Take It Easy with the Walker Brothers
Take It Easy with the Walker Brothers is the debut album by the American pop group the Walker Brothers. It is also commonly known as Take It Easy. The group's musical accompaniment was directed by Ivor Raymonde and produced by John Franz and Nick Venet. It was released in 1965 and reached number three on the UK Albums Chart.[3] The album contains the group's first major hit single "Make It Easy on Yourself". Receiving good to mixed reviews, the album was released in both Mono and Stereo LP formats in November 1965. The album was later released on CD having been remastered and expanded in 1998. The sleeve notes were written by Brian Mulligan, the then press officer for Philips Records, with photography by Terence Donovan.
| Take It Easy with The Walker Brothers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | November 26, 1965 | |||
| Recorded | 1965 | |||
| Genre | Pop, baroque pop, blue-eyed soul | |||
| Length | 34:36 | |||
| Label | Philips, Smash | |||
| Producer | John Franz, Nick Venet | |||
| The Walker Brothers chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Take It Easy with The Walker Brothers | ||||
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| Introducing the Walker Brothers | ||||
 Smash Records (US) sleeve | ||||
Introducing the Walker Brothers
In the USA the album was released on Smash Records as Introducing the Walker Brothers. This alternate version shifted the running order around and replaced "Lonely Winds", "Girl I Lost in the Rain", "First Love Never Dies", and "Tell the Truth" with the singles "Love Her", "My Ship Is Coming In" and "Pretty Girls Everywhere", along with the last's B-side "Doin' the Jerk".[4] The group can be seen miming "Doin' the Jerk" on the 1965 beach party movie Beach Ball.
Introducing the Walker Brothers is now out of print. In 2008 Water Records released the Philips Take It Easy track listing in the US for the first time.
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
Take It Easy with the Walker Brothers received good to mixed reviews from the majority of critics. Richie Unterberger writing retrospectively for Allmusic described the US version Introducing the Walker Brothers as "an erratic affair" that features "their trademark balladeering groove with the hits "Make It Easy On Yourself" and "My Ship Is Comin' In," but [sounding] stiff on uptempo R&B numbers like "Land of 1,000 Dances" and "Dancing in the Street"."[4]
Track listing
Take It Easy (Philips Records)
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Make It Easy on Yourself" | Burt Bacharach, Hal David | 3:14 |
| 2. | "There Goes My Baby" | George Treadwell, Lover Patterson, Benjamin Nelson | 3:08 |
| 3. | "First Love Never Dies" | Bob Morris, Jim Seals | 3:37 |
| 4. | "Dancing in the Street" | Marvin Gaye, Ivy Hunter, William "Mickey" Stevenson | 3:50 |
| 5. | "Lonely Winds" | Mort Shuman, Doc Pomus | 2:37 |
| 6. | "Girl I Lost in the Rain" | David Gates | 2:48 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7. | "Land of a 1,000 Dances" | Chris Kenner | 2:35 |
| 8. | "You're All Around Me" | Scott Engel, Lesley Duncan | 2:39 |
| 9. | "Love Minus Zero/No Limit" | Bob Dylan | 3:05 |
| 10. | "I Don't Want to Hear It Anymore" | Randy Newman | 3:48 |
| 11. | "Here Comes the Night" | Mort Shuman, Doc Pomus | 2:27 |
| 12. | "Tell the Truth" | Lowman Pauling | 1:51 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Love Her" (1965 A-Side) | Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil | 3:23 |
| 14. | "The Seventh Dawn" (B-Side of "Love Her") | Riz Ortolani | 2:40 |
| 15. | "But I Do" (B-Side of "Make It Easy on Yourself") | Paul Gayten, Robert Guidry | 2:56 |
| 16. | "My Ship Is Coming In" (1965 A-Side) | Joey Brooks | 3:15 |
| 17. | "Looking for Me" (from 1966 EP: I Need You) | Randy Newman | 2:11 |
| 18. | "Young Man Cried" (from 1966 EP: I Need You) | Scott Engel, John Franz | 2:33 |
| 19. | "Everything's Gonna Be Alright" (from 1966 EP: I Need You) | Willie Mitchell | 2:16 |
| 20. | "I Need You" (from 1966 EP: I Need You) | Carole King, Gerry Goffin | 3:10 |
Introducing The Walker Brothers (Smash Records)
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "My Ship Is Coming In" | Joey Brooks | 3:15 |
| 2. | "Doin' the Jerk" | Scott Engel | 2:25 |
| 3. | "Love Her" | Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil | 3:23 |
| 4. | "Dancing in the Street" | Marvin Gaye, Ivy Hunter, William "Mickey" Stevenson | 3:50 |
| 5. | "I Don't Want to Hear It Any More" | Randy Newman | 3:48 |
| 6. | "Love Minus Zero" | Bob Dylan | 3:05 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7. | "Make It Easy on Yourself" | Burt Bacharach, Hal David | 3:14 |
| 8. | "Land of a 1,000 Dances" | Chris Kenner | 2:35 |
| 9. | "There Goes My Baby" | George Treadwell, Lover Patterson, Benjamin Nelson | 3:08 |
| 10. | "Pretty Girls Everywhere" | Eugene Church, Thomas Williams | 2:30 |
| 11. | "Here Comes the Night" | Mort Shuman, Doc Pomus | 2:27 |
| 12. | "You're All Around Me" | Scott Engel, Lesley Duncan | 2:39 |
Personnel
- Gary Walker - Drums and Vocals
- John Walker - Guitar and Vocals
- Scott Walker - Vocals, Guitar, and Keyboards
- The Quotations - accompaniment
- Jack Nitzsche - Arranger and Conductor
- Ivor Raymonde - Music Director
- John Franz - Producer
Charts
| Chart | Position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart[3] | 3 |
| German Albums Chart | 7 |
References
- "45cat - The Walker Bros. - Make It Easy On Yourself / But I Do - Philips - UK - BF 1428". 45cat. Retrieved 2014-09-20.
- "45cat - The Walker Brothers - Land Of 1,000 Dances / My Ship Is Coming In - Philips - Germany - 320 207 BF". 45cat. Retrieved 2014-09-20.
- Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 589/590. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- Unterberger, Richie (2012). "Introducing the Walker Brothers - The Walker Brothers | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
- Unterberger, Richie. The Walker Brothers: Take It Easy with the Walker Brothers > Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 18 October 2012.