone Album Guide (3rd ed.). Random House. pp. 129–30. ISBN 0-679-73729-4.
  9. ↑ Hillier, Bev (July 24 – August 6, 1980). "Chic: Real People". Smash Hits. Vol. 2, no. 15. p. 29.
  10. ↑ Walters, Barry (1995). "Chic". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 81–82. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  11. 1 2 Christgau, Robert (February 2, 1981). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  12. ↑ Christgau, Robert (February 9, 1981). "Pazz & Jop 1980: The Year of the Lollapalooza". The Village Voice. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
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