Chi Coltrane

Description

The self-titled debut album by the American singer, songwriter, and keyboardist Chi Coltrane was released on Columbia Records in 1972. The album was engineered by Eric Prestidge with Toxey French producing for Just Us Productions. Mixed at Sound Labs in Hollywood, Los Angeles. Strings and woodwinds arranged by Paul Buckmaster, horns arranged by Jim Horn, and songs arranged by Chi Coltrane and Toxey French. All songs written by Chi Coltrane.

Featuring Chi Coltrane on piano and organ, backed by Ben Benay on guitar (with Dean Parks sitting in on tracks A5 and B1) and a rhythm section consisting of Larry Knechtel on bass and Jim Gordon on drums (except track B4 featuring Lee Sklar on bass and Ron Tutt on drums), with Victor Feldman providing percussion and King Errisson sitting in on congas.

The single from Chi Coltrane self-titled record (Columbia), «Thunder and Lightning» charted at no. 17 in 1972. When interviewed by the Berkeley Jesus paper “Right On”, Chi said the passion behind the song came from her new-found faith, as Debby Boone told interviewers that when she sang «You Light Up My Life» she was thinking about the Lord, and Tolkien said his faith inspired “The Lord of the Rings”. Another single on this record, which received airplay but did not chart, «Go Like Elijah» makes this faith much more evident. And there is this line from «The Tree»:

I took my troubles to the Tree,
and God’s own son looked down on me,
all I know is I was blind and now I see,
since I took my troubles to the tree.

This is one of my favorite records. Three things may be said of it. 1. Chi wrote all the songs. She is in the singer/songwriter tradition of Carole King. 2. The songs are piano-based, rather than guitar-driven as were most songs of the time. Chi plays piano and organ, in the manner of Elton John and especially Billy Joel with ‘Piano Man’, who were bringing piano into pop music. The piano would transform Jesus Music with a vengeance when Keith Green released his accomplished keyboarding in ‘For Him Who Has Ears to Hear‘. 3.

I think this is a little gem. The singer/songwriter era was a unique time, contrasting greatly with the singer era before it, when singers would cover songs from the best songwriters. One of the best-known of these singers was Petula Clark, whose singles charted next to those of singer-songwriters (Pet even covered a Larry Norman song).

Even though this is a singer-songwriter album, it was still made the older way. For instance, if I compare it with Johnny Rivers‘ ‘Slim Slo Slider’ record, named for the fantastic Van Morrison song he covers, and which contains great songs like his cover of «Jesus is a Soul Man», he did not generally write his own songs, but his fantastic voice and style made the songs of other artists his own. Both artists are on Columbia.

The players on both records include Larry Knechtel and Ron Tutt, who may have been session players. Lee Sklaar is on one of Chi’s songs, suggesting it may have been recorded separately, as singles often were. The Billy Barnum Chorus provides the gospel back-ups for «Go Like Elijah». There are gospel roots for both piano and guitar-based songs. Thomas A. Dorsey who wrote many gospel songs, had been a piano player for blues singer Ma Rainey. On the other hand, country-western songs were usually sung with a guitar. I have been in gospel churches in Mississippi where singing was based around a piano, and in Pentecostal churches where the pastor picked up an electric guitar. [Gord Wilson, April 2022]

> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/chi-coltrane/1620374967)

LP tracklist:

Side One
A1. “Thunder And Lightning” – 3:00
A2. “Goodbye John” – 4:10
A3. “You Were My Friend” – 3:44
A4. “Turn Me Around” – 4:08
A5. “Go Like Elijah” – 3:57
A6. “The Tree” – 3:58

Side Two
B1. “Feelin’ Good” – 3:54
B2. “It’s Really Come To This” – 3:17
B3. “I Will Not Dance” – 3:51
B4. “Time To Come In” – 3:32
B5. “The Wheel Of Life” – 5:00

Note: Simultaneously released on 8-track tape, cassette, and 12-inch vinyl LP by Columbia Records. Later re-issued on CD.